Cailin Riley Books

I saw someone on Facebook post the other day about how they’ve spent over $2,000 to self-publish their book, and how they wish they could cut costs.

Wowza.

I can’t imagine spending that much money on self-publishing a book. You have no clue how your book is going to perform so dumping 2K into it means that it’s going to take you FOREVER to make that money back. The less you spend up front, the better.

So then, how does one publish their book for 100% free?

Here’s how.

Writing

If you have access to a computer and the internet, you can use free word processing software such as Google Docs. I find this especially helpful since it allows you to export your document as a PDF. If you are a student or work in an office, chances are that you have access to a free or discounted version of Microsoft Word. I use Google Docs for all of my personal writing projects.

Editing

While it can be well worth it to spend money on a professional editor, there are plenty of things you can do to better edit yourself. First, install free versions of editing software such as Grammerly, which can catch grammar and spelling issues and suggest corrections. Once you have a draft of your book done, you can get feedback by soliciting beta readers, or ask friends with editing skills if they would mind taking a look at your book.

I use Grammarly but I am also a full-time professional editor so I edit my own work.

Cover design and formatting

There are many paid and free resources out there for creating book covers and formatting interiors. Having a quality book cover is important so if you don’t believe in your own design skills, this is the one area where it’s okay to spend a bit of money. Lots of authors use Fiverr to find a cover designer.

I personally prefer using Canva Pro to create my book cover and format it. This is the one thing that I do pay for, but you can pay month by month, so you’ll only need to invest $13 if you want access to all the good stuff. However, there is a free version of Canva that can still get you quality book covers–you just won’t have as many options.

Publishing costs

Some publishers, including Ingram Spark, charge authors per book to distribute through them. Amazon KDP, however, is completely free. Some people take issue with using Amazon for moral reasons, but I personally do not take issue with it. Many, many readers use Amazon so using their free service is a great way to access the market.

Marketing

Marketing your book can have quite the learning curve but it’s one of the most valuable skills that an indie author can learn. I don’t suggest hiring a marketing specialist as an indie author because you will always need to market your book and therefore, that cost will never really go away. You can put as much time and effort into it as you like, keeping in mind that you get out of it what you put in.

I do all of my own marketing, to a mixed degree of success. Sometimes, I get tired of shouting my stuff out into the universe too. 🙂