Looking to Self-Publish: 4 Ways to Save on Your Self-Publishing Budget
Up-and-coming authors often struggle due to a lack of financial resources. This is because hiring a publicist and all the other parts of the process can prove to be quite expensive. However, this does not mean that you should give up on your dream of being an author as there are several ways to help you save money.
Becoming an author comes with its fair share of investments, and we understand your difficulties. In this article, you will find four ways to save on your self-publishing budget to help revive your dream. So let’s get started!
1. Find a Publisher Who Meets Your Needs
The first way to save on your self-publishing budget is to find a publisher who will meet your requirements. Since you are an upcoming author, it is not unnatural to have a tight budget. Luckily, there is still a trick that you can utilize in order to keep your costs low. The key here will be to look for book publishing services that are talented but also new to the industry.
The industry of books and publishing them is massive, and just as there are thousands of authors, there is also a wide range of publishers to choose from. Many authors think that they need to hire a well-reputed publicist in order to make their book a success. Although this is true, there are still underrated publishers out there.
These publishers will keep their charges to an affordable range to attract authors since they are seeking to work on as many projects as possible. This is good for both you and the publisher.
You get the services you want with lower costs, and they can make a name for themselves if your book ends up being a success. So look for someone who has completed a handful of projects so that you can be confident in their abilities without having to deal with high price tags.
2. Edit Your Manuscripts Yourself
One component that is known to significantly increase costs is the editing process. Many new authors make the mistake of neglecting the power of self-editing their work before they hire a professional for the job. Although this is effective, it still doesn’t match our policy of keeping costs to a minimum.
Remember, one of the main reasons to start writing books is having a passion for the craft. So why not transfer that same passion to do some self-editing yourself? After all, it is you who can best refine your writing since you are the one who understands it best. This is undoubtedly one of the best ways to save on your self-publishing budget.
Furthermore, you can also look for a critique group to help improve your work. They will give you an idea of your strengths and weaknesses, and you will be able to polish your manuscript to the point where by the time you hand it over to your editor for tweaks and proofreading, your costs are bound to be lowered as they won’t have to edit the manuscript heavily. Instead, a light copyedit will do just fine.
3. Cost-Effective Cover Design
The cover design for your book is a massive part of the promotional marketing strategy since this is what essentially attracts readers to your book at first sight. Going for several different designs may be tempting, but remember, we are working on a budget here. Instead, browse through several options and pick the one you think fits your book best.
This will save you quite a few bucks. Furthermore, you can choose to make changes to the presented design and go back to the drawing board with your designer and refine it to make it suit your preferences. This process will save you the costs of working with many different variations of the book cover that established authors often contend with.
Additionally, you can also use stock imagery to design your book covers. This is a cheaper method than licensing completely original covers made by illustrators. Hire a designer who will oblige your request of using stock assets and create a professional cover with them.
This reduces the costs of an illustrator working from scratch and also saves a lot of time. Hence, finding a talented designer who can easily craft a good-looking cover with stock imagery is your best bet when going for minimum costs.
4. Grow Your Following Prior to Release
Now that we have talked about the ways to save on your self-publishing budget regarding editing and designing, it’s time to dive deeper into the marketing loopholes that can save money. The best way to save costs on marketing is by growing your following before you publish your book.
It goes without saying that growing your following isn’t an easy process. This is why marketing can be so expensive to begin with. One of the most effective ways of drawing people to your work is by utilizing social media. Social media is free and allows you to connect with people all around the globe. Being connected will not only grow your following, but it will also keep loyal customers engaged.
One good way to accomplish this is by writing a blog. Here you can post constant updates on your book. This helps with creating genuine relationships between writers and readers and keeps them excited for your newest release.
Lastly, all upcoming/indie writers should produce an ebook before the physical release. This can grow your audience and popularity as an author. Hence, when the news of you releasing physical books comes out, people are bound to buy them.
In Conclusion
To conclude, being an author is not as easy as it seems, and it comes with a lot of commitment and investment of money and time. However, if you are smart about your strategies, you will be able to keep yourself from emptying all your financial resources and still be able to make your books successful.
We hope that this article has helped you in your journey as an upcoming author with these ways to save on your self-publishing budget and we wish you good luck in your future endeavors.
