Self-publishing platform rules and sources
The figures our tools use, with the official page each one came from. Last checked 2026-10-15.
Values marked verified:true were read from the platform's official help pages on the date above. Values marked verified:false are widely documented by the community but were not confirmed on an official page; always confirm in the platform's own form before publishing.
Amazon KDP
Print cost, royalty tiers, ebook price bands, spine factors, margins and metadata limits come from these KDP help pages:
Paperback royalty rate
The rate is 50% or 60% of list price, depending on the price and marketplace; royalty is rate times list price minus printing cost. The 60% rate starts at these list prices:
| Marketplace | 50% tier up to | 60% tier from | Maximum price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon.com (USD) | $9.98 | $9.99 | $250 |
| Amazon.co.uk (GBP) | £7.98 | £7.99 | £250 |
| Amazon.de/es/fr/it/nl/ie/com.be (EUR) | €9.98 | €9.99 | €250 |
| Amazon.ca (CAD) | C$13.98 | C$13.99 | C$350 |
| Amazon.com.au (AUD) | A$13.98 | A$13.99 | A$350 |
| Amazon.pl (PLN) | zł39 | zł40 | zł1200 |
| Amazon.se (SEK) | kr109 | kr110 | kr2500 |
| Amazon.co.jp (JPY) | ¥999 | ¥1000 | ¥30000 |
Expanded Distribution royalty is 40% of list price minus printing cost.
Metadata limits
| Rule | Value | Confirmed on KDP page? |
|---|---|---|
| Title + subtitle length | fewer than 200 characters | Yes |
| Imprint length | 100 characters | Yes |
| Categories | up to 3 | Yes |
| Keyword boxes | 7 | Not yet |
| Characters per keyword | 50 | Not yet |
| Description length | 4000 characters | Not yet |
Rules marked "Not yet" are widely documented by authors but were not found on an official page when we checked. The tools label them the same way.
Barnes & Noble Press
Print royalty = 55% of retail price minus the per-book printing cost. Printing cost depends on format, trim, pages and color; get it from B&N Press's Quick Quote tool. eBook royalty = 70% of retail price (per B&N's Royalty and Payment Terms; terms can change with 30 days' notice).
IngramSpark
Publisher compensation = list price - wholesale discount - print cost. IngramSpark has no single universal print-cost formula; get the exact print cost from IngramSpark's own calculator for your trim, paper, binding and market.
Lulu
Lulu's print cost is quoted by its own calculator. Royalty = retail price - manufacturing cost - any distribution/retailer share for the channel.
Draft2Digital
Draft2Digital print and ebook terms were not verified against an official page; enter the print cost and rate from your D2D dashboard.
Spotted something out of date? Tell us and include the page where you saw the new figure.