Guides · For Writers
How Book Royalties Work in Self-Publishing (and Why Page Count Matters)
Authors are often surprised by how small the royalty on a printed book is. The reason is simple arithmetic, and once you see it, you can make better decisions about your book before it is printed.
The basic formula
For a print-on-demand book, your royalty per copy is roughly what is left of the price the reader pays (the MRP) after three deductions:
- The store's share. Online stores keep a significant part of the MRP.
- The printing cost. Every copy is printed individually, and the cost rises with every page.
- The distribution platform's share. This depends on the plan your book is distributed under.
Why page count matters
Printing cost rises with the number of pages, but the MRP usually does not rise in step. A long book at a modest price can leave very little royalty per copy. Careful typesetting, with the right trim size, font size and spacing, can reduce the page count without making the book any harder to read.
Why price matters
A small increase in MRP goes almost entirely to royalty, because the printing cost stays the same. Price your book against similar books in your genre, not at the lowest number possible.
When the money arrives
Online stores pay distribution platforms weeks after a sale, so royalties always arrive some weeks after a copy sells. A fair contract pays royalty on money actually received, with statements on a fixed schedule.
How it works with us
In our Imprint and Edition tiers, your book sits in your own print-on-demand account and your royalty is paid to you directly, in full. In Select, we hold the book and pay your royalty share with quarterly statements, and you can ask for the raw sales export at any time.