Pricing feels like throwing darts blindfolded. Too cheap and readers assume the book is garbage. Too expensive and they scroll past. Most authors pick a number that “feels right” — which usually means a number shaped by their own insecurities, not strategy.
Pricing is strategy. Here’s the framework.
The royalty math you need to know
On Amazon’s KDP, ebooks priced between $2.99 and $9.99 earn a 70% royalty. Below $2.99 or above $9.99, you drop to 35%. That $2.99 line is the single most important number in indie pricing.
This means a book at $2.99 earns you about $2.09 per sale. A book at $1.99 earns about $0.70. You’d need to sell three times as many copies at $1.99 to make the same money. Sometimes that’s worth it. Usually it isn’t.
The standard playbook
$0.99 — the funnel. Use it for short works, first-in-series loss leaders, or limited promotions. At 99 cents you’re buying readers, not earning income. That’s a legitimate strategy as long as it’s deliberate.
$2.99–$4.99 — the sweet spot. This is where most indie novels live. $3.99 is the workhorse price for genre fiction: high enough to signal quality, low enough for impulse buys, and comfortably in the 70% royalty band.
$5.99+ — the premium tier. Works for established authors with strong brands, long books, or box sets. Harder for debuts — you haven’t earned the trust yet.
Free — the permanent magnet. A permafree first-in-series is one of the most proven strategies in indie publishing. The book earns nothing directly and feeds your entire series forever.
Price the series, not the book
Here’s where most authors go wrong: they price each book in isolation. Think in ladders instead.
Book one: free or $0.99 (acquisition). Book two: $3.99. Book three: $4.99. Box set of all three: $9.99 (the “deal” that earns you the most per sale).
Every step up the ladder should feel like a natural yes to a reader who’s already invested. You’re not pricing books. You’re pricing a journey.
What not to do
Don’t underprice from insecurity. “I’m new, so I’ll charge $0.99” tells readers you’re new and unsure. Price the book, not your self-esteem.
Don’t overprice without proof. $7.99 for a debut novel with three reviews is a wall, not a price.
And don’t set it and forget it. Pricing is a lever, not a tattoo. Run a book at $3.99 for a quarter, try $4.99, watch what happens to volume and revenue. The data will tell you what your gut can’t.
The one-sentence version
Price to match your strategy — free to acquire, mid-range to earn, premium when you’ve earned it — and let the numbers, not your nerves, make the call.
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