Publish a book with print on demand – a printed book without a print run
Holding your own book in your hands is a dream for many who write. In the past, that meant printing a run of several hundred copies, paying in advance and hoping the boxes in storage would sell. With print on demand, you need neither a print run nor a warehouse. The book is printed when someone orders it, and you can publish it without tying up any money in advance.
In this guide we go through the whole journey from manuscript to bookstore: how print on demand works, how it differs from a printed run, how you prepare your manuscript and cover, which formats you can choose, what it costs and how your book reaches both the online bookstore and the physical bookstore.
What is print on demand?
Print on demand means the book is printed only when someone orders it – one copy or a hundred. There is no print run to be produced in advance, no warehouse to pay for and no unsold books left over. The book is registered with the booksellers and printed when a customer places an order.
For the reader there is no noticeable difference. They order the book in the online bookstore like any other book and receive a printed copy at home with cover, spine and ISBN.
GoRead offers print on demand through a collaboration with Publit, which handles printing, delivery and distribution to the bookstores in Sweden.
Print on demand or a printed run?
The traditional way to print a book is to order an entire run at once. This gives a lower price per copy, but requires you to pay everything in advance and have somewhere to store the books. Print on demand flips this around: the price per copy is higher, but you only pay for the books that are actually printed.
Upfront cost. A print run is paid for before a single book is sold. With print on demand there is no upfront cost for printing.
Storage. A print run must be stored, packed and shipped. With print on demand there is no inventory.
Risk. If the run sells worse than expected, you are left with unsold books. With print on demand nothing is printed that isn't ordered.
Unit price. Here the print run wins, especially at large volumes.
Availability. A print run can sell out. A print on demand book can always be ordered.
Print on demand suits you if you are publishing your first book, don't know how many copies will sell or want to avoid inventory and logistics. A printed run can pay off if you know you will sell many books yourself, for example at lectures. The two can also be combined: start with print on demand, and order a larger number of copies at cost price once you know what demand looks like.
Advantages and disadvantages of print on demand
The advantages for you as a self-publisher are considerable:
No upfront cost. You don't have to pay for a print run before you know how many people want to buy the book.
The book never sells out. It can always be ordered, whether it's the first month or five years later.
No risk of unsold copies. You avoid boxes of books in storage.
Available in the bookstore. The book can be bought in the online bookstore, and physical bookstores can order it in.
Your own copies at cost price. Order exactly as many books as you need, when you need them.
Fast. It takes days, not months, from finished manuscript to a book that can be bought.
There are also things to be aware of. The price per copy is higher than with a large offset-printed run, and the book is normally not on the shelf in physical stores – it is ordered in when a customer asks for it. For most self-publishers the advantages still outweigh these, since the financial risk disappears.
Prepare the manuscript
The interior, that is the inside of the book, is created automatically from your manuscript. The better prepared the manuscript is, the better the finished book will be.
File format and headings
The manuscript is uploaded as a Word file (.docx). Set chapter headings in Heading 2 and subheadings in Heading 3 and 4, so the chapter division comes out correctly.
Paragraphs and blank lines
Mark a new paragraph with a tab or a single line break, so it appears as an indent in the book. If you want a blank line, for example at a scene change or time jump, use two line breaks.
The parts of the book
Besides the text itself, the manuscript can contain a dedication, prologue, foreword, epilogue and acknowledgements. All are optional. The copyright page, also called the imprint page, you don't need to write yourself. It is built according to industry standard based on the details you fill in, including author name, year of printing, printer, copyright and ISBN.
Images and tables
Manuscripts with images, lists and tables work. Tables may, however, look different in the printed book than in your word processor. If you want full control over the appearance, you can turn the table into an image and place it in the right spot in the manuscript. Keep in mind that colour pages cost more to print than black and white.
Proofreading
A published book cannot be changed easily, so proofread before you proceed. When you upload the manuscript we do a free spell check and content review that you can choose to take advantage of. Simpler changes, such as switching heading level, editing text or merging and splitting chapters, you can make directly in the service.
How to publish a printed book with GoRead – step by step
Upload your manuscript. Log in with BankID and upload the manuscript as a Word file (.docx).
