Q. Are my rights protected?
A. Copyright is a type of intellectual property that grants full rights to the author and even though using the copyright symbol isn’t legally required, it does show visible ownership and “claim” to the body of work. You don’t need to register copyright ownership as the creator is the owner and your rights are protected. Still, I always use © with the authors name and the year it is claimed from. Typically, after 70 years it goes into the public domain. A Copyright page is included in all my published books.
Q. Who gets the royalties for book sales?
A. All royalties for book sales go directly to the client. The online book distribution accounts are set up under the client’s name so any royalty is lodged to their bank account.
Q. How much money can I make per book?
A. This depends on the list price of the book and whether the book is a print or digital book. For example for Kindle books on Amazon, you get
- 35% royalty for books priced below $2.99 and above $9.99
- 70% royalty for books priced between $2.99 and $9.99
Not all eBooks are eligible for a 70% royalty-here are the exceptions:
- Some territories/countries are excluded. However, sales in most of the English-speaking countries pay the 70% higher royalty.
- Public domain eBooks are excluded.
- eBook sales in Brazil, Japan, Mexico, and India pay 35% royalty unless your book joins KDP Select.
- You must agree to make your eBook lendable for a 14-day period
For print books on Amazon, royalty is calculated as (list price x 60%) – printing costs = royalty
Royalty is about 40%.
Q: Can I sell the book for whatever price I want?
A. Once it is above the minimum list price. The list price depends on the print cost and then adding Amazons royalty.
Q: How is print cost worked out?
A. For Amazon there is a formula: Fixed cost + (page count * per page cost) = printing cost
For example, here’s how we calculate the printing cost of a 300-page black ink paperback sold on the US marketplace:
$0.85 (fixed cost) + (300 [page count] * $0.012 [per page cost]) = $4.45 (printing cost).
For Ingramspark, there is a similar formula. For traditional printers, there is a discount for bulk printing.
Q: Can I publish hardback books on Amazon?
A. No. if you want a hardback version you need to upload to Ingramspark.
Q: What is the cheapest way to print a colour book?
A: If you want to print in bulk, it will be cheaper to get a quote from a printer. If you want less than 100 copies, it may be cheaper to order directly from your account at Ingramspark. Amazon is very expensive to distribute and print coloured books. Ingram is very cost-effective and affordable and they also distribute to Amazon.
Q: Where can I get my books printed?
A: If you only want a few copies, it is cheaper to get them printed from your author account with Amazon or Ingramspark. For bulk orders, a traditional printer is the way to go.