Ways to Pay for Self-Publishing
If you were drawn to self-publishing because it gives you creative control, you’ve likely found yourself daydreaming about the perfect cover for your book or how much fun you’ll have at your launch party. What you probably haven’t daydreamed about is the cost of it all.
With authors spending anywhere between $400 and $4,800 to self-publish, according to Reedsy’s most recent report, it’s a significant investment. Many self-published authors are hopeful that royalties from book sales will cover future editing and publishing costs. But how do you fund the first one, before you have titles on your backlist bringing in income?
It helps to start thinking about your self-publishing costs early so that you know what to expect going into the process. By planning ahead, you also give yourself more time to get creative with your budget and take advantage of opportunities to offset your costs. Here are a few ways to make your out-of-pocket budget go further.
Open a High-Yield Savings Account (HYSA)
The process of writing, polishing, and publishing a book is a long one, and the earlier you begin saving for the cost of that process, the better. One of the best options for doing so is through a High Yield Savings Account. This type of savings account earns a higher interest rate than a traditional savings account, so your monthly contributions give you more bang for your buck. With current rates as high as 4.75% in June of 2023, setting aside $50 per month for a year would earn you $15 in annual interest. That’s free money just for saving.
If you can, open your HYSA as soon as you begin working on your manuscript. There are many HYSA options that require no minimum deposit or require a very small one, so you can start off small by contributing as little as $5, $10, or $20 per month. As you’re able, increase the amount of your monthly contribution. That way, your self-publishing nest egg can begin growing little-by-little before you even have a clear vision for your book’s future. Even if you ultimately decide to pursue traditional publishing, whatever you’ve saved in your publishing fund can be put toward a query review, coaching, or even marketing-related costs down the road.
Apply for Grants and Scholarships
We often think of grants and scholarships as something limited to young adults and current students, but there are funding opportunities for adult professionals, too. Arts organizations, foundations, and professional associations are great places to look for grant and scholarship programs geared toward supporting independent artists like self-published authors. Applicants are typically asked to submit materials such as an excerpt of your manuscript or work samples, an artist statement, a resume, and sometimes income information, depending on the eligibility requirements of the program.
Here are a few examples of grants and scholarships that can be used to offset self-publishing costs:
In addition, be sure to research your community, state, or country’s cultural council to learn about grant opportunities for local artists. Most states accept applications for arts and cultural grants at least 1-2 times a year, and there are often specific programs for emerging artists. Some publishing professionals, such as editors and coaches, even offer their own scholarship programs to help make sure marginalized clients can access their services.
Launch a Crowdfunding Campaign
Another option for covering your self-publishing costs is to launch a crowdfunding campaign on a platform such as Kickstarter, Patreon, or IndieGoGo. This strategy has become more popular since indie author Brandon Sanderson successfully raised more than $40 million on Kickstarter to help fund the release of four new books. Of course, most of us don’t have access to the same kind of platform and connections as Sanderson does, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t leverage your audience and your professional network to help bolster your self-publishing budget. Even if you only get donations from family and friends
To launch a successful crowdfunding campaign, you’ll need to get comfortable with marketing yourself and your book, so make sure you’re prepared to be in the spotlight. Be sure to give yourself plenty of time to calculate your expected costs, put together a promotional plan, and make your crowdfunding page interesting and exciting. And keep in mind that with most crowdfunding sites, you won’t get to keep the money unless you hit your fundraising goal, so it’s often best to set a realistic target and work to exceed it than to set a lofty goal and fail to meet it.
Offer Your Services
It would be pretty difficult to make it through the self-publishing process without gaining at least one new skill, whether it’s cover design, formatting, beta reading, blurb writing, or book marketing. And to help subsidize the cost of self-publishing, indie authors who have a knack for various aspects of the process sometimes offer their services up to other authors. In fact, in the Alliance of Independent Authors’ recent income survey, nearly 14 percent of respondents said they earn income from selling publishing services such as editing and design.
The caveat here is that it takes time to build up the necessary skills to offer quality work. If you’re serious about providing services for other indie authors, be sure to do your research, invest in courses and workshops, and practice in your spare time. To begin gaining experience and building a portfolio, you can also swap services with other self-published authors who are hoping to do the same.
And as you set out on your self-publishing journey, don’t forget that I have a free workbook for indie authors designed to help you calculate your self-publishing budget and create a savings plan.
