SELF-PUBLISHING 101: Comparing the Costs of Extra Services at a Dozen Self-Publishing Firms

The extra services (a la carte services purchased individually, apart from the publishing packages) offered by various self-publishers can add up in a hurry, and the price tag for such services can vary wildly from company to company. To help you get an idea of the differences, I checked the websites of 12 self-publishing companies for the costs of three items – line editing, custom cover design, and an e-mail press release campaign. The comparison is not exact as the services offered can vary a bit. For example, one company may offer “line editing” while another offers “copyediting,” two types of editing that are similar but not exactly the same.

For the second extra service – custom cover design – I wanted more than just a selection of standard cover templates and the plugging in of your own pictures. So for the price comparison, I chose a cover design service that allowed the author to work with designers to create a custom cover.

Regarding the e-mail press release campaign, all of the companies offering this service write the release, but there are variations in the input they require from you and the number/type of media outlets that will receive the finished product. Whenever possible, I included descriptions of the custom cover design and e-mail press release services, in the publishers’ own words.

Please note that I’m not recommending any particular service or firm; my goal is simply to make you aware of the price range. (The prices below were listed on the company websites as of March 8, 2011.)

AuthorHouse

• Line editing – 2.9¢ per word (5,000 word minimum)
• “Custom Cover Illustration” – $499 (“Our team of seasoned studio artists will work with you to produce a striking cover illustration that will help your book get noticed. Artwork can be created in a variety of mediums depending on the desire of you the author and that which will enhance the genre of your book.”)
• “Personal Book E-mail Campaign – 500,000” – $1,596 (“A professional creative team will write and design a customized e-mail for your book….We will create a list of 500,000 opted-in e-mail recipients for your e-mail, and send it on your behalf.”)

Balboa Press

• Line editing – 3.5¢ per word (5,000 word minimum)
• “Custom Cover Design” – included in every package (“…our experienced design team will create a cover that perfectly fits your book.”)
• “Press Release – Web Optimized Edition” – $1,299 (“…professionally written press release, distributed to more than 30,000 opt-in journalists and more than 250,000 news subscribers.”)

Believers Press

• Line editing – 1-2¢ per word, depending on which of their three editors you select, each of whom offers a slightly different array of services
• “Custom Cover Design” – $699-$3,000, depending on which programs and which of the company’s two associated art studios you select
• E-mail press release – not offered as a stand-alone service

CreateSpace

• “Basic Copyediting” – $175 for up to 10,000 words; 1.75¢ per word for 10,000 words plus (Note: It seems to work out to 1.75¢ per word either way, but for the first item you may pay more per word if your manuscript contains less than 10,000 words.)
• “Unique Book Cover” – $499 (“Work with our professional design team to custom-create an affordable, striking cover that broadcasts your book’s key messages with distinct colors, fonts, and one central image.”)
• “Press Release with Distribution” – $598 (“A professional public relations writer will craft a well-written press release announcing the launch of your product, and then e-mail it to media outlets specifically tailored for your product…. a minimum of 1,000 regional and national media contacts, as well as major search engines such as Google, Google News, Yahoo, MSN, AOL and more.”)

Dellarte Press

• Line editing – 3.5¢ per word (no minimum number of words is given)
• “Enhanced Cover” – contact Dellarte Press for the price (“Allow our graphic design experts to create a truly customized cover for your book to make it stand out from the rest.”)
• “Personalized E-Mail Campaign – 200,000” – $1,675 (“…the creative team will design your e-mail to include an eye-catching subject line, book cover image and description of your book… We will create a list of 200,000 opt-in e-mail recipients and send the e-mail on your behalf.”)

