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How does the RRP of my book affect my royalties?

How does the RRP of my book affect my royalties?

If you’re a self-published author struggling to properly price your book’s RRP, you’re not alone. Your book’s price directly impacts how well your book will sell and how much you make for each of your sales, so it’s important to get it right.

Price your book too low and you might struggle to earn what your time and hard work is due. Price it too high, however, and potential readers are likely to forgo your book for a cheaper option. Finding the right balance is crucial, but there are some factors that will help you figure things out.

Contents

1. What is an RRP?
2. Why your RRP matters
3. How do I set an appropriate RRP for my book?
4. Things to keep in mind when setting your RRP

clock - estimated reading time  Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

1. What is an RRP?

RRP stands for Recommended Retail Price. It’s the price you suggest that retailers, both global online shops and local bookstores, use when selling your book.

A number of things impact what your RRP should be set at. We’ve named a few below:
• Distribution channels
• Print costs
• Print quality
• Genre/audience standards

To price your book effectively, it’s a good idea to understand your distribution model and research similar books in your genre and target audience.

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2. Why your RRP matters

The RRP of your book is more than just a number—it plays a key role in attracting readers and boosting your book sales. A well-planned RRP helps you connect with your target audience and increase your earnings as an author, so it’s important to put some consideration into it.

The RRP, however, isn’t the be-all end-all for retailers when pricing your book. It’s an indication of the price they should set, but it isn’t a hard-and-fast rule. Retailers can set your book price at whatever they like—without consultation from the author.

While this is true, the RRP is still a retailer’s first indication of what your book is “worth”. If they don’t believe that they can sell the book at that price and return a just profit for themselves, they may not stock your book at all.

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3. How do I set an appropriate RRP for my book?

 

3.1 How are you distributing your book?

Distribution plays a key role in determining your Recommended Retail Price (RRP) since costs vary greatly depending on the method. Understanding distribution costs is essential to setting competitive RRPs and maximising profit margins.

3.1.1 Print-On-Demand (POD) Services

Print-on-Demand (POD) platforms like Amazon KDP and IngramSpark simplify self-publishing by printing books as orders come in, eliminating the need to stock books in a warehouse, shed, or your back room. Using POD also means that you don’t have to fork-out the upfront cost of bulk print, which is a gamechanger for indie authors.

However, POD convenience does come with a different kind of price tag: they take a cut from your royalties.

  • Amazon KDP royalty calculation: Amazon KDP takes 40% of your book’s retail price (RRP) for distribution and retailing through Amazon, leaving you with 60% royalties after print cost is subtracted. This means that if your book is costed at $24.99, you could receive around $7.70 in royalties.
  • IngramSpark royalty calculation: IngramSpark, as they’re not a retailer themselves, offers lower royalties as the retailer must also take a cut. You can lose 50–55% of your RRP for wholesale discounts, plus printing fees. This means that if your book is costed at the same $24.99, you could receive as little as $ 2.11 in royalties.

When you set your book’s RRP for POD, ensure it covers both printing and distribution costs while leaving room for profit. Both Amazon KDP and IngramSpark have calculators that you can use either to estimate (before setting up your title on their platforms) or finalise (once you’ve uploaded your final files) your RRP to ensure your royalties are looking good.

3.1.2 Self-selling

If you’re self-publishing and selling books yourself (either through your dedicated author website, at local events, or through your author social media accounts), you cut the retailer out and can make more royalties from each sale.

A good rule of thumb is to set your recommended retail price (RRP) at three times the per-unit cost of your print order. This approach covers production costs, allows for discounts when needed, and ensures you earn a solid profit.

For example, if printing each book costs you $5 per copy (unit), setting your RRP at $15 is a good starting point. Then, you should consider what other books in your audience and genre are and see if you can match-up to their pricing.

