I'm aiming to make my book about 150 or more pages. How much would you say (approx., don't say "peanuts" or "depends on publisher") would it cost? How much would I get per purchased book?
150 pages is a very short book... what are you aiming for in terms of word count? That's all publishers are really interested in. Industry standard for mass market paperbacks is 6% for the first 150,000 copies, 8% thereafter, but you won't see a dollar of that until you've earned above any advance they paid you. To work out how much you'll make... well, how much was the last average paperback novel you bought? I don't know about the States, but a standard paperback in the UK costs between £6.99 and £8.99 these days. But let's get this straight. First novels don't make authors much money. You're lucky to get published at all, and even if your book sells ok, you'll be REALLY lucky to be contracted for another one. So, if you're in this for the money, you're in the wrong business, bud.
Pretty much. :/ I think the correct reason to get involved in this buisness is because you have a story you want the world to read. If you want money, then keep your job. (That's what I plan to do.)
Are you looking to self-publish? If so, there are any number of vanity presses who would be willing to provide that kind of information. But understand that you would have to sell all of them yourself (yes, you might be able to persuade your friendly neighborhood bookstore owner to take some on consignment, but I wouldn't count on it; if you think Barnes & Noble or Amazon.com is going to take a bunch off your hands for you, I'm afraid you may be in for something of a shock). If you are looking to be traditionally published, then the costs of publishing and the revenue per book would not be a concern. Authors who are published by established publishing houses earn royalties based on sales, based on a contract between the publisher and the author. Your task would be to find either an agent willing to represent your work or a publishing house willing to publish it. Both are daunting tasks, so make sure your finished product is as polished as it can be. Also, be prepared to collect a mountain of rejection slips in the process, with no guarantee of success. You may want to learn more about how the publishing business works before you proceed. Good luck.
When you say '150 pages', are you talking about your manuscript, or what you think it would come out as if it were published? 150 pages is too short by about half, either way. Think word, not page, count. If you want to self publish, the price, quality etc varies a lot. My mother self-published our family history to give around members as a present. She made about 200 copies (we have a big family!). The price went down proportionately the more copies you did. She used a firm in England recommended by a friend, and the result was good.
That all depends on if the OP is is going paperback or Kindle. Anyone can put their stuff for sale on Amazon for Kindles. I am sure the same goes for Nooks.
dagolas... first of all, unless you are going to print this book yourself, on your own printer, the number of pages is irrelevant... for all other purposes, manuscripts are referred to by the rounded-off total word count, not the number of pages... if you are going to print it yourself, then you will set the price and how much you get will depend on how much it cost you to do that... if you are going to have a local printer print it for you, only they can tell you what it will cost for the number of copies you want... and again, the selling price will be whatever you set and what you will get will be whatever you make over and above what it cost you to get it printed... if what you have is a novel for the adult market and you are asking about a paying publisher that would take on your manuscript, turn it into a book and sell it for you, then the answer is 'nothing'... because paying publishers do not publish adult novels of that size... if it's a book for children, or the YA market, and/or if you intend to have it published by a vanity press/self-publishing company [you pay them to make the ms into a book], then no one can give you a valid estimate without more info on what you're referring to... so, you need to answer these questions, first: what kind of book is it? what market is it for [adult; children's; YA]? what is the total word count?
