What it means
A royalty is what the author earns per copy sold. In a traditional contract it is a percentage, and the base matters as much as the rate: list-price royalties (common for print in the US and UK — around 10% on hardcover rising to 12.5% and 15% at sales thresholds, 7.5% on paperback) are paid on the cover price, while net-receipts royalties (standard for ebooks at 25%, and for print in many markets) are paid on what the publisher actually received after the retailer's discount. An advance is a royalty prepayment; nothing more arrives until sales have earned out the advance.
Self-publishing platforms invert the split. Amazon KDP pays 70% of list on ebooks priced $2.99–$9.99 (35% outside that band), and on print pays list price minus printing cost minus a 40% retail share. Direct sales from an author's own storefront keep the most, minus payment processing.
Royalties are reported on statements, quarterly or monthly by platform.
In Bindery
Every published Bindery book gets a free storefront paying about 95% on ebooks and 80% on audiobooks, with an author-set print royalty on top of printing — paid out via Stripe.
Make the book, not the checklist
Describe a book or upload a manuscript. Bindery writes with you, typesets in LaTeX, sizes the spine from the real page count and produces printer-validated files — the watermarked proof is always free.
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