For first time authors

What it really costs to publish your book, and how to avoid the $5,000 mistake

You have finished your manuscript. Now the offers start. Here is what publishing actually costs, what you should never pay for, and how to keep every right to your own book.

Fair Page Books · 4 minute read

Publishing on Amazon is free

Amazon’s publishing tool, Kindle Direct Publishing, costs nothing to use. You create a free account, upload your files and set your price. Amazon prints each paperback when someone orders it, so there is no stock to buy and nothing to store.

Amazon will even give your paperback a free ISBN, the number that identifies a book. Your Kindle ebook does not need one at all.

When a copy sells, Amazon pays the royalty straight to you. For most paperbacks that is 60 percent of the price, minus the cost of printing. For Kindle books priced between $2.99 and $9.99 it is 70 percent.

So what do you actually pay for

Three things make a book look professional. A good cover, an interior that is set properly for print, and a Kindle file that reads well on every device. Some authors also want a proofread. That is all a finished manuscript needs to become a real book.

Freelance designers usually charge a few hundred dollars for a cover and a few hundred more for formatting. Doing it all together for a fixed price is often cheaper and much simpler.

Where authors lose thousands

Many companies that advertise to first time authors charge $3,000 to $7,000 for the same files. Others start at $199 and then add editing packages, marketing bundles and yearly fees. Some ask for a share of your royalties for years.

Before you sign anything, look for these warning signs.

• They publish the book in their own account instead of yours. Then they control your book page and your royalties.
• They take a percentage of your royalties, sometimes for the life of the book.
• The price grows after you say yes, with packages for marketing, reviews or a “bestseller campaign”.
• They promise sales or bestseller status. Nobody honest can promise that.
• The contract is long, or it is hard to get your files back if you leave.

How to keep your rights and your royalties

Publish in your own free Amazon account, under your own name. Pay once for the work, not a share of the sales. Make sure you get the final files to keep. If anyone asks for your Amazon password, say no.

That is how we work at Fair Page Books. One fixed price, your own account, your files and every dollar of royalties. Everything happens by email, with no calls and no sales pitch.

Samuel Andersson, Fair Page Books