What does it cost?
We have prepared a free publication, A Guide to Self Publishing (PDF, 4.8MB), to help you prepare your publication as efficiently, and therefore as cost-effectively, as possible. The more preparation you do yourself, the lower the costs will be. If you are unclear on anything you can easily contact us by telephone. We will simply explain the production and printing alternatives available and the associated costs.
In the first instance either download a copy of our Guide to Self Publishing (PDF, 4.8MB) or request a free printed copy from us. This guide contains all the information you need.
We will provide an initial quotation based on your specification. If you need help deciding your specification, we will be happy to discuss this with you.
We will break down the quotation so you can clearly see the cost of each stage.
Accompanying the quotation will be a statement showing the profit that you could achieve if you sold all the books you printed. More importantly, it shows how many copies you need to sell to break even.
We think you will find the costs of self-publishing with YPS are less than you might expect.
Examples of costs for books we have published recently:
A detective novel
The manuscript had approximately 70,000 words. YPS prepared the page and cover design to a page size of 198mm wide by 129mm deep. When printed the book had 196 pages.
We handled the cover and text design, page by page layout with proofing and minor corrections and we printed 1000 copies.
The inside pages were printed black, with a full colour cover and gloss finish. The book was perfect bound.
| Edit and design costs: | £335 |
|---|---|
| Print and bind costs: | £2,024 |
| Total cost: | £2,359 |
| Cost per book: | £2.35 |
A children’s novel
The manuscript had approximately 50,000 words. YPS prepared the page and cover design to a page size of 198mm deep by 126mm wide. When printed the book had 242 pages.
We handled the cover and text design, page by page layout and minor corrections and we printed 200 copies on a digital print press.
The inside pages were printed black, with a full colour cover and silk finish. The book was perfect bound.
| Edit and design costs: | £175 |
|---|---|
| Print and bind costs: | £945 |
| Total cost: | £1,120 |
| Cost per book: | £5.60 |
The book was so successful that the author came back to us and we reprinted 1000 copies offset litho. The cost per book was £2.36 The author has now reprinted again!
A biography/social history
The manuscript had approximately 105,000 words and 12 photographs. YPS prepared the page and cover design to a page size of 234mm deep and 156mm wide. When printed the book had 280 pages.
We handled the cover and text design, page by page layout with proofing and minor corrections and we printed 2000 copies.
The inside pages were printed black, with a full colour cover and gloss finish. The book was perfect bound.
| Edit and design costs: | £420 |
|---|---|
| Print and bind costs: | £4,268 |
| Total cost: | £4,688 |
| Cost per book: | £2.34 |
The author sold the first printing of 2000 copies in three months and he has now reprinted twice.