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Complete publishing guide, updated October 2026
Edit first. Then the cover and the pages. Then ISBNs. Then Amazon KDP and IngramSpark. Below is each step, the mistake that costs authors most at that step, and what each route costs and takes.
Want a second pair of eyes first? Ask for a free sample edit of your first 1,000 words, or a written quote within one business day.
The short answer
To publish a book, edit the manuscript, get a print-ready cover and interior, register one ISBN per format, then publish print and ebook through Amazon KDP and through IngramSpark for bookstores and libraries. On your own that takes 3 to 8 months (Reedsy). Columbia Publication does every step from $1,499 in 4 to 9 weeks, and 100% of the rights and royalties stay with the author.
Prices checked October 27, 2026 · Reviewed by Gia Kahn, Lead Editor · Next review November 2026 · How we check
Is this you?
Most first books do not go wrong in the writing. They go wrong in the order.
Design the cover before the page count settles and the spine is the wrong width, so the cover gets redone. Take KDP's free ISBN and bookstores outside Amazon cannot list you. Upload a Word file straight to KDP and every printed copy carries the same broken margins. Each mistake is small. Each one costs you a redo.
So the seven steps below run in the order that avoids paying twice, with the trap at each one marked. Work through them yourself, or hand them to us and keep every right and royalty.
Choose your route
There are three ways to get a book out in 2026, and the one you pick sets three things at once: how long you wait, what you earn per copy and who owns the book.
| Route | Timeline and royalties | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|
| Traditional publishing | 2 to 4 years overall (Reedsy). About 7.5% to 15% of list on print; publisher holds the rights for the contract term | Authors with an agent and a publisher’s interest, willing to wait and give up control |
| Self-publishing on your own | 3 to 8 months (Reedsy). KDP pays 70% on ebooks from $2.99 to $12.99 and 60% of list minus printing on paperbacks | Authors with the time to learn editing, design, formatting and platform setup, or to manage freelancers |
| Full-service self-publishing | 4 to 9 weeks from signed agreement. Same platform royalties, paid straight to you; no share taken | Authors who want professional quality, one point of contact and 100% of rights and royalties |
One label to watch for: some companies publish under their own imprint, charge you for production and still keep part of your royalties. We work the other way. You pay one flat fee, the book sits in your accounts, and every right and royalty stays yours. The full comparison is in self-publishing vs traditional publishing.
The 7 steps
| Step | What happens | The mistake to avoid |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Finish the manuscript | Fully revised, read by someone other than you, no structural changes left. Stalled? Ghostwriting can finish it in your voice | Starting design early: if the page count changes, the spine width and the whole print cover change |
| 2. Edit and proofread | Developmental edit for structure, copyedit for clarity and consistency, proofread for the last errors. Editing services | Proofreading your own book: you read what you meant, not what is on the page |
| 3. Design the cover | Readable as a tiny thumbnail in Amazon search results. Print cover in CMYK at 300 DPI with bleed and a calculated spine. Cover size calculator | Sending an RGB screen file to print: colors come out washed out or shifted |
| 4. Format the interior | A print-ready PDF and an EPUB, built to each platform’s trim, margin, gutter and font rules | Uploading a Word file and trusting the automatic conversion: broken margins and headings in every copy |
| 5. ISBNs and metadata | One ISBN per format, plus title, description, categories and keywords that decide where the book appears in search | Using KDP’s free ISBN and expecting bookstores and libraries to stock the book: it restricts distribution to Amazon |
| 6. KDP and IngramSpark | KDP for every Amazon store; IngramSpark for bookstores, libraries and wholesalers, with the right wholesale discount and returns setting | Publishing on KDP alone and leaving the rest of the book trade unable to order it |
| 7. Listing and launch | A sales-focused description, early reviews, Author Central, then Amazon ads and your email list. Marketing services | Treating the Amazon description as an afterthought: it is your main sales copy |
Seven steps is a lot of software to learn for one book. Hand them all to one team and get a written quote within one business day.
Get My Publishing QuoteFormats
Printed on demand through KDP and IngramSpark, so there is no stock to buy or store. Common trade sizes are 5 x 8, 5.5 x 8.5 and 6 x 9 inches. Hardcover publishing
Kindle for Amazon and EPUB for Apple Books, Kobo and Google Play. KDP pays 70% on ebooks priced $2.99 to $12.99, as long as the ebook lists at least 20% below any print edition, and 35% otherwise.
Distributed through Audible and other audio stores; it reaches listeners who rarely buy print. Audiobook publishing
Most authors launch print and ebook on the same day and add audio later, once reviews are coming in. Audio costs more to make, so it pays to know the book sells first.
Proof you can check yourself: Jason Patterson published City of the Gods in four editions, ebook, paperback, hardcover and audiobook, with Columbia Publication in about five months; it has 21 Amazon reviews at 4.7 stars. See it on Amazon.
Royalties
| Format | KDP royalty | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Paperback | 60% of list at $9.99 and up (50% at $9.98 or less), minus printing | 300 pages at $14.99: printing $1.00 plus $0.012 a page = $4.60, so about $4.39 to you |
| Ebook | 70% from $2.99 to $12.99 when priced at least 20% below print; 35% otherwise | $4.99 ebook: about $3.49 to you, less a few cents of delivery |
| Traditional print | About 7.5% to 15% of list, after the advance earns out | The same $14.99 paperback at 7.5%: about $1.12 |
Look at the last row against the first. The same $14.99 paperback pays you about $4.39 on your own KDP account and about $1.12 on a traditional contract. Columbia Publication takes none of it: the platforms pay you directly, into accounts in your name. Estimate your own numbers with the KDP royalty calculator.
