Episode 53 : Emmanuel Nataf
In this show I talk again to Emmanuel Nataf from Reedsy about a blog post he wrote about how much self-publishing costs, in terms of editing, cover design and interior layout.
From your research into the average costs paid on Reedsy, how much does self-publishing cost for a 60000 word book?
From about 2000 quotes for editing and design, making no distinction between genres, Emmanuel says the costs would be $2500 for editing and $700 for cover design, so the total would be $3500 on average on Reedsy.
How much editing are people usually paying for? How much do people pay for the various types of editing services available?
Most people pay for Content Editing, Copy Editing and Proof-Reading. They have many people paying for combined services which are cheaper. There also people going to Reedsy for Manuscript assessments as well, which allows people to get an idea of the quality of their very early manuscript.
How much are people paying for Cover Design?
The average is about $700, but there is a distribution between $200 and $1000, most are around $400 but some very high price book covers drag the average up higher.
How many people are paying for Book Interior Design? Have you noticed people starting to use your Editor tool instead?
Reedsy are seeing people paying for interior design mainly for complicated books like children’s books and picture books. For novels and non-fiction you can use the Reedsy Book Editor process (which is free) available at Reedsy.com. Interior designers charge between $500-$1000 depending on the length of the book as they end up doing each page manually.
Would you say users of Reedsy are typical self-publishers or perhaps more towards the professional side?
Most of the clients of Reedsy tend towards the more quality end of self-publishing process. They have editors who have lots of experience in the publishing industry and cover designers who have worked with people like Stephen King. But if people are paying more than the levels on Reedsy then there is a strong chance they aren’t getting good value from the Publishing service they are using.
Was there anything that surprised you?
Combining functions saves a lot of money, so using people for cover design and interior design or using someone for different kinds editing will save money. Using services from people in countries in the world with weak currencies can save money as well.
The figures don’t include Marketing services, is that just because it is a new service?
As the service is new on Reedsy they don’t have data yet as they need to get a significant volume of transactions. The same applies to ghost-writing which they also offer. However there are different types of marketing which will make averages less signficant.
What’s new on Reedsy?
They have now rolled-out a service just for Publishers directly for getting out-sourced talent. The Reedsy Book Editor is also being upgraded, adding features like Parts and formatting. They are looking to add one button distribution via the Reedsy Book Editor by connecting it to third party distributors. In the Marketplace they are going to add lists of services by budget.
How can people get in touch with you?
You can go to use Reedsy at Reedsy.com. You can send an e-mail to him at emmanuel@reedsy.com.
Other Reedsy Episodes
This is the second interview I’ve done with Emmanuel, the first was about Reedsy in general, Finding Professionals using Reedsy with Emmanuel Nataf (Episode 27) and I’ve also done a few shows on the Reedsy Book Editor process First Impressions of the new Reedsy Book Editor (Episode 36) and Revisiting the Reedsy Book Editor April 2016.