Unlike printed books, ebooks hold a unique place in the publishing world. Not only can you sell your ebooks yourself without needing to pursue a traditional publisher or pitch an agent, but you also get to decide the price yourself and gain much higher royalties in return.
But the question now is, where exactly can you publish your ebook and reap these benefits?
Well, there are plenty of ebook platforms out there. To help you find one that meets your needs, we’ll explore the best platforms available in today’s market, and offer an overview of their services and costs.
Types of Ebook Publishing Platforms
Before exploring the best places to sell your ebooks, let’s first differentiate between the types of platforms available in today’s publishing market. Each of these types offers different services, catering to authors’ various needs and preferences. Understanding these distinctions will help you choose the right platform to maximize your ebook’s reach and success.
- Direct Ebook Sales Platforms: Platforms that allow you to sell your ebooks directly are known as direct ebook sales platforms. Their primary focus is allowing you to reach a wide audience without going through any middlemen. A good example of this type of platforms is Kotobee Books and Smashwords.
- Full-Service Platforms: If you need help editing, marketing, and designing your ebook, then full-service platforms are the way to go. Think of these platforms as a hybrid of traditional and self-publishing; they allow you to take control over your ebook’s copyrights and royalties while offering different services to help you along the way. A good example of this type of platforms is IngramSpark.
- Direct to Retailer Platforms: Some retailers (such as Amazon) do not allow you to publish directly on their platforms. Instead, they have separate platforms that you have to use (e.g. Amazon KDP) to get your ebook there.
- Aggregators: Do you want to publish your ebook to multiple platforms without going through the publishing process over and over again? Then you should consider using an aggregator. These platforms can help you distribute your ebook to many retailers and libraries while managing the whole process for you.
How to Select an Ebook Publishing Platform
With a variety of platforms available for both experienced and new authors, selecting the one that best meets your needs can be challenging. To help you narrow down your choices, let’s take a look at the key factors you should consider:
- Royalties: While browsing through the different available ebook platforms, you’ll find that each offers different royalties. For instance, some platforms will give you only 35%, while others go up to 90%.
- Services: As mentioned above, some platforms can help you with different aspects of your ebook publishing process. So if you need a specific service (such as editing or marketing), make sure the platform you select offers them.
- Ease of Use: Publishing your book shouldn’t be a time-consuming process, but unfortunately, many ebook platforms make it feel that way. Luckily, you can still find some platforms that allow you to publish your work with just a few clicks.
- Cost: In addition to taking a percentage of the royalties, some platforms also charge an upfront fee. So before committing to any platform, make sure you know exactly what you’re signing up for.
- Exclusivity: If you are planning on publishing your ebook on more than one platform, then try to select those that don’t require exclusivity (such as KDP Select). This will give you better control over your ebook’s copyrights and allow you to reach a wider audience.
- Ebook File Format: What is the format of your ebook? Is it an EPUB with interactive elements? Or is it a PDF with static content? Whatever the format is, make sure to check first if the platform of choice supports this format or not.
Best Ebook Publishing Platforms in 2024
As mentioned earlier, there are many choices as to where to publish ebooks that might leave authors confused. But now that you know the criteria to look for in the platform you select, you’re better equipped to make an informed decision. With that in mind, let’s explore some of the top platforms for selling ebooks in 2024 and see which ones are the best fit for your needs.
1. Kotobee Books
While this platform is a new player in the market, it has proven to be user-friendly with an easy, straightforward publishing process. Additionally, it is free to use and lets you keep 100% of the profits. So you won’t have to worry about any hidden fees while also enjoying all the royalties of your ebook sales.
- Royalties: Authors get to keep 100% royalties from their ebook sales (for a limited time).
- Costs: Kotobee Books is free to use; it doesn’t charge any fee for hosting or publishing your ebooks.
- Services: Kotobee offers a wide range of services at competitive prices that facilitate the publishing process. This includes ebook design, conversion, and marketing, to name a few.
