How much does it cost to publish a book in Nigeria?

Between ₦599,000 and ₦20,000,000 depending on the package. Most first-time authors publishing a standard-length book land between ₦1,000,000 and ₦2,000,000.

Can I publish for less than ₦500,000?

Not with a full service. At that level you are doing the editing, cover and layout yourself and paying only for ISBN and printing.

Do I need to buy copies?

Printing is included in the packages. Distribution to bookstores and online retailers is separate, and can be print-on-demand with no upfront stock, or a print run.

How long does it take?

Typically 6 to 8 weeks from the final manuscript for a standard package. Rush timelines are possible and are priced as a rush.

Do I keep the rights?

Yes. You keep your copyright and 100% of your royalties. We are a self-publishing company — not a traditional publisher, and not a partnership.

What do you need to give an exact figure?

Your manuscript in Word format, the approximate page count, whether you need colour inside, and how many copies you want.

How much does it cost to publish a book in Kenya?

Between KSh 90,500 and KSh 1,295,000 depending on the package. Most first-time authors publishing a standard-length book land between KSh 168,000 and KSh 323,500.

Can I publish for less?

Not with a full service. At the lower end you are doing the editing, cover and layout yourself, and paying mainly for ISBN and printing.

Do I need to buy copies?

Printing is included in the packages. Distribution to bookstores and online retailers is separate, and can be print-on-demand with no upfront stock, or a print run.

How long does it take?

Typically 6 to 8 weeks from the final manuscript for a standard package. Rush timelines are possible and are priced as a rush.

Do I keep the rights?

Yes. You keep your copyright and 100% of your royalties. We are a self-publishing company — not a traditional publisher, and not a partnership.

What do you need to give an exact figure in KES?

Your manuscript in Word format, the approximate page count, whether you need colour inside, and how many copies you want.

Self-Publishing Glossary: 40 Terms Authors Actually Need

Updated September 2026. The words that decide what you pay, what you get and what your book can do — in plain English.

Most publishing quotes are confusing because the vocabulary is unfamiliar, not because the work is complicated. Here is what each term actually means, so you can read any quote — ours or anyone else's — and understand exactly what you are buying.

ARC (Advance Reader Copy): A free early copy given to reviewers, bloggers or readers before launch, in exchange for an honest review. Usually a digital file; sometimes a small print run.
Back matter: Everything after the main text: acknowledgements, author bio, other books, a call to action, appendices.
Barcode: The scannable symbol on the back cover. It encodes the ISBN so bookshops and warehouses can scan the book. Generated from the ISBN.
Bleed: Extra artwork extending past the trim line — usually 3mm — so that when the page is cut, the colour runs cleanly to the edge. Without bleed you get thin white slivers.
Blurb: The short sales description on the back cover (or the book's retail page). Also used loosely for the endorsement quotes from other authors.
Case binding: Hardcover binding where the pages are sewn or glued into a rigid board case. More expensive and more durable than a paperback.
CMYK: The four-colour print model (cyan, magenta, yellow, black). Print files should be CMYK. Screens use RGB, which is why colours can look different on paper.
Copyediting: The edit that fixes mechanics, consistency and accuracy — spelling, grammar, punctuation, style-sheet consistency — without rewriting the author's sentences.
Developmental editing: An edit to structure, argument, pacing and organisation. The biggest and most expensive kind of edit, and usually the most valuable on a first book.
Distribution: Getting the book into the systems retailers buy from. Separate from printing: a book can be printed and still be undiscoverable without distribution.
DPI: Dots per inch — resolution. Print images need 300dpi at their final printed size. Web images need far less. Low-resolution images print soft or pixelated.
Drop cap: A large decorative first letter at the start of a chapter. A design choice, not a rule.
DRM: Digital Rights Management — software that restricts copying of an eBook. Some retailers want it; many indie authors now skip it.
EPUB: The standard reflowable eBook format. Text adapts to the reader's screen size and font choice. What you want for Amazon, Apple Books and Kobo.
eBook conversion: Turning a print layout into a reflowable digital book. Not a file rename — a print layout does not work as an eBook, and it has to be rebuilt.
Front matter: Everything before the main text: title page, copyright page, dedication, table of contents, foreword or preface.
Ghostwriting: Writing the book on the author's behalf, in their voice, usually credited to the author. Usually the most expensive service in publishing.
Gloss / matte laminate: The protective finish on a cover. Gloss is shinier and more striking; matte looks more premium but shows fingerprints.
Gutter / inner margin: The margin at the spine side of the page. It must be wider than the outer margin or the text disappears into the binding.
Hardcover: Rigid-board binding. Priced as the premium format — costlier per copy than paperback.
Imprint: A publisher's brand name. A self-publishing author can register their own imprint, which is simply a name they publish under.
IngramSpark: A print-on-demand and distribution service used widely by indie publishers to reach bookshops and libraries.
ISBN: The International Standard Book Number — the unique identifier for one edition of one book. Every format (paperback, hardcover, eBook) needs its own.
KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing): Amazon's self-publishing platform. Free to use; Amazon takes a share of each sale. Also prints paperbacks through KDP Print.
KDP Select: An optional programme that makes an eBook exclusive to Amazon for 90 days in exchange for marketing benefits. A trade-off, not a default.
Leading: The vertical space between lines of text. Too tight and the page feels dense; too loose and it looks thin.
List price: The cover price the author sets. Royalties are calculated from it, and it must be high enough to cover printing and leave a margin.
Offset printing: Traditional printing using metal plates. Cheaper per copy at high volumes (generally 500+), expensive at low volumes.
Orphan / widow: A single line left alone at the bottom (orphan) or top (widow) of a page. Print layouts are adjusted to avoid them.
Paperback: Softcover binding. The standard format for most first print runs.
Perfect binding: The standard paperback binding: pages glued into a square spine. Cheap and fine for most books, but thick books resist staying open.
Podcast / print-on-demand (POD): Printing copies one at a time as orders arrive. No upfront stock, higher cost per copy. The opposite of a print run.
Proofreading: The final pass for typos and small errors, after editing and layout. Not a substitute for copyediting.
Royalty: The author's share of each sale. In self-publishing the author keeps the large majority — sometimes 100% of the publisher's share — unlike traditional publishing.
Running head: The text at the top of each page, usually the book title or chapter name.
Smyth sewn / thread sewn: Binding where sections are sewn together with thread before being cased. The book lies flat and lasts. A premium option, and not available from most short-run printers.
Style sheet: The document recording an author's decisions — spelling conventions, punctuation preferences, capitalisation — so the edit stays consistent across the whole book.
Trim size: The finished page dimensions of the book (e.g. 6 × 9 inches). Chosen before layout; changing it later means redoing the layout.
Typesetting / interior layout: Arranging the text and images on the page: fonts, margins, spacing, chapter openings. Makes a manuscript look like a book.
Vanity press: A publisher that charges authors to publish, without the selectivity or services of a traditional house. Distinct from self-publishing, where the author keeps control and royalties.

What this means in practice

Four of these terms decide most of what you will spend: trim size (fixed before layout), page count (priced to a page basis), colour interior (the single biggest print jump) and print run (offset is cheaper per copy at volume, digital is cheap at low volume).

And two decide what your book can do once printed: distribution and ISBN — one per format. Printing without those produces a box of books nobody can order.

Get an exact price for your manuscript

Tell us the page count, whether you need colour inside, and how many copies you want — and we will come back with one figure, not a range.