How Often Does Amazon KDP Pay Royalties?

Amazon pays royalties on books sold through Kindle store and Amazon marketplace every month. Find out when and how often they are paid and what happens if you don’t meet your royalty obligations.

If you are looking for the short answer to the question “How Often Does Amazon KDP Pay Royalties?” look no further.

Short answer: Amazon KDP pays royalties out every month, approximately 60 days after the end of the month in which the sale was reported! However, there is a $100 threshold for payments made by check, while other payment methods have no minimum threshold.

But if you want to know more about:

• How often does Amazon KDP pay royalties?
• Printing Fees
• Different Royalty plans
• Royalty Calculator 
• What happens if you dont sell any books?

Keep on reading!

How Often Does Amazon KDP Pay Royalties?

So how much does Amazon KDP pay? Amazon KDP pays royalties to self-published authors on a monthly basis. Royalties are paid approximately 60 days after the end of the month in which the sale was made. However, there is a $100 threshold for payments made by check, while other payment methods have no minimum threshold.

Depending if you made an eBook or Paperback you first have to upload the book on Amazon KDP.  Amazon KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) is Amazon’s site and brand name for their place to sell self-published eBooks and Paperbacks. 

And the best thing is that it’s totally free to upload your books on Kindle Direct Publishing. What’s even better is that Amazon is among the biggest if not the biggest book selling site in the world and the reach is insane, there literally are millions of readers on Amazon.

If you choose to use Kindle Unlimited, you won’t receive royalties until the end of the current calendar year meaning that you get one big Kindle Unlimited payout. However, you will still receive monthly payments at the same frequency as those who sell their books through KDP.

How Much Are Royalties?

When you sign up and you start to upload books from your account on Amazon KDP you’ll receive a monthly statement in the KDP reports showing the total number of sales made during the previous month. This includes both print and ebooks. Print books are generally paid at the end of each quarter, while ebooks are paid monthly.

Ebook Royalties

There is a huge difference between eBook Royalties and Paperback royalties and that is that there is no printing cost on Ebooks. 

So with the ebook option you can choose between two royalty options for each of your eBooks: the 35% royalty option and the 70% royalty option.

What does a 35% royalty mean?

“If you select the 35% royalty option, your royalty will be 35% of your list price without VAT for each unit sold.”

This option is always available and there is no problem to pick this one.

What does a 70% royalty mean?

To pick a 70% royalty rate there are a few things you have to keep in mind.

“If you select the 70% royalty option, that means your royalty will be 70% of your list price without VAT, less delivery costs (average delivery costs are $0.06 per unit sold, and vary by file size), for each eligible book sold to customers in the 70% territories, and 35% of the list price without VAT for each unit sold to customers residing outside the 70% territories”

How do authors qualify for the 70% royalty option for Kindle books or eBooks?

The 70% royalty option is for in-copyright works only. Works in the public domain or consisting primarily of public domain content are only eligible for the 35% royalty option. If you add substantial original content or publish an original translation so that your book is not primarily public domain, then it would be eligible for the 70% royalty option. 

More info on Amazon and eBook requirements here.

Paperback Royalties

Ok the easiest way to explain it is that Amazon has a printing fee and that printing fee sets the price for your book. It all depends if it’s a black and white paper book or if it has colors. What also mathers is the page size and book size. But don’t worry about  the book cover, it can have colors! This is just the inside of the book I’m talking about.

Here is Amazon’s info text.

“Printing costs are deducted from your royalties and vary depending on your book’s page count and whether your book’s interior is in black-and-white or full-color. Learn more about how printing costs are calculated.”

Here is a real example from one of my books. A lined 8×5 Math notebook with 120 pages. 

I have the book ready for publishing and I put it up on Amazon.

The first thing they tell me when I’m ready to publish my book is that the printing price is 2.29$.
So you think that I can put out my book on 2.29$, no I can not because Amazon also wants 40% of the Royalties right? And Royalties are not the printing cost.

So the lowest price I can list my book for is 3.82$ and Amazon tells me this.
Here is an image that shows that the minimum price is set by google. 

Here is the price calculation:
3,82$ (min price) x 0,60 (40% royalty fee)  = 2,82$ print cost and 1$ royalty fee. 

This is why you have to price your book higher than 3,82 if you want to earn money.

Is there Any Royalties Calculator?

Yes there is and there are actually 2 different ones and both do their job really well.
Depending on the royalty plan you can play around and see which one would be most beneficial to you. Sometimes it might be better to sell it really cheap to get more sales.

First we have the Author Insiders Club calculator.
And it looks like this.

Ebook Calculator.

Here you can play around with the numbers to see how much royalty you can earn on the two different options.

Paperback Calculator

Here is Amazon’s own paperback calculator and here you can see how much you can earn with each book. But remember that you can see this in the last step of publishing your book and deciding how much you want your book to cost.

How Does Amazon KDP Pay You?

