There is a lot of information available online regarding how much it costs to self-publish. It varies widely between authors, especially if you have additional skills like design and formatting that you can use to your advantage. 

You can find everything you need to self-publish (mainly editing, cover design, and file formatting) in a wide variety of price ranges. The key to saving money while self-publishing lies in doing your research. Here are a few things to think about if you want to save money on your self-published books.

Create a Budget

Knowing how much money you have to spend is very important. Whether you're just getting started in publishing or you’ve been doing it for a while, you don't want to go into debt publishing your books. You want to pace yourself so you can have a long and prosperous self-publishing career. 

Creating a budget will give you something to fall back on when you’re trying to decide who to hire for costs like editing and cover design. It’s okay to go over budget as long as you have a plan for how you’re going to make the money to cover the difference between what you planned to spend and your actual costs. 

Do Your Research

When it comes to cover designers and editors, you want to make sure they have experience with your genre. Sometimes it’s easy to tell from their website, but you can also ask other authors for recommendations.

Many editors will provide a free sample edit, and this can be helpful in determining if you like the way they work. However, a sample edit is very short and often won’t let you know whether an editor has experience working in your genre.

Shop Around

I also recommend searching out a few cover designers and editors before deciding on your first choice. There are excellent editors and cover designers working at a fraction of the cost of what others are charging.

There are no restrictions in the publishing world as far as what editors and cover designers charge, so you will find a wide variety of prices. It’s not always the case that someone who charges more will do a better job which is why it’s important to do your research and get referrals. 

Another way to find editors and cover designers is by looking in the front matter or acknowledgments section of your favorite books. Authors will often credit and/or thank their designers and editors, and this can be a great way to find someone, especially if the book is the same genre as yours.

Try PreMade Covers

Pre-made book covers can be a very economical option. I've seen some premade cover designs as low as $50 for an ebook cover. It can be difficult to find a premade that matches your story concept exactly, but some designers are willing to make alterations at a fraction of the price of what a custom design would cost you.

If you haven’t started your story yet, you may find a premade cover that inspires you. I have purchased a number of premade covers because I saw them and a story instantly jumped to mind. I actually prefer to use premade covers in this way rather than trying to find ones that fit a story I’ve already written. Many premade covers can also be turned into a series.

Eliminate Unnecessary Personal Expenses

Sometimes the people you want to work with cost more than what you had planned, and as I mentioned previously, that’s okay as long as you have a plan for how you will manage the extra costs. One way to find additional money to self-publish your books is to reduce your personal spending. 

If there are costs you can reduce or eliminate completely for a month or two in order to make it possible for you to publish your book, then why wouldn’t you? Maybe you can reduce your phone plan or stop eating out. If you feel like you’ve already reduced your expenses as far as you can, maybe you can do some odd jobs or get a part time job to cover your self-publishing costs. 

People need to read your stories. Whatever you can do to get them out there without causing yourself the extra burden of debt, the better. For more tips on saving time and money so you don’t burn out or go broke while self-publishing, check out my book The Prosperous Authorpreneur.