Ok Authors… KDP PRICE Increase
News just broke of the KDP price increase. It has many authors wondering what that means for them. It was inevitable, given the increase in paper pricing and global inflation in general. IngramSpark raised its pricing in November 2021, and it was only a matter of time before KDP followed suit. The news leaves many KDP authors wondering how this price increase changes royalty rates and what they should do about it.
New KDP Pricing
The KDP price increase goes into effect on June 20, 2023. It affects every print book in the KDP catalog, with the biggest changes to books larger than 6.12″ wide and 9″ high. While some color-printed books will decrease in price, most books will not escape the pricing increase. Here is a table of KDP’s new fixed and per-page pricing for print books.
Every print book has a minimum list price. If a title falls below the minimum list price after the price increase, you will receive zero royalties. In order to make any changes to your title after the KDP pricing increase, you will need to adjust the price to meet the minimum pricing requirement before the update is published.
How does the price increase affect authors?
First, the printing charge affects your royalty rate for print books. For example, if you normally receive $3.00 in royalties and the print charge increases by $.50, your royalty payment decreases to $2.50.
Second, your price for purchasing author copies increases as well. If you sell books at book fairs, workshops, conferences, or out of the trunk of your car, your cost increases. Without a corresponding increase in the list price of your book, your royalties will decrease.
Fortunately, this only affects print books. There is no change to ebook pricing.
What to do about the KDP price increase?
Ultimately, you have two choices: accept a decrease in royalties or raise your prices. As long as your book meets the minimum list price, you can choose to do nothing. If you aren’t selling many books or don’t rely on the royalties from book sales, it may not be worth your time or effort. However, high-volume authors will be hit the hardest and action is probably the best solution to avoid plummeting royalties.
If you increase the list price of the book, you may also need to update the barcode on the back cover of your book. If the price is listed on the barcode of your book, you will need to have your cover designer update the barcode on the back cover. You, or your designer, can use a free barcode generator or download a free cover template from IngramSpark with the new barcode embedded in the template and place it on your back cover.
If you also published your print book on IngramSpark and you change your pricing, you’ll also need to change your price on IngramSpark, plus update your cover. Yes, that too.
If KDP prints the barcode on your back cover, you don’t need to update your cover.
How to change pricing on your KDP print book
If you have control of your KDP account, you can change the price of each book yourself. If you published with a company that controls your books on KDP, you’ll need to contact the publishing company to change your pricing.
To change pricing on your KDP print book, log into your account at kdp.amazon.com. Once you log in, you’ll be on your Bookshelf. Scroll down to your first print title and hover over the three dots to the far right of your book cover to reveal a menu of options. Click Edit Print Book Pricing. You’ll be taken to your pricing page. KDP gives you your new minimum book pricing under your current list price. You can experiment with different pricing to reveal your new royalty amount as of June 30, 2023. Edit your print book pricing for your country as well as other countries or allow KDP to convert foreign book prices for you.
If you needed to create a new cover, you can upload it at the same time by clicking on the Paperback Content tab in KDP and scrolling down to Upload Your Cover File button.
When you are finished, click Publish Your Paperback Book for the pricing and cover changes to take effect.
What to do if you need help
If you are unsure about making these changes and have access to your KDP account, Kreativelykris can help with cover and pricing updates starting at $200. If you don’t have access to your KDP account, please contact your publisher about making these changes. As we expect we’ll be very busy with these changes, your patience is requested. Contact us here. Email is the fastest way to reach us!
