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From and author and Publisher
Here's the actual answer to your question from an author and publisher:
The average price for an e-book is $2.99. Big publishers sell for more, but your average publisher with a catalog under 100 books will sell an e-book for 2.99.
The selling site (amazon or iBooks) takes 30% for selling the book. (80 cents or so)
Authors take between 5 and 15%. (about 30 cents).
This nets the publisher 2 bucks per book.
Buy one ad anywhere to market the book and it will cost you at least $500. You now have to sell at least 250 books just to break even on the ad.
You also have to pay a cover designer and layout guy. Say it cost you another 500 bucks to get the design, layout, and editing done. (That's WAY cheap). You now have to sell at least 1000 books just to break even.
All of this is on top of any standard business costs you have as a publisher.
If you have a bestseller, all this is good. But the vast, vast majority of books barely pass muster, and the publisher is lucky to make a dime.
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