3.2 Research and align to your market competition

When thinking about pricing your book, the main market factors to focus on are the genre, format, and target audience. Readers usually have a price point that they’re willing to pay depending on their chosen genre and format, so it’s a good idea to know where your book will stand. Here’s a quick guide:

  • Paperback vs hardcover: Paperback books are always cheaper than their hardcover counterpart. Readers usually expect hardcovers to be up to $10–$15 more expensive than a paperback.
  • Non-fiction or niche genres vs general fiction: Non-fiction and niche genres often have higher prices due to specialised content or less competition.
  • Physical books vs digital books: Digital books (eBooks and audiobooks) are generally much cheaper than physical books. Their prices range from $2.99 to $9.99, and some are even free (usually with marketing strategies like Kindle Select).

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4. Things to keep in mind when setting your RRP

4.1 Don’t set your RRP too low

Many authors assume a low RRP will attract more buyers, but if it doesn’t cover production costs, you risk earning zero royalties—or worse, losing money.

To maximise your royalties and avoid losing money, carefully calculate costs before distribution and set your RRP to guarantee profit. Don’t let all your hard work as an author lead to financial loss.

4.2 Don’t price yourself out of the market

While setting your RRP too low can be damaging, raising it too high can be just as bad. Some readers will happily spend $30 or more books, but this doesn’t suit everyone. Most book buyers want affordable options and will often opt for a cheaper book over yours regardless of which is considered better.

When pricing your book, consider the following:

  • Who is your target audience? Are you selling to casual readers who prefer budget-friendly books, or collectors who will pay extra for the content they enjoy?
  • What makes your book unique? If your book stands out with premium features—like stunning photography or exclusive content—a higher price could be justified.

By understanding your audience and highlighting the realistic value of your book, you can set a competitive price and attract more readers, helping to boost your sales and profitability.

4.3 Factor in the format

When pricing your book, consider how different formats impact costs and set your RRP to reflect this. Here’s a quick guide to book pricing:

  • Paperback books: Paperbacks are usually seen as a popular, budget-friendly option for readers who still like a physical book. These are typically priced anywhere between $12.99 and $24.99 at most bookstores.
  • Hardcover books: Hardcovers are the premium choice for collectors and book lovers that favour this particular aesthetic. Because of this, they’re often priced higher at $30 to over $50 depending on genre and content.
  • eBooks: eBooks are typically the most cost-effective digital option and are usually priced anywhere between $0 and $9.99.
  • Audiobooks: Audiobooks, while digital, still require higher production costs, This means that prices often range from $7–$20, depending on length.

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SUBMIT YOUR BOOK DETAILS
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Most popular blog posts:

Interested in publishing your book but unsure where to start or what is even involved? Tell us about your project and we will post you a copy of our:

 

The Little Book of
Big Publishing Tips.

 

In just a quick 8,000 words, this little book will equip you with the knowledge you need to successfully publish your book.

The Little Book of Big Publishing tips goes into the essentials of self-publishing a book, outlining the business and financial side of publishing, legal issues, design, editing, sales and marketing. There's even a section on how to identify a vanity-publishing scam.

submit your project details

How to be a book publishing entrepreneur

How to be a book publishing entrepreneur

clock - estimated reading time  Estimated reading time: 9 minutes

What is a book publishing entrepreneur, how do you become one, and how do you know if you already are one? There are benefits to becoming a book publishing entrepreneur if you’re interested in establishing a professional presence in the world of book publishing.

Contents

1. What is an “entrepreneur”?
2. What is a “book publishing entrepreneur”?
3. Are you already a book publishing entrepreneur?
4. More about book publishing risk
5. The book entrepreneur’s toolkit

1. What is an “entrepreneur”?

First, we need to understand what an entrepreneur is before we can fully understand it in the context of book publishing. According to Investopedia, “an entrepreneur is an individual who creates a new business, bearing most of the risks and enjoying most of the rewards. The process of setting up a business is known as entrepreneurship.”

It’s common for entrepreneurs to be disruptive. Whether that’s within an organisation or within a market. They can also be stressed by lack of progress, organisational rigidity, long time frames, lack of results, and lack of stress. Yes, you read right – a lack of stress (or challenge) often stresses entrepreneurs.

I’m an entrepreneur. Starting my career in a government agency was disillusioning. A sagely government employee (who’d started just three years prior to myself), advised me “the way to get ahead is simply keep your head down – don’t rock the boat… It might take 15-20 years, but you’ll end up an executive with a huge pension fund,” and “If its not broken, why fix it?” The problem with that ethos was that I wasn’t interested in a pension and that it was indeed broken! It wasn’t for me.

