Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) lets authors self-publish Kindle eBooks and paperbacks. For eBooks, the author picks a 35% or a 70% royalty option: 70% applies to list prices between US$2.99 and US$9.99 in eligible countries, and the 35% option can be used across other price points.
The 70% option
To earn 70%, price the eBook within the range and sell in an eligible marketplace; third-party guides list the United States, UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Japan, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Australia and India among them. Amazon also deducts a delivery fee based on file size, described as roughly US$0.15 per megabyte, before the 70% is applied.
The 35% option
The 35% option has no delivery fee and works at any price in the allowed range, so it suits large illustrated books where file-size fees would bite, or books priced outside US$2.99 to US$9.99.
A worked example
A guide to royalties shows a US$4.99 eBook earning about US$3.34 at 70% and US$1.75 at 35%. A reader buying from a territory not eligible for 70% pays you the 35% rate even if you chose 70%.
Practical points
- Keep your file small; compress images.
- Check the territory list in KDP’s own pricing page before choosing.
- Royalties for Kindle Unlimited page reads are calculated separately.
What we could not verify
We did not publish a book. Amazon changes royalty rules, so rely on the official KDP help pages for current figures.
