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Amazon.com has increased it royalty rates for publishers and authors who publish direct to its Kindle e-book reader, but is insisting that books must be priced at least 20% below the lowest price of the physical edition of the book, and not sold any cheaper elsewhere. Publishers and authors who comply will receive a 70% royalty.
The option, available to those who use the Kindle Digital Text Platform, is in addition to the existing DTP standard royalty option and will become available from 30th June. Authors and publishers will receive 70% of list price after delivery costs.
However, the books selected for this royalty rate must satisfy a set of requirements. The title must be priced between $2.99 and $9.99 and be sold at a 20% discount to the print edition. It also has to sell for the same price, or less, as it does with competing retailers.
The title must also be available in all territories for which the author or publisher has intellectual property rights, although at launch the option will be available only for books sold in the US.
Russ Grandinetti, vice president of Kindle Content, said: "Today authors often receive royalties in the range of 7 to 15% of the list price that publishers set for their physical books, or 25% of the net that publishers receive from retailers for their digital books."
He added: "We're excited that the new 70% royalty option for the Kindle Digital Text Platform will
help us pay authors higher royalties when readers choose their books."