How much money should Canadian authors budget for when they’re self-publishing their first book?
After working with hundreds of Canadian authors every year to assist them self-publish their books, the most common question we’re asked is, “How much does it cost to self publish a book in Canada?” As a Canadian self-publishing services provider, it’s a question we’re frequently asked and one we decided to answer once and for all.
If you’re still considering which self-publishing platform is best for you, read The Best Self-Publishing Platforms for Canadian Authors! It covers everything you’ll need to know about the most popular self-publishing platforms available to authors in Canada.
Most Canadian authors invest a minimum of between $5,000 and $6,000 CAD in their first book. However, a variety of factors influence this number, so let’s break it down a little more. In the following article about how much money does it cost to self publish a book in Canada, we’ll cover:
- The 3 Core Elements of Self-Publishing Your Book
- How Much Does It Cost to Self Publish A Book In Canada?
- The True Cost of Free Self-Publishing
- How Much Does Book Editing Cost?
- How Much Does Interior Design and Formatting Cost?
- How Much Does Book Cover Design Cost?
- Why Choosing A Canadian Self-Publishing Company Makes Sense
The 3 Core Elements of Self-Publishing Your Book
If you’re self-publishing your book with the belief that it will sell copies and allow you to not only recoup your initial costs but also make enough money to invest in your next book, that’s great. However, you’ll need to invest in your book to do this.
Remembering that self-published authors don’t need to do it alone is essential. Just because you’re an indie author or choosing to self-publish doesn’t mean you can’t and shouldn’t reach out for expert advice and support as you navigate self-publishing.
The 3 core elements of self-publishing you’ll need to budget for are:
- Professional Editing – Including developmental editing, manuscript evaluations, copyediting, and proofreading.
- Interior Design and Formatting – This includes paperback and ebook formatting.
- Cover Design – Including paperback, hardcover, and ebook covers.
There are 3 key factors which influence how much these services will cost:
- The total length of your manuscript.
- The complexity of your manuscript or genre of your book.
- Your budget and expectations.
How Much Does It Cost to Self Publish A Book In Canada?
As we mentioned above, most authors in Canada invest a minimum of between $4,000 and $6,000 CAD into their first book, with some investing less and many investing more.
There’s nothing to say that you can’t do everything yourself for free and still self-publish your book on self-publishing platforms such as Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) and IngramSpark Publishing. While the quality may not be as high, if your goal is to self-publish a book, you can do it for virtually nothing.
If you’re considering Amazon KDP but still want to learn more about it, read Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing for Canadian Authors, where we cover everything you need to know about Amazon KDP, including setting it up for first-time authors.
We’ve based the prices below on average prices charged by freelance editors across Canada and the average editing times advised by Editors Canada. However, all editors are different, charge different rates, and work at different speeds.
Prices below are based on a 60,000-word fiction manuscript:
- Editing – A minimum of professional copyediting and proofreading costs $1,800-2,400, depending on the quality of the writing and the amount of copyediting required.
- Formatting – Book formatting, including paperback and ebook design, formatting, and layout cost: $400-450 for print-ready paperback interior (PDF) and ebook interior (reflowable ePub) ready to upload to self-publishing platforms.
- Cover Design – Full paperback and ebook cover design package cost $550. At Indie Publishing Group, our cover design package, fiction or non-fiction, includes two design concepts, a print-ready paperback cover with templates for all platforms, an ebook front cover, a title page, fonts, a style guide, and two social media/promotional mockups.
Other considerations first-time Canadian authors may consider are social media setup packages, an author website, uploading assistance, keyword assistance, and professional book video trailers.
If you’re self-publishing a children’s book, your editing may be cheaper. Still, professional children’s book illustrations are an additional investment and can cost anywhere from $1,500 – 3,000, depending on the illustration style, size, and number of illustrations required.
The True Cost of Free Self-Publishing
Make no mistake, plenty of programs, tools, and resources allow you to create a book for free and self-publish it without any expenditure. However, it’s essential to remember that as an author publishing your book online, you compete against millions of other authors and books, including books produced by the world’s leading publishing houses.
According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), over 2.2 million new books are released yearly. That’s over 6,000 books a day that you’ll be competing with!
While we would all like to believe that what is inside counts and that you should never judge a book by its cover, unfortunately, many shoppers look at the cover first, and if it doesn’t look professional, they’ll quickly dismiss it.
There’s also a time factor to consider. The time it takes to buy or learn a program to cover each element of your book publication could have been better invested in marketing and promotion or writing the next book in your series.
How Much Does Book Editing Cost?
Professional editing is potentially one of the best investments you can make into your book as a self-published author. Regardless of your writing or editing skills, even the most experienced author should have another person edit and proof their work.
The four main types of editing you’ll encounter are:
- Manuscript Evaluations – What do you do when you’re struggling with your manuscript, storyline, or plot and can’t seem to write your way out of it? You ask for help, and a manuscript evaluation by a professional editor is the perfect way to get that help. You can get a full or partial manuscript at any stage of the manuscript, which can provide a lot of insight and advice if you’re struggling to tie everything together.