1.1 Risk and reward

From my experience, entrepreneurs have a distinctive approach to risk and risk-taking. That is, they are comfortable with taking risks. Often, they behave in ways that others see as irrational. This is what I call the “entrepreneur x-factor” (EXF). From the outside, it seems that entrepreneurs are odd – but it’s what the entrepreneurs can ‘see’ that non-entrepreneurs can’t that sets them apart.

What entrepreneurs see is most often the reward for risk taking. The best entrepreneurs can also see the way that a risk can be managed and the steps that can be taken to achieve success. For many entrepreneurs, these steps and processes are like a game – an enjoyable game. They are not at all stressed with challenges or the obstacles between them and success. Great entrepreneurs are essentially creative, not so much in the artistic sense, but in terms of being able to conceive initiatives and solutions to problems. Faced with a obstacle, a good entrepreneur will muse “that’s okay. If it was easy, everybody would be doing it.”

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2. What is a “book publishing entrepreneur”?

A book publishing entrepreneur specifically is someone who see’s an opportunity (a reward) and is happy to embrace risk (money and time) to see a book published. This could be someone else’s book, or it could be their own.

Many self-published authors fit the entrepreneurs profile, but there are self-published authors who do not. Included in that are those who:

  • have purely artistic- or creative-bent agendas;
  • publish just for themselves (keepsakes) or for status reasons; and
  • have altruistic motives;
  • are risk-adverse and spend the lead-up and process to publishing a book constantly crunching numbers.

The rewards of book publishing entrepreneurship can be financial, reputational, or as a lever to promote a business.

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3. Are you already a book publishing entrepreneur?

See if you are entrepreneurial, take the quiz below:

ENTREPRENEUR QUIZ

Alternatively, here’s my very own short-list of qualifying questions:

  • Do you have a strategic or high-level view?
  • Are you good at finding competent people-resources when your expertise isn’t enough – can you let go of personal control?
  • Are you pragmatic, knowing “perfect is the enemy of good”?
  • Do you understand risk? Is taking risks financially or otherwise stress-free?
  • When you fail, do you learn and move on quickly?

Answered yes to those questions? Then you have the makings of an entrepreneur. And if you are an entrepreneur, then you can certainly be a book publishing entrepreneur.

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4. More about book publishing risk

If you don’t understand risk-and-reward, you are either not a book publishing entrepreneur or you are a poor book publishing entrepreneur.

Revisit our blog post, Self-publishing vs traditional publishing, to learn about the financial risk of publishing your book and see if you have what it takes to be a book publishing entrepreneur. The blog covers the risks of publishing your book across three avenues: self-publishing, traditional publishing, and hybrid publishing.

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5. The book entrepreneur’s toolkit

5.1 Be book market aware

Book entrepreneurs are book market aware. A good book entrepreneur scans the market to see what sells. This can be done by using industry data like Nielson BookScan (if you can afford it). You’ll be able to find what is selling best in which genres. Amazon is invaluable (nearly free) and by using browser plugins you can find a whole lot of valuable market information. Or as a book entrepreneur you can simply keep an eye on what genres are selling at WH Smith each time you pass through the airport.

5.2 Become a book packager

The one way that you can be assured that your book will sell is by adhering to this simple mantra: only build books for those that want it. One way to be certain whether your book has interest or not is to presell your book in volume while it is still in production. Don’t forget crowdfunding if you are short on capital. Crowdfunding is a legitimate way of pre-selling your book. Pozible – based in Melbourne – is a great Australian crowdfunding platform that you can use to presell your book and gauge the public interest early.

5.3 Use your book as a business lever

Using your book as a business lever (not necessarily for profit from book sales) is a great strategy. This strategy gives you the opportunity of you being recognised as a thought leader or subject expert. You can also use a book as a powerful part of a sales funnel and drive more traffic to your business.

