So you&#;ve finished writing and illustrating your 32 page children&#;s book. Now you want to get it printed so you can hold the physical copy in your hands and sell it to young readers. But how much will it actually cost?
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In this comprehensive guide, I&#;ll break down the exact cost to print a 32 page full color children&#;s book in . Whether you use print-on-demand or professional offset printing, you&#;ll know what to budget for manufacturing costs.
As a professional children&#;s book printing manufacturer, I&#;ll also give some pro tips to reduce expenses so you can set your own retail price and still make good royalties on each copy sold.
When self-publishing a book, authors have two main options to physically print their manuscripts:
POD printers create single book copies when an order comes in. This means you don&#;t pay for any copies upfront, just when someone buys your book. However, POD tends to be more expensive per unit.
Popular POD printers include:
Offset printers produce books in bulk by taking your file and printing on large presses. This requires paying for hundreds or thousands of copies upfront. But offset printing offers a lower per unit cost at higher quantities.
Top offset printers include:
So how much exactly will your 32 page children&#;s book cost to print at reasonable quantities using each model in ? Here&#;s a comparison:
For a typical trim size of 8.5&#; x 8.5&#;, here are POD prices for 32 page children&#;s books:
These rates are generally consistent across various popular POD companies when you choose a hardcover or paperback with full color interior printing.
Shipping fees and author copies are extra. Taxes may apply as well.
For offset printing, the per unit rate drops as you print more copies.
Here&#;s a look at estimated rates for 32 page children&#;s books:
These prices include free shipping within the continental US if using a domestic printer. Additional charges apply for author copies, storage fees, and delivery outside the US.
Print-on-demand tends to make sense for new authors testing the self-publishing waters. But offset printing offers significantly lower per unit pricing at scale, reducing manufacturing costs. Even after paying for shipping and storage, higher print runs via offset can boost profit margins.
Whether printing on-demand or offset, several factors determine your total manufacturing costs:
More pages means a higher production expense overall. Extra pages increase the amount of paper, ink, binding materials, and labor required to print a book.
However, up to 48 pages can still use a single large press sheet with clever layouts. Past 48 pages often requires two press sheets per book, elevating costs.
Full color artwork throughout a book comes at a premium versus black and white interior printing with a color cover.
Full color artwork requires four ink passes on press &#; cyan, magenta, yellow, and black (CMYK). This slows printing compared to single pass black and white ink.
Hardcover binding has thicker boards and spine materials compared to paperback thermally bonded spines. The rigid casewrap also takes more time to apply a book&#;s outer cover imagery.
Books sized 8.5&#; x 8.5&#; or smaller can batch efficiently on printing press sheets, reducing waste and cost per unit.
Oversized books may not fit as cleanly per sheet. Large formats also require bigger cuts of paper and ink to cover increased print space.
Specialty options like spot UV coats, foil stamping, and embossing add both material expenses and production time to any print job.
While these can make your book stand out, they come at a premium price over standard printing.
Here are some pro tips to cut costs when taking your book to print:
Rates can vary widely across different printers. Spend time getting quotes from several vendors when moving to production.
While comparison shopping, weigh options for domestic printers vs. overseas suppliers too. Overseas printers have drastically lower labor costs but longer lead times.
If possible, edit your book to fit 16, 24, or 32 pages. These numbers work elegantly for printing press sheet sizes to minimize waste.
Or if extra story length demands it, aim for page lengths just under 48 or 64 pages to lower costs by using one less physical press sheet per book.
If full color isn&#;t essential for interior pages, use spot color art combined with black & white. This can reduce printing rates substantially while still creating beautiful layouts.
It&#;s tempting to do short print runs when self-publishing to test sales. But printing a minimum of 250+ copies can drop your per unit rate tremendously.
When ordering your own author print copies from printers, you typically pay full retail costs. But some printers offer author discounts if ordering copies in bulk rather than piecemeal.
When self-publishing a 32 page picture book, you&#;ll generally want to price between $10-$25 to align with major publisher rates.
Common pricing thresholds in this range include:
Where you ultimately land depends partly on your printing methods and costs:
Since print-on-demand has high per unit costs, you&#;ll need to price your 32 page children&#;s book above $12.99 when selling printed copies.
In most cases, $14.99 or higher works better to earn 10-20%+ royalties on each sale.