- Developmental or Structural Editing – Developmental editing is when your editor focuses on developing a well-defined storyline, with character development, plot, and structure a heavy focus.
- Copyediting or Line Editing – Once the storyline, plot, and character development are solid, it’s time for copyediting, which focuses on correcting grammar, punctuation, spelling, and consistency.
- Proofreading – Once you’ve been through all the other editing, a final proofread, often done after your manuscript has been formatted, is the perfect opportunity to pick up any last-minute missing words and spelling mistakes.
Below, we created an infographic that will help you choose the best editing for your manuscript.
Factors Which Influence the Cost of Editing
There are a variety of factors which will influence how much your editing costs, including:
- The length of the manuscript
- The complexity of the manuscript
- The genre of your book
- How much the editor charges, and how busy they are
- How quickly you need your editing done
How Much Does Interior Design and Formatting Cost?
Sometimes referred to as typesetting, paperback and ebook formatting takes your manuscript and converts it into an easy-to-read and print or digital-ready format. Interior formatting is all about giving the best reading experience to readers while also ensuring that your book interior looks professional.
The two main types of formatting most Canadian authors will need are print formatting and ebook formatting. Your print format is either paperback or hardcover, and your ebook formatting is the digital version of your book.
Paperback formatting is all about the font, font size, margins, spacing, headings, and ease of reading. Consider your print interior as the luxury version of your book. Ebook formatting is all about functionality and ensuring that your digital book displays correctly no matter what device your reader is using. The ebook interior would be the economy version of your book. There are not a lot of fancy extras, but they are ultimately reliable and functional.
At Indie Publishing Group, we offer a print and ebook formatting package that will give you one print-ready interior (can be used for both paperback and hardcover) and one digital ebook format (typically a reflowable ePub).
The standard fiction formatting print and ebook cost is $425 CAD, but various factors can influence the price of formatting. These include:
- The length and complexity of the manuscript
- Fiction or non-fiction
- How many images, tables, graphics, or photos there are
- How quickly do you need your book formatted
- The genre of the book
The easiest way to get an accurate formatting quote for your book is to simply reach out with a copy of your manuscript.
How Much Does Book Cover Design Cost?
From a young age, you learn never to judge a book by its cover, but unfortunately, as consumers, it’s often the first thing we judge when considering buying a book. With attention spans getting shorter and shorter, you, as the author, literally have seconds to impress a potential reader or buyer with your book cover.
On average, consumers will spend between 3-4 seconds looking at a book cover before picking it up or moving on to another book. That’s not enough to make a great impression, so your book cover design must be excellent.
You just need a front cover for your ebook cover, but your paperback or hardcover will need a front, back, and spine image. Your spine dimensions are calculated based on the trim size of your book, the number of interior pages, and paper type and thickness.
Most professional cover design packages range in price from $500 – $1,000 CAD, and once you look at a custom cover design and what’s included, you’ll understand why. At Indie Publishing Group, our professional paperback and ebook cover design packages include:
- 2 original design concepts
- Paperback cover templates for all self-publishing or printing companies
- Paperback cover (PDF), which includes front, back, and spine
- Ebook cover (Jpeg)
- Title page
- Fonts and Style Guide
- 2 social media marketing mockups
Why Choosing A Canadian Self-Publishing Company Makes Sense
Indie Publishing Group is a proud Canadian company, and we love assisting Canadian authors to bring their dreams of self-publishing to life. We work with an experienced team of Canadian editors, designers, formatters, and project managers, along with genuinely talented international team members.
For North American authors looking to work with a local self-publishing company that’s based in Canada and doesn’t charge in USD, it’s hard to find better. When you have a question or concern, we’re also just an email or phone call away.
How Much Does It Cost to Self Publish A Book In Canada? | Conclusion
Self-publishing is no different from many other tasks. Everything you need to do can be learned but learning it to the point of perfection can take a long time, and your book deserves perfection. It takes years to learn how to edit, format, and design, and while you can learn enough to be ‘good enough,’ getting it right takes a lot of time.
If you want your book to be perfect and position it to have the best chance of success, it’s worth investing in.
At Indie Publishing Group, we’re proud to assist Canadian and North American authors in self-publishing their books, including uploading to self-publishing platforms such as Amazon KDP and IngramSpark Publishing.
If you are writing a book and need any assistance with paperback or ebook formatting, cover design, professional editing, or uploading to self-publishing sites such as Amazon KDP and IngramSpark, please don’t hesitate to reach out and contact us. We also offer children’s book illustrations and children’s book formatting services.
Our experienced and professional self-publishing team is standing by to assist you with your self-publishing dreams. Do you have any additional writing or self-publishing questions? Don’t hesitate to reach out and contact us directly.
One of our friendly and professional team members will get back to you ASAP!
