Self-publishing your book takes a lot of work, and you’ll probably need some professional help. Unless you’re doing it for fun and are happy to DIY everything, it’s a good idea to reach out to professionals, especially editors and cover designers.
The main hurdle here is the cost, but with enough transparency, that’s something you can prepare for. Reedsy’s resources offer exactly that: clear information and tools to make budgeting easier for self-published authors.
Learn About Editing and How to Budget for It
Start planning your self-publishing budget by pinpointing your exact needs.
With your manuscript’s genre, word count, and stage of development in mind, browse Reedsy’s guide on types of editing and choose the best service for your situation. If you aren’t sure, there’s a helpful quiz, too.
While learning about proofreading and copy-editing, make a note of average rates, too. As Reedsy’s editor cost guide explains, hiring a professional to fine-tune your book can cost anything from $20 to over $60 per hour depending on experience.
To investigate further, create a free account on the Reedsy marketplace. Contact different editors and ask for quotes to get a clear idea of the budget you should aim for and a sense of their professional working style.
Plan Your Cover Design and Self-Publishing Expenses
Reedsy’s marketplace is home to several types of publishing professionals, including cover designers.
Again, your expenses will depend on your book’s needs. What should its cover look like? How complex will it be? What cover styles are currently popular in your genre?
To give you a sense of the budget spectrum, the price of book cover design, according to Reedsy’s self-publishing cost guide, is usually between $500 and $1,000, but 12% of the platform’s projects cost more than $1,500 for design work.
There are five factors that affect the quote you’ll get:
- Printed versus ebook cover
- Design style
- Design complexity
- Number of revisions
- Cover designer experience
It’s worth exploring what makes a book look good. Do some market research by looking at some of the best ebook cover design services around, for example, and you’ll see for yourself the beauty and variety of designs across genres.
Then, when you contact Reedsy professionals, you’ll know what you want and the kind of deal that suits your budget.
Consider Other Self-Publishing Costs Reedsy Can Help With
Editing and cover design are essential parts of self-publishing, but you may need to invest in other areas, too. These include:
- Interior design or formatting
- Illustration
- Indexing
- Marketing
- Publicity
Remember, there are ways to do some of these yourself, and for free. For example, the Reedsy Book Editor can transform your book to meet industry standards with its formatting and conversion tools.
Marketing and publicity as ongoing efforts are especially challenging. Professionals know how to apply their energy for the long term, whether it’s for landing you author interviews or planning ad campaigns.
In fact, Reedsy’s help in keeping your budget low goes beyond blog posts and services. Another tool to keep in mind is Reedsy Discovery, where a small fee can get you an editorial review and the chance to build a fanbase.
Plan Your Self-Publishing Budget With Different Tools
Reedsy has the knowledge, tools, and experts to support your book’s financial strategy. From editing to cover design and beyond, it’s a self-publishing platform you can depend on.
Beyond publishing-specific resources, keep an eye out for additional tools like money management apps to help you plan and track your expenses. Book publishing has lots of moving parts, so the more care you put into the project, the better.