Money, money, money, money, money!! Sometimes it’s uncomfortable to talk about money, isn’t it? It feels like some taboo subject—some secret, perverted thing we’re all pretending we don’t need or want.
Well, pretending it doesn’t exist never helped anybody. So, I’m going to share some details of the financial aspect of being an indie author, including where I think it’s worthwhile to put your money, and where I think it’s less worthwhile.
Who are you?
In this reality, I’m assuming you are in the same boat as me (when I started). You’re a new author who wants to write and sell books and have fun doing it. But you don’t really have a social media following, or any readership yet. If you publish your book right now, your mom and a few friends would read it, but probably not many other people. Sound right?
So, this means you have no guarantee of financial return on this project. Every investment you make into this book, be it time or money, is a bit of a gamble. You invest upfront in the hopes that it will pay off in book sales down the road. This is not a comfortable position for most people, so it’s perfectly understandable if you’d rather not go this route. I would say traditional publishing is maybe a more comfortable environment for you. But that comes with its own issues.
Now, I’ll be perfectly frank. My gamble has not paid off yet. My total expenses still outweigh my total revenues. But I am comfortable knowing that this will continue to change over time. I’m aiming for my situation to look like the graph below.
Expenses (red) are higher for now, but over time the Revenue (green) will overtake and obliterate them muahaha! (You can help me, by buying my books hehehe)
But until then, sitting in the red zone doesn’t feel great. I’ll admit there have been times when I’ve looked at the numbers and despaired, indulging in some negative self-talk. But mostly, I tell myself to just keep chugging along. Make efforts to spend less and less each year, and earn more and more. Easier said than done, I know. But it is slowly working.
So, you’ve written a book, and you’ve decided to go the indie route. Let’s get into the nitty gritty of expenses. I’ve broken the expenses down into two categories: Production Expenses—the cost to actually create your book, and Marketing expenses—the costs to get people to buy that book. So, let’s dive in.
Production Expenses
Writing Software
I know lots of people swear by things like Scrivener and other fancy writing software programs. In my experience, these are not necessary. If you have one and it works for you, great, but I would not say Scrivener, currently priced at $79.99 CAD is a necessary expense. I used Microsoft Word (I already had it so I don’t count this expense for my book budget really). But Google docs would work just as well. We love to get fancy with apps for everything these days, but never forget writers used to use pen, paper, and typewriters, right? Fancy software might be fun or helpful, but it is not necessary if you’re on a tight budget.
The same goes for Plottr. I recently bought this at $149.99 USD (I think it has gone up to 199 now). I’m using it now as I write my fourth fantasy novel. It’s interesting and fun, I guess. But re-learning my writing process to incorporate it took some time. It definitely has some glitches that frustrate me. Sometimes I find it helps me to procrastinate more than it actually helps me to write. So again, I’d say no. Absolutely not a necessary expense.
Editing
Oh editing. If you’ve read any other writing blogs or joined any writing communities, you’ve probably been effectively terrified into believing that this is the absolutely most essential expense. Well…I have mixed feelings about editing expenses.
First, yes. It is very important to have a polished, well-written manuscript. Editing is very important. However, this will cost you a truckload of money if you let it.
Yes, in theory if you had all the money in the world, it would be amazing to hire a professional for every step in the editing process: Developmental editing, Line editing, Copy editing, Proofreading.
But I didn’t have all the money in the world, and I’m guessing you don’t either.
If I had paid an editor for each service on my first book, the editing cost alone would have been at least $12,000 CAD (assuming $0.02 per word proofreading, $0.04 per word copy editing and $0.06 per word developmental writing). And that’s assuming CAD and assuming line editing comes included in the developmental editing.
No way in hell was I willing to pay that much upfront in the hopes that I might possibly earn it back over time.
So, my advice is this: be your own editor as much as possible.
Here are a few steps I recommend:
- Start with some trusted beta readers and critique partners. Find people who bring different perspectives. Get as much constructive criticism as you can on every aspect of the writing.
- Rewrite the whole book several times on your own. Rip it to shreds and rebuild it. Be ruthless. And then do it again.
- Invest in a good grammar software. I’m partial to ProWritingAid because it is a one-time fee. (Yes, I think it’s worth the expense. I bought it for $319 USD. Not cheap, but definitely worth it.)
- Pick one editing service you think you need the most. I went with copyediting on my first book and it cost me approximately $2000 CAD. After working with beta readers, I felt confident in my story without a developmental editor. I also felt confident in my attention to detail and ability to proofread. Also, a copyeditor will probably point out most grammar issues they find anyway. So, you can probably do the final proofreading passes on your own. And maybe friends and family can do a proofread too (my mom and my partner both did this for different books).
Now, I’m glad I hired a copy editor for my first book, but it was still more money than I wanted to spend. So, I went in with the idea that I could hire them on book one, and then learn from the notes they sent me and use that to edit book 2 and 3 myself. This is exactly what I did, for the most part. I also realized that one of my unpaid critique partners had given me incredibly valuable feedback, and she was interested in taking on more editing work. So, for book two and three, I hired her to provide feedback. But her fee was much more affordable.
