Costs and economics
What we deliver — and what it costs
Every book passes through the same six stages. Below is exactly what The Premium Edition delivers at each one, how AI does the heavy lifting, and an example cost range for every line. Actual costs vary by book, length, market and supplier — and are agreed with you before any work begins.
Writing & Editing
What we deliver
- Developmental & structural edit
- Line editing and copyediting
- Final proofread
- Fact and source verification
AI drafts edits and flags weak claims at speed; a human editor approves every substantive change.
Example cost range — actual costs vary by book, length, market and supplier.
| Author research and travel | $0–$10,000 |
| Ghostwriting or substantial writing support | $15,000–$75,000 |
| Developmental editing | $2,500–$10,000 |
| Structural or editorial assessment | $1,000–$5,000 |
| Subject-matter expert review | $1,000–$7,500 |
| Fact-checking and source verification | $500–$5,000 |
| Line editing | $2,000–$7,500 |
| Copyediting | $1,500–$5,000 |
| Final proofreading | $750–$2,500 |
| Indexing, where required | $750–$3,000 |
Design & Production
What we deliver
- Cover design directions
- Print interior design & typesetting
- Ebook conversion and testing
- ISBN and metadata setup
AI generates cover and layout directions and production files; design decisions are curated by hand.
Example cost range — actual costs vary by book, length, market and supplier.
| Cover design | $800–$4,000 |
| Hardcover jacket adaptation | $400–$2,000 |
| Print interior design | $500–$2,500 |
| Ebook conversion and testing | $250–$1,250 |
| ISBN and metadata administration | $0–$250 |
| Proof copies and shipping | $100–$750 |
| Accessibility review | $250–$1,500 |
| Corrections after proofing | $250–$2,000 |
Printing & Distribution
What we deliver
- Print-on-demand or offset printing
- Global retailer & library distribution
- Warehousing and fulfilment
- Returns and inventory handling
Distribution, metadata and pricing are managed through automated retailer feeds and monitored continuously.
Example cost range — actual costs vary by book, length, market and supplier.
| Print-on-demand manufacturing | $8–$15 per copy |
| Bulk offset printing | Highly volume-dependent |
| Customer shipping | $3–$20 per order |
| Payment processing | 2%–4% |
| Online retailer or marketplace share | 30%–55% |
| Wholesale bookstore discount | 40%–55% |
| Returns reserve | 0%–20% of trade sales |
| Warehousing | $0–$500+ per month |
| Damaged or unsold inventory | Project-dependent |
Marketing & Launch
What we deliver
- Launch plan & positioning
- Advance review copies and outreach
- Paid advertising management
- Media & podcast preparation
AI drafts campaign assets, ad variants and outreach at scale; spend and messaging are approved before launch.
Example cost range — actual costs vary by book, length, market and supplier.
| Author or book website | $1,000–$10,000 |
| Advance review copies | $300–$1,500 |
| Book trailer or promotional video | $500–$5,000 |
| Photography | $300–$2,000 |
| Public relations support | $0–$10,000 |
| Paid advertising | $500–$15,000 |
| Launch event | $500–$5,000 |
| Podcast and media preparation | $500–$3,000 |
| Conference attendance and travel | $1,000–$10,000 |
Audiobook
What we deliver
- Audiobook manuscript preparation
- AI or human narration
- Audio mastering to retailer spec
- Audio distribution
AI narration produces a full audio edition affordably; a human pass corrects pronunciation and pacing.
Example cost range — actual costs vary by book, length, market and supplier.
| Audiobook manuscript preparation | $500–$2,500 |
| AI voice generation | $100–$1,500 |
| Human review and corrections | $1,000–$5,000 |
| Audio mastering | $500–$3,000 |
| Professional human narration | $3,000–$20,000 |
| Distribution and retailer deductions | Platform-dependent |
Ongoing Administration
What we deliver
- Quarterly royalty statements
- Tax and bookkeeping
- Metadata and edition updates
- Rights management & licensing
Accounting and reporting are automated, producing clear statements the author can reconcile line by line.
Example cost range — actual costs vary by book, length, market and supplier.
| Royalty accounting and reporting | $500–$3,000 annually |
| Tax and bookkeeping | $500–$5,000 annually |
| Metadata updates | $0–$1,000 annually |
| Revised edition work | $500–$5,000 |
| Rights management | Project-dependent |
| Customer service and returns | Volume-dependent |
The publishing process
- 01
Proposal and manuscript assessment
- Who decides
- The Premium Edition editorial team
- Who pays
- No charge for review
- Approval needed
- None yet — assessment only
- Rights licensed
- None
- When the author can terminate
- Either party, at any time before an agreement is signed
- 02
Commercial and audience review
- Who decides
- The Premium Edition, with author input
- Who pays
- No charge
- Approval needed
- None yet
- Rights licensed
- None
- When the author can terminate
- Either party, at any time before an agreement is signed
- 03
Publishing-model selection
- Who decides
- Jointly agreed by author and publisher
- Who pays
- N/A — this stage sets who pays for what
- Approval needed
- Both parties must agree the model and hurdle (if Growth Partnership)
- Rights licensed
- None yet
- When the author can terminate
- Either party, before the agreement is signed
- 04
Editing, production and audiobook
- Who decides
- The Premium Edition manages, author approves final content
- Who pays
- Per the agreed model and cost allocation
- Approval needed
- Author approval required on all substantive edits and cover art
- Rights licensed
- Print, digital and audio publishing rights, for the agreed term
- When the author can terminate
- Per the signed agreement's termination clause
- 05
Distribution and launch
- Who decides
- The Premium Edition manages retailer and distributor relationships
- Who pays
- Per the agreed model
- Approval needed
- Marketing spend above the agreed budget requires author sign-off
- Rights licensed
- As above, active for the publication term
- When the author can terminate
- Per the signed agreement's termination clause
- 06
Reporting, optimization and rights development
- Who decides
- Joint, with quarterly reporting from the publisher
- Who pays
- Ongoing costs per the agreed model
- Approval needed
- New editions, translations, or subsidiary rights deals require author approval
- Rights licensed
- Unexercised rights (film, translation, etc.) remain available for separate negotiation
- When the author can terminate
- Per the signed agreement's notice period and rights-reversion clause