How to Price Your Self-Published Book to Produce Robust Sales (and Determine How Much You Will Earn Selling It)
Pricing your book correctly increases sales and profits. To help you determine the suggested retail price (also known as the list price) and the sales price (the price the consumer pays), you need to:
- Determine the costs to deliver the book (which may include printing, shipping/delivery, and handling fees).
- Account for the retail outlet and/or distributor’s percentage of the royalty/revenue share.
- Review prices of similar books for sale.
1. Calculating Costs and Royalty/Revenue Share
Each vendor (retailer, distributor or aggregator) provides a list of costs and revenue share split information on their website. Several sites also provide an online calculator to assist with determining costs and revenue, as well as currency converters to correctly set the price for your book in territories outside the United States.
Calculators:
IngramSpark (Select the "Publishing Calculators" tab)
Book Baby (Does not provide costs for print-on-demand orders)
Barnes & Noble (Scroll down to the section titled "Find Out How Much You Can Make" and select the eBook or Print Book tab as needed)
Amazon KDP (Select the “Download Calculator” button beneath the topic "Printing Cost and Royalty Calculator")
2. Determine the Price/Earnings for Your Book
To determine your earnings:
Option A (Direct Sale)
Sales Price (the price the consumer pays for the book)
- Costs (shipping, printing, handling, delivery fees)
- Retail Outlet’s Royalty/Revenue Share
- Distributor/Aggregator’s Royalty/Revenue Share
= Publisher/Author’s Earnings
Option B (Wholesale)
Wholesale price (53% to 55% or more off the suggested retail price)
- Costs (shipping, printing, handling, delivery fees)
= Publisher/Author’s Earnings
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