Amazon KDP offert 3 different payout options.
But depending on where you live in the world the options might be limited.

• Direct Deposit (Recommended)
• Wire Transfer
• Check

Amazon recommends people to use the Direct Deposit option.
If you want to know more about the payout options go to this link.

FAQ

1. When do I get paid for book sales on KDP?
   Answer: Payments come from selling books. You get paid 60 days after the end of the month in which you make the sales, either by EFT or check.
2. What is EFT?
   Answer: EFT stands for electronic funds transfer, which is a direct-deposit payment to your bank account.
3. What if I can’t sign up for EFT on KDP?
   Answer: EFT is only possible for those with banks in certain countries. If you live elsewhere, you have to be paid by check/cheque, or try using Payoneer or Wise for virtual bank accounts.
4. Can I get paid by Paypal or Western Union on KDP?
   Answer: No, Amazon doesn’t pay through Paypal or Western Union.
5. How long does it take to get paid through EFT on KDP?
   Answer: You get paid 60 days after the end of any month with sales.
6. What happens if I make less than the minimum payment threshold on KDP?
   Answer: Your royalties accumulate until you make the minimum payment threshold.
7. Why didn’t I receive a check for my royalties on KDP?
   Answer: Each national Amazon calculates and pays its royalties separately. The minimum for a check is $100, 100 pounds, or 100 euros.
8. What happens if I switch from check payment to EFT on KDP?
   Answer: Your first EFT payment will be 60 days after the end of the month in which you switch, assuming you earned royalties during that month. You’ll receive a check for accumulated royalties from before you made the switch.
9. How do I know how much I’ve made in royalties on KDP?
   Answer: Download and save the “prior month report” around the 15th of every month. It shows all your sales and royalties for the month, for each national Amazon.
10. Is KDP payment faster than traditional publishers or other ebook sellers?
    Answer: Yes, KDP payment is much faster than traditional publishers or most other ebook sellers.
11. What is the KDP Select program?
    Answer: The KDP Select program is a program that allows authors to enroll their ebook in Kindle Unlimited and the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library. This means that readers who are members of those programs can download and read your book for free, and you’ll receive a share of the KDP Select Global Fund each month based on how many pages those readers read. In exchange for enrolling in the program, you agree to make your ebook exclusive to Kindle for 90 days. This means that during that time, you cannot sell your ebook on any other platform, including your own website.
12. Is it worth enrolling in the KDP Select program?
    Answer: That depends on your goals and your book. If your main goal is to maximize your earnings, then it may not be worth it, as the per-page payout from Kindle Unlimited can be lower than the royalty you’d receive from selling your ebook at the regular price. However, if you’re looking to increase your visibility and reach new readers, then it may be worth trying out the program. Some authors have found success with KDP Select, as being enrolled in the program can increase your book’s visibility on Amazon and potentially lead to more sales down the line.
13. Can I enroll my ebook in KDP Select if it’s already available on other platforms?
    Answer: No, in order to enroll in KDP Select, your ebook must be exclusive to Kindle for the 90-day enrollment period. This means that you cannot sell your ebook on any other platform, including your own website, during that time. If your ebook is already available on other platforms, you’ll need to remove it from those platforms before you can enroll in KDP Select.
14. What happens if I violate the exclusivity requirement of KDP Select?
    Answer: If you violate the exclusivity requirement of KDP Select by selling your ebook on another platform during the 90-day enrollment period, your ebook will be removed from the KDP Select program, and you’ll be ineligible to enroll in the program for future books for a period of time. Additionally, you may be required to pay back any royalties you earned from Kindle Unlimited during the period of the violation.
15. How can I promote my ebook on Amazon?
    Answer: There are several ways to promote your ebook on Amazon, including running a Kindle Countdown Deal, offering a free promotion, and using Amazon Advertising to run ads for your book. You can also optimize your book’s metadata, such as the title, description, and keywords, to improve its visibility on Amazon. Additionally, getting reviews from readers can help boost your book’s visibility and credibility on the platform.
16. How can I get reviews for my ebook on Amazon?
    Answer: There are several ways to get reviews for your ebook on Amazon, including reaching out to your email list or social media followers and asking them to leave a review, running a free promotion and asking readers to leave a review in exchange for the free book, and using a service like NetGalley to get early reviews from book reviewers and bloggers. It’s important to note that Amazon has strict guidelines around reviews, and authors should not incentivize readers to leave positive reviews or engage in any other manipulative behavior that could violate those guidelines.

Final Comments

I hope you liked this post and it explained to you how often Amazon KDP pays out royalties and how much royalties you can earn depending on what price you sell your books for.. 

Do you want to know how much you can earn from making low content books? A low content book is a book that takes zero effort and no writing to make?

Here is a link to my How Much Money Can You Make Selling Journals On Amazon

If you got anything to add or if you want me to answer any other question leave a comment.