Average Cost for Self Pubbing

dogpie said:

It's incredibly silly to add the costs of things like your computer upgrades and internet access, and all of the other side-things you mentioned. Those things are expected when you start talking about self-publishing. That's like answering a "How much is a microwave?" question with "well first you have to buy a house with a kitchen, so very expensive."

Your experience is a fairly unique one, so it isn't fair either to include the costs of writing your book. They aren't related to the self-publishing part, which would be formatting/editing/cover.

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As a professional the IRS would argue otherwise! They are depreciable deductions. This is the single biggest mistake artists and writers make they don't depreciate the cost of their equipment and tools that are necessary to execute their craft.

As for those expenses being expected you'd be amazed at the number of people who will tell you that no those are not reasonable expenses, you know after all everyone has a computer these days. I've encountered folks who where shocked to find out that I acutally had to purchase a paintbrush, THE paintbrush I used to paint a painting... why they thought it just magically appeared out of thin air, ditto on the paint and the canvas. And because their grandmother has a very old singer sewing machine in the attic my need to deduct that new Janome, actually it was depreciated, for those art quilts I made for samples was just unreasonable.

Moral most people who start out writing or creating artwork tend to forget all of those little expenses and it isn't until the computer dies that they realize just how much they have wrapped up in their self publishing/artistic/creative endeavors.

Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd I've self published my four eBooks so it does count!

milkweed said:

As a professional the IRS would argue otherwise! They are depreciable deductions. This is the single biggest mistake artists and writers make they don't depreciate the cost of their equipment and tools that are necessary to execute their craft. As for those expenses being expected you'd be amazed at the number of people who will tell you that no those are not reasonable expenses, you know after all everyone has a computer these days.

Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd I've self published my four eBooks so it does count!

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Is that what we're talking about? Is this thread about what we can write off?

Obviously not. The OP is asking what the cost is to see if he wants to do it, not to see what he can write off. You're getting off-point, and you're kidding yourself if you don't believe your experience is unique. Most writers don't have to worry about taking pictures and lighting and dyes and fabrics or any other programs other than Word, which comes with most computers when you buy them in the first place. And the fact that the OP is posting on the internet shows us that he already does have computer and internet access, so including the price of those is nonsensical.

dogpie said:

Is that what we're talking about? Is this thread about what we can write off?

Obviously not. The OP is asking what the cost is to see if he wants to do it, not to see what he can write off. You're getting off-point, and you're kidding yourself if you don't believe your experience is unique. Most writers don't have to worry about taking pictures and lighting and dyes and fabrics or any other programs other than Word, which comes with most computers when you buy them in the first place. And the fact that the OP is posting on the internet shows us that he already does have computer and internet access, so including the price of those is nonsensical.

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Apologies I wasn't trying to go off point. I was simply trying to point out that there are a LOT of hidden expenses, many that we don't think about on a daily basis. It's one thing to have a computer and dabble in writing it's another to one day realize that that dabbling is an income source and poof the computer died but hey I never factored into my sales price a replacement computer.

In the how-to craft world I'm not unique, but thank you I will try to remember this!

Oh and my new computer didn't come with Word or even Win7 I had to purchase that and install it myself.

Milkweed

dogpie said:

And yet you're the one here asking for advice because of inexperience, right?

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dogpie said:

It's incredibly silly to add the costs of things like your computer upgrades and internet access, and all of the other side-things you mentioned. Those things are expected when you start talking about self-publishing. That's like answering a "How much is a microwave?" question with "well first you have to buy a house with a kitchen, so very expensive."

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dogpie said:

You're getting off-point, and you're kidding yourself if you don't believe your experience is unique. Most writers don't have to worry about taking pictures and lighting and dyes and fabrics or any other programs other than Word, which comes with most computers when you buy them in the first place. And the fact that the OP is posting on the internet shows us that he already does have computer and internet access, so including the price of those is nonsensical.

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Dogpie: cut out the snark. It's not welcome here, and I won't allow you to treat AW's other members with such rudeness. If I see you doing it again you'll get a time-out.

It's made worse by the fact that you're wrong. Such expenses are definitely a part of doing business, and as publishing is a business, those expenses should be considered.

And while Word does come bundled with most new computers it's only a trial version, which has limited functionality and expires after a month's use. One does need to buy a license if one intends to continue to use it after that.

milkweed said:

Sounds like you really don't have a clue, if you think your going to walk around a convention and sell your book willy nilly w/o a booth think again! There are tons of staff on hand to ensure that those doing such things are tossed from the convention center an are very often arrested for soliciting w/o a license.

