More and more independent authors are going down the self-publishing route. One of the most prominent places to put your book is on Amazon, as you can publish your book through Kindle Direct Publishing.

However, publishing books on Kindle Direct Publishing can lead to more questions, such as how often will you get paid?

This article will answer any questions about how often Amazon pays authors through Amazon KDP.

By the end of this post, you should be able to discover everything you need to know about when you’ll be paid, how you’ll be paid, and if there’s anything else that you should know about how it works.

What Is Amazon KDP?

Amazon KDP is a self-publishing platform for authors who want to sell their books independently. Kindle Direct Publishing allows you to publish your book online within 72 hours of publishing it.

You can earn up to 70% of royalties depending on the countries you sell to. If you enroll in KDP Select, you can make more through Kindle Unlimited and the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library.

Using Kindle Direct Publishing can help you keep control of your rights and allows you to set your own prices.

You can even make any changes to your books at any time, so you can edit them if you accidentally find a typo or any issues. Generally, it’s viewed as a great way to publish your eBooks or paperbacks free of charge.

Naturally, many indie authors are tempted by Kindle Direct Publishing, but some questions remain. The critical question is: how often will you get paid?

How Often Do Authors Get Paid?

Authors on Kindle Direct Publishing can expect to have their royalties paid every month. However, there is a catch, as you will be paid 60 days after the end of the month the sale was reported. However, this is a long wait for authors with Expanded Distribution.

Expanded Distribution is when you can reach more readers through other online retailers, bookshops, libraries, and academic institutions.

Through Expanded Distribution, they can find your book and order it, which is perfect for anyone also selling paperbacks, as libraries can then order them.

However, we should note that Expanded Distribution doesn’t guarantee that external distributors will order your book, but it offers a higher possibility than if you don’t opt-in.

There is a schedule for when royalties are paid, and depending on when your threshold is, you will receive your payment at the end of the month.

For example, if your royalty threshold was met in January, you can expect to receive your royalties at the end of March. This will then continue like this for the rest of the year.

Is There A Minimum Threshold For Royalties?

Your minimum threshold for royalties will depend on how you choose to be paid. You can be paid through direct deposits, wire payments, or check. There is no minimum threshold if you are paid through direct deposits, but there are for wire payments and checks.

If you arrange for a wire transfer, there is a minimum threshold of $100 for royalties to be transferred to your account. The same can also be applied to checks, with both needing to meet this minimum after deducting the applicable tax withholding.

How Much Do Authors Get In Royalties?

How much authors earn in royalties depends on whether you have published an eBook, paperback, or hardcover. You can then check your royalty reports online, but you can also get royalties when your eBook is read through Kindle Unlimited.

eBook Royalties

You can earn 35% or 70% in royalties when you publish an eBook, depending on your chosen option. If you choose to have 35% of the royalty, this will be your royalty without VAT for each unit you’ve sold.

However, choose the 70% option. Your royalty will be that amount without VAT, and you will have lower delivery costs for each eligible book sold to any customers in territories where this option is eligible.

You can calculate your royalty rate through the formula Royalty Rate x (List Price – Applicable VAT).

Kindle Unlimited

Royalties for Kindle Unlimited work similarly to your regular payment schedule. However, this is allocated to the KDP Select Global Fund.

Each author’s share of the fund is allocated based on their share of the total pages read. The maximum they can earn is 3,000 Kindle Edition Normalized Pages read for each title per customer.

For example, if the global fund contains $10 million in funds with 100 million pages read altogether, an author with a 100-page eBook read 100 times would earn $1,000.

While a 200-page eBook would earn double, and if they weren’t read completely, they would receive the same as a complete 100-page eBook. However, the fund changes each month, so payouts will regularly change.

Paperback Royalties

Kindle Direct Publishing will offer a fixed rate of 60% for any paperback sold on the Amazon marketplace. This will be 60% of your list price.

Amazon will then subtract any printing costs, which will vary depending on your number of pages, type of ink, and which marketplace it was ordered from.

However, if you use Expanded Distribution, your royalty will be 40% of the price in the distribution channel at the time of purchase, then subtracting the printing costs.

The formula used for paperback royalties is (Royalty Rate x List Price) – Printing Costs = Total Royalty.

Hardcover Royalties

Hardcover books will only have a fixed royalty rate of 60% when they are sold on the Amazon marketplace, supporting hardcover distribution.

When you calculate your royalty, it will be 60%, and it will subtract your printing costs. The formula used for hardcover books is the same as paperback royalties.

However, unlike paperbacks, hardcover books are ineligible for Expanded Distribution. You will only receive royalties from Amazon when they manufacture a new copy. So, hardcovers won’t be purchased by bookstores or online retailers.

How Do You Know How Much You’ve Earned?

If you want to know how much you have earned through sales and royalties with Amazon, then you can check your sales and royalties report. To see it, you can select a time period on your Sales Dashboard on the Reports tab in your Kindle Direct Publishing account.

You can open the old Sales Dashboard by clicking Reports(Old) and going to the bottom of the Sales Dashboard page, where you can click Generate Report. When your report is generated, you can download it to your computer.

You will find six tabs on your report: combined sales, eBook royalties, paperback royalties, hardcover royalties, orders, KENP (Kindle Edition Normalized Pages), and term definitions.

You can also access your KDP Reports on the KDP Reports Beta, which will be where you will find your reports when the old version is removed.

Final Thoughts

We hope that this guide has helped you understand how payments and royalties work through Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing. If you’re thinking about publishing your own books independently, you should do plenty of research to see which publishing avenue is right for you.

If you want to learn more about publishing through Amazon, please read our other articles.