By printing 250+ copies via offset, your manufacturing rates will drops below $5 per unit.
This creates flexibility to retail between $9.99 up to $19.99+ and still pocket great margins.
Ultimately the market will determine what pricing works long term at adequate sales velocity. But the above thresholds guide common retail pricing for 32 page picture books.
Taking your book to print can be daunting. But understanding precise printing costs per unit and at different quantities helps immensely when budgeting your self-publishing expenses.
To recap key points in this guide:
Next, request quotes from multiple printers to compare rates. Providing PDF print-ready files also gets more accurate pricing.
Finally, use tips above to drive down costs further before setting your margin goals and retail price point.
Now that you know precisely what to expect when printing a 32 page picture book in , you can confidently move ahead with publishing your children&#;s book creation!
Editor-in-Chief of the Reedsy blog, Dario is a graduate of Mälardalen University. As a freelance writer, he has written for many esteemed outlets aimed at writers. A traveler at heart, he can be found roaming the world and working from his laptop.
In the previous chapter of this guide, we discussed how to self-publish a children&#;s book, covering everything from getting your book edited, illustrated, and formatted. But how much will it cost you in total?
Based on average quotes from the Reedsy marketplace, self-published authors can spend between $2,387 and $4,400 on professional editing, illustrations, cover design, and formatting.
To help you better understand these costs (plus how much you'll be looking at to print and distribute your books), let's dive a little deeper in the average costs of self-publishing a children's book.
An editor&#;s quote for any given book is hugely influenced by the time they need to put into the project &#; which is usually determined by word count.
As a rule of thumb, picture books tend to have fewer than 1,000 words, making them one of the most affordable books to have edited.
For a 1,000-word picture book manuscript, editors on Reedsy charge an average of:
It&#;s fairly common for authors to hire the same editor to provide both services since this might reduce the time spent on each stage and thus result in a healthy discount, compared to hiring two separate editors.
Editors will treat middle grade (MG) and young adult (YA) novels pretty much the same way they would a book for adults. They tend to come in at around 30,000 to 60,000 words, on average, and though their readers may be younger, the books still require a lot of attention to story structure, character development, pacing, and precise use of language. In addition, there&#;s nothing more cringe-worthy to a teenager than adults trying to be &#;hip&#; &#; so an editor might also need to spend some time ensuring the manuscript is written in an age-appropriate register.
The average cost of editing a 30,000-word middle-grade book is:
The average cost of editing a 60,000-word young adult novel is:
Picture Books
(1,000 words)
MG
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(30k words)
YA
(60k words)
Copy Editing
$231
$671
$1,254
Developmental Editing
$374
$913
$1,742
&#; Check out our editing costs calculator here for more average rates across all genres and services (including proofreading).
Bear in mind that Reedsy professionals have years of experience at the highest level. While finding cheaper options is possible, you may be gambling on the quality of service you'll receive.
Now that we have a better idea of what it costs to perfect your content, let&#;s see what you might pay to make your book look like a million bucks.
While children have no shortage of imagination, beautiful artwork can make their reading experience more engaging and highly memorable.
Unless you can draw to a professional publishing standard, the best way to translate your story into a visual narrative is to hire an illustrator. If you&#;re in the market for one, you can find plenty of amazing children's book illustrators on Reedsy to work with.
Over the past three years, the average children's book illustrator on Reedsy has charged between $1,540 and $4,950 for a 24-page picture book.
Their exact quotes will vary depending on:
A picture book illustrator&#;s quote normally includes everything from draft concepts, typography, interior design, and the book cover design. But if you&#;re looking to work with a dedicated cover designer, their quotes will be roughly in line with the cost of a middle-grade or young adult title, which we&#;ll look at right now.
By the time your reader picks up middle grade and young adult books, they&#;re probably less reliant on illustrations &#; but that doesn&#;t mean they don&#;t care what your book looks like. Ultimately, authors writing books for these age groups will need a quality cover design to draw readers in.
According to quotes from the Reedsy marketplace, 60% of children&#;s book covers from experienced designers cost under $750. As we detail in our main guide to self-publishing costs, the final quote you receive will depend on factors like:
If you are seeking a cover design for a picture book, your designer can adapt an existing illustration from your book, reducing their need to research or create images for your project. This, in turn, can reduce your costs.
