Learn / Self-publishing 101

What is self-publishing?

In a nutshell: with self-publishing, you step into the publisher's chair. You're the one who signs off on the edit, approves the cover, picks the markets where the book sells, and sets the price. And the royalties? They're yours.

A traditional publisher handles all of that on your behalf — but the trade-off is steep: they hold the rights to your book, hand over a modest advance (sometimes none at all), and pocket 85–92% of the royalties. Self-publishing turns that model on its head. You bring in a production partner like LaunchPad Books to do the heavy lifting; you stay the publisher and keep every right; and each sale sends the royalties straight to you, for the full life of the book.

What's actually involved

• Editing. Developmental, line and copyediting — the craft that transforms a draft into a finished book.
• Cover design. A bespoke cover built for your genre, never a stock-photo mash-up.
• Interior formatting. Typesetting your pages to professional print-ready and eBook-ready specs.
• ISBN registration. A unique identifier so retailers and libraries around the world can catalog your book.
• Distribution setup. Listing your title across Amazon KDP, Apple Books, Kobo, Google Play, IngramSpark and more.
• Marketing. Pre-launch momentum, launch-day coordination, evergreen Amazon ads and everything after.

How long it takes

For an average book running 60,000–80,000 words, plan on 30 to 90 days to go from a polished manuscript to live on Amazon. Editing is the wildcard — a tidy manuscript sails through, while one that still needs structural work takes longer.

How royalties work

On Amazon KDP, an eBook listed between $2.99 and $9.99 returns 70% of the list price to the author (after delivery fees). Paperback royalties hinge on print cost and trim size — usually landing in the 30–60% range of the list price. IngramSpark, which gets your book onto bookstore and library shelves globally, pays roughly 45% net to the author once retailer discounts are applied. We break down the full math on the royalties page.

What it costs

Self-publishing comes with a price tag — but those costs are one-time and fully transparent. A no-frills Starter package (proofread, cover, KDP formatting) begins at $360 with us. A complete launch bundling editing, distribution and marketing runs around $2,400. Stack that against traditional publishing, where you'd forfeit 85% of your royalties for good. Most published books break even after a few hundred copies.

Is it right for your book?

Self-publishing is usually the smart move when you:

• Want to hang on to every right in your story — film, TV, translation, sequels, all of it.
• Want your book out in months rather than years.
• Care about earning a genuine royalty on each copy sold.
• Want the final say on the cover, the title and the edits.