Self-Publishing Costs in 2027: Every Expense With Market Prices and a Worked Example

How much does self-publishing cost? Uploading your book is free on Amazon KDP, IngramSpark and Apple Books. What costs money is everything before the upload: editing, the cover, formatting, ISBNs if you want your own, proof copies and marketing. Reedsy's 2026 data puts the total for hiring professionals at $2,940 to $5,660, and for an 80,000-word novel with a hired copy edit, proofread and cover you land at about $4,700 to $5,800. Below is every expense with its source, a worked example and how the Bookfairy tools compare. All prices are as of November 2026.

What do you pay for when you self-publish?

Per-word editing rates and a 60,000-word example are in our guide How much does it cost to edit a book.

Editing: the biggest line item

Editing takes the largest share of the budget. Reedsy's 2026 averages for an 80,000-word book: developmental editing about $2,880, copy editing about $2,160, proofreading about $1,600. Most self-publishers buy at least a copy edit and a proofread, which comes to about $3,760.

Our editing tool checks spelling, grammar, style, sense and logic, facts and sources, and finishes with a final proofread. Pricing goes by word count: $46.80390 tokens up to 30,000 words, $82.80690 tokens up to 60,000 and $118.80990 tokens up to 100,000. The first 3,000 words are edited for free.

How much does a book cover cost?

On Reedsy, the median professional cover costs $930, and half of the projects cost between $630 and $1,200.

With our cover tool you see three drafts for free. The finished cover with front, spine and back as a print-ready PDF, plus the front for the ebook, costs $12.00100 tokens.

How much does formatting cost?

You have three options:

• Do it yourself with free tools such as Reedsy Studio: no money, but your time and a learning curve.
• Buy layout software such as Atticus ($147 one-time) or Vellum ($249.99 for print and ebook, Mac only).
• Hire a formatter: Reedsy reports an average of about $800, with half of specialist layouts between $475 and $1,275.

Our book formatting delivers the print PDF for $18.00150 tokens, the EPUB costs $12.00100 tokens, and both together $26.40220 tokens. You see the first 10 pages in your chosen layout for free.

How much does an ISBN cost?

Every edition needs its own ISBN, so a paperback plus a hardcover with your own numbers already needs two. Ten ISBNs cost little more than two singles. The barcode for the back cover comes from our free ISBN barcode generator.

Printing, proofs and author copies

With print on demand you do not pay for printing up front; it is deducted from each sale. Proof and author copies cost the printing price plus shipping. On Amazon.com, a black-ink paperback in a regular trim size costs $2.30 up to 110 pages, and above that $1.00 plus $0.012 per page. The free printing cost calculator works it out for your book.

Platform fees

Worked example: an 80,000-word novel

The example is an 80,000-word novel published as ebook and paperback on Amazon KDP, about 300 printed pages. Hired: copy edit, proofread and cover. Formatting is either done yourself for free or hired at Reedsy's average. ISBNs either come free from KDP or as a Bowker 10-pack. One proof copy costs $1.00 + 300 × $0.012 = $4.60 plus shipping.

The pricing page adds up the Bookfairy prices for your word count. If Bookfairy writes the book for you, for example a how-to or nonfiction title, the complete bundle includes writing, editing, cover, formatting, EPUB, an A+ set, description, keywords and categories, up to 60,000 words for $178.801,490 tokens.

Where to save and where not to

1. Do not skip editing. Errors end up in your reviews. But only edit once the content is final; polishing chapters you later cut is wasted money.
2. Use a free ISBN if you only sell through one platform. Your own numbers pay off once the same edition goes out through several channels.
3. Order a proof before you approve. A print error you find after launch costs more than a proof copy.
4. Start marketing with what is free: strong keywords, fitting categories and a description that sells.

How to publish your book step by step is in our guide How to publish a book.