This Amazon Kindle royalties calculator shows the ebook royalties on books priced from $2.99 through $19.99 and at sizes up to 20MB.
You can make as much money selling your Kindle ebook for $9.99 as for $19.99, if you choose the 70% royalty option. The 70% royalty on a $9.99 book is $6.98*; for a book selling for $19.99 the 35% royalty option applies, earning you $7.
Amazon’s Kindle royalties options
Amazon gives Kindle authors two choices: a 35% or a 70% royalty. Why, you ask yourself, would anyone choose the 35%? The answer is that Amazon attaches strings to the 70% option for authors. To receive a 70% royalty on sales of your Kindle book you must:
- Price it between $2.99 and $9.99
- Give Amazon the right to sell it in any market for which you have rights (and, if you’re a self-published writer, that’s most likely the whole wide world).
- The price must be 20% lower than the list price for the physical book (no problem at all if you’re a self-published writer who has no physical products)
- The price must be equal to or lower than the price for which you’re selling the same ebook anywhere else
Video lecture from How to Publish Your Ebook on Amazon’s Kindle
This is the lecture on Amazon royalties from How to Publish Your Ebook on Amazon’s Kindle. It’s one of 30 videos in my online course that covers everything you need to know to self-publish your book.
Learn more about How to Publish Your Ebook on Amazon‘s Kindle here.
Other considerations in choosing between the 35% and 70% Kindle royalty options
The 70% royalty is available only on US/UK sales**
Your questions answered: the Kindle Publishing Roadmap takes the confusion out of publishing for the Kindle.
This is less a consideration than an outright limitation: if your book is sold to a reader outside the US or the UK, the 35% option applies.
Owing to the US/UK-centric nature of much of the reporting about the Kindle, this crucial fact is frequently omitted. This omission is surprising because it affects all authors, including those in the UK and the US. Any author might sell an ebook to a customer outside the US and the UK.
It affects some authors more than others, however. If you have written, for instance, an ebook guide to the Australian tax system, you’re likely to see the majority of your sales happen in Australia and at only 35%, even if you meet all the conditions above.
(I have tried to find why out why Amazon has limited the 70% option this way but I couldn’t. If you know, please let me know in the comments section.)
Delivery costs apply on the 70% option
Amazon charges $0.15 for every megabyte it delivers, if you select the 70% royalty option. Because delivery charges don’t apply on the 35% option it might be better to select the 35% option if you have a large book (often the case if you have many pictures and illustrations). The calculator below shows royalties at various prices on books up to 20MB (which in ebook terms is huge).
At least the delivery charge is pro rata, e.g a 400kb (less than half a megabyte) book incurs a delivery charge calculated as:
0.4 x 0.15 = 0.6
That’s a delivery fee of 6 cents. (The minimum delivery charge is 1 cent.)
Kindle royalties calculator
I’ve put together a spreadsheet calculator that shows the royalties you will earn on an ebook. The spreadsheet shows the results of the 70% and 35% options for books priced in dollar increments between $2.99 and $9.99, factoring in delivery fees for books of 0.5MB then 1MB to 20MB in increments of 1MB. It goes on to show the results of the 35% royalty on books priced from $10.99 to $19.99 for which only the 35% royalty is possible and no delivery charges apply.
Kindle Automation for the Mac 70% royalty option, book size and delivery charge
I chose 0.5MB because that’s a good benchmark for books that are light on images. If your book is text-only, there’s good chance it will be smaller. My book Kindle Automation for the Mac is a step-by-step how-to guide so there are 42 screenshots. It’s 0.87MB and incurs a delivery charge of 13 cents.
On the spreadsheet calculator I have rendered in red the point at which delivery charges on large books mean you’re better off choosing the 35% option on books $2.99-9.99, even though you meet the other conditions for the 70% option.
Kindle royalties calculator (PDF, 53KB]
Further reading
Amazon’s 70% Royalty Option FAQ
Recommended
My online course How to Publish Your Ebook for Amazon’s Kindle includes 4.5 hours of video instruction and includes the ability to ask me questions.
It also covers the Amazon royalty question.
Find out more about the online self-publishing course here.
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