FActors impacting the cost of printing and orders:

  1. The total number of pages in your manuscript. The more pages, the higher the cost (see the examples below).
  2. The use of color in the interior of the book. All covers are full-color. Using color in the interior of the book--even a single color illustration--increases the cost substantially (that doesn't mean it becomes unaffordable; remember you are setting the sale price of your book and a 36 page full-color children's picture book in a bookstore often costs as much as a 350 page black-and-white thriller).
  3. The page size of your book. Larger or more unusual page sizes increase the cost of printing. Our default pages size is called "trade size," which is 5.5 x 8.5 (the size of a piece of typing paper folded in half).
  4. Regarding other costs impacting your order, most times you'll pay tax. The tax amount is set by the location to which your order is being shipped. For example, in Forsyth County, North Carolina, where Empower is headquartered, our tax rate is 0.0675. You are only taxed on the book purchase part of your order. So if you ordered $100 worth of books, you'd pay $6.75 in tax.
  5. The other variable factor is shipping. Shipping charges vary depending on the weight of the book and the number of books. While there is no discount from the printer for larger book orders, shipping is an area where you can save a substantial amount by making a larger order. For instance, shipping a single book can cost up to $4.00. On the other hand, shipping 10 of those same books might only cost $15.00, meaning the cost per book just dropped down to $1.50. Shipping 50 of those books might cost $25.00, meaning the cost dropped down to $0.50 per book. You get the idea.

Some Examples of printing costs:

  1. 310 page novel, 5.5 x 8.5 black-and-white interior = $4.61 print cost per book
  2. 60 page memoir, 5.5 x 8.5 black-and-white interior = $2.15 print cost per book
  3. 36 page children's picture book, 8.5 x 11 full color interior = $3.65 print cost per book

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