This post should have been called “What happens after you write a book if you decide to self-publish it,” but the title would have looked funny on the blog’s homepage.

Anyway, the first thing you should know is that if you want to self-publish, if you see that releasing titles via KDP, Createspace, or Smashwords is free… well you should know that it’s not really free.

Using those services is free, but ensuring that you release something that looks like a book, reads like a book, and sells to people who are not related to you costs money. How much depends only on your budget and how much you can do by yourself.

That being said, I’m currently trying to raise $984 in order to release an autobiographical novel about my grandfather, who died a couple of months ago. The truth is, the actual amount is closer to $800 because of PayPal and Indiegogo fees.

And the first (and most important) thing to consider when crowdfunding a book is the cost of the perks. The cost of books, the cost of shipping, and all that.

Just to give you an idea: it costs me something like $10 (maybe even a bit more) to order a copy of one of my books from Createspace and ship it to wherever the person who wants it lives.

Of course, there are other variables, such as people contributing more, and perks that cost nothing (such as e-books) and contributors who don’t select any perks.

So let’s say that in the end, I’m left with more than half. Let’s say $500.

That’s just enough to pay for editing, or if I get a good deal. And, yes, you need your book professionally edited. This is not the internet, this is something you’re asking money for, so it has to be as grammatically correct as possible.

That’s pretty much why I need the money. The rest (book covers, interior formatting) I can do by myself.

There are currently nine days left. Only nine days. But there are lots of really interesting perks, some of which will allow you to get a bit more exposure for your websites/blogs.

If you can’t help us with a contribution, don’t worry. Share, tweet, tell your rich friends about us. You can’t imagine how important (and rather simple) clicking the like button on the campaign page is.

You can help me out here.

Once more, thank you for all your support,

Cristian