Amazon ebook deal offers 70% royalty

As Publishers Weekly reports, Amazon has announced plans to offer publishers a royalty of 70% when they use the company’s self-publishing Kindle Digital Text Platform, subject to certain restrictions.

Delivery costs will be based on file size and Amazon said that new program will enable authors and publishers to make more money on the sale of e-books. In Amazon’s example, on an $8.99 book an author would make $3.15 with the standard option, and $6.25 with the new 70% option. To qualify for the new rate, however, e-books must meet a set of requirements that includes carrying a price between $2.99 and $9.99, a price that must be at least 20% below the lowest physical list price for the physical book.

As Lance Ulanoff reports for PCmag.com, the move could be seen as a way of persuading publishers to release high profile books on the Kindle (at a lower price) at the same time as a paper book is released.