How Much Does it Cost to Publish a Book?
As a self-published author, it's important to have a good handle on your budget. So let me ask you, do you know your monthly expenses? How about your annual expenses? What about your “as needed” costs?
What does it cost to self-publish a book?
I have $207 in monthly author expenses ($206.42 to be exact). Let's break this down:
Monthly Expenses:
Flodesk email provider: $19.00
Calendly scheduling service: $10.00
Google Workspace: $6.00
Zoom video conferencing: $16.00
Annual Expenses (paid once a year, but broken down here and budgeted as a monthly expense):
Planoly social media scheduler: $7.00
Squarespace website: $36.00
Canva design software: $9.92
Dropbox cloud storage: $10.00
Professional memberships: $6.65
Keywords Everywhere SEO research: $0.83
All totaled, this comes to $121.42 in monthly expenses.
But then I add in a “self-care expense". I budget $85/month- by far my largest monthly expense- so that I can treat myself to a massage. Because sitting at a desk all day can take a toll!
So when I include self-care into my monthly budget, it brings my total to $206.42/month.
Other Author Expenses
Of course, there are other expenses to consider as well. These are things that come up from time to time, but not on a monthly or even annual basis, depending on where I am in my self-publishing cycle. My “as needed” expenses include things like:
Paying an illustrator
Ordering book shipments
Purchasing book event giveaways
Paying for author event travel
Investing in professional development*
