How Do I Calculate My Royalties or Publisher Compensation With Bookvault?

You can estimate how much you’ll earn from each book sale before or after setting up your title in Bookvault.

Your earnings depend mainly on:

• your book’s retail price (RRP)
• the retailer or wholesale discount
• the cost of printing the book
• where the book is sold

Bookvault shows these figures for you, so you do not need to calculate everything manually.

How can I check my estimated earnings before adding my book?

You can use the Bookvault quote tool before creating your title.

Enter your book specifications, then add:

• your intended retail price
• the retailer discount you want to offer

The quote will show an estimate of what you could earn when selling through:

• The Great British Bookshop
• other retailers supplied through Bookvault’s distribution network

How can I check my earnings from my Bookvault account?

If your title is already set up, log in to your Bookvault account and go to Manage Distribution.

Find the title you want to check and select Edit.

Scroll to the retail pricing section, where you can enter your RRP and adjust the wholesale discount using the slider. Bookvault will then show the estimated amount you could earn after printing costs.

How is publisher compensation calculated?

A simple way to understand it is:

Retail price – retailer discount – print cost = estimated publisher compensation

The amount you receive can vary depending on where the book is sold and the discount required by that sales channel.

Do I need money in my Bookvault balance for retail sales?

No.

For sales made through Bookvault's retail distribution network, you don't need to prepay the printing cost or keep funds in your Bookvault account.

When a retailer sells your book:

1. The retailer's applicable discount is deducted from the retail price.
2. Bookvault deducts the production cost of the book.
3. The remaining amount is recorded as your publisher compensation.

This is different from orders you place yourself or orders fulfilled from your own connected ecommerce store, where you pay Bookvault for production and shipping.

Do I need to pay the printing cost when a retailer sells my book?

No. For sales made through Bookvault's retail distribution network, you don't need to prepay the production cost or maintain funds in your Bookvault account to cover the printing of each book.

When a book is sold, the retailer's share is deducted from the retail price and Bookvault then deducts the production cost. The remaining amount is paid to you as publisher compensation.

For example:

Retail price – retailer discount – production cost = publisher compensation

This is different from orders placed through your own connected ecommerce store, where Bookvault charges you separately for production and shipping.

Why are my earnings different on The Great British Bookshop?

You may see a different estimated return when selling through The Great British Bookshop compared with other retailers.

This is because different sales channels can have different retailer or wholesale deductions before your publisher compensation is calculated.

Does changing the retailer discount affect my earnings?

Yes.

A higher retailer discount means more of the retail price is given to the retailer or bookseller, which reduces the amount left as publisher compensation.

A lower discount increases your estimated earnings per sale, but the discount you choose can also affect how attractive your book is to retailers.

Can I change my retail price or discount later?

If your title is already set up for distribution, you can return to Manage Distribution and review the pricing settings for that title.

Always check the estimated publisher compensation shown in Bookvault before saving any changes.