To launch your book properly, it’s a good idea to take some time out to start writing a detailed marketing budget. The budget is a preliminary task that you should complete before you spend a dime on publishing your ucdm. Some small publishers make the mistake of jumping right in and spending on their newly finished books before they get a full view of how much it will cost to properly release the title. Start typing out your new book marketing budget in a blank Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. Here are a few key categories that you’ll want to address in your budget.
Once you finish writing your book, brace yourself. Before your only investment was time and thought-now you have to start spending money to get the word out about your unique creation. You now have to hire a few people to get your book ready for printing and publishing: A major initial outlay for a self-publisher is your book printing expenses. The traditional method is to purchase a set of books (about 250 to 1000 to start out) and then order more when you run out. The costs when you speak to a book printer include:
You can also use a POD service like the one offered by Createspace to print your books on demand. I’m liking the POD option more nowadays because I sell most of my titles online. However, keep in mind that printing with a book printer may give you a lower per-book rate and also open more doors to potential distributors and brick-and-mortar bookstores to carry your book on shelves.
In 2010 and beyond, self-publishers and small publishing companies will find the most success advertising online. But when you go on book signing events and the like you’ll need some other advertising materials. So be sure to include the following possible costs in your book marketing budget:
In addition to basic book advertising expenses, don’t forget to list the cost of putting together sales packages for potential reviewers, distributors and small bookstores who may want to carry your books. You’ll have to print professional materials and send them via an express mail service to your intended recipients. When you publish a book that gets some attention either locally or nationally, you’ll have to budget for trips to book signings, festivals, fairs, and other events. That includes:
One mistake I made when I just started out selling my own self-published books was to try to do everything on my own. I probably could have made longer strides more quickly if I had just hired a few part-time people to help me out! You don’t have to hire on full-time employees as a self-publisher-obviously you can’t afford that just yet. Consider the following ideas for getting book selling helpers and add the cost to your budget:
