How To Price a Book: Average Book Price In Your Genre

Your book is priceless… but the buy button isn’t. Set it too low and you starve; too high and readers ghost you faster than a cliffhanger. In this guide we’ll show you how to sniff out the average book price in your exact genre, decode how to price a book on Amazon without nuking royalties, and sidestep classic traps (bloated delivery fees, anyone?).

You’ll learn a simple comp scan, the royalty math that actually matters, and when to test, hold, or promo. For context on today’s retail climate, we’ll also peek at a recent Big Five snapshot of retail ebook pricing, which is useful reality-check material before you set your number.

Why Price Matters More Than Your Protagonist (and Earns You Royalties)

Pricing is the lever that decides whether your launch feels like fireworks or a damp match. In book-land, elasticity rules: drop the price and conversion climbs, but revenue might not if you undercut yourself; raise it and you gain perceived value, until readers bounce. 

Format sets expectations, too: ebooks are judged against quick-buy norms, paperbacks against “giftable” quality, hardcovers against prestige. The trick in how to price a book is balancing conversion vs. margin while reading the room: retail trends show Big Five Kindle prices nudging up modestly and overall retail ebooks staying roughly flat year over year, useful context when you benchmark your genre. Cite your comps, test calmly, and let the math talk.

Find The “Real” Average in Your Genre (Fast Comp Research)

Open Amazon and pull comps like a pro. 

First, open your primary category plus two adjacent subcategories. 

• For each, capture the Top 50 list prices by format (ebook, paperback, hardcover). 
• Drop them into a sheet and compute the median, not the mean, so celebrity releases, box sets, and $0.99 promos don’t warp your average book price. 
• Flag clear outliers (household-name authors, limited editions, KU freebies, temporary discounts) and keep them out of your median set.

Next, sanity-check your numbers. 

• Compare your medians to retail snapshots and recent market roundups so you’re not pricing in a vacuum. ReadersFirst’s recurring Publisher Price Watch is handy context: it tracks Big Five digital prices and notes that retail print and ebook prices have been roughly flat while other formats move, useful guardrails while you benchmark. 
• If you want a directional 2024–25 retail ebook “typical,” treat any broad average as a hint, not a rule; your comps win. 
• Re-run this scan before launch and again after your first promo to confirm you’re still aligned.

How To Price a Book on Amazon (KDP)

Amazon pays you two very different ways: know which game you’re playing. For ebooks, the 70% rate applies only if your list price sits in the $2.99–$9.99 window (and in some regions you must also be in Select); outside that, or for public-domain content, it’s 35%. 

Mind the regions: the 70% tier is limited to specific territories, and Brazil/Japan/Mexico/India require KDP Select enrollment.

Next landmine in how to price a book on Amazon: delivery fees. At 70%, Amazon subtracts a per-MB fee (e.g., $0.15/MB in the U.S.) based on your ebook’s file size—bloated images quietly eat margin.

Pre-orders have their own wrinkle: thanks to Amazon’s Pre-order Price Guarantee, your royalty is calculated on the actual price charged to the customer during the pre-order period. 

Selective promo perk: Kindle Countdown Deals let you discount below $2.99 yet still keep the 70% rate if eligible.

Quick math (U.S., before taxes/VAT), assuming a tidy 1 MB file:

• $2.99 → (2.99 − 0.15) × 70% ≈ $1.99.
  
• $4.99 → (4.99 − 0.15) × 70% ≈ $3.39.
  
• $7.99 → (7.99 − 0.15) × 70% ≈ $5.49.

Bottom line for how to price a book: pick the right royalty tier, keep files lean, leverage pre-orders and Countdown Deals, and sanity-check with a reputable explainer before you hit Publish.

Paper Beats Ebook? Only If The Math Pencils Out (Print Pricing)

Print pricing is math, not vibes. To figure out how to price a book in print, start with KDP’s Print Cost & Royalty Calculator: plug in trim, page count, and ink (B/W vs. color) to see printing cost, minimum list price, and your royalty—then “back into” a list price that leaves margin you can live with.

Know that Expanded Distribution changes the math: royalties there are 40% of list minus print cost (vs. Amazon’s 60% channel), which often forces a higher minimum price to avoid earning pennies.

