Ask a room of new authors what they will earn per book sold, and most cannot tell you. Not because the math is hard, but because publishing keeps it wrapped in jargon: royalties, net receipts, list price, delivery fees, advances.
This guide unwraps it. By the end, you will be able to work out, on the back of an envelope, what any book at any price earns its author on Amazon, on other stores, and under a traditional contract.
What a Royalty Actually Is
A royalty is your share of each sale. When a reader pays $9.99 for your book, that money is split between the store, the production or delivery costs, and you. Your percentage of that split is your royalty rate, and the rate depends on three things: the format, the store, and the route you published through.
Ebook Royalties: The 70% and 35% Worlds
On Amazon KDP, ebooks live in two royalty bands:
- 70% royalty for ebooks priced between $2.99 and $9.99 in the main stores. Amazon deducts a small delivery fee first, based on file size, around $0.15 per megabyte in the US store.
- 35% royalty for ebooks priced outside that band, with no delivery fee deducted.
Worked example. Your ebook is priced at $9.99 and the file is 3 MB. Delivery fee: about $0.45. Your royalty: ($9.99 minus $0.45) × 70% = about $6.68 per sale. The same book priced at $12.99 falls in the 35% band: $12.99 × 35% = about $4.55 per sale. Read that again. The cheaper book earns the author more per copy. This is why pricing is a royalty decision, not just a marketing one. Our pricing guide builds on this.
On Apple Books and Kobo, the standard ebook royalty is a flat 70% of the price in most cases, with no delivery fee deduction, which makes them quietly generous for larger files.
Print Royalties: Where the Printing Bill Comes Out First
Print books earn differently because paper costs money. On Amazon KDP, a paperback pays 60% of the list price, minus the printing cost of that copy.
Worked example. Your paperback is priced at $14.99 and has 300 pages. Printing cost for a black ink paperback of that size is roughly $4.60. Your royalty: ($14.99 × 60%) minus $4.60 = $8.99 minus $4.60 = about $4.39 per sale.
Notice what this means for pricing: every dollar you add to the print price adds 60 cents to your royalty, but pricing far above similar books kills the sales themselves. Print pricing is a balance between margin per copy and copies sold.
Traditional Publishing Royalties, for Comparison
Under a traditional contract, the standard rates are roughly 8% to 15% of the cover price for print (rising in steps as sales grow) and 25% of net receipts for ebooks. On that same $14.99 paperback, a 10% royalty is $1.50 per copy, about a third of the self-published figure. On the $9.99 ebook, 25% of net works out to roughly $1.75, against about $6.68 self-published.
| Book | Self-published | Traditional contract |
|---|---|---|
| Ebook at $9.99 | About $6.68 | About $1.75 |
| Paperback at $14.99 | About $4.39 | About $1.50 |
| Ebook at $12.99 | About $4.55 (35% band) | About $2.28 |
Traditional authors also usually receive an advance: money paid up front, which is not a bonus. It is your first royalties paid early. You receive nothing further until the book's earnings pass the advance amount, which many books never do. This is called earning out, and failing to earn out is normal, not shameful.
When and How You Actually Get Paid
Stores pay monthly, but on a delay. Amazon KDP pays royalties about 60 days after the end of the month in which the sale happened, so a book sold in early January pays out around the end of March. Other stores run similar cycles. There is usually a minimum threshold for payment into your account, and the money lands in the currency and tax setup you registered. Royalties feel slow for the first two months and then become a steady monthly rhythm.
A Realistic Month, in Real Numbers
Imagine a first book, self-published, finding its feet:
- 60 ebook sales at $9.99: about $6.68 each = $400.80
- 25 paperback sales at $14.99: about $4.39 each = $109.75
- Total for the month: about $510
The same sales through a traditional contract: 60 ebooks at about $1.75 plus 25 paperbacks at about $1.50 = about $142.50, and only if the advance had already earned out. Same readers, same book. The difference is the contract, and that difference is exactly why authors care about royalties before they sign anything.
How Folio Treats Your Royalties
Folio Authors is publishing software, not a publisher taking a cut of your book. When you publish through Folio, you set the list price for each format, your book is published in your name, and the royalties your book earns on Amazon, Apple Books, and the other stores are the stores' standard author royalties, flowing under your own accounts and your own pricing decisions. Folio charges for its tools and publishing plans once, openly, starting with the $150 Standard plan and publishing from $99, and takes no share of your royalties and no share of your rights. There is even a royalty estimator on our publishing page so you can test prices before you commit to them.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good royalty rate for a book?
For self-published ebooks, 70% in the main price band is the standard benchmark. For print, around 60% of the price minus printing costs. Traditional contracts pay far less per copy: typically 8% to 15% for print and 25% of net for ebooks.
How much does an author make per book sold?
It depends on format, price, and route. As a guide: a $9.99 self-published ebook earns about $6.68 on Amazon, a $14.99 paperback about $4.39, while the same books under a traditional contract earn roughly $1.50 to $1.75 per copy.
What does earn out mean?
It means your book's royalties have added up to more than the advance you were paid. Until that point, the publisher keeps your royalty share against the advance. Many traditionally published books never earn out.
Do authors get paid every time a book is resold second hand?
No. Royalties are paid on new sales through reporting stores. Second hand sales, library lending schemes aside, pay the author nothing, which is one reason authors love readers who buy new or borrow through official library programs that do pay.
Can royalty rates change after I publish?
Store rates can change with store policy, and self-published authors can change their prices any time, which changes the royalty per copy. Under a traditional contract, your rates are fixed by the contract you signed.
The Bottom Line
Royalties are not a detail at the back of the contract. They are the whole economics of being an author. Learn the three numbers that govern your book, the ebook band, the print formula, and the traditional comparison, and you will never sign or price blind again. If you publish with Folio Authors, the rates stay the stores' full author rates, the prices stay yours to set, and the royalties stay yours entirely.
Folio Authors: Publishing Software to Replace all Vanity Press. Save time. Save money. Keep every right.