Fill in the details. Enter the title, author and any contributors, for example cover designer, editor, illustrator or photographer. We suggest subject categories and a back cover text that you can edit. Note that the title cannot be changed afterwards.
Choose a cover. Upload your own cover image or choose from three AI-generated suggestions based on the book's content. From the front cover we create a complete print cover.
Choose a format. Choose the format that suits your book (see below).
Preview and order a proof. You see the interior and the cover in preview and can order a sample copy before you decide.
Publish in the bookstore. Under the Bookstore tab you make the book available to the online bookstores and orderable for physical bookstores. You can publish immediately or set a future publication date.
Order your own copies. Under My Pages/Orders you order any number of books to any address.
Which formats can I choose?
Paperback, 155 × 230 mm (softcover). A larger softcover format that works well for non-fiction, among other things.
Trade paperback, 135 × 210 mm (softcover). A popular format that we recommend for fiction.
Hardcover binding, 135 × 210 mm (hardback). A classic book with hard covers, suited for shorter books like children's books and short stories.
For printing technical reasons a printed book must be at least 28 and at most 600 pages. If the book is shorter than 28 pages we add blank pages at the end. As a rule of thumb, 100 pages corresponds to roughly 20,000 words. If the manuscript is longer than about 100,000 words the book exceeds 500 pages and becomes heavy to hold, in which case it may be worth splitting it into several parts.
The cover – the book's most important salesperson
In an online bookstore the cover is the first thing the reader sees, often as a small image in a long list. It should be possible to read the title and grasp the genre even at stamp size.
You have two options:
Your own cover. Upload an image in PNG or JPEG, in portrait format 2:3 and at least 1000 × 1500 pixels. You can state who holds the copyright to the image.
AI-generated cover. We create three suggestions free of charge based on the book's content, and you choose the one you prefer.
From the front cover we create a complete print cover: front cover, spine with title and author name, and back cover with back cover text and EAN code. The colour of the spine and back cover is chosen to harmonise with the front cover. You get a suggestion for the back cover text, which you can edit freely.
ISBN, legal deposit copies and Bokinfo
Three concepts come up when a printed book is to go on sale:
ISBN is the book's unique number. It is needed for the book to be sold via booksellers. You get it from us at no cost, and we place it in and on the book. Each format gets its own ISBN. If you have your own ISBNs you can use them.
Legal deposit copies are the copies of each printed book that must be sent to the National Library of Sweden for preservation.
Bokinfo is the system booksellers use to find and order books. Once your book is registered there, all booksellers can order it.
At GoRead both the legal deposit copy and the registration in Bokinfo are included in the fee for distribution to the bookstore.
What does it cost to publish a printed book?
It is free to create the interior and print cover, and ISBN is included. Costs only arise when you want to make the book available in the bookstore or order copies for yourself.
Distribution to the bookstore: SEK 999, one time. The fee covers sending a legal deposit copy to the National Library of Sweden and registering the book in Bokinfo.
Your own copies at cost price. The printing cost is a base cost of SEK 22 for softcover or SEK 75 for hardback, plus SEK 0.22 per black-and-white page and SEK 0.95 per colour page. On top of that comes 6% VAT and shipping, which depends on where the books are to be sent.
Some examples of printing cost per copy for a black-and-white book, excluding VAT and shipping:
100 pages: approximately SEK 44 in softcover or SEK 97 in hardback.
200 pages: approximately SEK 66 in softcover or SEK 119 in hardback.
300 pages: approximately SEK 88 in softcover or SEK 141 in hardback.
The exact price for your book is shown on the order page before you order.
Set the right price for the book
You decide yourself what price you want to sell the book for to the booksellers, and the service helps you with the pricing. The bookstore then adds its margin and sets the price in the store. As a rule of thumb you can expect a markup of around 50% on the purchase price, but it varies between booksellers.
A calculation example: if you set the price to the bookstore at SEK 120, and the bookstore adds 50%, the store price ends up around SEK 180. Feel free to compare with what similar books in your genre cost in the online bookstore, and keep in mind that the printing cost increases with the number of pages.
