Where oh Where do I Publish my Books? Here are 8 Ways.
by Jenn Windrow
Today in the indie-publishing series, we are going to talk about where to publish your books. So, once you are all done with your novel, it’s edited and pretty, and perfect, well as perfect as it is going to get, you know where to place them.
For me, it’s important to have all your account information set up in advance, so when it comes time to upload your MS, you don’t have to worry about filling in all your information or connecting bank accounts.
There are several book sellers, more than just Amazon for sure, so this is where you will create accounts in all those places.
Let’s dive in.
Amazon:
You want to go to https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US to create you Kindle Direct Publishing account. There is a video you can watch at the start, but for the most part once you create an account it is pretty simple.
They are going to want bank information so they can pay you. Tax information so they can tax you. And a lot of other personal information. I’ve had an account for years and have never had anything happen with my information—never shared, so it is a safe site.
Barnes and Noble:
Same thing as Amazon, but you will want to go here to create your account.
Even if you only plan on publishing through Amazon, it is still smart to have a Barnes and Noble account all set in case you change your mind.
Kobo:
Similar to the two above. Go here to create your account.
Kobo handles the book sales through Walmart, so it is another nice place to list your books.
iBooks:
Here is the iBooks link for Apple Books for authors.
Draft 2 Digital:
Here is the D2D link.
Draft 2 Digital is a one-stop shop. Publishing here will send your books all over the place, even places you have never heard of. They offer marketing opportunities also, which is nice to have.
I would say that D2D is one of the places you MUST list your books, it is that good.
Books 2 Read:
Here is the link.
Books 2 read is a site where all the links to your books are listed under one URL. It is a nice place to put your books, and it will also send your books to other platforms that you might not have thought about.
Again, you don’t have to have an account here, but it is nice to have it all in one place.
Ingram Spark:
Ingram Spark is mostly for print books, but they have a list service that you can pay for monthly and it is a great, professional place to have your books printed from.
Bookfunnel:
Bookfunnel is another great place to find promotions to help sell your book or even place a reader magnet that will collect email addresses for you. It’s not a book seller, but it will help you in your marketing efforts later down the line.
Once again, you don’t have to do all this right now, but I think it is best to have everything all set up before you start the actual publishing part of the book process. I am sure I have missed some in here, since it feels like new and fun ways to sell books pop up daily.
As for me, I have accounts with all of the above. Some are easier than others to use, I’m looking at you iBooks, but most are similar to set up and run. Since my books are all in the Kindle Unlimited program, I can’t sell my eBook’s on another platform, but my paperbacks are available everywhere. Everyone’s author journey is different, and there is no right way, just the way that makes you most comfortable.
Did I miss something? Do you have a preferred publisher for Indies? Let me know in the comments. I love to learn new things and especially from a group of like-minded people.
* * * * * *
About Jenn
Sass. Snark. Supernatural Sizzle.
Award winning author of Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance. Vampires, Greek gods, and a bit of Demon Destroyer fun for everyone.
Jenn Windrow loves characters who have a pinch of spunk, a dash of attitude, and a large dollop of sex appeal. Top it all off with a huge heaping helping of snark, and you’ve got the ingredients for the kind of fast-paced stories she loves to read and write. Home is a suburb of it’s-so-hot-my-shoes-have-melted-to-the-pavement Phoenix. Where she lives with her husband, two teenagers, and a slew of animals that seem to keep following her home, at least that’s what she claims.
Website: https://jennwindrow.com/
Tip Image via Deposit photos.
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Hi Jenn,
In the past, I used Smashwords, which only published ebooks. They merged with Draft 2 Digital that does both ebooks and print.
I haven't used D2D yet although I have an account with them. I'm wondering, what kind of experiences have people had with D2D?
It’s a really easy platform to use, like smashwords was. I don’t see a ton of traction from it, but it doesn’t hurt to have your books listed in as many places as you can. If I’m being honest, I very rarely go in there to look and see how I’m doing. It’s one of those place your books and forget about it sites to me.
Last year, I moved most of my e-books out of KU (for many reasons) and published wide on Draft2Digital. Momentum can be slow, but if you use the Books2Read universal links and use that in your advertising and promotions, it puts other options before the reader. My sales aren't huge, but they are steadily increasing, particularly with Apple.
It's super-simple to post your books. Once you upload, they take care of the heavy lifting for you. And it's a lot less of a formatting headache than Smashwords used to be.
On my To Do list is to eventually go wide, so I've stored your links.
Unfortunately, when you're chronically ill, EVERYTHING takes too much time and energy, so I haven't tried anything beyond Amazon except B&N, and that was a decade ago - I'd be surprised if I even had an account still, and it never sold a book.
But I read that advertising/marketing platforms like BookBub prefer books which are wide, because their customers do, and know that's probably part of never getting a Featured Deal (I find it ironic that an expensive outlet won't even take my money!).
One of these days, when the last volume in my mainstream trilogy is finished writing, I will be able to dedicate my daily spoonful of energy to the marketing. Meanwhile, Amazon has been my salvation, even though it's not perfect, and has been where any sales have occurred.
There is a real barrier to being self-published for those of us who have chosen the control of being indie, but don't have the resources that are required when you have to do everything yourself. Not complaining - it's still far better than the traditional-publishing submission system - but what I wouldn't give for some of my former ability!
There is so much work to do at the start of publishing, but I promise you once it is all done it does get easier. Take little bites out of the large meal and eventually you will get it all done. But you also don't have to do it all, if you are happy with amazon, you can stay there and nowhere else and you will be fine.
Bookbub is a great place and the featured deals are fantastic, if you can get one. They are very hard to get and really expensive. I have never been successful.
I've been using Smashwords (D2D now) to publish to Kobo, B&N, iBooks etc. for a while. Initially, I went direct to those vendors, but I found that their minimum payments and low sales volume meant that it could take years to get paid. By using the aggregator, I only need to upload the book once and it goes everywhere. Yes, they do take a slightly bigger cut, but it isn't that bad and the additional time savings has been worth it to me. I do publish more books (as a publisher) than the average author, though.
Hi, Last year, I moved most of my e-books out of KU (for many reasons) and published wide on Draft2Digital. Momentum can be slow, but if you use the Books2Read universal links and use that in your advertising and promotions, it puts other options before the reader. My sales aren't huge, but they are steadily increasing, particularly with Apple.
It's super-simple to post your books. Once you upload, they take care of the heavy lifting for you. And it's a lot less of a formatting headache than Smashwords used to be.
so, I am confused. These are not specifically 'publishers' but marketing places to list your published book?
great resources
I always used Lulu t publish my books, The site is easy, helpful and very prefessional.They also offer a great range of services and put your book on other sites too. Hugs
I wasn't aware of BookFunnel. And thanks for the tip about paperbacks. Another thing I hadn't thought of. Cheers!
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