Statements
July 9, 2026
The Authors Guild welcomes Amazon’s decision to extend Kindle Direct Publishing’s 70 percent ebook royalty rate to titles priced up to $12.99, up from the longstanding $9.99 ceiling. The change is effective July 7.
The previous $9.99 ceiling put authors of longer works, box sets, and specialized nonfiction at a disadvantage by forcing them to lower prices regardless of the works’ value to readers or take half the royalty rate. This was one of the issues the Guild had discussed with Amazon, and we are pleased to see that Amazon is allowing authors greater choice in how they price their work. This move also brings Amazon closer in line with its competitors: Apple Books and Barnes & Noble Press pay a flat 70 percent at every price point, and Kobo pays 70 percent on any ebook priced at $2.99 or above.
Authors whose books are currently priced between $9.99 and $12.99 and not enrolled in the 70 percent plan will need to change the plan to take advantage of the raised price ceiling.
We continue to urge Amazon to extend the 70 percent rate further to all upper price tiers and to eliminate or reduce the per-megabyte delivery fees (which no other ebook retailer charges) that cut into authors’ earnings.