Sales, payout and tax
The booksellers report sales via Publit. They are shown under My Account within 30 days and paid out within 60 days after the end of the sales month. Before your first payout you enter your payment details under Balance & Payouts.
We make no tax deduction on the payout. You declare the income yourself, and we submit a statement of income to the Swedish Tax Agency. If your company is VAT-registered, 6% VAT is paid out in addition to the amount.
You retain all rights to your book – GoRead is not a publisher.
Sell the book yourself
Many self-publishers sell a large portion of their books themselves – at signings, lectures, markets or in their own web shop. Order any number of copies to any address. The books are normally printed within two working days and sent by regular post, so you usually have them at home within a week.
Since you buy the books at cost price, you keep the entire difference when you sell them yourself. If you need more, you place a new order on the same page, where you also see all previous orders.
How long does it take?
Interior and cover: created automatically once you have uploaded the manuscript and chosen a cover.
Proofs and your own copies: normally printed within two working days and usually arrive within a week.
Printed book in the online bookstore: registration often takes a few weekdays, sometimes shorter.
E-book in the online bookstore: usually within a day.
E-book and audiobook on the streaming services: normally within a few hours.
Combine with e-book and audiobook
When you publish a printed book with GoRead, the e-book is created at the same time, free of charge. It can be published both in the online bookstore and on Storytel, BookBeat and Nextory. If you want to reach listeners too, you can produce an AI-narrated audiobook in a few hours. Read more in our guide on producing an AI audiobook.
The more formats the book is available in, the more readers can find it. Some prefer to buy a printed book, others read on an e-reader and many listen.
Common mistakes – and how to avoid them
Publishing without a proof. A sample copy costs little and reveals things the screen does not: margins, the feel of the paper and how the cover colours turn out in print.
Skipping the proofreading. The book cannot be changed easily after publication.
Choosing the wrong title. The title cannot be edited afterwards, so decide before you start.
Making a cover that doesn't show up in small format. Look at the cover at stamp size before you choose.
Setting the price too low. Factor in the printing cost and the bookstore's markup when you set the price.
Publishing a book that is too thick. Above about 100,000 words it is often better to split the manuscript into several parts.
Frequently asked questions about print on demand
Do I need an ISBN?
To sell the book via booksellers an ISBN is needed. You get it from us at no cost, and we place it in and on the book. The e-book, the audiobook and the printed book each get their own ISBN. If you have your own ISBNs you can use them. If you only want the book for private use, no ISBN is needed.
How long does it take before the book can be bought?
Registration of the printed book with the online bookstores often takes a few weekdays, sometimes shorter. The e-book is usually published within a day. You can also set a future publication date.
Is the book available in physical bookstores?
The book is registered in Bokinfo, which means all booksellers can order it into the store when a customer asks for it. However, it does not automatically end up on the shelf.
Can I print the book just for my own use?
Yes. You can order your own copies without publishing the book in the bookstore. Then you only pay for printing, VAT and shipping.
Can I print the book in colour?
Yes. Colour pages cost SEK 0.95 per page, compared with SEK 0.22 for black-and-white pages.
Can I change the book after it is published?
Published books currently cannot be changed easily. Therefore, preview carefully and feel free to order a proof. If you find errors afterwards, you can unpublish the book and publish a new, corrected version. It usually takes one to two weeks before an unpublishing has taken effect everywhere.
Can I publish the book under a pseudonym?
Yes. However, the combination of author name and title must not be identical to, or easily confused with, an already published work.
Do you review the content?
We have no editors who assess the text. However, we do an AI-based content review and spell check to support you. We reserve the right to decline books that may break the law.
Is the printed book sold outside Sweden?
Today the printed book is distributed to the online bookstores on the Swedish market. We are working on distribution of printed books outside Sweden as well. The e-book and audiobook already reach listeners and readers in several countries via the streaming services.
Do I retain the rights to my book?
Yes. GoRead is not a publisher. You retain the copyright and all rights to the book's various formats.
Publish your book today
Upload your manuscript at GoRead and watch your book take shape – interior, cover and e-book are produced free of charge. You'll find more answers in our frequently asked questions.