Innovo Publishing

• “Light Edit/Proof” – $465 for up to 40,000 words (a little more than 1¢ per word for the full 40,000 words); $765 for up to 80,000 words (a little less than 1¢ per word for the full 80,000 words); $1,065 for up to 120,000 words (a little less than 1¢ per word for the full 120,000 words)
• “Custom Cover Ultra” – $979 (“From scratch cover design, using up to 20 author and/or Innovo provided images to create a cover explaining Author’s ideas and concepts…” Note that it’s not clear from this description whether the company will provide professional designers to work with the author.)
• “Professional Press Release” – available as an add-on to the InnovoPro package for $195 and up (“Innovo will craft a professional press release using a draft and information you provide and then have the release distributed to popular newswire sources including Google News, MSN News, Ask News, Yahoo Search, Topix and thousands of journalists….Up to a 2-minute video is included with the InnovoPro Video press release [user supplied video].”)

iUniverse

• Line editing – 2.9¢ per word (5,000 word minimum)
• “Custom Covers” – included in all packages (“The iUniverse design team will work with you to create a unique book cover that exceeds your expectations and beautifully represents your book’s contents.”)
• “Single E-mail Marketing Campaign – 500,000” – $1,596 (“A professional creative team will write and design a customized e-mail for your book. An engaging subject line, book cover image, and description of your book are used in a way to catch the attention of the recipient…. We will create a list of 500,000 opted-in e-mail recipients for your e-mail, and send it on your behalf.”)

Lulu

• Line editing – not available as a stand-alone service
• “Premium Book Cover Design” – $450 (“This service provides two cover designs, both original designs based on the publisher’s ideas. Each will provide a different look and feel.”)
• E-mail marketing – not available as a stand-alone service

Outskirts Press

• “Professional copyediting” – 1.4¢ per word (minimum 15,000 words)
• “Custom covers” – starts at $299 (“Have one of our cover designers create an exclusive work of art for your book.”) This is only available in conjunction with the Diamond, Pearl or Ruby Publishing packages
• “Custom Press Release” – $219 (“Have our professional press release writer compose an original, unique press release for your book, submitted to you for your review/approval, and then distributed to our news wire service on your behalf.”)

Westbow Press

• Line editing – 3.5¢ per word (5,000 word minimum)
• Cover design – not available as a stand-alone service; “Book Interior and Cover Design” are included with all of their packages
• “Press Release – Web Optimized Edition” – $1,299 (“…features a professionally written press release, distributed to more than 30,000 opt-in journalists and more than 250,000 news subscribers.”)

Xlibris

• “Copyediting Service” – 1.2¢ per word for 10,000-60,000 words; 1.1¢ per word for 60,001-120,000 words; 1¢ per word for 120,001+ words
• “Custom Cover Upgrade” – $225 (“…you personally communicate your ideas to one of our in-house cover designers to create something truly exceptional.”) This is only available in conjunction with the Advantage, Basic or Professional Publishing Package.
• “Press Release Campaign – 100” – $349 (“The Xlibris Press Release Campaign will create an original and compelling press release that will command media attention,” to be sent to 100 media outlets.)

Xulon

• Line editing – not available as a stand-alone service
• “Custom Designed Book Cover” – not available as a stand-alone service; it is included with all of their publishing packages (“You will receive a custom full-cover front cover created from our award winning design team.”)
• “Press Release Service” – $499 (“A professionally-crafted press release….Distribution to 35,000 news media and social media journalists.”)

To sum up the range of fees at these 12 self-publishers:

• Line editing – 1¢ – 3.5¢ per word
• Custom cover – $225 – $3000
• Email PR release campaign –    $195 – $1675

Remember, however, that there is an equally wide range in the services offered. For example, number of e-mails in the e-mail PR release campaign ranges from “…. a minimum of 1,000 regional and national media contacts” to “list of 500,000 opted-in e-mail recipients,” and the amount of time each company will spend creating these e-mails varies.

We at Taylor-Fox can help you create your business book, health book, memoir, biography, inspirational book or other book and get it ready for publication. We’ve helped scores of people achieve their goals, and some of their books have landed on bestseller lists. Let us help you! Call us at 818-594-0379.

Note: All of the information in this blog entry came from the company websites. Before signing on with any firm, read the contract carefully and check review sites to see if there are any problems or special issues regarding this firm. I’ll address these issues in future blogs.