All About eBook Distribution
How do you sell and distribute ebooks?
The beauty of ebook publishing is you as the author can upload and launch your book rather seamlessly. Overall there are two main approaches to this process:
ebook Publishing Platforms
And, Book Aggregators
ebook Publishing Platforms
What’s an ebook publishing platform? It’s essentially any space where you can upload and sell your ebook directly to readers through the use of book retailers, such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Apple Books.
These online bookstores are branded publishing platforms where your ebook can be discovered by an audience of readers who use these platforms. As an indie author, you’ll have a wider reach if you go through one or more well-known retail stores.
This guide and video from Reedsy is a very helpful resource—YouTube Video for you to check out and jumpstart your understanding of ebook distribution.
Book Aggregators
First of all, what exactly is an aggregator? A book aggregator is a company that distributes books to multiple online retailers; which also includes brick-and-mortar bookstores and libraries.
This allows authors to reach a wider audience of readers across multiple retailers without having to manage your book on individual platforms. Examples of book aggregators are IngramSpark, Draft2Digital, and PublishDrive.
Aggregators distribute books to a wide network of retailers, bookstores, and libraries (digital and physical). A book aggregator acts as an intermediary between you as the author and the publishing industry.
They send your book to multiple retailers all at once. You can manage everything relating to your book in one place—with the ability to track your sales across retailers via the aggregator’s interface, receiving royalty payments directly to your bank account.
In exchange for this service, the aggregator will take a small cut of your royalties (only when a book sells). Typically ebook royalties are quite high! Ranging anywhere between 70% to 85 %. This option is for anyone who wants to manage their ebook on one platform, and save on time.
Pro-tip 🪐
Before you upload your ebook you’ll need the following elements:
ePUB file (digital book format)
ebook will need its own ISBN (International Standard Book Number) used by publishers, retailers, libraries to identify, order, and track books
eye-catching book cover with the correct specs and dimensions
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If this is helpful for you, like and comment. Feel free to ask any questions. I’m here to help you in your self-publishing journey.
These are great tips. I’m at around this phase of the process so it’s perfect timing!
I completely forgot about the ISBN. Do these platforms offer this service?