Enrichment · Passion Projects · Publishing

$16.99 on the cover.
Here is your share.

Type the list price, page count and your service’s rates. The calculator shows what each copy earns and how many sales pay back the editing and the cover.

Work out my royaltyWhat you get

The print-on-demand margin calculator

The worked example is a 174-page local history paperback. Nothing you type leaves this browser.

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What you get

Enrichment · Passion ProjectsFree

What you finish with
The print cost, the royalty a copy on the service’s store and through wider distribution, its share of the list price, the lowest price that pays and the copies to earn back your spending, at four prices. It prints as a summary.
Who it is for
Self-publishing authors pricing a paperback, students publishing a class or club book, and adults running a small press.
Format
Browser calculator for a phone, tablet or computer, by touch or keyboard. Prints a summary; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); export and import a file.
Access
Free. No account, no sign-in and nothing to install. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Passion Projects space in Caveat Enrichment.
Support
Questions, a correction or a request: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Type the list price and pages.
  2. Copy the rate card’s print costs.
  3. Copy the royalty shares.
  4. Add what you spent up front.
  5. Try prices in the table.

Work out my royalty

How the royalty is worked out

The service’s share, then the printing, then what is left.

The worked example: a local history paperbackList price$16.99paperback60% share$10.19before printingLess printing$3.09$1 + 174 × $0.012Royalty$7.11205 copies to earn backThe worked example: a local history paperbackList price$16.99paperback60% share$10.19before printingLess printing$3.09$1 + 174 × $0.012Royalty$7.11205 copies to earn back
The service keeps its share of the list price, printing comes out of yours, and what is left is the royalty.

Where the money goes

A print-on-demand service prints each copy when it is ordered. It keeps a share of the list price, the printing is charged against your share, and the rest is your royalty. Long books cost more to print, so their royalty shrinks unless the price rises.

Wider distribution

Selling through bookstores and libraries means a distributor and a retailer each take a cut, so the share left for you is smaller. At a low price, that channel can pay nothing or less than nothing; the page shows the lowest price that breaks even on each.

Sources

  1. U.S. Small Business Administration. Calculate your startup costs and price your product (sba.gov).
  2. Library of Congress. Copyright and publishing basics for authors (loc.gov).
  3. U.S. Copyright Office. Registering a book (copyright.gov).
  4. Internal Revenue Service. Publication 334, Tax Guide for Small Business: royalties from self-published work (irs.gov).

The default rates are examples, not any service’s actual rates; use the current rate card. Your entries stay in this browser. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.