Author Ads Pro

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Read-through calculator

Enter reads for each book in your series to get read-through by book, later books per new reader, and what each new reader is worth.

Later books per new reader

1.46

Each new book 1 reader goes on to read 1.46 more books, worth about $4.14 in later-book royalties.

Readers by book

Book 11,000
Book 247047%
Book 338081%
Book 432084%
Book 529091%

Percentages are read-through from the previous book.

Reads per book (same period)

Sales plus full KU reads (pages ÷ KENPC) for each book.

Why read-through sets your ad budget

Every new reader your ads bring to book 1 is worth book 1's royalty plus everything they read after it. With strong read-through, that second part is often larger than the first. That's the number that tells you how much you can pay for a click, and it's invisible in the Amazon Ads console.

Worked example

1,000 readers start book 1; 470 read book 2, 380 book 3, 320 book 4 and 290 book 5. That's 1.46 later books per new reader. At $3.47 per later sale and 60% of readers in KU reading 450-page books, each new reader brings roughly $3.70 to $4.15 more in later-book royalties, depending on the month's KENP rate.

Take that number to the break-even ACoS calculator or the bid calculator.

Run your own report through the Kindle Author Ads Analyzer

Free, runs in your browser, no signup. See which terms to negate, which bids to move and which keywords pay across the series.

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Questions

How do you calculate read-through?

Divide readers of a book by readers of the book before it over the same period. Readers means sales plus full Kindle Unlimited reads (pages read ÷ KENPC). If 1,000 people read book 1 and 450 read book 2, read-through to book 2 is 45%.

Should I count KU page reads in read-through?

Yes. For a KU series, most readers may never buy. Convert pages to full-read equivalents by dividing pages read by the book's KENPC, then add sales.

What time period should I use?

Long enough for readers to get through the series: a 90-day window is common, and later books lag the first. Promotions skew a short window, so avoid months with a big book 1 sale.

What's a good read-through rate?

It varies by genre and by how strongly book 1 hooks. Read-through from book 1 to book 2 is usually the biggest drop; later books tend to keep a higher share. Compare against your own series over time, not someone else's.

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