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Milkweed, that goes for you too. If you can't respond to AW's members in a respectful way, don't say anything at all. Don't respond to snark with more snark: it doesn't help at all.

dogpie, I've reviewed your posting history here and realise that you have a habit of being rude to people here. You've even been advised to read the Newbie Guide because of it before. So you're now going to be taking an enforced break from AW, during which time I expect you to read the Newbie Guide and work out what we mean when we say that we expect you to respect your fellow writer. See you in five days.

This thread escalated quickly!

I wasn't going to reply because people like Meri and J Tanner said it all - the cost varies according to how much you WANT to spend. It's hard to recommend how much to spend to a beginner because so many authors are at different levels/stages in their work. An editor might be needed for one author when beta readers may suffice for other authors.

Anyway, I had a look at my costs and they are as follows:

(I'm UK so it's pounds. Works out well for me when I purchase things like cover-art and advertising in US dollars.)

The basics:

Cover art - £62.50
Domain name - £35

I also had a professional editor edit my book. Unfortunately I sent it to them far too early. It shaped the eventual outcome but I changed so much that the eventual edits are pretty much my own (and beta readers). The editing cost me £350. In the future I'll know when the book us ready for editing. I was inexperienced and clueless at the time. Think carefully before you spend a lot of money on editing.

Extras:

POD distribution fee - £88
Blog tour - £25
Bookbub advertising - £37.90

You don't have to pay for a blog tour, you can organise one yourself. I decided to pay because the fee was reasonable and I didn't have as many connections as the organiser.

My Bookbub ad hasn't come out yet so I can't say if they're value for money. I've heard good things about them though.

I also ran a facebook advert for a day but I can't find how much I paid for it. I'm stingy though so it won't have been more than £20.

Not sure if I should chime in with my expenses considering:

1. I'm still new
2. I'm writing short stories
3. I'm not putting out paperbacks, it's all still electronic
4. It's all still experimental for me

but my costs have been very minimal. Everything I use to create the book were free and so far the only thing I have paid for is the stock art for my covers which comes out to be less than $5 per cover.

I didn't include costs like computer, Microsoft Office, or domain name/hosting because I already had all of those things before I self-published. I write for several e-publishers, have done since 2009. So while the above might be included in business costs for my writing career, I don't count them for self-publishing specifically because I've owned those things far longer than I've self-published.

As far as my *time* goes, I've given up trying to count that. Between writing, revising, promoting, and all the other bits and pieces that go into writing, if I added it all up and divided by my annual earnings in 2012, I would be making about 4 cents an hour. Which is depressing as hell.

While there are definitely a lot of uncounted factors that go into self-publishing, I stand by the amount I previously stated for the cost of my self-published book.

As for conferences/conventions, while you might not be able to *sell* books there, you can make invaluable connections which can lead to sales. I attended a romance convention in October; my total costs, including airfare, hotel, and food, were under $1000. I did sell two or three books there during the booksigning I'd paid extra to be part of, but mostly what I did was connect with publishers I haven't worked with previously, who invited/requested me to submit, and with readers who hadn't heard of me before. My sales went up for a bit after that. So while it wasn't useful for immediately selling books, it was very useful for meeting potential readers and getting my name out to people who hadn't heard of me before, which can lead to ongoing sales.

Old Hack said:

Milkweed, that goes for you too. If you can't respond to AW's members in a respectful way, don't say anything at all. Don't respond to snark with more snark: it doesn't help at all.

I suggest you both re-read AW's Newbie Guide, and reflect on what Respect Your Fellow Writer means.​

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My apologies I wasn't intending to be snarky, I will go reread the newbie guide.

I believe it's wise to consider all the costs involved, including time writing, electricity, computer costs, printing, etc. as well as the cost of providing free copies to reviewers (whether these are e-books or paperback books), providing copies for giveaways and running contests. I definitely include the cost of my website, postage for mailing paperback books, mileage and everything else I can think of when doing my taxes. It's all part of my business, including a portion of my health insurance costs when I was a full-time writer for half the year. While I may not include these costs as part of self-publishing in general because many people don't offer free giveaways, only offer their books in e-format and have a day job so don't need to pay for health insurance, there are many, many factors to consider when tallying up the total cost.

Cost of self pubbing?

Tricky one.

Generally it depends if one is drinking whiskey or beer.

And if one is on the make or no.