How do I price my first self-published book?
- Readers judge price against genre norms, not your hours of work.
- Ebook pricing clusters by genre; comps tell you the range.
- KDP's 70% royalty band applies between $2.99 and $9.99.
- Print price is set by genre norms above your unit print cost.
- Pricing is adjustable — you can test and change it later.
Price against your genre, not your effort. Look at what comparable books in your category charge and sit within that range — readers anchor on genre norms. For ebooks, note that KDP pays 70% only between $2.99 and $9.99, so most authors price there. For print, set a price that clears your unit print cost and matches genre expectations. Pricing is not permanent; you can test and adjust after launch.
Chapter i·Why it matters
First-time authors routinely misprice — too high because they value their effort, or too low in a way that signals low quality and earns a worse royalty rate. Readers do not see your work; they see a number next to comparable books. Pricing to genre norms and to the platform's royalty thresholds protects both your conversion and your per-sale earnings, and treating price as adjustable removes the pressure to get it perfect on day one.
Chapter ii·What to include
- A scan of comparable books' ebook and print prices.
- Your genre's typical price band.
- KDP's 70% royalty window ($2.99-$9.99) for ebooks.
- A print price that clears unit cost with a reasonable margin.
- A launch-pricing vs long-term-pricing decision.
- A plan to test and adjust after release.
Chapter iii·Example
A debut romance author sees comparable ebooks priced $3.99-$5.99. She launches at $4.99 — inside KDP's 70% band and in line with her genre — and sets her paperback at $14.99, comfortably above her $4.20 print cost. After a month she tests $3.99 during a promo and keeps the data for next time.
WriteLoom's Sell studio keeps your pricing, costs, and comps together, so your first price is a decision rather than a guess.
See the Sell studio