Learn / Royalties
Royalties, explained — no marketing fog.
No two stores split the money the same way. Below is the real arithmetic: what lands in your account, what the platform keeps, and why one title sold across three channels pays out three different amounts.
Amazon KDP eBook royalties (70% and 35%)
For Kindle eBooks listed between $2.99 and $9.99, KDP returns a 70% royalty after deducting a modest delivery charge ($0.07–$0.15 per MB).
Price your eBook above or below that window and the royalty rate drops to 35%.
Quick example: a $4.99 eBook with a 5MB file lands you about $3.40 per copy on the 70% tier.
Amazon KDP paperback royalties
For print, KDP hands you 60% of the list price once the printing cost is subtracted.
Printing runs $0.85 (a flat charge) plus $0.012 per page in black-and-white, with colour costing more. Take a 300-page paperback listed at $12.99: printing works out to roughly $4.45, so your royalty is about ($12.99 × 0.6) - $4.45 = $3.34.
IngramSpark royalties
With IngramSpark, you collect the full list price minus the wholesale discount (commonly 55%) and the printing cost.
Run the same 300-page paperback at a $12.99 list price with a 55% wholesale discount: the author keeps $12.99 × 45% - print cost ≈ $5.84 - $4.50 = $1.34 a copy. That's less per unit than Amazon, but in exchange your book reaches bookstores and libraries worldwide.
Apple Books and Kobo
Apple Books keeps it simple: a flat 70% royalty regardless of price, with none of Amazon's price-tier rules.
Kobo gives you 70% on eBooks at $2.99 and up, dropping to 45% on cheaper titles. Reads through the Kobo Plus subscription pay out on a per-page-read basis.
Audible / ACX (audiobooks)
Going exclusive on ACX earns the author 40% of the list price.
Choosing non-exclusive distribution drops you to 25%, but frees you to list the same audiobook on other stores too (Apple Books, Spotify, and more).
What it adds up to
Picture a self-published author moving 1,000 paperbacks and 2,000 eBooks on Amazon at $12.99 and $4.99 — that comes to around $10,140 in royalties.
Sell those same 3,000 copies through a traditional publisher paying a 10% royalty and the author pockets closer to $3,000 — most of which stays out of reach for 12–18 months thanks to publisher reporting schedules.
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