Anyone with an IngramSpark account has likely seen the news: The distributor will increase POD pricing in April of this year. Read the announcement. Cover printing costs will go up 3 cents; per-page pricing will go up by 2.1 percent.
Perhaps just as important and likely overlooked: IngramSpark’s global distribution fee (also called a market access fee) has increased from 1 percent to 1.5 percent. For a $20 book, that means the fee increases from 20 cents to 30 cents. This fee was introduced in May 2023, at roughly the same time IngramSpark eliminated the title setup fees. My guess: IngramSpark earns more from their new percentage-based fee than the old flat-rate setup fee.
When the new pricing goes into effect, one author estimates average profit will drop by 25 to 45 cents per title sold if the book retail price remains the same.
Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.
Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (The University of Chicago Press), is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. She reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs.
