Full-service author package or hiring an editor, cover designer and web designer separately?
If you like running projects, already know an editor and a cover designer you trust, and have the hours to manage them, hiring each person separately gives you the most control and often the lowest bill. If you would rather write while one team carries the book from manuscript to launch, a full-service package is usually the calmer choice. The right answer depends on your time, your experience and how much coordination you want to do.
What matters more than the route is that you keep ownership of the book.
What a book actually needs
Whichever way you go, a professionally published novel usually needs the same pieces:
- Developmental editing, for the story's structure, pace and characters.
- Copyediting and proofreading, for the sentences, consistency and typos.
- A cover designed for the genre, at the sizes the store requires.
- Interior formatting for the ebook and the paperback.
- Publishing set-up: the account, the book's details, categories, keywords and an ISBN, which KDP can provide.
- An author website and a way to collect readers' email addresses.
- A launch plan, so the book is not released into silence.
For a fuller look at what each piece tends to cost, see What does it really cost to self-publish a novel on Amazon?
When hiring separately is the better choice
- You have published before and know what good editing looks like.
- You already have people you trust, or the patience to vet them properly.
- You want to choose each specialist yourself, for example a cover designer who works only in your genre.
- You enjoy the logistics: briefs, schedules, files, revisions.
For editing rates, the Editorial Freelancers Association publishes an editorial rates chart drawn from its members, which is a sensible reference before you agree a fee.
The hidden cost of hiring separately
The freelancers are rarely the problem. The gaps between them are. The editor finishes after the cover designer has already set the title. The formatter uses an old version of the manuscript. The website designer has never heard of the launch date. Someone has to hold the whole project in their head, and if you hire separately, that someone is you.
When a full-service package makes sense
- It is your first book and you would rather not learn the publishing trade at the same time as writing.
- Your time is better spent writing, or running the business or practice that pays for the book.
- You want one person accountable for the schedule and the quality of every piece.
- You want the website, the mailing list and the launch built around the book from the start, not added later.
How to judge any package
| Ask | A good answer |
|---|---|
| Who owns the rights? | You do, entirely |
| Whose Amazon account is it published under? | Yours |
| Who receives the royalties? | You, all of them |
| What exactly is included? | A written list of every service |
| What does it cost? | A fixed price, agreed before work starts |
| Can I see books you have produced? | Yes, with links to the store |
If a provider takes a share of your royalties, keeps rights, or pushes extras after you have signed, walk away. The Alliance of Independent Authors runs a watchdog desk that monitors self-publishing services, and it is worth checking any company there first. We cover the warning signs in Is a vanity press a scam?
Where Bay House fits
Our Become an Author service is a full-service route, built for people who want one team from first chapter to launch. We write the novel with you, using AI as a tool under your direction, publish it on Amazon under your own account, and build your author website. Essentials starts from $10,000; Author Studio, from $25,000, adds an AI-assisted mailing list, welcome series and new-release emails; and Author Platform, up to $50,000, adds two social platforms, a launch campaign, Amazon promotion and ongoing support. The book is published under your name, on your own Amazon account, and Amazon pays the royalties directly to you. See our pricing; every project ends in a fixed-price proposal.
Common questions
Is a full-service self-publishing package a scam?
Not necessarily. A legitimate package charges a clear fee for named services and leaves you with your rights, your publishing account and all of your royalties. Be wary of any package that takes a share of royalties or rights on top of a fee.
What is the cheapest way to self-publish professionally?
Usually hiring a few freelancers yourself, if you have the time to find, brief and manage them. The saving is real, but it is paid for in hours and in the risk of a weak link.
Who should own the Amazon account when someone publishes for me?
You should. The KDP account, the book listing and the royalty payments should all be in your name, so you can change helpers without losing your book.