So, in total, including ProWritingAid and various editing services, the editing cost for all three books was approximately $3800 CAD. So divided by three books that’s approximately $1266 per book. Moving forward I hope to keep editing costs under $1,000 per book. But we’ll see how that goes.
Cover design
Cover design is the next most lauded expense for authors. And I agree. A good cover is worth a lot. However, there is some pretty extreme variance in the range of fees cover designers charge for their services. The most expensive quote I’ve seen is $2200 USD. But I managed to get mine for closer to $250 each. Right now, I’m looking for a cover designer for my poetry book and I’m getting quotes around $800 CAD. So yeah, lots of range.
It also depends on what you want. If you just want an eBook cover, that’s usually much cheaper. But if you want to do paperback, you need the full cover, front and back. And then hardcover usually has the inside cover and the jacket. So, most cover designers have different fees depending on how much you want done.
I would say spend as much as you want on the cover to ensure you get what you want, but don’t assume expensive is better. Different designers excel at different styles, so you should shop around for someone who can give you what you want for a fee you like.
And, unless you are a professional graphic designer, don’t try to make your own cover.
You spent an enormous amount of time writing this amazing book. It deserves something pretty to wear.
Typesetting
I’m seeing an increase of freelancers offering interior book design and typesetting services for a fee. Honestly, unless your book will have highly specialized interior design, like a cookbook or some other crafty book, don’t hire someone to do this for you.
If you’re mega ambitious and super nitpicky and want total creative control over interior design, you can do all the typesetting from scratch using a design software like Adobe or Affinity (cheaper). But this will take forever.
Most people go with a typesetting software, like Vellum, Reedsy, or Atticus. I went with Vellum for the one-time fee of $375 CAD. I don’t regret it, per se. But if I could go back and buy Atticus instead, I would. I won’t go into detail about why I think Atticus is probably better, but bottom line, Atticus is cheaper, and it seems to have more features, and I believe the creators genuinely care about their customers (and customers don’t have to be Mac OS users). One day soon, I will probably make the switch to Atticus.
However, if you’re on a super tight budget, Reedsy has a typesetting program you can use for free. It is very limited and has minimal customization capability, but, hey! It’s free and it is not half bad!
Marketing Expenses
Okay so you spent all this money and time to create a book. It’s shiny and pretty and you can’t wait for everyone everywhere to read it. Now what? Now you need to spend more money to ensure that someone somewhere buys it. Madness, I know.
The possibilities are endless here. There are millions of ways to market a book and countless opportunities to waste money. Not to mention, there are SO many people/companies who will claim to help you get exposure and sales for various fees, and most of them are either lying or they have a deeply inflated sense of their own relevance and power.
Advanced Reader Copies and Author Copies
So, you’ve probably heard of ARCS (Advanced Reader Copies). These are early versions of your book that you send to people to read before the publication date, in the hopes that they will post reviews. Essentially, free copies of the book given to people in exchange for honest reviews (but with no guarantee of them actually leaving reviews).
Yeah, ARCS are pretty important. But the way you do them can vary. Ebook arcs are great because they usually don’t cost you anything (no print cost and no shipping cost). But in my experience, ebook arcs are not as enticing for readers.
There’s also the problem of deciding who should receive arcs. I never blindly sent arcs to anyone. In fact, I only sent a few free copies of books to reviewers if I had a bit of a relationship with them and believed they would actually post the reviews. It’s hard to estimate ROI (Return on Investment) on these expenses. Word of mouth is important, but how do you know if it’s leading to sales?
So, my advice is to tread carefully here. You could theoretically spend a lot of money mailing physical books to random influencers, but I doubt that would be worth the expense.
That being said, I do highly recommend you buy yourself some author copies. These are copies you can sell on your own, and take all the profits from. Lots of authors have great success with direct distribution sales, and making their own book boxes. I suspect this is a great way to do things. If you have the time to manage all the online sales, packaging, and shipping. Which I don’t…at least not yet. (soon…)
NetGalley Co-Op
Now, on the topic of ARCS. You’ve probably heard about NetGalley. This is a very important website for connecting ARCS with readers. However, it costs a lot of money and subscriptions are fairly confusing. When I enquired, I was told the minimum is $600 USD set-up fee, and then a subscription fee of $275 USD per month. This lets you have 5 books available. The next level subscription is $375 per month plus the set-up fee. Or, they do have a pay-per-title fee of $450. This lets you list one book for up to 6 months.
For your average indie author, or first-time author this is absolutely not worth the fee. Bonkers expensive. Definitely geared towards bigger publishers.
However, NetGalley is still a really great way to get reviews. So, I recommend a NetGalley Co-Op. The one I used was called Victory Editing. Basically, the Victory Editing people have an account with NetGalley and they rent out monthly spots or yearly spots so authors can list books for a much more reasonable price. The prices are currently $55 USD for one book for one month. And $500 USD for a whole year.
I’ve rented individual spots a few times and I got a good chunk of reviews that way. I wish I had done this earlier. Next time, I will rent a spot for a few consecutive months. One month is just slightly too short. I think it also works best if you do it before the book releases, but I did it after the book released.
