Pricing Blank Notebooks at KDP — Kindle Direct Publishing

What Do You Think?

I was doing a bit of research as I moved forward with submitting a no-content lined notebook to Amazon KDP for publishing today. I was facing the conundrum of how to price the notebook. I started with a notebook that has a colored interior. The title of the book is: It is a Garden Party with a subtitle of: A Notebook. I didn’t want people thinking they were actually going to be purchasing a real book.

Unfortunately, I recently read where KDP doesn’t like when one of your keywords is also in your title or subtitle. So, I’ll see how that shakes out. My keywords are: Journals, Dreams, Lined Notebook, Adults, Students, Gifts, Writing. I figure I am skating really close to the line with a keyword of lined notebook and the subtitle being: A notebook.

They will let me know in 72 hours if I can proceed and the notebook passes final muster with Amazon.

So, the pricing started out with the question I had to ask myself of how much money did I want to make on the sale of each book? Well, that was pretty stupid because the answer is as much as I can. Rephrasing the question to take into account what the printing costs are and how much my royalties will be also deals with the fact that the cost of printing at Amazon KDP is going up on 6/20/23. That’s seven days from now. I started working on this particular notebook back the beginning of May. I’ve had more distractions, a larger learning curve than I ever imagined, and time just seems to speed by.

I’ve been looking at other notebooks available online, not from fancy publishing houses, but those that appear to be low and no content books published by people like me. Some of those puppies are priced so low I think the authors are making 20¢ a copy, something I am trying to avoid.

So, the cost now to publish a 6x9 inch, 150 page, (actually 154 pages including the front matter) lined and colored interior (the lines are green) with a floral border at the bottom of each page is $6.39. I priced it at $14.55 with my royalties at $2.34 a book. I did read somewhere that you can figure your royalties on an Amazon book to be 60% of the listed price which would put it at $8.73 less the cost of printing which is $6.39 and equals $2.34. So, the calculator during the book submission process at KDP works. On 6/20/23 I will be making $1.26 at the same list price of $14.55. That is a lot to pay for a notebook.

But it is a pretty notebook and I’d be happy to write in it myself. I’ve already gotten two proof copies so, am good to go with my own copies for a time. And, for me, having a pretty notebook to write in just makes it special.

So, I started to do some research using KDSPY and an incognito window with a Chrome browser to investigate. Prior to that I’d been figuring on $6.99 as a good price for a black and white notebook. If I used the same pricing with this color notebook I’d be making 30¢.

So, we’ll see. I’ve got another 2 black and white notebooks to submit for publishing but I sort of wore myself out with the first one. My goal is to submit at least five notebooks every month for a while. I’ll get better at it. Much of it had to do with developing a designer’s eye. I’ve gotten better at it as time has gone by and I expect will get even better the longer I do this.

Actually, I started all of this because it was time for me to start thinking about covers for the actual books I’ve been writing. I suppose I’ve been working on them for about a year in fits and starts. That will come later in the summer. I hope.

I really stumbled upon making the low and no-content books by accident.

But what was the funniest thing today was as I was doing research on other people’s notebooks comparing what they were making and how many they were selling on Amazon. The most popular notebook of all, the hands down most purchased in the 60 some books I surveyed was one called, “How to Tell if it’s a Fart or a Shart” I mean, we just love our barnyard vulgarity. You can just imagine what a shart is. Actually, we call that track marks in my house.

What if I were to name my notebooks from rude quotes from Spirit? Would you all be willing to do that?

I don’t want my name associated with such subject matter. I am a lofty and spiritually minded guide.

You’re teasing me, aren’t you?

Do you see my serious face?

Actually, I did just get a glimpse of it. It didn’t look so serious as it did pained.

Well, allowing for your short-sightedness, that’s a good glimpse.

I could do an experiment and just make one notebook really juvenile and barnyard. Couldn’t you imagine Dennis (my husband) showing off his new notebook that says something like, “Don’t Ask Me. I Only Work Here.” Actually, I sort of like that one. It’s not exactly so much barnyard as it is flippant or snarky. How about, “Hände Hock, du Schlange im Gras!”

Nobody but a German would like that one Pauline. You will need to explain yourself.

Okay, so Hoss on an old episode of Bonanza aired in Germany said it to some bad guys. “Hands Up You Snake in the Grass!” The funny part is that penis is called Schlong in German.

Thanks for reading and I’m off to try out some snarky notebooks.