As a self-published author
Congratulations! You’ve completed your first book! Now comes the challenge: self-publishing. Where will you post it for online distribution? There are many places to sell your book online, but where should you start? What should you consider before deciding which sites to use? Is it better to cast a wide distribution net or focus on one or two places at most? This post is all about things to consider when building your own unique online book distribution network.
Collecting royalties
Selling your book online means you are opening a business. It also means you will be collecting royalties. Like earnings from any other business, royalties must be claimed on your tax returns.
How much you earn in royalties depends on where you post your book for distribution. Online distributors like Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) pay up to 60 percent of the royalties for paperback and hardcover sales and 70–30 percent of eBook royalties (depending on the book’s cost and where it is sold). Sales from KDP’s expanded distribution channels will earn fewer royalties because both the online bookstore and KDP get paid first.
Be sure to crunch the numbers to determine which sites will help strike a balance between wide distribution and maximizing royalties.
Distribution: the many or the few?
There’s no getting away from it: you’re going to have to do some research before deciding on where to publish your book. Create a spreadsheet comparing booksellers and their expanded distribution networks. For example, Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) posts your book in Amazon stores worldwide, but you can also opt in to an expanded distribution network of other online booksellers. Draft2Digital (D2D), an online book distribution aggregator, posts to a growing number of online bookstores. By contrast, posting your book directly to Rakuten Kobo or Google Play will distribute your book to that site only.
Deciding where to post your book is a trade-off. Using a distribution aggregator means fewer platforms to post on. However, you might lose some of the royalties, as booksellers and aggregators take their share of the royalties before passing on what is left to you.
Avoid overlap
The important thing is to try to avoid overlap. Because both KDP and D2D post to Amazon, you should opt out of distributing through both. Places like D2D, which has recently merged with Smashwords for paperback distribution, will reject your book if it has already been published with KDP. Distributors tend to avoid duplicate attempts to publish the same book, which can cause ordering and cataloguing conflicts.
Cast a wide net in your distribution network
Having said that, build your distribution network to publish your book in as many stores as you can. Distribution aggregators like D2D are a good option for getting your books into many online stores. D2D also posts your book to Overdrive for libraries to loan. Sites like IngramSpark will put your book in the Chapters-Indigo catalogue (though it won’t distribute it to brick-and-mortar stores). Its expanded network will also help you broaden your own distribution network.
Certain online stores, such as Google Play, require you to post directly on the platform. I have yet to find an expanded distribution network or aggregator that will post my books there. You can also choose to publish directly to Rakuten Kobo and other sites instead of letting D2D (or another aggregator) do it for you. The bottom line is to weigh sales from each platform against the time needed to upload your book to every site in your distribution network.
In conclusion
Take your time when deciding where to post your book for sales. Consider each platform’s distribution parameters of each platform, the percentage of royalties paid, and ease of use. My current personal distribution network includes KDP, D2D, and Google Play. I am considering adding IngramSpark to my list.
Know that you are not locked into your decision. You can always unpublish a book from a platform if you are dissatisfied with sales. You can always add distribution outlets to your network. If something doesn’t work well for your first book, you can always change what you do for subsequent books. Be aware of your metrics. Examine which sites work best for you and continue to tweak your distribution network(s) for the lifetime of your book.
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