In a rush?
The questions that will enter you into a draw for free formatting of your next novel can be found at the bottom of this article under “But what’s a fair price?” What’s in it for you is under the subhead, “What’s in it for you?”
Here’s the problem for many authors
I once paid a guy on Fiverr to format one of my first books. He did a good job. The project had a bunch of extras, so no, it wasn’t just five dollars but it was still cheap. When I went back to the same guy for my next book, I had to throw out what he sent me. Sadly, you often get what you pay for. Dependability is worth a lot and outcome is everything.
Lately, I’ve been surveying the field, looking for what a fair price might be. There seems to be a huge divide. You can get a book formatted very cheaply or it can get crazy expensive. I suspect the designers who demand very high fees are wearing monks’ robes and the ink on their blessed stamps is infused with the blood of angels. Yeah, it can get that expensive. Like, it’s-a-cult! expensive.
I’ve found another solution that gives me a better outcome than trying to format print books with the automated programs currently available. So, great! I have a solution. Now comes the but…
But what’s a fair price? Please tell me:
- How much do you pay for formatting your ebooks and paperbacks now?
- How much are you willing to pay for text formatting?
- Any thoughts you’d like to add?
What’s in it for you?
A company (in which, full disclosure, I have an equity share) will soon be offering a book formatting service. All those who answer the questions above will be entered into a draw. Ten people will win the raffle to receive their ebook and print books, fully formatted and free. You could be among the first to try us out.
Comment below to enter the draw or send your comments to expartepress@gmail.com.
Terms and conditions: Not much. This is just for novels at this time, not non-fiction. No skill testing question bullshit. Just your opinions on what an author should budget for book formatting services. Available to authors worldwide, void where prohibited. (I think that’s pretty much just Quebec. Sorry Quebec.)
~ By the way, the world is coming to an end again. This time, it’s robots fixin’ to kill us. Check out this cool and crazy interconnected series by your humble servant: Machines Dream of Metal Gods and Robots Versus Humans. Thanks! 
Filed under: publishing
C h a z z W r i t e s . c o m 
How much do you pay for formatting your ebooks and paperbacks now?
I pay $25-35.00 for ebook formatting (for both mobi and epub). The higher amount is for 60-70,000 words. I usually format my own paperback to cut back on costs since I also pay a professional editor.
How much are you willing to pay for text formatting?
I think 50.00 or less is a reasonable amount to pay for ebook formatting or $75 – 80.00 for digital and paperback. I’ve seen people charging an insane amount online up to 300.00 for both.
Interesting! Thanks, Kim!
50 dollars – very reasonable, not to small, not to big. And I would expect quality for such price.
Fifty bucks for me seems the norm, although I’ve learned enough to do it myself over the last year. I’ve seen people charging $25 but they were starting out and trying to get a name for themselves, all the way to $350 someone wanted for a novella to format in both eBook and print formats. They aren’t around anymore for some reason, though…
Armand
Ha! We must balance the needs of the many, or the one. Something like that. Dammit, Spock, I’m an author not a book formatting specialist!
Obviously, WordPress hates me this morning. This is my third attempt at writing a response. I no longer have any wit left; they stole it straight out of the first two posts.
I format my own work and have done others’ books as well. It was worth the time and effort to learn how, for me, because I enjoy working with other writers. When I needed fresh eyes to look over my copy, I was more than willing to format their work in an even barter.
As for paying someone to do it, anything over $50 for under 50,000 words seems ridiculous unless they can guarantee you’ll ‘hit it big’, because (and let’s be honest) the text may look fantastic, but it has zero worth if no one bothers to pick up your book and read it (viewing said beautiful text).