Book publishing has again shifted and for this, we can thank two behemoths that begin with A: Amazon and AI.
AI is now part of every aspect of publishing. It designs covers, cleans up prose, writes jacket copy, and narrates audiobooks. It’s also, I suspect, writing many a KU book. AI’s tools are quick and inexpensive, and they’re radically changing how books get made.
Then, in June, Kindle Direct Publishing changed its royalty rate for print books from 60% to 50% for books priced below certain rates. (The Kindle rate structure stayed the same—that system still encourages authors to price their eBooks at $9.99, the top of the 75% royalty bracket.) Authors who used to earn 60% after printing costs now get 50% if their books sell for less than $9.99. That one change raised the minimum price a book can be sold for and still earn anything. A 450-page paperback that used to bring in about forty cents on an $8.99 sale now has to be priced around $10.60 just to break even.
Authors’ costs and payouts are shifting in profound ways. I see it in higher prices and in the flood of re-releases and newly covered older reads. Are you seeing it too? And what do you think about it all?
