Pricing an eBook depends on various factors, including royalty rates, your eBook’s length, your eBook’s perceived quality, and the price of other books in the genre.
Royalty Rates
| Retail Price ($) | Amazon* | Barnes & Noble | iBooks |
| .99–2.98 | 35% | 40% | 70% |
| 2.99–9.99 | 70% | 65% | 70% |
| 10–200 | 35% | 40% | 70% |
*Delivery costs and the country/territory of purchase affect your royalties.
You may want to base your price partly on the royalty rates. As noted in the table above, if your eBook’s price is $2.99–$9.99, you will maximize your royalties from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Also, a lower price may sometimes yield greater eBook sales. Conversely, a higher price may sometimes yield less sales but more royalties for each sale.
Please note that in order to distribute your eBook to these retailers, you must agree to sell your eBook for the same price for all retailers.
Length and Perceived Quality
Generally, a shorter book has a cheaper price. For fiction (and some creative nonfiction) eBooks of fewer than 50,000 words, $2.99 or less may be a good price.
For nonfiction books, such as self-help and business books, your eBook’s content is more important than its length. Life-changing content, which is invaluable, can command a higher price.
A lengthier book generally has a higher price. With all the time, money, and energy you’ve spent—writing, editing, and publishing—you deserve a higher compensation.
If you’re an established author, you may be able to set a higher price for your eBook. Your readers will trust your content and will be willing to spend more for it.
As a less-established author, setting a lower price may encourage curious readers to purchase your eBook.
Sometimes, a higher-priced eBook is considered more valuable than a lower-priced one. Readers may believe that a more expensive eBook is more well done than a lower-priced one. The idea is that the eBook must be worth the higher price if you’re willing to sell it at that price. If your eBook is too low priced, some may assume it to be of subpar quality.
Genre
Look at other eBooks in the same genre. Compare prices. How much are other authors charging for similar eBooks? Who are the authors? And how well are those eBooks selling? You’ll want your eBook to be competitively priced—not too high, not too low.
Amazon and other sites offer further discussion about how to price your eBook.