Earnings, Payments & Physical Shipping
The payment and fulfillment information authors should understand before agreeing to the Author Program.
Scheduled payout days
Authors with eligible cleared sales since the previous payout are included in the next scheduled payout cycle.
Physical-book sales are different: a physical-book sale is not eligible for payout until USPS confirms delivery and the 7-calendar-day physical-book return period has ended without an unresolved return, refund or payment dispute.
Refunds, PayPal disputes, chargebacks and other reversed transactions can reduce or delay the eligible amount associated with those sales.
Taxes
Applicable sales tax charged to a buyer is handled separately from the author’s book-sale share. Authors must provide any tax information required for payouts before receiving funds.
For security, sensitive taxpayer identification numbers are not requested on the ordinary public Author Portal form.
The author/seller is responsible for fulfillment.
The buyer pays the book price and shipping charge up front. Physical-book purchases must be paid through PayPal. After a physical-book order is paid, the author can see that paid order in the protected Author Portal. The shipping area is designed to provide a scannable shipping QR code or a printable shipping label when the connected shipping service has prepared it.
Only physical books use the platform’s standard return window: an eligible return request must be made within 7 calendar days after USPS delivery confirmation. The author/seller is responsible for fulfillment and eligible physical-book refund/return obligations. If PayPal approves or processes a refund, reversal, claim or chargeback under its applicable rules, the related author earnings may be withheld, deducted from a pending balance, or recovered from future payouts as applicable.
Minimum price
Author-submitted books must have a regular price of at least $4.99. The submission form enforces this requirement.