How Expensive is Publishing

I get a feeling writers think I am an expensive publisher.  This is when I know their knowledge is lacking.  They should realise it takes a long time to write a book.  It also takes hours to edit, make a book cover, format, print and market a book.  Our basic hourly rate for work here in New Zealand is $15.25.  The Living wage is $19.20.  This means at present I am running my company at a huge loss and I am a business who makes no profit.  I do not get a salary.  My husband supports me.

I offer a lot of FREE services for writers, authors and clients.  I encourage them, chat with them, market them, offer free marketing in a magazine, a yearly free sponsorship, free anthology.  This all takes hours of work to accomplish. I enjoy it. I don’t charge for it.  I probably should.

My rate for formatting. $0.004c a word for a draft document. This is so low it is bloody daft.  If I wanted to make a small profit I would be charging $0.10c or $0.20  a word.

At present a 70K story would cost approximately $280 USD   In reality this story should cost $700 or even $1,400.  Yeah go on – run screaming.  I am paid after the formatting is approved by the client.  I know editors who charge more than I do, same with book cover artists.  Createspace charges $399 as a start rate for book covers and $199 for helping to format.  I never own copyright or royalties.

Then you have Vanity Press who ask for $5K plus up front, don’t do the work, don’t send out books, charge you extra for marketing, sales, promo…every step of the way.  So why do they still get the work?   The most expensive package I have seen for an Author was $20k.

I know I don’t charge enough for the services I offer.  If I were writing articles for others I’d get at least $0.25 a word. I choose not to. I prefer to assist Indie Authors get their work online.  However I prices will increase each year. I need to make my company viable and earn a salary, though I will also always have a budget system and I will always do FREE things to assist everyone.

Please consider chatting with me to see how I can help you as a writer.  After all I am here for you to help you build your book – one step at a time

plaistedpublishinghouse@gmail.com

https://www.facebook.com/PlaistedPublishing/