Why Different Book Projects Have Different Costs

As you explore various avenues for publishing your book, you probably have one major factor in mind: budget. But while some authors are frantically searching online for the most “reasonably priced” package, the savviest authors know that publishing should not be one size fits all. Here’s why:

Different Scope

If one author has a 20,000-word fiction novella and another has a 140,000-word nonfiction piece that requires significant fact-checking, do you think they should pay the same amount for publishing? What about if they both have 50,000-word manuscripts, but one only needs a copy edit while the other needs a full developmental edit followed by at least one more round of review?

It all comes down to scope. If there’s more to do to get the book in publication-ready shape, you can expect to devote a larger budget to the project. It only makes sense, right?

Different Needs

If an author already has a professionally designed book cover that meets industry standards and quality requirements, they shouldn’t have to pay for that service as part of a “package.” That certainly wouldn’t be fair! On the other side of that coin, if an author adds a service, such as audiobook recording, mastering, and distribution, they should have to pay more for that.

It all comes down to what an author truly needs. Pre-set packages sound nice, clean, and simple, but that’s not what true, professional publishing is about. The services should be tailored based on the author’s specific needs and project requirements. That customization is a positive, not a drawback. It lets you know that your project is being handled just the way it should be—not the same way as the last project and the project before that and the project before that . . .  

Different Goals

Just as authors have different needs, they usually have different goals. A high-quality publisher will always keep goals front and center throughout the entire production, publishing, and promotional process.  

Say an author plans to sell books directly to consumers as part of their brand and business, and they’re going to need hundreds of copies on hand at any given time for speaking engagements. Or maybe they have a huge social media following clamoring for them to write a book, and it’s important to them to have the opportunity for widespread distribution to brick-and-mortar stores as well as online platforms. Perhaps they’ve already published a book with resounding success, and they want to make higher royalties on each sale by printing in bulk on the front end. In cases like these, it might make sense to do offset printing. It’s a larger investment to get high-quality books mass produced, not to mention professionally distributed to retailers, but this is the right call for some authors depending on their goals.

For many first-time authors who don’t have a vast, ready-made audience, print on demand is often a better route to start with, especially if they aren’t going to need tons of books on hand at all times. The initial investment is smaller because books are printed as they’re ordered, meaning the author doesn’t have to pay for printing upfront. The cost of printing does come out of the net proceeds of each sale, so the royalties are smaller, but there are also no inventory issues to manage. See how different authors with different goals may pay more or less depending on their situation?

Determining Your Budget

So, yes, it can be hard to figure out exactly how much to budget for publishing. Here’s a checklist of items to consider to get a ballpark in your head:

• What’s the word count of your manuscript? You can generally expect to pay $.03 to $.08 per word depending on the level of editing required.

• Do you want a dust jacket? Designing the flaps will add to your cover design fee.

• Are there any special design elements you’d like in your interior? The more intricate the formatting and interior layout needs, the higher this budget will need to be.

• Do you want to do an offset print run? The more books you print, the less expensive each copy is—and vice versa. So if you print 2,000 copies, you’ll pay more overall, but you’ll pay less per copy than if you printed 1,000. (And you’ll always pay more upfront for a print run compared to doing print on demand, as mentioned above, although you’ll also earn much higher royalties per sale.)

• Are you planning to do hardcover or paperback? It’s more expensive to print hardcover (especially with a dust jacket . . . and especially with other design features like embossing, gold foil stamping, ribbon bookmark, etc.).  

You may not have gotten super definitive answers here, but you can always check out this blog post outlining more specific cost estimates to narrow down your budget expectations. You can also contact the publishing professionals at Ballast Books—they’re always happy to offer guidance based on your unique goals and needs!  

Bottom line, if you want to find the best publishing home for your book, don’t just look at the publishing packages. Dig deep, talk to the professionals, and see what makes the most sense based on your project scope, needs, and goals. A quality publisher will do their best to work with your budget and make the best recommendations to help you publish the book of your dreams.