Going wide with IngramSpark? Set a wholesale discount (common range 40–55%). At 55%, a $14.99 list yields a $6.75 wholesale price (14.99 × 55% = 8.24; 14.99 − 8.24 ≈ 6.75) before print cost—so thin margins get thinner fast. Many bookstores expect ~40% margin; Ingram itself often recommends ~55%.

Bottom line: use the KDP calculator to model scenarios, raise list price if Expanded Distribution or a 55% wholesale cut squeezes margins, and only go higher when your format and audience will support it.

Genre-by-Genre Reality Check

Treat these as directional guardrails, and trust your comp spreadsheet over any “universal” number for the average book price. 

For many indies: Romance/Urban Fantasy (ebook) often lands $2.99–$4.99 with frequent promos; read-through + KU can justify the lower end. 

Thriller/Mystery (ebook) commonly sits $3.99–$5.99, where price + volume balance out. 

Literary Fiction (ebook) tolerates $4.99–$9.99 thanks to perceived prestige and slower promo cadence. 

Nonfiction how-to (ebook) spans $6.99–$14.99 (expertise carries value); paperbacks usually climb higher due to print costs. 

Children’s picture books (print) are production-driven; many cluster $9.99–$14.99+ depending on page count, color, and format. 

Now, validate: run your Amazon category comp scan, compute medians, and adjust for your positioning, series plan, and promo strategy. Use this range as a sanity check, then let real comps and your audience call the final price.

Psychology, Promos & Pricing Tests (A Short Playbook)

Charm beats change: $4.99 feels friendlier than $5.00, especially when a higher-priced hardcover “anchors” the ebook as a steal. In series, price Book 1 lower to fuel read-through; lift later books. For promos, KDP Kindle Countdown Deals are your best friend: you can drop below $2.99 and still keep the 70% rate if you’re eligible, plan around seasonal spikes (holidays, Prime events), and stack ads while the countdown timer builds urgency.

A simple testing cadence for how to price a book on Amazon: change one variable, then measure 2–4 weeks (CTR, conversion, KU reads, revenue) before touching price again. Don’t whipsaw; let data accumulate. If your baseline is the 70% tier, remember royalties during a Countdown are calculated at your regular rate on the discounted price, great for controlled experiments without killing margin.

Mistakes That Quietly Tank Sales

Price killers to avoid:

• Straying outside the 70% window ($2.99–$9.99) without a plan; defaulting to 35% can kneecap revenue.
• Bloated image files that spike KDP delivery fees and silently shave cents off every sale. Compress before upload.
• Copy-pasting Big Five prices for a debut indie with no brand gravity; misaligned value signals stall conversion.
• Ignoring print math. Expanded Distribution pays ~40% of list minus print cost; price too low and you earn pennies.
• Skipping wholesale reality, IngramSpark trade discounts often sit 40–55%; at 55%, margins get thin fast.
• Whipsawing price daily test in 2–4-week windows so you can read clean data, not noise.

Wrap-up: Your Price Is a Hypothesis—Test It

Treat price as a working theory, not a tattoo. Start with comps, set a defensible number, then test on purpose: one change, one window, one takeaway. Watch conversion, KU reads, and royalties, not ego. Iterate with grace. 

The 10-minute pricing checklist:

• Run a comp scan in your category + 2 adjacents; capture Top 50 list prices by format.
  
• Compute medians (exclude promos/box sets/celebs).
  
• Decide KDP royalty tier (70% vs 35%) and check delivery fee risk for ebooks.
  
• Set your initial list price inside KDP’s allowed ranges.
  
• Sanity-check print math with KDP’s Print Cost & Royalty Calculator (trim, pages, ink).
  
• If using IngramSpark, choose a wholesale discount (often 40–55%) and verify margins.
  
• Publish, then schedule your first promo window (e.g., Countdown Deal if eligible).
  
• Calendar a 30-day review to assess conversion, KU reads, and revenue.
  
• Document impact (price, earnings, rank) and log your next test.

The goal isn’t the cheapest sticker; it’s the right value for your audience, format, and margins. Hypothesize, measure, refine, and repeat calmly, over time.

FAQ: Book Pricing