Budgeting for Your First Book

Often, figuring out how to pay for everything is one of the most daunting things for new indie authors. People all over the internet tell new authors what they have to have to publish & how much it costs. It can be hard to know who to listen to & some estimates can make self-publishing feel impossible. But I promise it’s not!

I dug through tons of articles prepping this to make sure I didn’t forget something & what I found honestly made me kinda mad. It wasn’t just the fact that every single one shared estimates from the high end of the cost spectrum, but more so the elitist attitude they all shared. Each one made it sound like if you didn’t pay those high costs, your book & publishing journey weren’t valid. That’s NOT true!

Tips for making the most of your budget

Know your strengths and weaknesses

Understanding your strengths & weaknesses allows you to determine which tasks you can do well on your own & which you’re better off getting help with.

Prioritize what you spend money on

Realistically, you may not be able to afford to pay for everything you want to, so you have to figure out what’s most important to you.

Ask for referrals & shop around

Ask other authors for service provider referrals & compare prices before choosing who to work with. Most indies are happy to help. If you don’t know what’s out there, you might overpay.

Look for alternative

Find alternatives to paying for services. For example, Critic Circle allows you to get feedback & even editing by critiquing for other authors. I‘ve also heard of author groups where they trade services. 

How I look at budgeting

Here is a breakdown of how I might prioritize some common publishing steps. But remember, it’s okay if your priorities are different. For example, I have a strong English background, so I feel very confident self-editing. But I know many authors who always pay for multiple rounds of edits. Both are okay.

Not Necessary to Pay For

• Writing/plotting programs like Scrivner

• Interior formatting

• PR boxes, other paid release marketing

Probably Best to Pay For

• Cover design

• Proofreading

Judgement Calls

• ISBNs

• Various types of editing - pick & choose what you really need

• Services like BookFunnel

A look at what I actually paid

Lastly, to show you it really can be done on a budget, here’s what I paid to self-publish both my debut novel & its prequel novella:

• Atticus (formatting software) - $150, but I’ll use it for future books too

• Grammarly - $75 for a year

• Proof copies - $19

• Covers - $30

• Physical arcs + shipping - $73

• StoryOrigin - $20

• BookFunnel - $20

• Paid beta readers - $25

• Total = $412, including costs I won’t have on future books

And here’s what I estimate I’ll spend on my next book:

• Custom cover - $250

• Alt cover - $67

• Grammarly - $75 for a year

• BookFunnel - $10

• StoryOrigin - $10

• Proof copies ~ $20

• Total = $432

You can see I now value my covers more, but otherwise, my overall costs haven’t changed much & things like my formatting software are already covered. It may take a lot of work, but self-publishing does not have to cost thousands!