PAPERBOAT / BEFORE THE PRINT ORDER
Book Edition Cost Worksheet
The lower price per copy can still require the larger check.
Put two supplied quotes beside each other. Separate the printing bill from preparation, delivery and other costs, then see what each scenario asks you to spend and what that means per copy.
By Robert Urban. Free to use, with a downloadable worksheet.
First decide what the two numbers describe.
A paperback quote and a casebound quote may represent two different editions for two different readers. Two paperback quotes may describe exactly the same book at different quantities. Both comparisons can be useful, but they answer different questions.
Record the specification before entering the amounts: binding, trim, page count, paper, ink and delivery destination. Keep the quote date and any included services with it. A price that includes freight should not be compared casually with one that ends at the printer’s loading dock.
The worksheet uses the amounts you supply. It does not look up printing rates or decide how much inventory you should buy. If one quote has a missing shipping amount, the blank stays visible and the tool withholds a full per-copy result for that scenario.
What the fictional example makes visible
Suppose the 500-copy scenario totals $2,600 after all entered costs. Its average is $5.20 per ordered copy. The 1,000-copy scenario totals $3,750, or $3.75 per ordered copy. The larger order lowers the average while requiring another $1,150 in total outlay.
If the first scenario leaves 475 copies available for the intended use, its average becomes $5.47 per available copy. With 950 available copies in the second scenario, that average is $3.95. The money has not changed; the denominator has.
Those are invented teaching figures, not printer prices. They show why a smaller unit number cannot make the ordering decision for you. Demand, storage, cash timing and the possibility of a later revision still need your judgment. A thousand copies of an edition you soon need to change are a different commitment from a thousand copies you have a clear use for.
Compare two quote scenarios
Enter total amounts for each scenario, not prices per copy. Leave a cost blank when it is unknown. Enter 0 only when you have confirmed no separate amount belongs in that row.
No worksheet calculated.
Your entries stay in this page and are not saved between visits. Download before leaving. Changing an input clears the previous calculation.
Give every cost one home.
Separate amounts from inclusions. If setup is already included in the printing total, record that in the notes and enter zero in the separate setup row. Adding the same setup amount again would count it twice. If you simply do not know whether setup costs extra, leave the separate row blank until the quote is clarified.
Choose the preparation basis deliberately. Editing or design may serve both alternatives. Enter the allocation you intend to use in each scenario and describe it. The worksheet compares alternatives; it does not add their totals into one project budget. If you plan to produce both editions, you need a combined budget that handles shared costs once.
Keep quantities distinct. Ordered copies are the copies on the order. Copies available for your intended use are your own planning estimate after any deductions you choose. The latter cannot exceed the former. Zero available copies is allowed, but there is then no per-available-copy calculation.
Let an unknown remain unknown. A blank amount produces a subtotal of the entered costs, with the missing categories listed. Only six completed cost categories produce a full scenario total and per-copy averages. Confirmed zero is a number; missing information is a question.
Use the result to ask a better printing question.
The calculation adds the six cost categories for each scenario and divides that total by the selected copy count. Amounts are handled in whole cents, and per-copy results are rounded to the nearest cent. The total difference is scenario B minus scenario A, available only when both scenarios are complete.
These are cost averages. They do not calculate retail pricing, royalties, distributor deductions or profit. The worksheet also does not estimate taxes or convert currencies. Use actual amounts from the quote and a consistent currency for both scenarios.
For a print-on-demand option, check the provider’s current specification and calculator before entering a figure. KDP’s paperback printing-cost guidance, for example, explains how production choices and marketplace affect its calculation. A current supplier quote belongs here; an assumed universal printing rate does not.
When the costs are clear enough to move forward, use the Book Production Schedule Builder to map the approvals and handoffs. Return to the Writing & Publishing Workshop for the other book workbenches.
Questions at the print desk
Can I compare different formats or print quantities?
Yes. Record each specification and use consistent cost and copy-count definitions. Different editions can serve different purposes, so the lowest average does not automatically identify the right choice.
Why is a per-copy result missing?
A full per-copy result requires every cost category to have an entered amount, including confirmed zeros. A zero count of copies available for the intended use also prevents division by that count.
Does this calculate profit or royalties?
No. It compares the supplied cost scenarios and their averages. Retail pricing, sales, royalties and distribution deductions are outside this worksheet.
Make the production choice fit the book.
If the difficult part is deciding what the edition needs to be, tell me who the book is for, where it will be used and which production choices are unresolved. My book publishing services page explains the editorial, design and production work.