Indie-publishing is costing more
Just like everything, the price of indie-publishing a book is going up. Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) is raising its prices. On Tuesday, June 20, 2023, costs will change and eat into indie-authors’ bottom lines.
Indie-publishing, also known as independent publishing or self-publishing, is how some writers put their works on shelves. It means paying to publish the book yourself rather than waiting for a traditional publisher to deem your words worthy of print. With an indie-published book, you receive all the royalties. One way to indie-publish is through Amazon’s KDP.
What is KDP?
KDP is a publishing platform. It offers a place for writers to upload their completed books and then have them printed or turned into an ebook. This all comes with costs. When a book is printed, KDP charges fees for materials, suppliers and labour. The payments are covered by the author’s royalties.
In an e-mail, KDP says:
These changes will affect your royalties for paperback and hardcover books. While not required, you may choose to update your list prices to avoid a change in royalty payments or zero royalties on paperback and hardcover books where your list price drops below the new minimum list price. If you make updates to a print book after June 20, it will need to comply with the new minimum list price in order to publish the updates.
KDP has some tools to help evaluate the impact of the new printing costs on royalty earnings: KDP Tools.
Price Write
Is it time for you to raise the price of your book?
I’ve indie-published several authors books as well as my own. Take a look at my home page and my Storrybooks page on this website for a list of memoirs and fiction novels.
If you’re thinking about publishing your book, drop me a line. I can publish your memoir or novel. Get out of your comfort zone and put your words in print. Someone could read or hear it and want to read your book.
