I recently spoke with yet another indie author who believed Xlibris (Hybrid Publishers) would help them publish books and turn a decent profit—after all, they’re paying good money for the services. But what’s the real story? Here’s what I uncovered using information on the websites concerned and some of my own knowledge. Be aware that XLibris is owned by Author Solutions Inc, who have 5 brands and who have been in court and out of favour with customers in the United States.
If you Google ‘hybrid publishers’, do not click on the top four Sponsored results, okay?
Xlibris Royalty Practices
Xlibris does pay royalties on book sales, but feedback from authors has been mixed. Some have raised concerns about payment accuracy, transparency, and delays. If you’re considering signing up, read your publishing contract carefully and keep an eye on your sales dashboard in the Author Center. Staying informed is your best protection.
What Xlibris Promises
For printed books sold through their distribution channels, Xlibris sets the royalty at 10% of the retail price—but that’s after deducting shipping, handling, and taxes. They also give discounts to retailers and wholesalers, which means your actual royalty depends on the final sale price, not the list price. Not a lot of customers seem to be aware of this.
If your book sells through Xlibris’s own online bookstore, you earn 25% of the retail net royalties. Sounds better, right? But in practice, this often means you earn just $25 on every $100 of net sales. Not exactly life-changing, especially after you’ve already paid them hefty publishing fees and got books printed.
In addition, they love to upsell marketing, like the Frankfurt Book Fair or social media management or the Ingram magazine ad placement. Only one of these options is legitimate for Australian indie authors, and that’s social media management. Book fairs are for traditional writers and agents seeking a publisher, publishers looking for a hot book already proven, etc. That means it’s not for indies already published, on the whole.
Ingram magazine ads are not relevant for Australian market sales. We should use Books+ Publishing news Title showcase instead. It’s $330, or there is an ad package that includes Good Reading as well. Xlibris Book Consultants wouldn’t know this, because they aren’t book industry people, they’re salespeople.
| Platform | Royalty Rate | Based On | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xlibris | 10% (distribution) 25% (Xlibris bookstore) | Net royalties (after print cost, discounts, taxes) | Paid on net receipts, not list price. Lower if sold through distributors. |
| Amazon KDP | ~60% minus print cost | List price minus print cost | High visibility, easy integration with your site. |
| IngramSpark | ~45% minus print cost | Wholesale discount chosen (35–55%) | On $21 book = ~$4.95 royalty. Great for bookstore distribution. |
| BookVault | Varies (higher than Xlibris) | Print cost + shipping (set by author) | Ideal for direct sales to Europe/US; manage your own e-commerce setup. |
My Take
If you’ve paid for a professional-quality, designed PDF of your book, hold onto it—and if contracts allow, consider uploading it yourself through another platform. Sending your website traffic to Xlibris might seem convenient, but the royalties are tiny compared to other options. An alternative that Xlibris or Balboa clients might be allowed to do is buy in author copies and sell them on a Shopify, Squarespace or Wix webstore.
Better Alternatives
BookVault
For established authors with audiences in Europe and the US, for more choice of bindings, and links to Shopify ecommerce in-built, BookVault can be an option to consider. Although Print on Demand, shipping varies (up to around $30 in some cases), so plan accordingly. It’s worth chatting with experienced users before deciding.
KDP Amazon
Amazon’s KDP offers around 60% royalties minus printing costs, depending if sold at their store or ‘Extended Distribution’ (where it’s less). Plus, it’s easy to link to your Amazon book from your website using a Universal Link. For many authors, this is the simplest route to better margins and visibility, plus the author copies are quite cheap to send to yourself. I’ve paid $6 + $5 postage to get one copy.
I believe they get around large postal charges others need to pay by having a fleet of cut-rate couriers dispatching packages from a warehouse.
If you’d like to see inside what happens in Amazon’s warehouse and brand, see Buy Now: Shopping Conspiracy (Netflix) or ‘Amazon Empire‘ on DocPlay. Also remember that ‘Algorithm’ controls the price – and if the algo wants to shift your printed book stock, the price plummets.
IngramSpark
This platform offers flexibility, but royalties typically hover around 45% and you’ll manage your own e-commerce connections. For example, on a $21 book, you might see just $4.95 in royalties. It works best for authors aiming to get into Booktopia, Wheelers, and Australian libraries, but for direct sales, it’s not ideal. (Typical price of AU orders’ shipping and handling: $10.50 + printing & GST per book).
Next Steps:
If you want maximum control and profit, skip expensive middlemen. Start with KDP for global reach or explore BookVault for specialty books and better print quality. If you still want wide distribution, IngramSpark can complement your strategy—but go in with realistic expectations.
If you are unsure about all the production values, proofing, fonts, bleeds, ISBN setup and more, please look into my course: Book Creation Self Publish – called Book Creation Success on Thinkific. It also goes into pros and cons of the self-publishing path and compares printers to Print on Demand.
