Book royalties are the author’s cut of book sales. Your ebook royalty is the money you make from selling ebooks and usually works out to be a percentage of the retail price. This royalty percentage is something to keep in mind when you price your ebook.
Once you know what your retail price will be and what percentage the online retailer will take from that price, you can calculate your ebook royalties. To get you started, here’s a chart that illustrates the royalties percentage difference among online retailers based on list price—the percentage shown indicates how much of the retail price you make.
| List Price | Amazon.com | BN.com | Apple iBookstore | Other Retailers | Direct-to-Reader |
| $0.99–$2.98 | 35% | 40% | 70% | 40%–55% | 95.5%* |
| $2.99–$9.99 | 70% | 65% | 70% | 40%–55% | 95.5%* |
| $10–$199.99 | 35% | 40% | 70% | 40%–55% | 95.5%* |
Please note: This chart is for the purpose of example only. Other factors, such as delivery costs and the country or territory an ebook is purchased in, affect your actual royalties.
*The 95.5% reflects a 4.5% credit card processing fee.
Here are some sample calculations, based on an ebook with a $9.99 retail price.
Click infographic to download PDF version.
How Mill City Press Helps
Our approach to ebook royalties is simple—you keep 100 percent. Unlike third-party distributors, we never take a cut of your royalties.