It’s easy to order discounted author copies of paperback books from Amazon KDP. How much do author copies cost? Use our handy Amazon KDP Print Royalty and Author Copy Calculator.
You need four pieces of information for the calculator:
- Your book’s list price: what you are selling it for (or plan to sell it for) on Amazon.
- The Amazon marketplace where it will be printed*. This will be Amazon.com for residents of the US. (See below regarding other marketplaces.)
- The number of pages in your book.
- The ink type and paper you are using. (See below for details about ink types and paper if your book is not currently published.)
The cost to buy author copies is the same as the cost for printed proofs. You cannot, however, buy author copies until your book is published and available for purchase from Amazon. You receive no royalties on author copies.
Calculating costs of author copies
Disclaimer: Prices are based on Amazon’s published prices as of September 8, 2021. Prices are subject to change at any time, and the prices quoted here should be considered estimates. Visit your KDP dashboard and KDP help pages for actual prices.
See below for definitions and information about error messages.
Amazon KDP Print Royalty and Author Copy Calculator (Beta)
Ink type and paper
Amazon has three pricing levels for ink type and paper:
- Black ink on either cream or white paper. Available for books with page counts of 24 to 828 pages. (The price is the same for either cream or white paper.)
- Premium color ink. For books with page counts of 24 to 828 pages.
- Standard color ink. For books with page counts of 72 to 600 pages. (This is new as of August 2021.)
Error messages
If you get an error message with a minimum price noted, increase your book’s list price above the amount indicated in the error message.
How to order author copies
- Login to your KDP account—in the US, it’s https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/ —and find your book.
- On the right, it should say Order author copies on the button under PAPERBACK ACTIONS. (You can also hover your mouse over the three dots to the right of the button.)
- Click the Order author copies button and enter the quantity. You can order up to 999 copies at a time.
- Select the marketplace of your order. Note that prices do not include shipping and applicable taxes. You will be directed to your Amazon cart to complete your order.
- Unlike printed proofs—which can take several hours for order processing—you will immediately be taken to your shopping cart. From here, you can proceed to checkout to complete your order.
Note any messages about how long it will take to print your book (it isn’t always immediate; we’ve seen messaging saying it can take ten days, for example).
Shipping costs
There are three options, and costs vary based on shipping speed. They are calculated at the time of purchase and may depend on your location.
- Standard shipping
- Two-day shipping
- One-day shipping
Prime members do not receive free shipping.
Tip: In our experience, books mailed using standard shipping often arrive faster than what Amazon indicates.
Shipping to more than one address
You can divide your order and ship to more than one address. Of course, you’ll pay more in shipping, but it’s probably less expensive and certainly less time consuming than receiving all the books and then reshipping them to other addresses.
In checkout, click the Change link next to the Shipping address section in part one.
After clicking Change, you’ll see the Shipping to more than one address? question at the top of the next screen, next to the heading Most recently used. Click the Shipping to more than one address? and follow the directions.
Resources and further reading
AuthorImprints: Guide to Amazon Fees and Royalties for Kindle eBooks and KDP Print
AuthorImprints: How Much to Charge When Pricing a Self-Published Book to Sell on Amazon
Amazon: Paperback Printing Cost