5.4 Use a self-publishing service provider (SSP)

If you want to be assured that you are getting a professional result out of your book publishing process, you need to use a self-publishing service provider (SSP) like Green Hill. The worst thing you can do is to make your book look self-published – that’s the ‘kiss of death’ for any publishing enterprise. Unfortunately, this is almost always the case with projects that have been executed solely by the author. Whether that is the author doing their own editing, cover and typesetting design, and organising their own printing, or if they don’t cut the professionals they hire loose and allow them to properly do their job. Organising your book production through a SSP like Green Hill and allowing industry professionals the space to work their magic, your title if infinitely more likely to sit comfortably on bookshelves next to a Penguin or Hachette title. Do the math – use a SSP.

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SUBMIT YOUR BOOK DETAILS
CALL US 1300 810 131

Most popular blog posts:

Interested in publishing your book but unsure where to start or what is even involved? Tell us about your project and we will post you a copy of our:

 

The Little Book of
Big Publishing Tips.

 

In just a quick 8,000 words, this little book will equip you with the knowledge you need to successfully publish your book.

The Little Book of Big Publishing tips goes into the essentials of self-publishing a book, outlining the business and financial side of publishing, legal issues, design, editing, sales and marketing. There's even a section on how to identify a vanity-publishing scam.

submit your project details

Self-publishing vs traditional publishing

Self-publishing vs traditional publishing

clock - estimated reading time  Estimated reading time: 9 minutes

Self-publishing and traditional publishing are two similar yet distinct avenues authors can use to get their writing out into the world. While both publishing solutions offer authors the opportunity to share their work, self-publishing and traditional publishing differ significantly in their approach and processes and both can be beneficial in different ways.

Contents

1. What is self-publishing?
2. What is traditional publishing?
3. Another option: hybrid publishing
4. Who shares the financial risk?
5. Which publishing option is best for you?

1. What is self-publishing?

The appeal of self-publishing to authors is that they can maintain control over their book. It is up to the author to manage the whole process, from editing, book cover design, typesetting, printing, marketing, and distribution. The author is able to outsource the work to freelancers or an assisted self-publishing company to help them produce a more professional produce and assist them with a process they may not be familiar with. This is the difference between do-it-yourself self-publishing and assisted self-publishing. Self-published authors also typically maintain all the rights to their project and most of the royalties from the sales.

Some self-publishing endeavours can be nearly completely free for authors. This includes options such as KDP and Ingram Spark Publishing. However, if the author wants assistance with the production process, they will need to finance it themselves.

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2. What is traditional publishing?

The start of a traditional publishing endeavour for most includes the author submitting their manuscript to the “slush-pile” in hopes of gaining a publishing deal. Often authors submit their manuscripts through a literary agent to up their chances of being accepted. Once accepted, the author often receives an advance payment from the publisher that is later taken out of future royalties. The publisher will then put the manuscript through the necessary processes needed to produce a book: editing, book cover design, interior design, and then to marketing, print, and distribution.

With traditional publishing, the author maintains little to no control over the production of their book. To elaborate, the publisher will take over aspects including the editing, design—even the book’s title—to make sure that the book is marketable and appeals to a wide audience. The author also receives a smaller royalty percentage on each sale than the publisher as they have to cover the production costs and turn a profit.

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3. Another option: hybrid publishing

The lesser-know third option—hybrid publishing—is much like how it sounds. It is a hybrid model that sits somewhere between self-publishing and traditional publishing, combining elements of the two. With a hybrid publisher, the initial process will be very similar to traditional publishing, in that the author has to submit their manuscript for selection and, once approved, the hybrid publisher will undertake a variety of services such as editing, book cover design, interior typesetting, distribution, etc. The difference is that the author maintains more control over the process, like they would in self-publishing.

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4. Who shares the financial risk?

With any publishing endeavour, there is always financial risk involved. This is because no one can accurately predict how a book will act in the market—especially for new authors. Someone has to pay for the manuscript to go through the strenuous process of becoming a book, so who is it? First, you have to identify which type of publishing you’re considering:

Financial risk for publishing options diagram

4.1 Do-it-yourself self-publishing

While many DIY self-publishing platforms themselves offer free or relatively low-cost set-up, this do not mean that the production of the book is also free. Unless you are confident you can do everything by yourself, including editing, illustration, ISBN registration, book cover design, interior typesetting, marketing, and more, you will likely be paying for industry-trained professionals to help you with these tasks. This means that you will have to put in a lot and work and up-front payments while having no guarantee that your book will sell.

