Comments on: Costs for Self Publishing Your Book

By: Lorna Sixsmith

Lorna Sixsmith — Mon, 23 Feb 2015 17:57:00 +0000

Thanks Dee, yes, I have to admit that in some ways the writing is the easy part – the marketing once it is published is just as important and goes on forever in a way. I’ve taken a break from it until I publish the second book and am hoping it will give first book a surge. Horse and Countryside magazine contacted me and are interviewing me for their April edition which will be a nice little boost to PR too.

By: Dee Sewell

Dee Sewell — Mon, 23 Feb 2015 12:21:00 +0000

Fascinating insight Lorna, and my eyes were widening with each sentence, reading how much work goes into self-publishing. Writing the book is just the beginning. More than anything I imagine you have to have the will and commitment to see it through. I have a new respect of all self-published authors knowing the work that’s involved.

By: B R Maycock

B R Maycock — Thu, 19 Feb 2015 12:59:00 +0000

By: Lorna Sixsmith

Lorna Sixsmith — Thu, 19 Feb 2015 11:09:00 +0000

The total will be less as some things are in situ, e.g. ISBN numbers and the website but expenses like editing, cover design and printing will be similar – except I’ll be doing first print run as paperback this time.

By: Lorna Sixsmith

Lorna Sixsmith — Thu, 19 Feb 2015 11:08:00 +0000

Beta reading can be a bit hit and miss I think – I’m not sure that most of us will see things like missing info in a novel or spot typos. I know I read quite fast so can miss loads of that kind of thing and if there are loads of errors I don’t know where to start. You can’t beat the real thing – as all the red marks testify! Good luck with it

By: Amanda Webb

Amanda Webb — Thu, 19 Feb 2015 09:29:00 +0000

Interesting read Lorna. Do you think you will spend more money this time around? Or less?

By: B R Maycock

B R Maycock — Wed, 18 Feb 2015 22:53:00 +0000

Ive had a few betas who have been so good but on receipt of the reader’s report I realised that I did need someone professional, some of the stuff I told my betas that the reader had found was unknown to them. She is bang on the money with all of her comments but my huge worry is the knock on effect that inevitably comes with making changes to an ms-if I miss something I’m doomed to the annals of writers that people would never read again because they found a stonker of an error (I’ve done this myself!) but also there’s the thing that if she reads again(for the fee we can barely afford) and finds something else, then I really can’t pay her again! Oh to have a publishing house behind me!!!By the way my husband fancies having a go at beta reading but good god, there is no way it’d work!!!

By: Lorna Sixsmith

Lorna Sixsmith — Wed, 18 Feb 2015 21:57:00 +0000

I have to admit my husband was my first editor! He’s a farmer but with a PhD and is fairly analytical. He used to come in at around 10pm and I’d hand him around ten pages and a red pen! He found a lot of errors but of course, the professional editor found a lot more.
I never knew about all the different types of editing – developmental, structural, copy, proofing and more. I was pretty clueless. My book was non fiction and the structure was chronological in many ways so that made things a lot easier. My one mistake was having a few bits of repetition but part of that was conscious as I thought readers would dip in and out of it rather than reading it in a couple of sittings.
I did ask about 5 friends to be my beta readers and while they flagged a few things, I just hadn’t given them enough time. I’d run a crowdfunding campaign and having promised my pledgers they would have the book for Christmas, I had just over 3 months to write it, get it edited and printed so I burnt quite a bit of midnight oil.
Have you asked any beta readers before you send it to an editor? I have heard of writers hiring two editors and while 75% of what they find is the same, it’s often the 25% that’s different that they learn from.

By: Lorna Sixsmith

Lorna Sixsmith — Wed, 18 Feb 2015 21:52:00 +0000

Thanks Clare, I have to admit I thought it was a good price too. I did send her a small section to look at first and the total word count was prob about 45K. It didn’t need a development edit and although I was horrified (embarrassed!) and the number of red marks, she said it wasn’t bad at all. If I was to do it again, I would have allowed another 2 weeks for the editing because time was so tight, I ended up changing things after she had edited and the occasional typo crept in then.
I had worked out that the total cost was going to be about €9K and the crowdfunding campaign secured me €5.5K. I just couldn’t commit to that level of money without the reassurance of the crowdfunding, I was terrified of having hundreds of books left in my attic for ever more.
I probably could have got the printing cheaper if I had shopped around and especially if I had gone abroad but I wanted the cover and the paper to be of good quality and these printers came highly recommended by two other authors. Plus, they were local so it meant I could call in easily enough to check things. I’d really recommend the crowdfunding for authors although it does take blood, sweat and tears for the month

By: B R Maycock

B R Maycock — Wed, 18 Feb 2015 21:35:00 +0000

Very good post! The cost of editing was so low though( not easily come by, I know but a lot lower than anything I’d heard of before?) I must say I went into this self publishing business with my eyes only partially open, so many on the web who said no one could do it without paying an editor and a cover designer. I won’t say that I was so cocky as to want to prove them wrong-I just hoped that they were wrong due to financial constraints. Now I’ve had a manuscript assessment done professionally but am back to worrying about what to do for the next check because even with me correcting all the issues found in the assessment, I’d need to know that they read correctly which means me paying again or finding an editor. It’s like where people say they wished they had a spouse/relative who was a plumber/ electrician/tradeperson for when they’re stuck-my dream person would be an editor!!!!