Use this simple formula: Retail price (price on the cover), minus printing and shipping costs, minus sales fee and wholesale discounts = your royalties. Every time a book is sold, you are responsible for the cost of printing the book, and, if it is sold through a third party (online retailer, bookstore), you also pay a percentage of the retail price to the third-party. This is called the sales fee. You do not pay either printing or sales fees up-front when you are selling through a third party, though. When the book is sold, those costs are deducted from the sale, and your royalty equals the amount that remains. Luminare Press authors retain 100 percent of the royalty. Good to know: Sales fees vary depending on the sales channel, but will not be affected if your book is sold at a discounted price. For instance, Amazon may choose to offer your book at a lower price than your cover, or retail, cost but doing so will not affect the amount of royalty you receive from the sale. Likewise, the cost of shipping the book from the seller to the buyer will not affect your royalty.