How much does it cost to self-publish?

Are you looking to self-publish a memoir, a novel, a self-help book, or a travel guide just for the fun of it?

Or, like Ingez Rameau of Santa Monica, Calif., do you view self-publishing as a path to something else? The actress and retired legal secretary, 69, is writing a memoir recounting her early life as a victim of mental and sexual abuse, and her eventual redemption. She's already written and starred in "Burn," a one-woman show on the subject. With the book, she hopes to build an audience for a future project counseling abuse victims.

Retirees, it turns out, are often prolific writers, says Eileen Gittins, founder of Blurb, a printer and publisher serving self-published authors. Some writers even make a little cash. "This actually is a way to make that bucket-list-type money of $2,000 to $3,000," Gittins said.

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Rameau could pay tens of thousands to have a vanity press manage the process, or go it alone for far less.

One cost she shouldn't avoid: editing. At BiblioCrunch she can post the service she needs and her budget. Editors, designers, and other pros can bid on the work. Assuming 70 hours to edit 200 pages at a midrange $65 per hour, Rameau would pay $4,550. Copy editing would cost $1,000, proofreading about $600. She also could offer less money and see who's willing to do the work.

Another expense is ISBNs, book identification numbers. To keep control over their works, authors should obtain their own ISBNs at myidentifiers.com, says Carla King, who leads self-publishing "boot camps" and is based in San Diego. Ten ISBNs—useful for various formats—cost $295.

Through the e-book publisher Smashwords, we found a book designer charging $85 for an original cover, plus unlimited revisions. A paperback cover costs an additional $65. Rameau can design the book's interior, for print and e-book formats, using templates found at bookdesigntemplates.com, $47.

When Rameau finishes those electronic files, her book is essentially complete. She can upload the files to Smashwords and Amazon CreateSpace, which will distribute them to online bookstores. The stores send e-books and print books as they receive orders, at no up-front cost to Rameau.

If Rameau wants books she can hold and give as gifts, IngramSpark can print and send 100 paperbacks with color covers for $407; 100 hardcovers will cost $1,003. Through IngramSpark, walk-in bookstores also can view the book and order it directly.

Or Rameau could print just one hardcover for her coffee table. Cost: $23.