Author ambition
Authors selling thier books on Amazon UK can now choose a 70 percent royalties option net of delivery costs but they must meet a list of conditions.
While the move may at first sound like great news for authors as it stands to make them more cash per e-book that for a physical copy, they do have to jump through hoops like using the the ‘Kindle Digital text Platform' tool to add the book to the Kindle store and be part of a scheme that is explicitly designed to boost Kindle e-book sales.
Amazon's old system of calculating royalties will remain for those who don't want to opt in to the new scheme but the new system looks attractive, netting the author considerably more cash per book sold.
In order to take advantage of the new royalties rate, authors must comply to certain conditions. If Amazon sells their book below the list price to match a competitor' price, the royalty will be calculated based on the site's sales price.
Furthermore, (and here's the real catch,) the book's list price must fall between £1.49 and £6.99, and while a lot of books in the Kindle store fall in this price bracket, it could stop big-name authors holding out for a higher unit price.
The book's list price must be at least 12 percent below the lowest price of the physical book, to ensure purchasing Kindle books is more enticing for customers than buying their papery counterparts. This pricing differential will presumably make the Kindle reader hardware more attractive too.
In its authors' guidelines, Amazon said the titles must also be available for all in all places where the author or publisher has rights. The book will be included in a broad set of features in the store such as text-to-speak and the list of features will grow as the site adds more functionality to the Kindle Store.
"The 70 percent royalty option for Kindle Digital Text Platform has been available for a few months for sales to US customers...Now authors and publishers worldwide can offer more content to Kindle customers in the UK and make more money from the books they sell," said Greg Greeley, Amazon's VP of European retail.
