Publishing a children’s book can be an exciting and rewarding endeavor. As an author, seeing your story come to life with illustrations and printed on vibrant pages is incredibly fulfilling. However, printing a book does come at a cost. In this comprehensive guide, I’ll break down the expenses associated with printing a children’s book so you can budget appropriately.
Factors That Influence Cost
Several key factors determine the overall cost to print a children’s book:
Book Length and Size
The number of pages and the physical dimensions of your book directly impact printing expenses. More pages require more paper and ink. Oversized books need larger presses and custom equipment. Standard sizes are cheaper.
Color vs. Black & White
Full color printing is significantly more expensive than black and white. But color artwork and images are vital for children’s books. You can reduce costs by limiting color to specific pages rather than the entire book.
Hardcover vs. Paperback
Hardcover books require sturdier binding and thicker materials driving up manufacturing costs. Paperbacks with soft covers offer huge savings. However, many buyers still prefer the durability and aesthetic of hardcovers for kids.
Print Quantity
The more copies you print, the lower your per-unit printing expenses will be. This incentivizes large print runs. But you risk sitting on inventory if sales underperform. Lower quantities reduce financial risk but loose the savings from economies of scale.
Cost to Print a Children’s Picture Book
Picture books are a popular genre for emerging children’s book authors. Here’s a realistic budget to print this type of book:
32 Pages
- 8 x 8 inch square trim size
- Full color cover and interior pages
- Hardcover binding
Print Quantity: 250 copies
- Printing cost per book: $16
- Total print cost: $4,000
To put this estimate into context, a leading print shop quoted $4,132 to print 250 hardcover, full color copies of a 32-page picture book with dimensions of 8 x 8 inches. This aligns almost exactly with the $16 per book pricing above.
However, you can reduce your printing expenses by 47% if you lower your print quantity down to 25 books. Now your cost per book is $31.50 for a total print bill of $787.50. But remember, the more copies you print, the cheaper it is per unit.
Printing a Full Length Children’s Novel
What if you want to print a longer 200 page children’s novel instead of a standard picture book?
Here’s a realistic quote:
200 Pages
- 6 x 9 inch trim size
- Black & white interior pages
- Full color cover
- Paperback binding
Print Quantity: 250 copies
- Printing cost per book: $5.56
- Total print cost: $1,390
The same leading print shop estimated $1,400 to print 250 copies of a full length 200 page children’s book paperback with a color cover and black & white interior pages at standard 6 x 9 inch dimensions.
This equates to just $5.56 per book – 65% cheaper than our 32-page picture book example. And there are still more ways to reduce expenses. For example, eliminating the color cover further drops the cost per book down below $5.
Tips for Lowering Your Print Bill
Here are some clever tips to lower your overall print bill for a children’s book while still maintaining quality:
- Start with low print quantities: Begin with 25-50 copies to test sales and work with bookstores. This greatly reduces financial risk compared to large 500+ print runs which could leave you with years of excess inventory.
- Crowdfund printing costs: Run a Kickstarter campaign to fund printing costs. Not only does this mitigate your own risk, but generating many small investments demonstrates buyer interest.
- Pre-sell books: Require interested bookstores, schools, parents, friends etc. to pay upfront before you begin printing. This guarantees sales to offset print expenses.
- Order author copies only: Forgo wide distribution and commercial sales. Instead, print only what you need to fulfill author needs like giving away copies or selling directly to people you know.
- Print locally: Compare quotes from international printers and domestic printers. In some cases, local print shops can offer competitive pricing without overseas shipping expenses factored in.
- Choose paperbacks: Soft cover bindings can save 40% over a comparably sized hardcover. If buyers prefer hardcovers, you can still start with paperbacks to save on first batch, then switch binding style for your next print.
- Print black & white: Full color printing typically doubles print costs. Sacrifice color printing for black & white versions to slash this expense.
- Limit color pages: If full color artwork is essential, try to isolate it to specific pages or sections rather than the entire book. Every color page eliminated Saves money.
- Select standard sizes: Custom trim sizes require special equipment and handling adding cost Premiums. Standard book sizes like 5×8 inches or 6×9 inches cost less.
- Simplify illustrations and layout: Fancy illustrations, multi-layered artwork, Photoshop effects etc all slow Production and require specialty skills translating to higher fees. Simplify artwork complexity to reduce expenses. Same goes For formatting. Basic layouts cost less than stylized graphic design formatting.
Conclusion
Printing a children’s book requires more sizeable financial Investment than many new authors anticipate with expenses ranging from thousands to tens of thousands depending on factors like length, binding style, colors, print quantity, etc. However, by starting small with reduced features and print runs, crowdfunding a campaign to finance printing, guaranteeing sales upfront through pre-orders, and simplifying illustrations, you can conserve costs substantially until your book gains traction. Partnering with the right domestic printing company offering children’s book publishing services can further optimize the experience from editing support to distribution. Every new book involves risk and uncertainty. But minimizing printing expenses allows flexibility to pivot plans or print more copies in the future once sales pickup.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to print a 20 page children’s book?
A standard 20 page children’s picture book printed in full color with hardcover binding in a small quantity of 50 copies would cost around $1,150 total. This breaks down to about $23 per book. Opting for a paperback binding could reduce the per unit cost closer to $15 each.
What is the average cost for a self-published children’s book?
The average cost to self-publish a full-length children’s book is $3,000-$5,000 accounting for professional editing, custom cover artwork, page layout, and a small print run of 250-500 copies. Picture books often cost more due to additional illustration expenses running closer to $5,000-$10,000 on average.
How can I get the lowest cost per book when printing?
The lowest printing cost per unit happens when you print in high quantities. But this comes with financial risk and inventory storage burdens. Other ways to reduce per book expenses include eliminating color, shortening page count, sticking to standard book sizes, simplifying illustrations and layouts, and choosing basic paperback binding.
Can I publish print children’s book for free?
It’s technically possible to publish a print children’s book 100% free by relying on public domain illustrations that don’t require licensing or royalty payments as well as doing your own writing, editing, graphic design, and layout. However, the quality will suffer greatly taking this route for critical elements like custom artwork and professional editing. Most authors invest $2,000-$5,000 minimum to self-publish a proper print-ready children’s book.