- Exclusivity: Luckily, Kotobee Books doesn’t require any exclusivity. So you are free to publish your ebook anywhere else if you choose to.
- Ebook Formats: Kotobee Books currently supports EPUB format only.
2. Amazon KDP
We can’t talk about ebook publishing platforms without mentioning Amazon KDP. It is one of the most popular platforms out there as it gives authors access to a massive audience. But while it’s free and easy to use, new authors often struggle to get noticed in such a crowded space.
- Royalties: Amazon royalties for ebooks vary from 70% to 35%, depending on many factors, such as the price of the ebook and the territory in which it’s being sold.
- Costs: Publishing on Amazon KDP doesn’t require paying any upfront costs.
- Services: KDP offers different services with additional charges, such as print-on-demand, and ebook promotion.
- Exclusivity: Amazon KDP itself does not require exclusivity, but KDP Select (a program that offers promotional benefits and higher royalties) does.
- Ebook Formats: You can publish the following formats to KDP: Doc/Docx, Kindle Package Format (KPF), EPUB, and MOBI.
3. Apple Books
If you plan on marketing your ebook mainly for Mac users, then Apple Books would be a good option for you. This platform is easy to use, and offers decent royalties, regardless of your ebook price. Additionally, you can enjoy its global reach, especially in countries where Amazon isn’t as dominant.
- Royalties: Apple Books offers authors 70% royalties for each book sale, regardless of its price.
- Costs: This platform is completely free to use to publish your ebooks.
- Services: Apple Books provides detailed guidelines to help authors create and format their books. Moreover, authors can access next-day sales reports to track their book’s performance.
- Exclusivity: You can publish your ebook to other platforms while using Apple Books since it doesn’t require exclusivity.
- Ebook Formats: Apple Books primarily supports the EPUB format.
4. Draft2Digital
Draft2Digital is a self-publishing aggregator that simplifies the process of distributing ebooks and print books to multiple online retailers. It can be a great option for authors looking to distribute their books widely without the hassle of managing multiple retailer accounts.
- Royalties: This platform takes approximately 10% of the list price of your ebook. For example, if the retailer takes 30% percent royalties, Draft2Digital takes another 10%, and you get to keep 60% of the list price.
- Costs: This platform is free to use without any costs.
- Services: You can find a variety of services that Draft2Digital offers. These include print-on-demand, marketing, and ebook conversion.
- Exclusivity: No exclusivity is required while using this platform.
- Ebook Formats: Draft2Digital supports multiple ebook formats, including EPUB, MOBI, PDF, Doc/Docx, RTF, and ODT.
5. Kobo Writing Life
Kobo Writing Life is a self-publishing platform by Rakuten Kobo that allows authors to create, edit, and upload ebooks and audiobooks. As a Candian-based company, it is considered one of the largest bookstores out there. It also has a significant market presence in many countries outside the US, including over 200 countries!
- Royalties: Kobo offers 70% royalties for ebooks priced at $2.99 or more, and 45% for those priced below $2.99.
- Costs: There are no upfront costs for publishing your ebook on Kobo Writing Life.
- Services: Besides publishing ebooks and audiobooks, Kobo Writing Life offers promotional tools and sales tracking.
- Exclusivity: This platform doesn’t require exclusivity, so you can publish on multiple ones simultaneously.
- Ebook Formats: Kobo Writing Life supports formats like EPUB, MOBI, PDF, DOC/DOCX, and ODT.
6. PublishDrive
PublishDrive is an ebook distribution aggregator. It can help you publish and distribute your ebooks to a wide range of online retailers, including Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, and Google Play Books. This allows you to manage your ebook distribution from a single platform. As a result, you’ll have a much-simplified publishing process while also expanding your ebook reach.
- Royalties: PublishDrive operates on a subscription-based model, allowing you to pay a monthly fee and keep 100% of your royalties.
