As with any business, people value their time differently and will offer their products and services based on what’s right for their business and for their ideal clients or customers. When we work with clients, we ask them what price they want to set for their book, and we always respect their wishes. But we often get the question: how should I price my book on KDP? How do I know what is the best price for my book? If you want to learn how to price your book on KDP, read on.

It’s a tricky question to answer, especially for a first-time author. Writers invest a lot of time and money into producing their books, and they understandably want to get a return on their investment. Within certain limits, you can set whatever price you want on KDP. However, there may be a difference between what you think the book is worth based on your time, effort, and experience and what the market is willing to pay for it. With so much free content online, the perceived value of books of all kinds has dropped.

I prefer to keep my prices low and sell more copies, so my books can reach more people. I have experimented with adjusting pricing in the past, and I’ve noticed sales dropping when I raise the price by as little as $1 or £1, so the price really does make a difference. I once increased prices by $1 and lost so many sales the following month that I made less money on that book, even with the increased price. As you can imagine, I then lowered the price so I could reach more people with my sales.

It’s also worth pointing out that while you set the price you want on KDP, Amazon may show a different price based on what they think will sell better. You will still get full royalties for the price you selected. The only exception is if you’ve published your book elsewhere at a lower price (for example, through IngramSpark or Draft2Digital). Then, Amazon may price match, and they will give you the adjusted royalty for the lower price.

How to figure out the best price for YOUR book

How you price your book on KDP depends on a number of factors. Here are a few questions to help you get clear on what you want to get from the book.

What is your primary goal for your book: revenue, reach/visibility, or credibility? Maybe you want your book to be a source of passive income. Perhaps you want to use it to reach a larger audience and attract people to your business. Or maybe you want to use it to position yourself as an expert and seek out speaking opportunies based on the subject you write about. For example, my Speaking page has a list of potential topics I can speak about that are all linked back to my books.

How do the other goals rank for you in order of importance? Maybe you want your book to do all of those things: revenue, visibility, and credibility. How do they all rank in order of importance? Your priorities will determine your strategy.

Is this book meant to support other products and services? Can you create a companion workbook or journal to accompany your main book? What about running an online course that’s aligned with the topic you cover in your book? How can you repurpose the content of your book into other types of products or services? Remember that everyone has their own preferred method of learning and they might get more out of an online course than they would from simply reading a book.

What upsells can you make from the book (such as courses, speaking engagements, and one-to-one services)? If you’re a nonfiction writer, it will be much easier to use your book as a lead magnet to attract people to your other products and services. In fact, I wrote a blog post about 35+ Ways to Make More Money from Your Nonfiction Book. If this is your plan, you should seed your offerings throughout your book by talking about all the different ways you work with clients.

Do you want to aim this book at your existing community and clients, or do you want to reach a wider market so people can get to know you and your work? You might be able to get away with a higher price if you’ve got a large audience who loves your work and you can market directly to them. I have seen some clients set fairly high prices for their books, and they sell very well when they do a big launch for their own community. However, if you’re trying to reach a wider market of people who have never heard of you, you might want to lower your prices so it’s an easy yes for them.

How well known are you? Are you already considered an expert in your field? Maybe this is your first book, but you’re a famous life coach, personal trainer, or public speaker who people know and love. If so, you can probably get away with charging more for your book. Why? Because people already know, like, and trust you. They’ll most likely be willing to take a risk on your book.

Who exactly is your reader, and what are they used to paying for books like this? You should have an idea of who your ideal reader is, especially if you’re a nonfiction writer. The easiest way to find out what people are used to paying for books similar to yours is to look at the average price for books in your genre. What are the top sellers in your category priced at, and are they traditionally published or independently published books?

Often, you’ll notice that traditionally published books are priced higher than indie books, and this is absolutely something you’ll want to take into consideration. I once had a conversation with a writer friend who suggested that I price my books in alignment with the traditionally published books from my genre. It did not go well. Sales dropped, and I lowered my prices the following month.

How important are your royalties, at least in the beginning? It’s natural to want to recover your investment, but you may need to wait to do so. Firstly, because you’re probably going to have to spend some money on marketing your book. Secondly, because your book is new and you want to get it established. I always start on the lower end of pricing, and then once I’ve got lots of reviews, I gauge whether or not I can increase prices in the future.

What are your marketing and advertising plans? Sadly, you can’t just publish your book and do nothing and expect it to sell. Bowker found that the number of self-published titles with ISBNs rose to 2.6 million in 2023. How can you expect your readers to find your book among all the books that exist out there, if you don’t do marketing?

Reflect on your answers

All of these questions should give you an idea of what’s a good starting point for your book prices on KDP. The good thing is that your books are not set in stone. I always use KDP’s barcode rather than using my own with a price. This gives me flexibility so I can easily change the price in the future.

Other things you will want to take into consideration is whether your book is fiction or nonfiction. Often, readers are willing to pay more for nonfiction. The length of the book also matters: is your book a “short reads” book of 100 pages or less? Or is it a thick, 400-page tome?

If you have more than one book and are thinking about updating your prices, that’s something to take into consideration, too. Many authors price the first book in their series for free or $.99 to entice people to give them a try. If the reader likes the book and wants more, they’ll hopefully continue with the series, which will earn the author more money.

What Not to Take into Consideration

Unfortunately, the amount of time, effort, and tears you invested into writing your book is irrelevant. I’m sorry to tell you this, but your readers don’t care. What they care about is what they’re willing to pay for your book, based on its perceived value to them and how much they’re used to paying for books. Especially if they’ve never heard of you before.

If you feel like setting a low price for your book doesn’t reflect its value, then look at other ways of making money from your book. Or try setting the price you want, and see how that affects sales.

Another thing that’s not worth taking into consideration is what you would be willing to pay for a book like yours. Your ideal readers’ buying habits may or may not reflect your own.

How do I price my books?

My prices are as follows, and are accurate at the time of writing this blog post. I’m not sharing this because I think they’re the perfect prices, but they’re working for me (and as I said earlier, I’d rather make less per copy and reach more people). Hopefully, having my prices as an example will help you to figure out what’s best for you. Prices are listed as ebook/paperback/hardcover, unless otherwise specified.

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