​How long does it take?

How much does it cost?

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These numbers are based on my experience and research. Your mileage may vary. This page will be updated soon.

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• Time to write and edit a book: between a week and a lifetime. The first version of this book took about nine months to make, just like a human baby.
• Time to read and correct a page of text with about 300 words: two minutes

• Time to copyedit a book: a few days to a few weeks

• Time for major editing: a few weeks to a month

• Time to design a cover: a few hours to a few weeks

• Time for ghostwriting: one to three months

• Time to receive a proof from CreateSpace: 3 to 5 days

• Time to receive a proof from Lulu with expedited service: 3 days Time to receive a proof from Lulu with standard service: 7-10 days

• Time for a book to be on sale after submitting it to a self-publishing company: a few weeks to a year. Morris Publishing says your order ships in 20 business day, and 12-business-day rush service is also available. 48HrBooks says it can produce books in (guess what?) 48 hours. Wasteland Press says two to four weeks. Some companies will speed things up for an extra fee.

• Time for a book to be listed on Amazon.com after a proof is approved: one to three days

• Time to be listed on Barnes & Noble and other booksel-lers’ websites after a proof is approved: two to ten days

• Time for a book to change from being drop-shipped by Light¬ning Source to being stocked by Amazon: a few days to a few weeks, or it may never happen

• Time for a book to be discounted by Amazon: a few days to a few months, or it may never happen

• Time for Lightning Source to process your files and ship out a proof: three business days

• Time for Lightning Source to print and ship a case of 20 books: two business days

• Time to receive a proof after shipping by Lightning Source: one business day

• Number of printed proofs you’ll correct before you decide your book is good enough to print: three to ten (my least was four, my most was thirteen, and this book took nine).

• Cost of MS Word 2010: $140

• Cost of MS Office 2010 (which includes Word!): $130

• Cost of Adobe Acrobat: $49.99-$1198

• Cost of Adobe Photoshop Elements 9: $80

• Cost to design a cover: $200 to $1,000 or more

• Cost to copyedit: $200 to $500 or more

• Cost for major editing: $500 to $1,000 or more

• Cost for ghostwriting: $5,000 or more (maybe a lot more)

• Cost of least expensive self-publishing package: $195 (Aacha-non Publishing and Wasteland Press)

• Cost of most expensive self-publishing package: $50,000 (Arbor Books). Options can add $35,000 more!

• Minimum markup percentage (“discount”) Amazon will work on: 20% (or 10% if they give a discount to readers).

• Cost to ship a 300-page book by Priority Mail: $4.95

• Cost for Lightning Source to ship one 300-page book the least expensive way: $3.80

• Cost for Lightning Source to ship one 300-page book with tracking: $5.52

• More expensive shipping service options for Lightning Source to ship one 300-page book faster: $7.27 - $36.40

• Average number of errors in a professionally-produced 300-page book from a major publisher: six