5 Biggest eBook Distributors for Self-Publishing Authors
The choice between reading a traditional print book and an ebook seems to be a contentious one on social media. Some people swear by their e-reader, while others are horrified by the prospect of not holding a bound, printed book in their hands. However, as a self-publishing author, you’ll want to appeal to both groups. That’s why so many indie authors choose to release their novel in both formats.
Love them or hate them, ebooks are here to stay, and they’re becoming more widely read each year. They made up an estimated 21% of total book sales in 2021 — a slight increase from their usual 18% or so because of the pandemic. That means one out of every five books read are in digital format. While this obviously isn’t a majority, it’s still a part of the market you don’t want to ignore, since you want your novel to be as visible as possible.
Many self-published authors start out with an ebook before going into print. They have low startup costs (if any), and formatting your manuscript and cover is simpler than for a paperback or hardcover version. They’re quicker to prepare and list for sale than print books. Also, royalties tend to be higher for ebook sales than print, as there’s virtually no cost for production — Amazon and Barnes & Noble both offer up to 70% royalties on ebooks published and sold through their self-publishing platforms.
Just as there are multiple options available for print-on-demand services, there are also multiple ebook distributors. However, you don’t have to choose just one. You can self-publish your ebook directly through some or all of these distributors. So, if you decide to release an ebook version of your indie novel, here are the five biggest distributors you should be aware of.
1. KDP
It should come as no surprise that Amazon dominates the ebook world. Their share of the ebook market is around 68%, which means that most people are reading their ebooks on a Kindle or the Kindle App on their smartphones. Amazon allows you to self-publish an ebook to the Kindle Store through Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). It’s free to set up a new title, and formatting your manuscript is simple and straightforward. If you choose to self-publish exclusively through KDP, you have the option to enroll your ebook in the KDP Select program, which allows you to promote your book with countdown deals, free book promos and more.
2. Barnes & Noble Press
Barnes & Noble’s ebook reader isn’t as popular as Kindle, but it still accounts for about 25% of ebook sales in the United States. You can self-publish to NOOK e-readers through Barnes & Noble Press. It’s similar to Amazon’s platform, and manuscript formatting is nearly identical, though there are some slight differences you should be aware of if you’re going to be self-publishing on both platforms. Unlike KDP, Barnes & Noble Press doesn’t offer any special promotional opportunities.
3. Apple Books
Apple’s gotten involved in the ebook industry as well with Apple Books. It’s a much smaller market share than Amazon or Barnes & Noble, making up only about 5% of ebook sales. You can self-publish directly to Apple Books using Apple Books for Authors. Unfortunately, it’s not as straightforward as KDP or Barnes & Noble Press; Mac users will find it much easier than PC users will, as Apple’s Pages app has a built-in function to publish to Apple Books, but it’s not available for Windows.
4. Kobo
Kobo is the most popular ebook/audiobook company in Canada, and has outperformed Amazon’s Kindle Store in Australia, France and Japan; in the US, however, Kobo accounts for only about 3% of ebook sales. Kobo’s self-publishing platform is Kobo Writing Life, which has about the same ease of use as KDP and offers the same royalty rates.
5. Google Play Books
Though it’s an even smaller percent of the ebook market in the US than Apple Books or Kobo, Google Play Books allows people to buy and read digital books on their Android smartphones and tablets. You can self-publish through the Google Play Books Partner Center, which is far simpler to use than Apple Books. The biggest advantage to using Google Play Books is that when potential readers do a Google search for your book title, it will show up prominently in a column beside the search results, along with reviews and its product description, since it’s listed on the Google Play store.
Your ebook should be available on as many e-readers as possible.
So, now that you know the biggest distributors you’ll be working with, how should you go about self-publishing an ebook version of your novel? You have two options: you can either publish directly to each of these distributors individually, or you can go through a third-party distributor that will make your book available on these platforms for you.
Personally, I self-published my novels Devils in Sunday Hats and The Aetherverse through the individual platforms directly. I felt it was the right decision because I could maximize royalties by cutting out the middleman, and there were no title setup fees, so I didn’t have to pay anything upfront. There were some downsides, though: I had to keep track of multiple accounts, and each have different formatting requirements, so I had to create several versions of my manuscripts. Apple Books proved particularly irritating, because I’m a PC user and it’s a hassle to revise published books without the Pages app. However, the advantages outweighed the disadvantages in the end, at least for me.
The alternative would be to self-publish through a third-party distributor like IngramSpark or Lulu. This simplifies the process because you only have to log in to one account; they also handle the title setup on these ebook stores, sparing you the headache of formatting your manuscript multiple times. The negative aspect to using a service like IngramSpark is that there are likely going to be title setup fees, usually ranging somewhere between $25 and $50, and your royalties will be less than going through the ebook distributors directly, since the third party takes a cut. If you do choose to go through a third-party distributor, my advice would be to choose one that can distribute your ebook to as many of these sellers as possible; while basically all of them distribute to Amazon, many do not distribute to Apple Books or Google Play Books.
No matter how you decide to do it, publishing an ebook version of your indie novel is a smart and simple choice as a self-publishing author. It’s quicker and easier than setting up a title in print, earns you higher royalties, and has a much lower startup cost, if any. Plus, more people each year make the switch to e-readers, particularly in the age of lockdowns and quarantines, because books are delivered instantly to their devices. Making your novel available in digital format will help get it out there to more potential readers and, hopefully, future fans.
