How Much Does Book Marketing Cost? Real Prices for Authors (2026)

What do editorial book reviews cost?

Paid editorial reviews are the most clearly priced part of the market. Most trade review services list a fixed fee, with a higher fee for a faster turnaround.

Long books can cost more. BookLife adds $100 for books over 100,000 words. Other review services also sell paid reviews, but we have left out any price we could not confirm on the seller’s own page.

The fee buys a review, not a good review. Kirkus says plainly that reviews can be negative, and an author who receives one can choose not to publish it. You keep the feedback but lose the fee.

Trade reviews are most useful as quotes for your cover, your Amazon page and your pitches to booksellers and libraries. They reach fewer ordinary readers than people expect. A review on a reader-facing book site does a different job: it puts your book in front of people who already buy your genre. That is what our editorial book reviews for authors are for, published on a site with a 200K+ audience.

How much does a book publicist cost?

Publicists rarely publish fixed fees, and the estimates you will find online vary too widely for us to repeat any of them here. Treat a publicist as a quote, not a price: ask for it in writing, with the length of the contract and exactly what is included.

A publicist sells access and hours, and neither guarantees coverage. The spend makes most sense when the book has a story a journalist would want without the book attached: a newsworthy subject, an expert author or a strong local angle. A debut novel with no such hook is a harder case. Before signing, ask which outlets they will pitch and what they got for a comparable book.

What do book ads cost?

Amazon Ads has no fixed price. You set your own budget and pay when someone clicks. Your book must be claimed in Author Central and available in the country you target.

We have left out a typical cost per click because it moves with genre and country. Run a small test and use your own number.

Goodreads Giveaways sit nearby. Check the current price on the booking screen, because we could not confirm a current figure.

What do Bookstagram and BookTok creators charge?

Many will read a free copy and post if they want to, and that remains the best route. Those who charge set their own rate and there is no public rate card, so ask, and pick accounts by the comments under their posts, not the follower count.

How much does a book tour cost?

Some virtual tour companies publish clear prices. In-person tours have no price list, because the cost is your own travel, hotels and time.

For an in-person tour, add up travel, hotels and meals for each stop before you commit, and ask each shop what it expects you to bring.

What do book promotion sites cost?

Promo sites sell a slot in a reader newsletter, usually for a discounted or free ebook. Prices follow genre and audience size. BookBub publishes a full price chart; these are examples from its United States list.

Other newsletters, such as Freebooksy, Bargain Booksy, The Fussy Librarian and Robin Reads, also sell slots. Their prices change, so check the live booking page.

BookBub is the costly one and the hardest to get. You apply, and meeting the requirements does not guarantee selection. Books must be free or discounted by at least 50%, and a rejected title waits at least four weeks before resubmitting. BookBub does not state what its prices will earn back, though it does publish expected click ranges.

How much does book marketing cost on a small budget?

Spend in the right order. This order is our own judgement, and it assumes your editing and cover are already done. If they are not, start there: these self-publishing mistakes cost more than any ad can recover, and this guide on what to control before hiring a company is worth reading before you pay anyone. For when to do each step, follow our week-by-week plan to promote a self-published book.

1. Your own channels first. Fix your Amazon description and categories, then start a mailing list on MailerLite’s free plan (up to 250 subscribers). BookFunnel’s First-Time Author plan at $30 a year handles review copies. How readers decide to buy explains why the page comes first: every paid click lands there.
2. One small test. Book a single promo-site slot in your genre, timed to a price drop, and add a low daily Amazon Ads budget. Note what sells before you repeat it.
3. Reader reviews. Add a review-only blog tour, such as the $75 one above, or look at NetGalley, which reaches professional readers. Check its current fee first.
4. One trade review. Buy this only if you have a use for the quote, and order early, because standard service takes up to nine weeks. Then apply for BookBub with a real deal lined up.
5. Then, if ever, a publicist. Do this once you have a story to pitch and a page that converts.

Promotion also behaves differently from country to country, so check how each Amazon store treats your book before you pay to reach it.

If you would rather have one team handle a campaign than assemble it piece by piece, our book promotion services cover reviews, author interviews and social media, and we can tell you honestly whether they suit your book.