3 ms·
His ebook costs breakdown is pretty revealing. $3000 for an original cover? I hardly realize my Kindle books have covers, since they auto-open to the first page
by petewarden 17y ago
His ebook costs breakdown is pretty revealing. $3000 for an original cover? I hardly realize my Kindle books have covers, since they auto-open to the first page. $1000 for a designer? Use a standard font and template.
Book publishers have crazy overheads, with authors typically receiving only 10% of the cover price. Editors and proofreaders make sense, but it's hard to see how everything else adds value. The current publishing model seems to be a big part of the problem here.
- waterlesscloud 17y agoThe Kindle book cover would also probably be used for the Amazon thumbnail image, as well as other marketing purposes. Standard template sure, but little things do make a difference, and tweaking is a smart thing to do. There will be room for quality design in e-publishing, just like there is in print. $3000 would be a lot for self- or niche-publishing, but if I were making a mass market attempt, I could see spending that much. It makes a difference.
- petewarden 17y agoMarketing is worth spending money on if it brings in more money than you pay. I'd agree that it might be worth it if you're shooting for a bestseller, but the author lays it out as an unavoidable expense. I love books, and being a writer sucks as a way to make a living even for very talented people, but the solution has to involve radical change to the publishing model. Big publishers seem to take a massive cut without improving the quality of the end result. I'm a big supporter of authors looking at alternative models, like Peter Watts with free downloads in the hope of donations: http://www.rifters.com/real/Blindsight.htm http://www.rifters.com/real/Blindsight.htm