Being found
Cost
| Stage | Doing it yourself | Professional freelancers (Reedsy) |
|---|---|---|
| Editing and proofreading | Free to a few hundred dollars | $2,160 to $5,050 for an 80,000-word book |
| Cover design | Templates, low cost | $630 to $1,200 for over half of projects |
| Interior formatting | Free to about $200 | $475 to $1,275 for about half of projects |
| ISBN | $125 for one (Bowker) | Included in most packages |
| KDP and IngramSpark | Free, 10 to 20 hours of setup | Included in most packages |
| Total | Low cash, high hours | $2,940 to $5,660 |
Add the freelancer column and you land between $2,940 and $5,660, plus the hours of hiring and chasing each person. With Columbia Publication the whole job is one flat fee from $1,499, quoted in writing before anything starts. Full breakdown: self-publishing cost guide.
Time
| Route | How long | What takes the time |
|---|---|---|
| Traditional | 2 to 4 years overall (Reedsy) | 3 to 12 months to find an agent, 2 to 12 months to a deal, 18 to 24 months from deal to shelf |
| On your own | 3 to 8 months (Reedsy) | Learning the tools, revising rejected files, troubleshooting platform setup |
| With Columbia Publication | 4 to 9 weeks from signed agreement | Editing and cover run side by side, then formatting, ISBNs and setup |
Two things stretch our calendar: a developmental edit adds 2 to 3 weeks, and illustrated books take longer. Your quote names your date before you pay.
DIY or professional
Opening your KDP and IngramSpark accounts, researching categories and keywords, drafting the description, Author Central, your email list and your social media. Nobody can tell who did these.
Editing, the cover, interior formatting and ebook structure. A slip here shows in every copy, and a review that mentions it stays up for good.
Bowker counted 3,529,980 self-published titles in 2025, up from about 2.5 million in 2024, as reported by Publishers Weekly. In a crowd that size, readers judge fast, and they judge on the cover and the first page. Those are exactly the parts worth paying a professional for. Compare services in the best self-publishing companies.
When it is done
You type your name into Amazon and the book is there in paperback, hardcover and Kindle, with a cover that looks at home next to the bestsellers. A bookstore can order it through IngramSpark. A library can add it to its catalog. And every royalty lands in an account with your name on it.
Done for you
Each package is one flat fee, written down before work begins. All three include ISBNs, two revision rounds on every deliverable, and no cut of your royalties.
Already edited
$1,499
For a manuscript that is already edited. We do steps 3 to 6: cover, print and ebook interiors, ISBNs, KDP and IngramSpark.
You skip the 3 to 8 months of learning software and fixing rejected uploads, and go live in about 4 to 5 weeks.
Typically 4 to 5 weeks
Get My Publishing QuoteMost chosen
$2,499
Steps 2 to 6. Adds a professional proofread, a hardcover edition and one project manager who knows your book.
Every step in this guide done for you, and one person to ask when you have a question.
Typically 7 to 9 weeks
Get My Publishing QuoteWin readers
$4,999
All seven steps: a full copyedit, then step 7 as well, with the Amazon listing, keywords, an author website and a press release.
Not just available on Amazon. Set up so readers searching for a book like yours can find it.
Edit plus launch
Get My Publishing QuoteWhat protects you at every step
Need more? Authority Plus, from $7,500, adds all three levels of editing, an audiobook, 15 printed copies and the 3-Day Bestseller Launch Campaign. Every package is paid in full upfront, once you approve the written quote. Compare every package.
What you can count on
How it runs
We’ve started with Publishing & distribution. Add anything else your manuscript needs, and a specialist sends an itemised quote within one business day. Free, confidential, no obligation.
Written quote within one business day. Nothing is charged until you approve it. 100% of your rights stay yours.
Questions
In this order: finish the manuscript, get it edited, commission the cover and interior files, register one ISBN per format, then publish through Amazon KDP and IngramSpark. If you would rather not learn each tool, a full-service self-publishing company can do every step in your name.
Traditional publishing costs nothing upfront, but it takes years and the publisher holds the rights. Reedsy puts self-publishing with professional freelancers at $2,940 to $5,660. Columbia Publication starts at $1,499, as one flat fee.
Reedsy estimates 2 to 4 years for traditional publishing and 3 to 8 months on your own. With Columbia Publication, it is 4 to 9 weeks from signed agreement to a live book.
For print sold beyond Amazon, yes: each print format needs its own ISBN, and KDP's free ISBN keeps the book on Amazon only. A Kindle ebook does not need one, though other ebook stores often ask for it. Bowker sells one ISBN for $125 or ten for $295.
Use both. KDP reaches every Amazon store. IngramSpark is how bookstores, libraries and wholesalers order your book.
On KDP, a 300-page paperback at $14.99 earns about $4.39 after printing, and a $4.99 ebook about $3.49. A traditional print royalty is about 7.5% to 15% of list, so roughly $1.12 on the same paperback.
No. We are a self-publishing services company. You pay one flat fee, the book is published in your own accounts, and you keep 100% of the rights and royalties. We never take a share of sales.
Yes, as long as the service publishes in your name, does not lock you in and takes no royalty share. That is how every Columbia Publication package works, and your final files are yours to keep.
Send the length, the genre and the formats you want. A specialist writes back within one business day with your price and your date.
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