In addition to the cover design, you may also be looking to hire a professional to take care of your typesetting and interior design.
&#; Not sure what typesetting entails? Click here to learn more!
Properly formatting your interior design is critical for a great reading experience, especially when dealing with print editions. Professional illustrators or cover designers may do this for you as part of their service for picture books. If they have the right experience with interior design, then this is an option we&#;d recommend, as hiring a dedicated interior designer can cost between $250 and $750.
That said, you might be able to format your own book for free.
If your book is mainly text-based (like a children&#;s novel or a collection of short stories), you can write and format your book with a free tool like Reedsy Studio. It&#;s an easy-to-use software that allows you to turn your manuscript into a flawless, export-ready ePUB file for ebooks or PDF for print editions. All you need to do is to get those words flowing.
To try the Reedsy Book Editor, sign up below and start using it today.
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Once your book is finished, you may want to (understandably) hold it in your hands &#; as well as to sell physical copies to the general public. So, let&#;s look more closely at print and distribution options.
While some parents enjoy reading books to their kids on a tablet, most still prefer buying the physical version &#; if only to limit &#;screen time.&#; Print editions are also a must if you plan to distribute your book to libraries, schools, or if you want aunts, uncles, and grandparents to buy it as a present for their young ones.
There are two options to print your book:
Let&#;s have a quick look at the financial implications of both.
POD services &#; which print one copy at a time, based on actual purchases &#; are the preferred option for authors who are publishing children&#;s novels, as the cost-per-unit is relatively low, averaging around $7 per book, usually deducted from royalty payments. This solution is also extremely convenient if you don&#;t want to pay in advance for a bulk order that might not sell, or don&#;t want to deal with storing and distributing the books yourself.
On the other hand, POD services are not as convenient for picture book authors. For instance, to print a 24-page picture book, you can expect to pay around $12 per copy &#; depending on factors like book format, page size, page count, and print options (black & white vs. colors). On top of that, you&#;ll have to add shipping costs, inflating the bill further, depending on whether you choose regular or express delivery.
There are several POD services you can choose to use. However, here's a quick look at the costs you can expect from two of the most popular printers of picture books.
Service
Trim size
Printing cost per copy
Domestic shipping
Lulu
7.5&#;x7.5&#; (19x19 cm)
$10.28
From $3.99
Blurb
8&#;x10&#; (20x25 cm)
$15.99
From $4.94
Note: These costs are based on 24-page full-color hardbacks.
When you look at the numbers, you quickly realize that you&#;re almost guaranteed to make a loss, since you can&#;t really price your indie book double what well-known authors charge &#; which is between $5 to $10.
However, don&#;t despair &#; while POD for picture books doesn&#;t make sense financially, you could still use it to gauge interest in your book by doing a small print run of around 50-100 copies and getting it into people's hands. If you've already sparked the interest of potential buyers, then you should probably consider offset printing for the following batch. Even though you&#;ll pay a salty bill upfront, your average cost-per-copy will be much lower, granting you a higher profit.
The cost to offset print a picture book is much lower than POD services, although it comes with a higher risk and upfront expense &#; in case your book doesn&#;t perform as well as you hoped. With services like PrintNinja or IAPC, you can expect to pay around $4.30 per copy for an order of 1,000 hardcover picture books &#; 60% less than what you&#;d pay with POD.
The price drop, however, is not as significant for middle grade or young adult novels, since black and white paperbacks (with a color cover) are around $4.90 per copy &#; only a few dollars less than POD services.
Remember that offset printing costs depend on how you customize your book (e.g. binding options, paper quality, cover types). It also matters if you&#;ll receive your copies from overseas or not. In fact, these prices do not include shipping and storage costs, which can add an extra $500 to $1,500 per order &#; depending on your location.
Overall, printing your self-published children&#;s book can significantly bump up your final costs. If you&#;re just getting started and you don&#;t know how many copies you&#;ll be able to sell, it&#;s wise to use POD services first to gather some data and test your book&#;s market. However, if you already know your book has buyers waiting to part with their money for it, offset printing is a better option as it will lower your overall costs.
We hope this guide has helped you better understand what budget you should set aside if you want to publish your work and inspire the next generations with your storytelling.
For the next part of our guide, we'll talk about how to use a children's book template to visualize your story page-by-page before adding illustrations.
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