Where does your money actually go?
For author-supported titles, most of what you pay normally never reaches the person who
wrote it. Here's the difference we are building toward.
Traditional publishing
Example: a $20 paperback on a major retailer,
under a standard publishing contract.
- Author royalty: typically ~10–15% → about $2–$3
- The other ~85% is split between the publisher, the printer/distributor,
and the retailer.
Author keeps ≈ $2–$3
On Better Bookshelves
We deduct only the two unavoidable costs:
- Payment processing (≈ 2.9% + $0.30)
- Printing & shipping (paperbacks only; ebooks have none)
Then 100% of the remaining revenue goes to the author. On a $20
paperback that's roughly $13–$14 to the author; on an ebook, nearly
the entire price.
Author keeps 100% of net
Figures are illustrative; exact processing and printing costs vary
by order.