4.2 Assisted self-publishing

When employing the services of an assisted self-publisher, like Green Hill, you will need to pay for their services. This usually includes book cover design, interior typesetting, and ISBN registration. Some also offer editing, illustration, print, distribution, and marketing, though these might be extra to the initial package. The benefit of using an assisted self-publisher is that you can off-load much of the work compared to DIY publishing and instead be guided through the process. Be sure to do your research and find the best solution to you.

4.3 Hybrid publishing

In hybrid publishing, both the author and the publisher are financially viable for the production of a book, including the editing, book cover design, interior typesetting, ISBN registration, illustration (if needed), print, distribution, and marketing. In turn, they both also receive royalty payouts; the author will usually get a higher royalty percentage per book than they would with traditional publishing.

4.4 Traditional publishing

With a traditional publishing model, the author doesn’t contribute financially to the production of the book once the publishing house takes over. The publishing houses receive their financial compensation through the sales of the book and receive a higher percentage of the profits than the author does. This means that, while the production of the book is free initially, authors are not given a high royalty for each sale.

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5. Which publishing option is best for you?

There are a few factors to take into account when considering which publishing route is best for you, but some major ones to consider are:

  1. Finances
  2. Timeline
  3. Publishing goals

5.1 Finances

Self-publishing can be done for free, but if you want to hire professionals you may be looking at paying a few thousand dollars. Traditional publishers don’t require any payment from their authors, but your manuscript has to be accepted, which can be a long and arduous process. Then, once your manuscript is selected and published, you may not see any profit return as the publisher, retailer, and wholesaler will take their cut first.

5.2 Timeline

Timeline can be important for a number of reasons. Some wish to publish their book before a loved one passes, others need business publications by a certain date, and some want to publish strategically around major holidays like Christmas.

If you have a strict deadline, self-publishing is the route for you. With DIY self-publishing, you can do everything at your own pace, and the process is often still speedy with assisted self-publishing as long as nothing goes out of scope and there are no setbacks. Traditional publishers, however, can take anywhere from months to years to publish a book.

5.3 Publishing goals

A major factor of choosing your publishing avenue is your intentions for publishing. Below are a few of the most common and which service they suit best:

  • Reaching a wide audience: If your goal is to reach a wider audience, traditional publishing is likely the better avenue as they have strong distribution contacts and are trusted by retailers. Self-publishing on the other hand is often viewed with scepticism by bookshops regardless of the quality of the publication which may limit your audience reach. With solutions like Amazon KDP and Ingram Spark, however, this has made it easier for self-published authors to obtain global reach in the online market.
  • A business “pamphlet”: If you intend to give your book out to customers at your business, then self-publishing is the perfect solution. You won’t need marketing or distribution, just a professional looking product and access to a printer.
  • Financial compensation: If you’re publishing your book with the goal of reaping the financial rewards, the answer is a little more tricky. While self-publishing does boast a much higher royalty pay-off for sales, you have to put a lot of effort into marketing and in making sure your product is of a high quality. This often means hiring professional, and there is no guarantee your book will succeed. With traditional publishing, it’s likely that your book will sell more, but you will receive a very small royalty payment. Some traditionally published authors make virtually nothing from their book.

 

Back to Contents

SUBMIT YOUR BOOK DETAILS
CALL US 1300 810 131

Most popular blog posts:

Interested in publishing your book but unsure where to start or what is even involved? Tell us about your project and we will post you a copy of our:

 

The Little Book of
Big Publishing Tips.

 

In just a quick 8,000 words, this little book will equip you with the knowledge you need to successfully publish your book.

The Little Book of Big Publishing tips goes into the essentials of self-publishing a book, outlining the business and financial side of publishing, legal issues, design, editing, sales and marketing. There's even a section on how to identify a vanity-publishing scam.

submit your project details