How to Self-Publish a Book: Costs, Royalties and Platforms Explained

Self-publishing a book means you act as your own publisher: you pay for editing and design, keep the rights, set the price and collect a much larger share of each sale than a traditional author. Platforms such as Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), IngramSpark, Draft2Digital and Kobo Writing Life let anyone release an e-book, paperback or hardback worldwide at little or no upfront cost. The hard parts are quality and marketing. This step-by-step guide explains how the process works, what it really costs, how royalties are calculated and the mistakes that sink most first books.

Is Self-Publishing Right for You?

Traditional publishing pays an advance, handles editing, design and distribution, and gets books into shops, but it is highly selective, slow, and the author’s royalty is usually a small percentage of the cover price. Self-publishing is open to anyone and can take weeks rather than years, but every cost and decision is yours. It tends to suit:

• Genre fiction with loyal, fast-reading audiences, such as romance, thrillers, fantasy and science fiction
• Non-fiction by experts who already have an audience through a business, blog, podcast or social media
• Authors who want control over pricing, cover, timing and rights
• Niche books that publishers consider too small, from local history to specialist guides

Step 1: How Do You Get the Manuscript Ready?

Finish the full draft, then revise it yourself before paying anyone. Most professionals recommend several layers of editing:

• Developmental editing: big-picture structure, plot, pacing or argument
• Copy-editing: sentence-level clarity, consistency and grammar
• Proofreading: a final check for typos after layout

Editing is the single biggest cost for most self-published authors, and the one most often skipped. Beta readers and critique groups are free, but they do not replace a professional editor. You can find freelance editors through professional associations or marketplaces; our comparison of Upwork vs Fiverr explains how hiring through those platforms works.

Step 2: Why Does the Cover Matter So Much?

Readers do judge books by their covers, especially as thumbnails on a phone screen. A cover must signal the genre instantly and look professional at a tiny size. Unless you are a trained designer, hire one, and look at the bestseller lists in your category first so you understand the conventions. Make sure you have the rights to any images used.

Step 3: How Do You Format the E-book and Print Book?

E-books use reflowable formats such as EPUB, so text adjusts to each screen. Print books need a fixed layout with chosen trim size, margins, fonts and a cover sized to the page count. Tools such as Atticus, Vellum (Mac only), Reedsy Studio, Kindle Create and Draft2Digital’s free formatter can produce both. Always order a printed proof copy before you publish.

Step 4: Do You Need an ISBN?

An ISBN (International Standard Book Number) identifies a specific edition of a book. Amazon KDP offers a free ISBN for paperbacks and hardbacks, and e-books on KDP do not need one at all. The catch is that a free platform ISBN lists that platform as the publisher, and it cannot be used elsewhere.

If you want to appear as your own imprint and distribute widely, buy your own ISBNs. In the US, the official agency is Bowker, which sells single ISBNs or discounted blocks of 10, 100 or 1,000; buying a block is far cheaper per book if you plan several titles or formats. Canada provides ISBNs free to Canadian publishers.

Step 5: Where Should You Publish?

• Amazon KDP: the largest market for e-books and print-on-demand; your books appear on Amazon stores worldwide
• KDP Select: an optional 90-day exclusive programme for e-books that adds your book to Kindle Unlimited and pays authors by pages read; you cannot sell the e-book elsewhere while enrolled
• IngramSpark: print-on-demand and e-book distribution to bookshops, libraries and online retailers; it dropped its title set-up fees in 2023
• Draft2Digital: distributes e-books (and print) to Apple Books, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, libraries and more from one dashboard
• Kobo Writing Life and Apple Books: direct uploads for those stores

The big strategic choice is exclusive versus wide. Going exclusive with KDP Select can work well in genres where readers binge through Kindle Unlimited. Going wide reduces your dependence on one company and reaches readers on other devices; our comparison of Kindle vs Kobo shows why many readers never buy from Amazon.

How Do Self-Publishing Royalties Work?

Amazon KDP offers two royalty options for e-books, according to its help pages:

• 70% royalty: for e-books priced between $2.99 and $9.99 in eligible marketplaces, minus a small delivery fee based on file size
• 35% royalty: for books priced outside that range, or in markets where the 70% option is not available

For paperbacks sold on Amazon, KDP pays a 60% royalty on the list price, minus printing costs, which depend on page count, ink and trim size. As a worked example, if a 250-page black-and-white paperback is priced at $14.99 and printing costs about $4, the author would earn roughly $5 per copy ($14.99 x 0.6 = $8.99, minus $4). Print royalties through expanded distribution to other retailers are lower. Exact printing costs vary, so use each platform’s calculator.

How Much Does It Cost to Self-Publish a Book?

Uploading is free on the major platforms, but publishing a quality book is not. Costs vary hugely by length and genre; professional editing alone can run from hundreds to several thousand dollars, and a custom cover from a few hundred dollars upwards. Budget for editing, cover design, formatting, ISBNs, proof copies and some marketing. Be very wary of “self-publishing companies” that charge thousands of dollars in package fees and take a share of your royalties: genuine self-publishing platforms make their money from sales, not from authors.

How Do You Market a Self-Published Book?

• Choose the right categories and keywords on each platform so readers can find you
• Write a strong book description that hooks readers in the first two lines
• Gather early reviews through advance reader copies, without paying for reviews, which breaks Amazon’s rules
• Build an email list with a free sample or bonus content on your website
• Write the next book: in fiction especially, a series is the most reliable way to grow sales
• Test advertising carefully, such as Amazon Ads or BookBub, with small budgets first

Treat your book as a small business; our guide to starting a business with no money covers the lean mindset that works for authors too.

Do You Need to Register Copyright?

In the US, copyright exists automatically as soon as you write an original work. Registering with the US Copyright Office is optional, but it creates a public record and is required before you can sue for infringement in a US court. Registration costs a modest fee and can be done online.

Key Takeaways

Self-publishing gives you control and higher royalties, up to 70% on e-books priced $2.99 to $9.99 on Amazon, but you take on the publisher’s job. Invest in professional editing and a genre-appropriate cover, decide between Amazon exclusivity and going wide, consider buying your own ISBNs and plan your marketing before launch day. The authors who succeed usually treat their first book as the start of a catalogue, not a one-off. For more on building your own reading life, see our guide to reading more books.

Featured image: Books on Demand, Frankfurt 2018, by Immanuel Giel / Wikimedia Commons, released under CC0. Cropped, colour-graded and combined with MediaPavilion branding.

Sources

• Kindle Direct Publishing — eBook royalties (accessed 28 October 2026).
• Kindle Direct Publishing — Paperback and hardcover royalties (accessed 28 October 2026).
• Kindle Direct Publishing — ISBNs (accessed 28 October 2026).
• IngramSpark — Self-publish your book with IngramSpark (accessed 28 October 2026).
• Bowker — ISBN purchase options (accessed 28 October 2026).
• US Copyright Office — Copyright basics (accessed 28 October 2026).