Free KDP royalty calculator
Free self-publishing cost calculator
Self-publishing cost calculator: what the book must earn back.
Total what the book really cost you, divide by the royalty one sale pays, and see how many copies must sell before the project is even.
Checked:
✓Line-item cost list✓Royalty-driven break-even✓Rounded copy count to the next sale
The only number most authors miss
Everyone quotes the royalty. Almost nobody adds up editing, cover, proof copies, and launch ads first, then divides. That remainder is the number of sales that turn the project from a hobby into an investment.
Compare it against the paid path
The same arithmetic is how you should evaluate any paid service: if the release pass costs $39, the calculator shows which royalty level repays it and how many copies that takes.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What should I include as a cost?
Anything you paid or will pay: editing, cover design, formatting, proof copies, ISBN, launch ads, and mark time if you track it. Leave hope out.
Where is the royalty number from?
The KDP royalty calculator, which already applies the 35%/70% band and delivery fees.
Is break-even a promise of sales?
No. It is a threshold: at this royalty, these sales repay this cost. Amazon decides acceptance and readers decide demand.
Price the release like the business it is.
When the manuscript is truly finished, one reviewed release pass replaces a pile of disconnected single-purpose subscriptions.