Penning and Planning: New Formatting Prices 2022

I love formatting books for indie authors. I have formatted over 40 so far and I plan on formatting may more! However, I have been reviewing my formatting service behind the scenes for a while and have now decided to raise my prices. This blog post – Penning and Planning: New Formatting Prices 2022 – explains why.

Why am I raising my formatting prices?

There are a few reasons why I am raising my formatting prices, and they are:

Software update = more choice!

The book formatting software I use – Vellum – recently had its biggest (and most exciting!) update to date. It increased its customisable book styles considerably, now offering 24 as opposed to just 8. The 16 brand new book styles (as well as the updated original 8) also have several elements within them. This means that the interior choices and configurations of all those choices have increased massively.

More choice = more learning and information to share!

As a result of this, I have spent a lot of time getting used to all the new options and engaging in training. I have also written blogs, created social media content and updated client resources explaining everything indie authors need to know about the new Vellum update, in order to make the formatting process as efficient and transparent as possible.

Due to all the new options available, there may be more tweaks needed and/or more communication between myself and the authors whose books I am formatting. This potentially adds more time to projects, which in turn affects the cost.

More learning = more knowledge and improved skills!

As a business offering a formatting service for indie authors, it is essential that I am as familiar as possible with all the existing and new choices and configurations in order to produce quality book interiors. And with every new book I format, especially the more bespoke or challenging ones, the more knowledgeable and experienced I become, and the better I can help the indie authors I work with. As I mentioned previously, I have now formatted over 40 books for indie authors, both fiction and nonfiction, and feel very proud of them all!

What were my previous formatting prices?

My previous formatting prices were as follows:

£79 for a text only manuscript which contains up to 50,000 words.
£89 for a text only manuscript which contains up to 50,000 – 70,000 words.
£99 for a text only manuscript which contains up to 70,000-90,000 words.
£109 for a text only manuscript which contains over 90,000 words, or any length manuscript which contains up to five interior images/graphics/illustrations.
Nonfiction formatting begins at £109 for a manuscript which contains up to 50,000 words and no interior images/graphics/illustrations.

What are my new formatting prices?

My new formatting prices are split into fiction and nonfiction categories as follows:

Fiction formatting prices:

£99 for a text only manuscript which contains up to 50,000 words.
£109 for a text only manuscript which contains between 50,000–70,000 words.
£129 for a text only manuscript which contains between 70,000–90,000 words.
£139 for a text only manuscript which contains between 90,000-100,000 words.
£149 for a text only manuscript which contains over 100,000 words.

It then costs an extra £10 to add up to 3 interior images/graphics/illustrations. An extra £20 for 4-6 images/graphics/illustrations. An extra £30 for 709 images/graphics/illustrations, and so on.

Nonfiction formatting prices:

Nonfiction formatting begins at £149 for a manuscript which contains up to 50,000 words with no interior images/graphics/illustrations.

It then costs an extra £10 to add up to 3 images/graphics/illustrations to a a book containing up to 50,000 words. Therefore, the prices become:

£159 for up to 3 images/graphics/illustrations
£169 for 4-6 images/graphics/illustrations
£179 for 7-9 images/graphics/illustrations
£189 for 10-12 images/graphics/illustrations
£199 for 13+ images/graphics/illustrations

(I personally wouldn’t advise more than 15 images maximum per book in order to minimise the possibility of awkward spacing on pages, which then significantly affects/restricts text placement.)

Please contact me for a bespoke price for formatting a nonfiction book over 50,000 (with or without images).

Nonfiction formatting costs more than fiction formatting as formatting subheaded sections and/or quotes and/or images and/or graphics and/or endnotes takes a lot more time, skill and often more to-ing and fro-ing to get the layout as perfect as possible.

What else is included in your formatting service?

One free round of revisions is included with every formatting project. Further rounds of revisions will be charged at £10 per round (minor changes only). Amending book style and/or book/font size and/or adding (more) images and/or lots of text (which are classed as major changes as they significantly affect the layout) will be charged at £25 per round.

Once the formatting is complete, both the EPUB (ebook) and PDF (print) files will be ready to publish immediately.

When will the new formatting prices take effect?

The new prices will take effect immediately.

Why should you choose Penning and Planning to format your books?

Despite the price increase, I have tried to keep the formatting service as affordable as possible while still taking into account Vellum’s wider range of options and my own ever increasing formatting experience and expertise.

As an indie author myself I know how much you have already invested – time, energy, money – into your book and how good you want it to look. I am efficient (but not slapdash), dependable (I never miss a deadline), and I have a keen eye for detail. All this results in a professional, marketable product you and your readers will greatly appreciate!

Here is a selection of the fantastic fiction and nonfiction books I have previously formatted, should you wish to check them out!

If you’re an indie author who will need a beautifully formatted book this year, please contact me using the form below (or by email: penningandplanning@gmail.com) to secure your slot!