Guide: Book Distribution (Directly to Retailers and Aggregators)

Though Amazon is by far the biggest bookstore, publishing through Amazon (KDP) is not your only way to get your book into virtual and physical bookstores.

Furthermore, even when publishing through KDP you might need more options. You can't control in which stores your book will show up through KDP, nor will you receive any specific information about where your book is available from KDP. Therefore, you might want to check manually if your book got into the desired stores - and if not, seek to get them in there yourself.

🔎 This article explores print-on-demand and digital options only - not distribution of already printed books.

Here is your guide to which options Publishing Rebel finds the most relevant with key features and financial considerations for each.

1️⃣  DIRECT DISTRIBUTION TO RETAILERS



Amazon KDP 

Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) is a fast and flexible way to publish your book. You can make changes to your book (except for certain metadata) at any time without withdrawing your book from the marketplace while making your changes. Biggest advantage? Biggest book store by far!
 
Key features:

• The book appears on Amazon within 72 hours, and quite often a lot faster than that. 

• KDP is non-exclusive, so you can sell your books to other retailers as well. 

• It's one click to select Expanded Distribution which means KDP will make your book available to other book stores. It's only for paperbacks though which may be a huge disadvantage.

• You can make your ebook available for pre-orders (and not good enough that you can't do that for your print books).

• KDP’s A+ Content feature enables you to showcase engaging graphics on your book’s sales page, and you can use Kindle Instant Book Preview to share a preview of your book on your website or via email. KDP Author Central will allow you to create an author profile and link it to your book page.

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1. The author keeps 60% of the Amazon.com list price minus the printing cost. Be careful if you have many pages or coloured pages and make sure your minimum list price wont be too high. 

2. The author can make the book available for expanded distribution, meaning Amazon will make it available for non-Amazon stores (no guarantees made and no data provided to the author on where the book is or who it's made available for). For expanded distribution, the author receives 40%. Not all trim sizes (the physical measurements of the book) are accepted for expanded distribution, and it's currently not available for hardbacks. 

3. The author keeps 70% of the list price for ebooks priced between $2.99 and $9.99, or 35% for ebooks priced between $0.99 and $2.98 or over $9.99. The royalty rate varies by region. 

4. The payment schedule is monthly, approximately 60 days after the end of the calendar month in which the sales occur. 

5. ISBNs are Included for free or use your own.

6. Reporting is real-time

If a price campaign is relevant for your book, enrolling the ebook (not print) into KDP Select will allow you to give away your book for a limited amount of days (currently 5) within a 90-day period. Amazon exclusivity is required, meaning it can't be available anywhere else. Before the end of the 90 days, you can choose to opt out of re-enrollment for the next 90-day term. KDP Select also offers promotional tools like Kindle Countdown Deals, which let you run limited-time discounts for ebooks on Amazon at higher royalty rates. Enrolling in KDP Select is free.

Apple Books

Authors can distribute ebooks (ePub) directly to Apple Books, Apple’s global reading, listening, and bookstore app, by creating an iTunes Connect account. 

Key features:

• Distribution via Apple Books is non-exclusive, so you can distribute directly to Apple and use other distributors for other platforms.

• Competitive royalty rates

• Complete control over your ebook prices

• Exclusive promotional tool

• Print is not available through Apple Books

• Pre-order distribution available

• Set up price changes for specific dates in advance, including promotional prices

• Promo codes that allow you to share free copies of your book with bloggers or reviewers

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• Free to publish

• Apple takes a 30% royalty cut on all ebook sales, regardless of list price

• Payments are made at the end of the month and will be delivered within 45 days

• Sales reports update daily to provide you with next-day data

• Use your own ISBN, if desired

Barnes & Noble Press

Key features: 

• US only

• B&N Press is non-exclusive

• Exclusive promotional opportunities on BN.com, including coupon codes and featured placements in email newsletters or on-site themed collections

• B&N Press offers print-on-demand for both hardcover and paperback editions. New books will be published within 72 hours.

