KDP Expanded Distribution: what it pays.
One checkbox in KDP lists your paperback for bookstores, libraries and other retailers to order. It costs nothing to tick. Here is what it pays per copy, who can use it, and the one rule that decides whether it or IngramSpark should carry your bookstore sales.
What it is
KDP's help page says Expanded Distribution can help you reach more readers through bookstores, online retailers, libraries and academic institutions. Booksellers and libraries buy paperbacks from large distributors, and enrolling lists your book with them so they can order it. KDP currently works with distributors in the United States and the United Kingdom.
Three things the page is clear about:
- It is free to enroll.
- It is a listing, not a placement. Enrolling does not mean a distributor will accept the book or that any bookseller or library will order it. That decision is the bookseller's or library's.
- It takes time. It can take up to eight weeks before booksellers and libraries can order.
What it pays per copy
KDP's help page: the royalty is 40% of the book's list price in the distribution channel at the time of purchase, minus printing costs, applicable taxes and withholding. On Amazon.com, the same paperback earns 60% of a list price of $9.99 or more, minus printing. So every Expanded Distribution sale earns less than an Amazon sale at the same price.
| List price | Amazon.com (60%) | Expanded Distribution (40%) |
|---|---|---|
| $14.99 | $4.39 | $1.40 |
| $16.99 | $5.59 | $2.20 |
| $19.99 | $7.39 | $3.40 |
| $24.99 | $10.39 | $5.40 |
300-page paperback, black ink, regular trim: printing costs $1.00 + 300 × $0.012 = $4.60 on Amazon.com. Example: 40% × $16.99 = $6.80, minus $4.60 = $2.20. Before taxes and withholding. At $11.50 the Expanded Distribution royalty on this book is zero, because 40% of $11.50 is exactly the printing cost.
To run your own book, the KDP royalty calculator shows the Expanded Distribution figure next to the Amazon one, and the book pricing calculator works out the price that earns a target royalty.
Who can enroll
- Paperbacks only. KDP says hardcover books are not eligible.
- Any ISBN, if it is not used elsewhere. The paperback can have an ISBN you bought or one KDP assigned, but it must not have been submitted for distribution through another service.
- Distribution rights. US rights to enroll in Expanded Distribution US, UK rights for the UK.
- An eligible trim, ink and paper combination. KDP publishes a chart; changing paper type can change eligibility.
- Content distributors accept. KDP lists exclusions set by its distributors, including books of mostly lined or blank pages such as journals and planners, public domain content and coloring books.
Expanded Distribution or IngramSpark
The ISBN rule decides it. Because the ISBN must not have been submitted for distribution through another service, one edition of a paperback goes to bookstores through either KDP's Expanded Distribution or IngramSpark, not both.
- Expanded Distribution is one checkbox, free, and pays 40% of list minus printing.
- IngramSpark lets you set the wholesale discount and choose whether books are returnable. The IngramSpark royalty calculator works out what that pays.
If you plan to pitch your book to bookstores or have it stocked for an event, check what terms the store needs before choosing. If the goal is simply to be orderable, the checkbox may be enough.
Should you tick the box?
For most business authors, the money from bookstore sales is small either way; the book earns more through what it does for the author's work. Ticking the box costs nothing and makes the book orderable by a library or a store when someone asks. Leave it off for an edition you plan to distribute through IngramSpark, and check your list price still earns something at 40% after printing.
For the bigger picture, royalties explained covers every format, and the book value calculator adds clients, talks and fees to the copies.
Sources: Amazon KDP, Expanded Distribution; Amazon KDP, Paperback Royalty; Amazon KDP, Paperback Printing Cost. Read October 27, 2026. Not affiliated with Amazon.