The Cost of Self-Publishing (2024)

About this video

Dale Roberts breaks down what self-publishing one book costs using a good/better/best model, opening with his own community poll in which, he says, most of the 431 voters spent $1,000 or less per book and over a third spent nothing. He says he published his first books for $100 or less each, now falls in a higher spending bracket, and gives two examples: a keywords book he says cost roughly $1,000 to produce and earned it back quickly, and a fitness book produced for under $100 via Fiverr transcription and cover design that he says has generated over $1,500 in sales since 2016 — all figures are the creator’s own claims. For research he contrasts free Amazon/Goodreads study and the DS Amazon Quick View extension with Publisher Rocket, which he prices at $97 for lifetime access, and Dabble Create’s AI tools. For writing he compares free Google Docs with paid Scrivener, Vellum and Atticus, then covers transcription routes (free YouTube captions or Descript’s free tier, Descript premium or Fiverr, and Rev at the top end) and dictation (free built-in tools versus Dragon at about $600, per the creator). He stresses never publishing a self-edited-only manuscript, gives per-word editing rate ranges, works through a novel-length example where full editing could run roughly $4,000 to $7,200, and covers formatting (free Draft2Digital tool, or paid services), cover design (free Canva up to GetCovers and MiblArt at the premium end), and email marketing (free tiers of MailerLite, Mailchimp and ConvertKit, then StoryOrigin or BookFunnel for collaborations). His overall total, excluding the big editing example, is $0 to about $2,050 or more, and he advises starting where you are and reinvesting revenue.

Key takeaways

• Most authors in the creator’s poll spent $1,000 or less per book; he advises starting at your current budget and reinvesting revenue rather than overspending.
• Research can be free (Amazon/Goodreads study, DS Amazon Quick View) or paid (Publisher Rocket, which he cites at $97 lifetime) to remove guesswork.
• Writing and transcription have workable free tiers — Google Docs, YouTube captions, Descript free — with paid options trading money for less cleanup work.
• Editing is where he says to invest most: never publish on self-editing alone, test editors with a paid sample, and expect professional editing to be the largest single cost.
• Covers, formatting and email marketing all have free-to-premium ladders; his all-in estimate excluding a full professional edit is roughly $0 to $2,050 or more.

Episode details: published May 12, 2024 · 34:07 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Dale L. Roberts’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

← Previous: Amazon KDP Reviews: Are They REALLY That BAD??? · Next: 10 Best Self Publishing Companies for Print Books →

All Dale L. Roberts videos · Dale L. Roberts profile · Dale L. Roberts on YouTube