Yes — self-published authors see royalty rates anywhere from 35% to 85% per sale, and which number actually lands in your account depends less on the retailer's name than on the price you set, the territory your reader buys from, and the distribution platform you choose. The math is public and documented, but publishers rarely explain it without a sales pitch attached.
How Much Do Self-Published Authors Actually Keep From an Ebook Sale on Amazon?
On Kindle Direct Publishing, you choose between two royalty options on every ebook: 35% of your list price on any sale, or 70% of list price minus a small delivery cost, in eligible territories, per Amazon's KDP royalty terms.
The 35% option applies universally, in every marketplace, and it's the only option available for content that's primarily public domain. The 70% option pays more, but it's conditional: it only applies to customers buying from specific countries listed on Amazon's own pricing page, and Amazon deducts an average delivery cost of about $0.06 per unit, which varies with file size, before paying out, per KDP's documentation. VAT is subtracted before either percentage is applied.
Why Doesn't the 70% Rate Apply Everywhere Amazon Sells Ebooks?
Because the higher rate is territory-gated: readers in eligible countries earn you 70% minus delivery cost, while the identical ebook sold to a reader outside those territories automatically pays 35%, per KDP's royalty documentation. That's why an author's KDP Bookshelf often shows a blended rate rather than one clean number.
There's one more wrinkle. If Amazon lowers your price to match a competitor's listing, you still receive 70% of that matched sale price in eligible territories, minus delivery cost and VAT, rather than 70% of your original list price, per KDP's help pages. The sources don't specify how often price-matching actually triggers for most self-published titles.
How Do Paperback Royalties Work Differently Than Ebooks?
KDP's paperback formula is straightforward: (royalty rate × list price) minus printing cost equals your royalty, and the rate itself steps from 50% to 60% once your list price crosses a marketplace-specific threshold — for example, $9.98 versus $9.99 on Amazon.com — per KDP's paperback royalty page.
A worked example from that same documentation: a $15 paperback at the 60% rate, with $5.00 in printing cost, nets the author $4.00 — ($15 × 0.60 = $9.00) minus $5.00. Printing cost itself is driven by page count, ink choice, and marketplace, not by trim size, bleed, or cover finish, which don't affect the price, per KDP. KDP also enforces a minimum list price so the printing cost can never exceed the royalty. Opting into "expanded distribution," which puts your paperback in front of bookstores and libraries beyond Amazon, drops the rate further, to 40% of list price minus printing cost, per the same source.
What Do Wide-Distribution Platforms Charge Instead of Amazon's Split?
IngramSpark and Draft2Digital don't charge to open an account. IngramSpark pays 85% of the net revenue it actually receives from a retailer on each ebook sale, per IngramSpark's pricing page, while Draft2Digital's author-facing cost is a one-time account-activation fee plus an annual maintenance fee that's waived in your first year, per Draft2Digital's pricing page.
IngramSpark charges separately for ebook conversion — $0.60 per page if your file isn't already a formatted EPUB — and prices print-on-demand books through its own print-and-ship and compensation calculators rather than one flat published rate, per its site. Draft2Digital works as an opt-in aggregator: you pick which of its "hundreds of storefronts worldwide" carry your book, and it also offers print-on-demand paperback distribution, per its own documentation. Neither source publishes IngramSpark's wholesale discount percentage or Draft2Digital's exact fee amounts in dollars — both direct authors to a calculator or an FAQ instead.
Ebook Royalty Models, Side by Side
| Platform | Ebook royalty | Upfront cost | Distribution model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon KDP | 35% (all territories) or 70% minus delivery cost (eligible territories only) | Free | Direct to Amazon only |
| IngramSpark | 85% of net revenue received per sale | Free signup; $0.60/page ebook conversion if needed | Wide wholesale distribution to multiple retailers |
| Draft2Digital | Set by each retailer, passed through to the author | One-time activation fee; first-year maintenance fee waived | Opt-in distribution to major retailers and storefronts |
Figures above are as documented by each platform as of August 2026 and are subject to change; check each platform's own pricing page before publishing.
Which Royalty Model Actually Fits Your Book?
There's no universal best rate. An author pricing an ebook between $2.99 and $9.99 and selling mostly through Amazon generally nets more through KDP's 70% option in eligible territories, per KDP's own math. An author prioritizing wholesale and print-on-demand reach beyond Amazon may find IngramSpark's 85%-of-net ebook split, paired with its print calculators, worth the $0.60-per-page conversion cost, per IngramSpark's documentation. An author who wants to reach many storefronts without picking one primary retailer may prefer Draft2Digital's opt-in model and its waived first-year fee, per Draft2Digital's site.
What none of these three sources establish: exact paperback price thresholds outside the U.S. marketplace, IngramSpark's specific wholesale discount percentage, or Draft2Digital's precise fee amount in dollars. Authors comparing platforms should run their own numbers through each platform's calculator before committing.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Does Amazon ever pay 70% royalty outside the U.S.? Yes, in specific countries listed on Amazon's own pricing page; outside those eligible territories, the same ebook automatically earns 35%, with delivery cost and VAT deducted first, per KDP's royalty documentation.
- Do I have to pay anything upfront to publish through IngramSpark or Draft2Digital? Signing up is free at both. IngramSpark charges $0.60 per page only if a title needs ebook conversion, and Draft2Digital charges a one-time activation fee with the first year's maintenance fee waived, per each platform's pricing page.
- Why would a paperback's royalty percentage change without a price change? It won't change on its own. KDP's paperback rate steps from 50% to 60% once list price crosses a marketplace-specific threshold, and enabling "expanded distribution" drops the rate to 40% regardless of price, per KDP's documentation.
For a related indie perspective, read How Do Indie Ebook Royalties Actually Work?.