Book with Calculator

Book Royalty & Profit Calculator

Earnings Breakdown

Gross Revenue: $0.00

Total Retailer Fees: $0.00

Total Printing Costs: $0.00

Net Author Profit: $0.00

Profit per book: $0.00

How to Calculate Book Royalties

Understanding your earnings as an author is critical for choosing the right publishing path. Whether you are self-publishing on Amazon KDP, using IngramSpark, or working with a traditional publisher, the "net profit" is what actually lands in your bank account.

The Book Royalty Formula

For most self-published print books, the calculation follows this specific logic:

Profit per Book = Retail Price – (Retail Price × Retailer Cut %) – Printing Cost

Key Definitions

• Retail List Price: The price the customer pays on the store shelf or website.
• Printing Cost: The variable cost charged by the printer based on page count, ink type (B&W vs. Color), and trim size.
• Retailer Cut: The percentage of the list price kept by the platform (e.g., Amazon generally takes 40% for print books, while bookstores often require 55% via wholesale).
• Units Sold: The total volume of books distributed and paid for.

Example Calculation

If you sell a paperback for $14.99:

1. Amazon/Retailer takes 40% ($6.00).
2. The printer charges $4.50 for production.
3. Your royalty per book is: $14.99 – $6.00 – $4.50 = $4.49.
4. If you sell 1,000 copies, your total profit is $4,490.00.

Tips for Maximizing Author Profit

To increase your net earnings, consider these three levers:

1. Optimize Page Count: Printing costs are often calculated by the page. Tightening your manuscript or choosing a larger trim size (which reduces page count) can lower printing costs.
2. Strategic Pricing: Research your genre. If the average book in your category is $16.99, pricing at $12.99 might hurt your margins without significantly increasing volume.
3. Direct Sales: Selling books directly through your own website eliminates the "Retailer Cut," allowing you to keep a much larger percentage of the sale.

function calculateBookRoyalty() { var retailPrice = parseFloat(document.getElementById('retailPrice').value); var printingCost = parseFloat(document.getElementById('printingCost').value); var retailerCutPercent = parseFloat(document.getElementById('retailerCut').value); var unitsSold = parseInt(document.getElementById('unitsSold').value); if (isNaN(retailPrice) || isNaN(printingCost) || isNaN(retailerCutPercent) || isNaN(unitsSold)) { alert("Please enter valid numbers in all fields."); return; } // Calculations var grossRevenue = retailPrice * unitsSold; var retailerFeePerBook = retailPrice * (retailerCutPercent / 100); var totalFees = retailerFeePerBook * unitsSold; var totalPrintCosts = printingCost * unitsSold; var profitPerBook = retailPrice – retailerFeePerBook – printingCost; var netProfit = profitPerBook * unitsSold; // Display Results document.getElementById('grossRevenue').innerHTML = "$" + grossRevenue.toLocaleString(undefined, {minimumFractionDigits: 2, maximumFractionDigits: 2}); document.getElementById('totalFees').innerHTML = "-$" + totalFees.toLocaleString(undefined, {minimumFractionDigits: 2, maximumFractionDigits: 2}); document.getElementById('totalPrintCosts').innerHTML = "-$" + totalPrintCosts.toLocaleString(undefined, {minimumFractionDigits: 2, maximumFractionDigits: 2}); document.getElementById('netProfit').innerHTML = "$" + netProfit.toLocaleString(undefined, {minimumFractionDigits: 2, maximumFractionDigits: 2}); document.getElementById('perBookProfit').innerHTML = "$" + profitPerBook.toFixed(2); document.getElementById('resultsArea').style.display = 'block'; // Smooth scroll to results document.getElementById('resultsArea').scrollIntoView({ behavior: 'smooth', block: 'nearest' }); }