6 perspectives · Updated · 3 min read
With a traditional publisher, publishing costs you nothing upfront. Self-publishing costs what you choose to spend.
Charles Duhigg, Daniel Pink, and Jim Kwik went with traditional publishers, who covered production. Guy Kawasaki self-published APE for about $4,000. Brendon Burchard has done both.
Their answers cover what a publisher pays for, what self-publishing costs, and the costs most people miss: time and marketing.
With a traditional publisher, you pay nothing: the publisher pays you an advance and covers editing, printing, and distribution. Self-publishing cost Guy Kawasaki about $4,000 for editing, layout, cover design, and ISBNs, plus $3 to $4 per printed copy. Most of these authors say the bigger costs are time and marketing.
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Six authors who have published with major houses, on their own, or both. Listen for what each one paid, and what they say the real cost was.
Guy Kawasaki · Chief evangelist of Canva and author of APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur
Listen for: His line-by-line budget for APE.
Jim Kwik · Brain coach and New York Times bestselling author of Limitless
Listen for: Why a cheap book looks cheap.
Charles Duhigg · Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of The Power of Habit and Supercommunicators
Listen for: How advances and royalties work.
Brendon Burchard · High performance coach and author of The Motivation Manifesto
Listen for: What he spends when he self-publishes.
Daniel Pink · Author of seven books on motivation, timing, sales, and regret
Listen for: Why time is the biggest cost.
Nir Eyal · Author of Hooked and Indistractable and the writer behind NirAndFar
Listen for: The cost most people underestimate.
Chief evangelist of Canva and author of APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur
Why themSelf-published, then wrote the guide to doing it.
Guy’s advice: About $4,000 to self-publish, plus $3 to $4 a printed copy.
I self-published APE with Shawn Welch for roughly $4,000: content editing, copyediting, layout, cover design, and ISBNs. Print-on-demand copies run about $3 to $4 per book, but the real cost is your time and marketing, not the printing.
Brain coach and New York Times bestselling author of Limitless
Why themTook the traditional route with Limitless.
Jim’s advice: Self-publishers should pay for a strong editor, cover designer, and marketing.
I went the traditional publishing route with Limitless, so my costs were time and research, not dollars upfront. If you're self-publishing, budget for a strong editor, cover designer, and marketing, because a cheap book looks cheap and readers notice.
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of The Power of Habit and Supercommunicators
Why themTurned years of reporting into bestselling books.
Charles’s advice: A traditional publisher pays you an advance and covers production.
I have never paid to publish a book, and I think the question often hides a deeper worry: will this cost me money, or can it make me money? With a traditional publisher like Random House, the house pays you an advance and covers editing, printing, and distribution; you earn royalties only after you earn out.
High performance coach and author of The Motivation Manifesto
Why themSelf-published his first book after agents passed.
Brendon’s advice: Self-publishing at scale can run from a few thousand to six figures.
On my books, a traditional deal actually paid me (I even returned a $2M advance once), but when I self‑publish, real costs live in editing, design, printing, and marketing, which can run from a few thousand to serious six figures if you want scale.
Author of seven books on motivation, timing, sales, and regret
Why themWrote speeches and articles before seven books.
Daniel’s advice: The real expense is time: two years before a copy reaches a reader.
I’ve never paid to publish a book myself, because my publishers covered the costs. What I do know is that the real expense isn’t printing, it’s time: two years of research and writing before a single copy reaches a reader.
Author of Hooked and Indistractable and the writer behind NirAndFar
Why themHis agent found him through his blog.
Nir’s advice: Self-publishing can cost next to nothing or tens of thousands.
I went the traditional route with Portfolio Penguin for Hooked and BenBella for Indistractable, so I didn't pay out of pocket to publish. If you're self-publishing, you can spend next to nothing or tens of thousands on editing, design, and marketing. The real cost most people underestimate isn't production, it's the time and the platform it takes to make the book matter.
| Who | Their advice |
|---|---|
| Guy KawasakiChief evangelist of Canva and author of APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur | About $4,000 to self-publish, plus $3 to $4 a printed copy. |
| Jim KwikBrain coach and New York Times bestselling author of Limitless | Self-publishers should pay for a strong editor, cover designer, and marketing. |
| Charles DuhiggPulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of The Power of Habit and Supercommunicators | A traditional publisher pays you an advance and covers production. |
| Brendon BurchardHigh performance coach and author of The Motivation Manifesto | Self-publishing at scale can run from a few thousand to six figures. |
| Daniel PinkAuthor of seven books on motivation, timing, sales, and regret | The real expense is time: two years before a copy reaches a reader. |
| Nir EyalAuthor of Hooked and Indistractable and the writer behind NirAndFar | Self-publishing can cost next to nothing or tens of thousands. |
Traditional publishing: nothing upfront. Charles Duhigg, Daniel Pink, Jim Kwik, and Nir Eyal never paid to publish. Their publishers covered editing, printing, and distribution.
Self-publishing: a few thousand dollars and up. Guy Kawasaki spent about $4,000 on content editing, copyediting, layout, cover design, and ISBNs. Jim Kwik says to pay for a strong editor, a cover designer, and marketing. Nir Eyal says it can run from next to nothing to tens of thousands.
Printing. Guy Kawasaki's print-on-demand copies cost about $3 to $4 each.
Marketing. Jim Kwik says a cheap book looks cheap and readers notice. Brendon Burchard says reaching readers at scale can cost six figures.
Time. Daniel Pink spends about two years researching and writing before a single copy reaches a reader.
They agree that a traditional publisher pays for production. They differ on what self-publishing should cost. Guy Kawasaki did it for about $4,000. Brendon Burchard says it can run to six figures if you want scale. Nir Eyal says it can cost next to nothing.
Not a traditional publisher, in these authors' experience. Charles Duhigg, Daniel Pink, and Jim Kwik went with publishers who covered the costs.
Guy Kawasaki self-published APE for about $4,000: content editing, copyediting, layout, cover design, and ISBNs. Jim Kwik says to pay for a strong editor, a cover designer, and marketing.
Guy Kawasaki's print-on-demand copies cost about $3 to $4 each.
Yes. Charles Duhigg says the publisher pays an advance, and you earn royalties after the book earns it back.
A traditional publisher costs you nothing upfront; self-publishing a well-made book costs a few thousand dollars. Budget most for time and marketing. Then ask the author whose route you're considering.
We asked this question to authors on Delphi. Each quote is that person's Delphi answering in their own words, built from their own writing, talks, and interviews, and shown as given. Delphi wrote the introduction, the summary, and the steps from their answers. Last checked .