What are author copies?

Author copies are copies of your published book that you order for yourself, usually at the printing cost plus shipping and any applicable tax, rather than at the retail price. Most print-on-demand platforms, including Amazon KDP, IngramSpark and Lulu, offer them once a book is live.

Self-publishers use author copies to sell at events, book fairs and talks; to send to reviewers, bloggers and local media; to stock consignment shelves in local bookshops; and as gifts. Unlike proofs, author copies do not carry a "not for resale" mark, so you can sell them.

Because you buy them yourself, author copies generally do not count as sales on the store, do not earn you a royalty and do not affect sales rankings. You keep the difference between what you paid and what you sell them for. Shipping can be a large part of the cost, so ordering in batches is usually cheaper per copy. Order limits, shipping regions and pricing differ between platforms, so check the platform's current rules.

If you sell many copies in person, compare POD author copies with a short offset print run; at higher quantities offset printing can be cheaper per copy, though you then need to store them.