If you’re an aspiring author, you’ve probably considered publishing your book on Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). After all, Amazon dominates the online book market, making it seem like the easiest route to get your book out to the world. But before you jump in, let’s talk about the hidden costs and the real price you pay when using Amazon to publish your book.

Amazon’s True Costs for Publishing a Book

At first glance, publishing on Amazon KDP appears to be free. There are no upfront costs to upload and distribute your book. But Amazon makes its money in other ways that can seriously cut into your profits.

📌 Royalties: The Big Amazon Trap

Amazon offers two royalty options for eBooks:

• 70% royalty option (only if your book is priced between $2.99 and $9.99)
• 35% royalty option (if your book is priced outside that range)

Sounds good, right? Not so fast.

Even with the 70% royalty, Amazon deducts "delivery fees" for eBooks, which can add up. For paperback books, Amazon charges printing fees, which vary based on page count, color, and format. By the time Amazon takes its cut, many authors make only $1-$3 per book sold.

🚨 Amazon Controls Your Pricing & Profits

Amazon forces you to price your book within their preferred range if you want to earn 70% royalties. If you want to price your book higher (to reflect its true value), Amazon will penalize you by dropping your royalty rate to 35%. You don’t have real control over your own product.

🛑 Amazon Owns Your Customers, Not You

One of the biggest downsides of publishing on Amazon? You don’t get access to your customer data.

• You don’t know who buys your book
• You can’t build an email list
• You can’t market directly to your readers

Amazon keeps all the customer relationships for itself, which means if you ever want to sell another book, you have no way to reach your audience.

A Better Way to Sell Your Book (Without Amazon Taking Over!)

If you want full control over your book, pricing, profits, and customers, consider selling your book independently. Here’s how:

1️⃣ Sell Directly from Your Own Website

Instead of letting Amazon take control, set up your own online store using platforms like:

• Shopify
• WooCommerce (WordPress)
• Gumroad
• Payhip

This way, you keep up to 95% of the profits and build your own customer base!

2️⃣ Use Print-on-Demand Services (Without Amazon)

Want to sell paperback books without printing a huge stock upfront? Use services like:

• IngramSpark
• Lulu
• Blurb

These platforms offer global distribution but don’t take massive cuts like Amazon.

3️⃣ Sell Digital Copies Directly

Ebooks and audiobooks are huge moneymakers. Sell them on your own website or through platforms like:

• Payhip (for instant downloads)
• Gumroad (for direct digital sales)
• Patreon (for exclusive content)

By doing this, you keep more profits and build a loyal audience.

4️⃣ Build a Community & Market Smarter

Since Amazon won’t share customer info with you, selling directly lets you build your email list and community.

• Use social media marketing
• Offer exclusive bonuses for buying directly
• Start a newsletter to keep readers engaged

When you own the relationship with your customers, you can sell more books, courses, and content in the future—without Amazon taking a cut.

Final Thoughts: Stop Letting Amazon Control Your Success

Amazon may seem like the easy route, but it’s designed to benefit Amazon—not authors. They control pricing, take a big cut of your profits, and keep all customer data. If you want true success as an author, selling independently is the way to go.

So, if you’re tired of Amazon taking the biggest slice of your hard-earned sales, take control of your book’s future today. Your words. Your profits. Your audience.

💡 Ready to break free from Amazon? Start selling on your own terms and watch your book sales grow—without the middleman! 🚀🔥