Ebooks and Global Distribution
Unlike a printed book, ebooks cost very little to create and have no production costs associated with selling them. Because there is so little cost to produce an ebook, the minimum retail price is set at $0.99 per ebook. This ensures everyone (you and the retailer) earn something from every ebook sale.
Profit vs. Revenue
Before we begin setting a price for your ebook, there are a few terms you should be familiar with if your intention is to earn income from sales of your ebook. Profit is the net income for your business after other expenses have been accounted for, including payment to authors, pre-production, labor, marketing, and overhead costs such as utilities and rent. Revenue is a general term for any money paid to you for book sales.
Determine a Retail Price
You may have created the best book ever on your chosen topic, but if the wrong price is set, your sales and/or revenue will suffer. Thankfully, setting the right price for an ebook is less challenging than for a printed book. Without print and production costs, ebooks need only cover the minimum listing price. Anything over the minimum is profit!
Retail Pricing Calculator
Since no single pricing formula works for all projects and no formula assures maximum creator revenue, every author must approach retail pricing individually. You can opt to set your list price based on a revenue goal, we’ll automatically provide the lowest possible retail price while meeting your goal. It’s that simple. We do all that math for you! For example, you may decide you want to earn $5.00 from every ebook sale. No matter what the listed price is, you want at least $5.00. Simply set your revenue goal to $5.00 and we’ll display the retail price for each channel and in each currency.
Note that most retail channels will provide more than $5.00 per sale in revenue. We match your desired revenue amount to the lowest revenue channel (in this case Kindle); once we establish which channel will offer the least revenue, we set a minimum price to reach that goal. All other channels must match this price.
Ebook Retail Pricing Minimums and Maximums
Selling your ebook through Global Distribution requires adhering to distribution requirements as well as each retail channel’s pricing model. All retail channels provide a minimum ($0.99 for all ebooks) and a unique maximum price. Below, find the currency adjusted list of maximum pricing for an ebook:
CAD – 200.00
GBP – 150.00
AUD – 220.00
EUR – 215.00
USD – 200.00