Costs and quotes
What can you do yourself, for free, when publishing a book?
Short answerYou can create a KDP account, upload a Kindle ebook without an ISBN, and register US copyright yourself. Paying someone makes sense for editing, a professional cover and print-ready formatting, which are hard to do well without training.
Things you can do yourself
- Open a KDP account. Setting up Amazon KDP is free. You pay nothing to list a book.
- Publish a Kindle ebook without an ISBN. Amazon assigns its own identifier to Kindle ebooks.
- Register your copyright (US). You can file online with the US Copyright Office. Current fees are listed on the Office's website.
- Open an IngramSpark account. Opening an account is free, but you will need print-ready files and a paid ISBN for each format.
Things that are usually worth paying for
- Editing. Fresh eyes find problems you cannot see in your own writing. See what editing costs.
- A professional cover. Readers do judge by it.
- Interior formatting. Print needs exact margins, page sizes and fonts that retailers will accept.
Where we can help without selling you anything
With Author Support, we tell you which of these steps your book needs and which you can skip, before you spend. Learn more.
Not sure what applies to your book?
Author Support gives you a plain-words review of your quote and a written Book Needs Report. $50, with a 100-day refund or package credit.
Join Author Support