• Some authors may also be eligible for distribution to B&N bookstores

• Print books can be available for 6 months in advance of publication. Ebooks for 12 months.

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• Free to publish

• The author keeps 70% royalty on all ebook sales, regardless of book price

• You’ll receive royalties each month if you’ve earned $10 or more (otherwise bi-annually)

• ISBNs are provided by B&N Press for free for print books, or provide your own for ebooks or print

Google Play Books

Key features:

• Google Play is available in over 75 countries

• Distributes to Google Play only

• Access to unique promotional opportunities, discoverability, and reporting

• Print is not available through Google Play Books

• Set up preorders up to 12 months in advance

• Set up promotional pricing for particular dates in advance

• Promo codes in select countries to give away free ebooks

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• Free to publish

• Authors keep 70% royalty in most regions, regardless of book price

• The payment schedule depends on your region

• Provide your own ISBN, if desired

• Sales are reported 1–2 days after the transaction

Kobo Writing Life (ebooks and audiobooks)

Key features:

• Publish directly to the Kobo store and its partner stores (Kobo Plus, non-exclusive)

• Easily make changes and updates to your book

• Unique promotional opportunities

• Print is not available 

• Audiobooks are at this point by request only. But Kobo is the ONLY platform that currently allows for publication of AI narrated audiobooks which makes it worth considering!

• Supports preorder sales

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• Free to publish 

• 70% royalty on all ebooks priced above $2.99 USD

• Authors are paid 45 days after the end of each month (minimum threshold of CAD $50.00)

• Discounted ISBNs to US-based authors

• Monthly sales reports

2️⃣ AGGREGATORS & DISTRIBUTION SERVICES

Draft2Digital + Smashwords (ebook and print)

Two popular ebook aggregators, currently in the process of joining forces! For now, you can choose to sign up for one service or the other, as each company still offers unique features. Since we don't know how this will work, look them up when you need them. Be aware, you can’t sell your books on Amazon via Smashwords. 

PublishDrive (ebook and print)

PublishDrive is an all-in-one self-publishing platform that enables authors to take their books worldwide, including in hard-to-reach markets like China. They place a heavy emphasis on simplifying the book distribution process and emphasize a global audience. PublishDrive does not take royalties from authors; instead, they use a tiered subscription model that charges a monthly or annual fee.

IngramSpark (ebook and print)

IngramSpark is an easy-to-use POD platform and online publishing tool that provides access to Ingram’s global distribution network for print and ebook content. It’s a one-stop shop for print and ebook distribution but has upfront costs and fees in addition to royalties. IngramSpark is amongst the original players in the POD game and continues to be known for creating quality print editions. Also, they recently invested in Book.io and have announced a Mint & Print solution coming soon. This will allow you to publish your book as an NFT!

BookBaby (ebook and print)

BookBaby is a self-publishing, book printing, and distribution tool that offers a range of services from line editing to book marketing. Unlike other distributors, BookBaby does not take royalties; instead, it charges an upfront fee for its services, which you select a la carte for each project. If you’re confident in your ability to sell thousands of copies or hundreds at a higher price point, BookBaby doesn’t take a cut of book sales, so this pricing model could be better for you. It also offers POD and worldwide distribution.

Lulu (ebook and print)

Though Lulu does have ebook distribution services, they’re more widely known for their sustainable POD service. Lulu, like some of the other distributors on this list, provides authors the option to sell through the Lulu store and a network of global distribution partners. The Lulu Direct program also allows authors to sell books to their readers via their own websites.

Blurb (print only)

Blurb is a self-publishing platform focused exclusively on designing, printing, and publishing print copies of your book. You can use Blurb’s free design tools, including customizable templates to help you get started, to create a variety of print formats like trade books, magazines, or photo books. The platform is accessible no matter your level of design experience, but if you use InDesign, you can download Blurb’s InDesign plugin to create blank templates in Blurb’s required size and format.

That's it!

If you are an experienced self publisher and think we missed a relevant option, please let us know and we'll look into it or make clear why if we deliberately deselected it.

You should also know that apart from these platforms, there might be country-specific platforms to consider.