Expensive to publish. The art can be anywhere from $500 - $4000 depending on the quality and quantity. VAs for an audiobook can also cost anywhere from $2000 - $10000 depending on their skill and how well known they are. Editing is also anywhere from $1000 - $3000 depending on the editor and how much time they have to spend on it. I didn't even mention the ISBN and other legal documents for copyright. This is why it's taking me so long to publish mine because I have to save up the money.
I'm not sure how best to promote it but you could try sending copies to booktubers and see if they would be willing help crowdfund via a sponsorship or ad-piece in a video. Though you may have to pay a sponsorship fee. Another idea might be via beta-readers. Though that can be unsafe.
This is very informative. It would be cool though to publish though.
You're obviously not using the right publisher. Amazon KDP is free. They just take a cut from the publishing costs (they're print-on-demand).
They still will need art, if they want art. Depending on their confidence editing, they'll want an editor as well. There are certain requirements for the quality of English for Amazon KDP. There are still costs. Although, yes, I do advice using Amazon KDP. Self publishing is revolutionary.
Ah, I didn't realize he desires to publish it
I am using Amazon KDP and yes, they pay for the ISBNs and legal fees. All the stuff I listed are the expenses that I currently have paid for and am continuing to pay for. I've already paid my editor $2100. My illustrator has cost me $1200 and I still have to pay another $1800 for the rest of the illustrations. The VAs ($4000 - $6000 for the ones I want) and advertising costs ($1500 for the Amazon advertising service) are still there and I need to pay for them as soon as I have the money. The formatting program also cost $147. Self publishing costs money, whether you use Amazon KDP or not.
Yep.
are audiobooks and illustrations are a necessity?
Not really. Though most people who want to earn money from it will get an audiobook as audiobooks tend to bring in the majority of an authors income on Amazon. There are plenty of videos and publisher blog statistics that back this up. Illustrations aren't necessary but for my story, I would like there to be some. Buried Planets story has some amazing illustrations and I feel like they make me want to read it more. It all depends on the story and whether or not the illustrations positively or negatively effect the story's desirability and readability.
Carefully.