Packages and pricing
Quoted on your book, not on a tier
We do not sell fixed bronze, silver and gold packages. A price list either overcharges short books or underquotes complex ones, so every quote is itemised and built from your actual manuscript.
Why we quote this way
Fixed packages suit the seller, not the author
A published package has to be priced for the worst case inside its band, otherwise the company loses money on the longer books. That means most authors in that band are paying for work their book does not need.
The other failure is the opposite one. An author with a 140,000-word first draft needing structural work buys a mid-tier package, and either the scope quietly shrinks or the quality does.
We read a sample first, work out what your manuscript genuinely requires, and price those stages individually. Sometimes that comes in under what an author expected. When it does, we say so rather than quietly billing the difference.
Cost drivers
The six things that move the number
Understanding these lets you shape the quote yourself: several are within your control before you send anything.
Word count
Editing, proofreading and typesetting all scale with length. This is the single largest factor, and it is why we ask for your word count before anything else.
Condition of the draft
A manuscript that has been through beta readers and a self-edit costs meaningfully less to edit than a first draft. Time spent revising before you send it comes straight off the quote.
Level of editing required
A copy edit is a fraction of the cost of developmental editing, because developmental work involves a full read before any editing begins. The assessment determines which you need.
Design complexity
A text-only novel interior is straightforward. Illustrated books, children's picture books, cookbooks and anything with tables or figures take considerably longer to set.
Formats
Print, ebook and audio are three separate builds from the same edited text. Each is quoted on its own and you can take any combination.
Services selected
You are not obliged to take the full sequence. Authors regularly commission editing only, or design and production only, having handled the rest themselves.
Common combinations
What authors usually commission
These are not fixed packages and carry no set price; they are simply the groupings we are asked for most often.
Editorial only
For authors who intend to handle production themselves but want the manuscript professionally edited first.
- Editorial assessment
- Editing at the recommended level
- Editorial style sheet
- Second pass after your review
Production only
For authors who already have an edited manuscript and need it turned into a finished, sellable book.
- Cover design, full print wrap
- Interior typesetting
- Ebook build
- Proofread of typeset pages
Full publishing
The complete sequence from assessment through to a live listing, managed as one project on one schedule.
- Everything in the two above
- ISBN and imprint setup
- Metadata, categories, keywords
- Distribution setup and proof copy
The quoting process
From sample to a number you can act on
Usually five to ten business days from submission to a written quote.
You send a sample
Roughly 5,000 to 10,000 words plus your total word count, genre and a short description of the book.
An editor reads it
A real assessment of what the manuscript needs, at what level, not an automated word-count calculation.
We issue an itemised quote
Each stage priced separately, with a schedule, so you can see exactly what you are paying for and what it buys.
You decide what to take
Accept all of it, some of it, or none of it. There is no minimum and no obligation.
Payment
Staged, so it tracks the work
Publishing projects run over months. Paying the whole cost upfront puts all the risk on the author, so we invoice by stage as work completes.
- Invoiced stage by stage, not as one upfront sum
- You can stop between stages without penalty
- You keep everything completed and paid for
- Quoted in Australian dollars
- No ongoing fees, retainers or royalty share
- No charge for the initial consultation
Payment terms, staging and any deposit are set out in your written quote and service agreement before work begins. Nothing on this page forms a contract; the agreement does.
Not billable
Things some publishers charge for and we do not
The initial conversation about your book is free and carries no obligation.
We take no percentage of your sales. The retailer pays you directly.
Print, cover and ebook files are handed over at the end at no extra charge.
No exit fee, no catalogue lock-in, no charge to move your book elsewhere.
Questions
Pricing questions, answered
Because it would be misleading. Two 80,000-word manuscripts can need completely different amounts of work, and any single figure would either overcharge the cleaner draft or underdeliver on the rougher one. Reading a sample first is the only honest way to price this work.
Yes, call or email with your word count, genre and an honest description of what state the draft is in, and we can give you an indicative range. The written quote follows the sample read.
No. Authors commission single services regularly: a cover on its own, a proofread on its own. There is no minimum bundle and no pressure to add stages.
Work is invoiced by stage as it completes, which naturally spreads the cost across the project rather than requiring it upfront. Specific terms are set out in your quote.
We come back to you before doing anything that is not in the quote. You will not receive an invoice for work you did not agree to.
If we allocate one from our block, it is included in the publishing setup line. If you would rather register your own imprint and hold the prefix yourself, you buy those directly from Thorpe-Bowker and we help you set it up.
Yes. Quotes are issued in AUD.
Get a number
Send a sample and we will price the actual work
An editor reads a representative portion of your manuscript and returns an itemised quote covering only the stages your book genuinely needs.
- Free consultation, no obligation
- Itemised so you can decline any stage
- Staged payment as work completes
- Quoted in Australian dollars
Prefer to talk it through? +61 2 8531 1369 · info@harbourbridgepress.com