Pricing
Book Publishing Pricing
Publishing costs depend on the book: its length, how much editing it needs and whether it has colour images. Here is what goes into a quote, what you pay elsewhere, and how to tell a fair price from a padded one.
Starting from
$499.99
- Fixed quote in writing before any work starts
- Every inclusion listed, nothing hidden
- Revisions included until the brief is met
- No lock-in on standard services
The problem
Publishing prices are hard to compare, and that is often deliberate
Two publishing services can both say "packages from a few hundred dollars" and mean completely different things. One includes a full edit and a custom cover; the other includes a template cover, a spell-check and an upload. The second looks cheaper until you pay for everything it left out.
This page explains the parts of a publishing budget, so you can compare any quote, including ours, on the same terms.
Cost factors
What drives the cost of publishing a book
Editing depth and length
The largest variable. A structural edit of a 90,000-word draft is a much bigger job than a proofread of a 40,000-word book that has already been edited.
Cover design
A custom cover with original artwork costs more than a typographic cover or one built from licensed stock images.
Interior complexity
Plain text formats quickly. Tables, images, footnotes, poetry and recipes take longer to lay out and check.
Colour
Colour interiors need image preparation and cost more to print per copy, which affects both the quote and your list price.
Formats
Paperback, hardback, ebook and audiobook are each prepared separately. More formats mean more files and more checks.
Launch and marketing
Optional. Launch planning, author websites and promotion are quoted only if you want them.
Not sure which option fits?
Send us the brief. You will get a scope, a timeline and a fixed price within 24 hours — no obligation.
Costs outside our quote
What you may pay to third parties
Some publishing costs are not paid to us. If you want your own ISBNs, in the United States they are bought from Bowker, and a block of ten works out much cheaper per number than buying one at a time. Each format needs its own ISBN. In some countries, such as Canada, eligible publishers receive ISBNs free from the national agency.
Print-on-demand platforms do not charge to list a book, but the printing cost of each copy is deducted from the sale price before your royalty is calculated. On Amazon KDP, for example, printing cost is a fixed charge plus a per-page charge that depends on trim size and ink. Author copies, proof copies and any advertising are also paid directly by you.
Our options
Ways to buy publishing from us
Publishing packages
Bundled editing, design and release, starting at $499.99. Compare what each package includes on the packages page.
Individual services
Editing, cover design, interior layout or ebook conversion on their own, through Selected Solutions.
Custom quote
For books that do not fit a package, such as a long illustrated book or a series, we quote from the manuscript.
Red flags
Signs a publishing quote is not what it seems
Whoever you work with, check for these before you pay:
- Promises of bestseller status, guaranteed sales or a fixed number of reviews
- A share of your royalties taken on top of an upfront fee
- ISBNs or platform accounts registered in the provider's name, not yours
- No written list of what is and is not included
- Charges to receive your own final files
- Pressure to buy marketing add-ons before the book is even edited
How we quote
Getting a price for your book
Send us the manuscript, or a sample and the word count, and tell us which formats you want. We read enough to judge the editing it needs and send a written quote that lists every inclusion. The price you are quoted is the price you pay unless you change the scope, and any change is agreed in writing first.
Free proposal
Tell us the goal. We’ll send the plan.
Share your requirements and a strategist gets back to you within 24 hours with scope, timeline and a fixed price. No obligation, no sales pressure.
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Response within 24 hours
Usually much sooner during business hours.
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Talk to a strategist
Not a call centre — the person who scopes your work.
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Fixed pricing upfront
You approve the number before anything starts.
Prefer to talk?
[email protected]Questions
Questions about publishing pricing
Still unsure about something? Talk to a specialist — no script, no sales pitch.
With us, publishing packages start at $499.99. The final price depends on length, editing depth, colour and formats. Across the industry, the biggest single cost is usually professional editing, followed by cover design. A short, already-edited book can be published for far less than a long first draft that needs structural work.
Because two books of the same length can need very different amounts of editing. A sample tells us whether the manuscript needs a light proofread or deeper work, and lets us quote a fixed price rather than an estimate that grows later.
ISBN purchase is a third-party cost, paid to your country's ISBN agency, and is not part of our fee unless your written quote says so. We explain whether you need your own ISBNs or can use a platform's free one, and help you register them correctly.
Our publishing services are quoted as a fee for the work described in your scope. We recommend that books are published through accounts in your name, so royalties are paid to you directly by the platforms. Ask us to confirm the royalty and ownership terms in writing for your project before you start.
Ask when you request a quote. Larger projects are naturally split into stages, such as editing, design and release, and we can discuss tying payments to those stages. For a small project, such as formatting a short book, a single payment is usually simpler. Whatever is agreed is written into the quote, so there are no surprises later in the project.
It can be, if the savings come from skipping services you genuinely do not need. It rarely is if the savings come from skipping editing or using a cover that does not fit your genre. Those are the two things readers notice first.
Works well with
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Ready when you are
Ready to work with the pros?
Get a free proposal in 24 hours — scope, timeline and fixed price. No obligation, no lock-in contract.
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