Discount Promo Emails
One of the most popular ways to get your book out there is to get featured on a daily e-blast service, like Bookbub, Bargain Booksy, Fussy Librarian etc. There are dozens of e-blast services that send out lists of discounted books to readers. I, as a reader, enjoy checking the Bookbub email every day for new discounted treasures.
Bottom line, yeah these are worth the money for the most part. It is hard to get selected by Bookbub, but definitely worth it if you can. Their selection process has to do with several factors, including the number of reviews you have, the starting cost of your book, and how deeply you will discount it. A Bookbub featured deal can cost anywhere from $489 USD to $2,494 USD (for fantasy). But the idea is that you should earn most if not all of that back from the sales you receive.
The other e-blast services are way cheaper, but also way less effective. Bargain Booksy costs beween $45USD to $100 USD (for fantasy). It is still mostly worth it, but decreases in worth each subsequent time I do it.
I also tried using Book Rank, a service that submits your deal to a bunch of the sites on your behalf, cutting down on your admin work. I had lukewarm response here, but it might be worth trying again.
Ultimately, these fees can add up, so I wouldn’t do it a lot, but once in a while it can be a good boost for sales.
Paid Advertising (Amazon/FB/Bookbub)
Paid advertising is a slippery slope. It is incredibly easy to spend buckets of money on Facebook ads, Amazon ads, and Bookbub ads. Incredibly easy. But there is an art to this kind of advertising. I am still learning to master this art, at the expense of…well…my wallet.
I would say you can maybe dabble in this if you have some money to spare. But if you don’t know what you’re doing, steer clear. There are lots of free courses you can take to learn how to do this. Take courses. Learn. Take more courses. Ask experts. Don’t assume you can fake it until you make it.
Kindlepreneur and Publisher Rocket
One of the above-mentioned courses is available through Kindlepreneur. These are the same people that brought us Atticus. They specialize in Amazon book marketing and sales. The main software they offer, Publisher Rocket, is a database of keywords and categories you can use to market your book on Amazon, using the algorithms to your advantage. The fee for this is $97 USD one-time fee. They also have a lot of free webinars and educational material you can use to learn about Amazon.
I do think this is worth the price, though I haven’t really proven that to myself yet. To be successful, you have to really want to master the art of Amazon marketing, and put in the hours and the money upfront. So yes, I think it’s worthwhile over time, but not if you aren’t willing to put in the time and money to test things and learn what you’re doing.
Giveaways
Hmmm… I honestly don’t know if this is worth the money. I read another blog recently discussing the fact that people rote enter giveaways for eBooks, but then they forget about the book immediately, whether they win or lose. So, eBook giveaways maybe aren’t as effective as we’d like to believe they are.
I’ve done a few Goodreads giveaways. It’s quite easy to give Goodreads $119 USD and believe that the giveaway winners are going to read your book, review it, maybe buy the second book. Hopefully all of the above.
It’s easy to believe that will happen. But I’m not convinced it does.
I think physical giveaways are more enticing for readers, especially if you can do something special or unique. Like a limited edition, or a cool merchandise item. But physical book giveaways are harder, they cost you more money (printing, and shipping), and fewer people win, so fewer people are likely to read your book, review it etc.
Perhaps a giveaway is most effective if tied to an event, to entice attendance? Again, I’m not sure.
So for now I’ll say, yeah maybe a Goodreads eBook giveaway isn’t a bad idea once or twice, especially if you have more than one book in a series. You can give away 100 free eBooks of book one and then hope they read it and at least some of them buy book two and three.
Social Media Tours
Nah. Not worth the money.
There are a lot of services that offer Instagram book tours or blog tours, where a bunch of bookish influencers post about your book on the same day or during the same week. The idea is to get lots of social media coverage for your book and get people talking.
In theory, this is a great idea. But the organizers charge a good chunk of money and then pedal your ebook around to different social media accounts with very little curation or individualization.
The biggest problem with this, is that it doesn’t lead to any organic relationship-building with influencers who can actually champion your book. Instead, all these accounts post about your book with rather cookie-cutter posts, that look pretty, but ultimately don’t stand out. And then none of them remember you a week later.
I know it sucks, but there is no quick social media solution. You have to just get on social media, be authentic, and learn how to network that way. It’s exhausting, but if you go at it with a plan that balances moderation (aka sanity) with consistency, then it can be fun.
I’ve had fun relationship-building on Tiktok. It’s free and fun, and a much better way to organically get people interested in your books. One of these days, I’ll take another stab at bookstagram, but right now I can only care about one platform at a time for bookish stuff.
Website Hosting
Yeah, you should probably have an author website, but when you’re first getting started, you can probably do a basic account on a platform like WordPress. This is $60 CAD a year. And let’s say another $100 CAD a year for domain registration. It’s worth it to have a personal website and the ability to build your online brand.
Summary
These are some of the most common expenses related to Indie publishing, but I’m sure there are others I forgot. Drop a comment or send me an email if you think I missed something.
At the end of the day, you can spend as much or as little as you want to publish your book.
Here’s a sample budget roughly based on the actual fees I spent to publish my first book, and incorporating some changes I would make if I could do it again.
