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How much money does it take to publish a book ?
How much money do average writers make per book? And is the salary of a writer sustainable?
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Jessica’s Answer
If you get a book contract with a traditional publisher, you wouldn't pay anything yourself. They would pay you an advance (usually divided between signing the contract and publication date) that could range from a couple thousand dollars, all the way up to six figures (which is extremely rare but it happens!). Then, based on each book you sell, you'd get a small percentage of that (Royalties). Like, maybe a dollar a book, and less for digital versions. However, you won't start earning more money until you've "earned out" your advance. That is, if you get an advance for $2000 and your royalties are $1 per book, you'd need to sell more than 2,000 books before you will start getting royalty checks. Also, if you have an agent who helps you sell your book to publishers (most publishers will only review manuscripts submitted from agents), they will be take a portion of your earnings as their pay. You don't pay agents upfront for the work they do on your behalf.
If you self publish, there are costs involved with getting your book into the hands of readers. You may need to pay for developmental editors or copy editors. You may need to pay for a designer and a cover artist. I believe there are also costs involved if you sign on with a distributor who would distribute copies of your books to bookstores, or with a company that sells digital versions, but I'm not sure about that. The upside with self publishing is, even though you spend your own money upfront, you would be able to keep the majority of sales from your book (if they sell at all!).
No one goes into being a writer or being an author to get rich. If you're writing books, such as fiction, you may only earn a few thousand dollars for years of work. Some other writing fields are more lucrative, like copywriting or writing for magazines or websites. However, the pay is not great! I have been a writer for 30 years (a freelancer for 25) and I am actually making LESS now per article as a writer than I was in 2000 when I started freelancing. It's a competitive field and there are plenty of people who will do the work for next to nothing. However, I have been able to have a very flexible life (raising 2 kids and being around for them after school and in summers, traveling when I want, etc) by balancing the fun but low-paying gigs with a few steady and higher-paying gigs.
If you self publish, there are costs involved with getting your book into the hands of readers. You may need to pay for developmental editors or copy editors. You may need to pay for a designer and a cover artist. I believe there are also costs involved if you sign on with a distributor who would distribute copies of your books to bookstores, or with a company that sells digital versions, but I'm not sure about that. The upside with self publishing is, even though you spend your own money upfront, you would be able to keep the majority of sales from your book (if they sell at all!).
No one goes into being a writer or being an author to get rich. If you're writing books, such as fiction, you may only earn a few thousand dollars for years of work. Some other writing fields are more lucrative, like copywriting or writing for magazines or websites. However, the pay is not great! I have been a writer for 30 years (a freelancer for 25) and I am actually making LESS now per article as a writer than I was in 2000 when I started freelancing. It's a competitive field and there are plenty of people who will do the work for next to nothing. However, I have been able to have a very flexible life (raising 2 kids and being around for them after school and in summers, traveling when I want, etc) by balancing the fun but low-paying gigs with a few steady and higher-paying gigs.
Updated
Rich’s Answer
Nothing. If you self publish then you upload it yourself; if you sell the rights to a publisher, they handle the publishing. Keep in mind there are costs for buying copies to sell and for preparing the manuscript for publication. Those can vary widely so shop around for a good editor and cover designer
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jose’s Answer
The annoying and most accurate answer is that it all depends on so many factors. How much does it take to publish a book? If you're self-publishing, thats gonna depend on the printer house you're using, and due t the current climate, things are changing fast. It also depends how many copies you'd like to print, but cost does get cheaper by the larger number. (for example, it may cost you $2000 to print 1000 copies, but $2500 to print 2000 copies. these numbers are not accurate, but I'm illustrating my point) So, if you choose to go the self-publishing route, call different printers, ask for samples and compare quality vs price.
There's a lot of printers in the US, but a lot of people also look for printers in China, Korea, or Canada because of their paper. Pricing is going to range depending on size, page count and paper of choice.
If your book is picked up by a publisher, then they usually cover the cost of production, advertisement and distribution, but the authors are also expected to help with promotion, so... it depends on how much you think your time is worth.
Most writers work freelance for different publications and work as much s they can to make ends meet. A lot of writers also have other forms of main employment and write on the side, but the ones who do writing full time, they usually work for different publications, they write for advertisement, write copy for firms, and write articles for magazines/blogs/local papers. It's a dream come true to do it, but not gonna lie, it's hard to make it sustainable. (also- side note, sustainable will vary depending on where you live. Someone living in LA has a different cost of living than someone living in Arizona, so... that will also reflect the amount of work necessarily to do to make it sustainable. )
There's a lot of printers in the US, but a lot of people also look for printers in China, Korea, or Canada because of their paper. Pricing is going to range depending on size, page count and paper of choice.
If your book is picked up by a publisher, then they usually cover the cost of production, advertisement and distribution, but the authors are also expected to help with promotion, so... it depends on how much you think your time is worth.
Most writers work freelance for different publications and work as much s they can to make ends meet. A lot of writers also have other forms of main employment and write on the side, but the ones who do writing full time, they usually work for different publications, they write for advertisement, write copy for firms, and write articles for magazines/blogs/local papers. It's a dream come true to do it, but not gonna lie, it's hard to make it sustainable. (also- side note, sustainable will vary depending on where you live. Someone living in LA has a different cost of living than someone living in Arizona, so... that will also reflect the amount of work necessarily to do to make it sustainable. )