Self-publishing is the publication of any book or other media by the author of the work without an established third-party publisher's involvement. A self-published physical book is said to be privately printed. The author is responsible and in control of the entire process, including design (cover/interior), formats, price, distribution, marketing & PR.

What will it really cost to self-publish a book with all the hidden extra costs? The rough cost of self-publishing a book can realistically be from “free” to $15,000. The free path requires massive “sweat equity.”

Will the self-publisher design and prepare the book cover to exact specifications required by the printer selected? Will the self-publisher do their own content editing and proofreading?

If you hire publishing services and overpay for someone inexperienced, the published book's cost will increase dramatically.

This will increase the cost significantly. Certain tasks must be redone if chronological order is not followed. A good book publishing coach will save you more money and time than the price of the coach.

Physical requirements include the length of the book, size of the book, type of paper, type of book cover, and whether the book is printed in four-color or black and white.

Will you be publishing an e-book, Kindle, or audiobook? Will you need promotional sample chapters. If these are done in the proper order, they will be inexpensive. When done out of order, the costs can be high.