How to set prices and earn royalties on your independently published novel

Setting the right price for your independently published novel is crucial to maximizing your earnings while ensuring your book remains competitive in the market. The price you choose not only affects your royalties but also influences readers’ perceptions of your book’s value. Here’s how to make strategic pricing decisions and understand how royalties work.

Royalties are the payments you receive for each copy of your book sold. Unlike traditional publishing, where authors typically receive a small percentage of sales (usually 5-15%), independent authors keep a much larger share of their earnings—often 35-70% for ebooks and 40-60% for print books, depending on the publishing platform and pricing model. However, royalties are calculated after subtracting production costs, platform fees, and any distributor cuts.

Factors to consider when setting your book’s price

To set a profitable and competitive price for your book, consider the following:

• Production costs: Editing, cover design, formatting, and printing costs should be factored into your pricing to ensure you not only break even but can also earn a profit.
• Target audience: Research what readers in your genre expect to pay. Readers of indie-published books may be more price-sensitive than those buying traditionally published books.
• Market trends: Look at the pricing of similar books in your genre. Are indie authors pricing lower or matching traditional publishers?
• Perceived value: A higher price can suggest professionalism and quality, while a lower price can attract bargain-seeking readers. However, pricing too low may signal that your book lacks value.
• Platform-specific considerations: Amazon KDP, IngramSpark, and other platforms have different royalty structures and minimum pricing requirements. For example, KDP Select requires your ebook to be priced between $2.99 and $9.99 to qualify for the 70% royalty rate.

Pricing ebooks vs. print books

Ebooks and print books require different pricing strategies due to differences in production costs and reader expectations.

• Ebooks: Indie-published ebooks typically range from $0.99 to $4.99, with $2.99 to $4.99 being the sweet spot for most genres. Lower prices can attract impulse buyers, while higher prices can suggest premium content.
• Paperbacks: The average price for a self-published paperback is $9.99 to $16.99, depending on the book’s length and printing quality. Printing costs directly impact royalties, so pricing must account for these expenses.
• Hardcovers: Due to higher production costs, indie hardcovers generally sell for $19.99 to $29.99. While they have a smaller audience, they can be lucrative for authors with dedicated readers.

NOTE: These prices are likely to fluctuate due to inflation and the impact of tariffs, especially on elements such as paper, which is often imported to the United States from Canada.

Pricing low vs. high: Risks and benefits

Many indie authors price their books lower than traditionally published books to attract readers, but this strategy has trade-offs:

• Lower pricing can lead to higher sales volume, especially for new authors trying to build an audience. However, it may also devalue your work and reduce perceived quality.
• Higher pricing allows for greater profits per sale and can position your book as a premium product. However, if the price is too high, it may limit sales, especially for unknown authors.

As an independent author, you have full control over your pricing strategy. You can experiment with different price points, use limited-time promotions, and leverage pricing strategies like free ebooks to drive sales of sequels or related books. Adjusting prices based on performance and reader feedback ensures you remain competitive while maximizing your royalties.

By understanding the factors that influence pricing and royalties, you can make informed decisions that put you in control of your book’s success. Have you experimented with pricing your indie books? Share your experience in the comments!

Want to learn more about the steps of the novel writing process? Start at the beginning of this series HERE.

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Now that Jack has been forced to reflect on everything he has to lose, he resolves to do better. He’s determined to spend more time at home with his family and repair the relationships that have suffered over the years while he’s been so focused on work. But as Callie’s behavior becomes increasingly bizarre, Jack realizes he has a lot more room to improve than he realized – and it might be too late to save his daughter after all.

For fans of We Need to Talk About Kevin, The Push, and Baby Teeth.