- Costs: PublishDrive offers several subscription plans based on the number of titles you wish to publish. These plans start from $16.99/month and go up to $99.99/month.
- Services: PublishDrive offers a few services, like ebook conversion, sales analytics, print-on-demand, and promotional tools.
- Exclusivity: No exclusivity is required when using PublishDrive.
- Ebook Formats: The main formats that PublishDrive supports are EPUB and Docx.
7. IngramSpark
This platform is part of Ingram Content Group, which is a well-established name in the publishing industry. As an aggregator, IngramSpark provides global distribution to over 40,000 retailers and libraries, including major platforms like Amazon, Apple Books, and Barnes & Noble. It also offers authors many valuable services, such as a unique ISBN for easier distribution.
- Royalties: Authors publishing through IngramSpark usually get 40% royalties of their ebook’s list price after the retailer’s cut.
- Costs: Publishing an ebook on IngramSpark costs $25/title.
- Services: Besides their global distribution service, IngramSpark also offers print-on-demand options, ebook conversion, sales reporting, and marketing services.
- Exclusivity: No exclusivity is required when publishing with this platform.
- Ebook Formats: IngramSpark accepts EPUB format for the ebook.
8. Google Play Books
With a presence in 75 countries, Google Play Books offers authors a vast platform to publish and sell their books. Additionally, publishing on this platform ensures that your book is indexed on Google, making it searchable on the world’s largest search engine, which in turn increases your ebook’s visibility.
- Royalties: Regardless of your ebook price, you get 70% royalties when publishing on this platform.
- Costs: Google Play Books doesn’t take any upfront fees.
- Services: Google offers a few services to authors using its platform, including promo codes to promote their ebooks, sales reports, and DRM.
- Exclusivity: This platform doesn’t require any exclusivity.
- Ebook Formats: Google Play Books accepts EPUB and PDF formats for ebooks.
9. Barness & Noble Press
Barnes & Noble, one of the largest book retailers in the United States, has created its own self-publishing platform. This user-friendly platform allows you to distribute your ebooks directly through their website, as well as on Nook devices and the B&N app. It also offers a range of tools and services that can help you publish and promote your ebook. And with its broad reach, you can easily access a large audience and take advantage of its established digital marketplace.
- Royalties: By publishing on B&N Press, you get 70% royalties for your ebook sales.
- Costs: There aren’t upfront fees or hidden costs for publishing your ebook on B&N Press.
- Services: B&N Press offers many services to help new and experienced authors. These services include cover design, sales reporting, marketing tools, and ebook editing.
- Exclusivity: You can publish on B&N Press and many other platforms simultaneously since this platform doesn’t require exclusivity.
- Ebook Formats: The only formats supported by B&N Press are EPUB and PDF.
10. Leanpub
This platform is great for authors who want to publish in-progress books. It allows you to update your book as you write, which is perfect for ongoing fiction projects, as well as technical ebooks and courses. This unique model helps you get timely feedback and improve your work as you go.
- Royalties: Leanpub offers an 80% royalty rate on all sales. For ebooks priced between $0.99 and $7.98, there’s an additional 50-cent flat fee deducted from the royalties of each sale.
- Costs: While there are no costs for publishing up to 100 ebooks, Leanpub offers monthly plans with special services (mentioned in the next point), starting at $20 per month.
- Services: Besides its writing tools and publishing flexibility, Leanpub offers marketing tools to help authors reach a wider audience. It also provides custom themes and the ability to track ebook performance through Google Analytics.
- Exclusivity: Leanpub doesn’t impose any exclusivity requirements on authors.
- Ebook Formats: The ebook file formats that Leanpub supports include PDF and EPUB.
Conclusion
It is only natural for authors who have put much time and effort into their work to be looking for the best place to sell their ebooks. That is why we wanted to give an overview of some of the best ebook publishing platforms available today. So use the information in this article to choose your pick, and enjoy the fruits of your hard labor.
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