The cost of self publishing, as Andrew Hyde learned, is very, very high:
Use Amazon to run your website: .01 to download a file. Use Amazon to sell your book: $2.58 per download + 30% of whatever you sell. Amazon’s markup of digital delivery to indie authors is ~129,000%.
Kelly Burdick does more math:
Amazon’s total fees ate away almost a third of Hyde’s royalty: The book retails on Amazon for $9.99, and under the 70% percent royalty plan Hyde imagined he would get $7. But Amazon charges $2.58 per download to deliver the ebook, with the author’s royalty being calculated on what’s left after the delivery fee is deducted.