How much does it cost to self-publish a book? Anywhere between zero and a million dollars. My first book cost $130 to produce, but you can get excellent results without spending a dime.

I’ve met quite a few people at live events who want to independently publish a book but don’t know where to start. The pool of current and would-be self-published authors is deep and wide, and not at all inferior to their traditionally published counterparts. 

When I started my MFA program in creative writing a few years ago, I didn’t know where to begin, either. In fact, self-publishing wasn’t even on my radar. As far as I was concerned, it was traditional publishing or bust. 

I Was Never Going to Self-Publish

Fortunately, the creative writing program forced me to examine self-publishing options, and, as a nerd, I dove right in because I wanted to get good grades in my publishing classes. Thanks to that program, I knew some things even though I didn’t think I would use them. 

Upon graduation, I was still hell-bent on publishing my thesis novel the old-fashioned way: finding an agent who would secure a publishing contract, which would then pay me an advance (six figures, maybe?). The publisher would edit, market, and distribute my book, finding my audience, and negotiating the movie rights with Netflix. Plus, they would offer me a fat contract to write the rest of the series. 

Achieving the traditional publishing dream is rare, but it does happen. Winning the lottery happens, too, though buying tickets is hardly a viable investment strategy.  

Not to denigrate traditional publishing; for people with a lot of time and patience and no need to make money for long periods, it is perhaps the ideal way to break into the literary world. But it didn’t work for me. Here’s why.

My Search for a Literary Agent

My first experience querying agents about my inaugural book, which was my thesis novel, seemed smooth at first. I had the opportunity to pitch two agents through a pitchfest that my MFA program was hosting. The pitching was online, which was fortunate, because I had my first case of COVID at the time. I croaked through my pitches, and Success! Both agents expressed interest. One wanted the first chapter and synopsis; another called for the whole manuscript. How easy was that? Once pitchfest in, I was already on my way to a successful literary career. 

I prepped everything and sent it in. And my submissions were greeted with a resounding silence. I assumed the emails might have gotten lost. I politely followed up. One agent eventually responded with a form rejection that didn’t provide any information; the other, via a submission coordinator, said it was “still under consideration” after six months, but she would let me know when the agent made a decision. I never heard anything else. That was two years ago. I hope she’s not still thinking about it. 

Obviously, they weren’t interested. It took me a while to get the hint, but I finally did. I queried a couple more agents with the same results. A few were polite enough to decline with a note. Most never answered. None gave me any feedback at all, unless you count silence as being instructive. 

In all, I queried maybe ten agents. Many writers reading this would say that’s not a whole lot, hit me back when you’ve queried a hundred. I wasn’t willing to write another 90 query letters, basically begging people to read my work and at least tell me if they weren’t interested. 

No Useful Feedback from Querying Literary Agents

Aside from a publishing contract, the other thing I didn’t get from querying agents was useful feedback. Here’s the thing about traditional publishing: a prospective agent or publishing house isn’t incentivized to help you unless they see a clear benefit for them. It isn’t cruel or short-sighted, just business.

To each, her own, but self-publishing turned out to be my jam, at least for now. And, even if I am standing outside for hours in sub-zero temperatures at New England farmers’ markets, I’m still selling my book. Most importantly, I am interacting with readers.

Self-Publishing is a Daunting Process

The process of independent publishing is daunting for people who don’t know where to start. But I’m here to tell you that not only can you self-publish your book, but you can do it for no or very little money, making you profit-positive right away. 

The total cost to publish my first book, Five Years? It cost me $130 to put it out: $65 to register the copyright and $75 for the cover art. The rest I did myself. To produce my second book, a holiday-themed novelette, I only paid the $65 for the copyright registration. I did the cover art myself. Both books have been profitable. Some independent authors don’t even pay for copyright protection. 

Don’t get me wrong. My initial self-publishing experience had its warts; it wasn’t all roses and rainbows. But I learned a lot, and I am learning more every day. 

Writer in the Woods

I’ll cover how I self-published my first two books in my “Writer in the Woods” series, including why I register my copyrights, but one critical takeaway for today is this: you can self-publish your book, and the advantage of that is that you’ll immediately start building your following and getting invaluable feedback from your readers. 

Second, it doesn’t have to cost you thousands of dollars to put out your book. There are plenty of vanity publishers (who will gladly separate you from your money) and other disreputable characters on the margins of self-publishing (be especially wary of companies whose names mimic reputable companies), but you don’t need any of them.

One service that tons of self-publishing blogs recommend is purchasing your own ISBN. I don’t do that, and I explain why in this article.  

Want to read my first independently published book? Get a digital or print copy of Five Years: Book 1 of The Middlewich Chronicles here.

Read “Writer in the Woods” on Substack