Outside of Amazon, what are the best sites for sales?

[wearywanderer64]

And also, how are your paperback sales going?

 

[Madman Starryteller]

(Edit: I deleted my link since it was pretty much advertising.)

Basically, you have alternatives such as Apple Books, Kobo, Barnes & Noble Press, Google Play Books, IngramSpark, and BookBaby.

Note that I have not self-published yet, so haven't tried any of them, but I am also looking for alternatives to Amazon.

Hope this was helpful, let me know.

 

[wearywanderer64]

It was helpful, thanks. I went wide but I get more sales from Amazon's subscription service (reads.)

 

[big soft moose]

kobo hands down

also B&N, Apple books, tolino, Scribd

but amazon are about 85% of the ebook market so even wide they still account for the bulk of the sales

 

[Kallisto]

Could you cross-publish between these various sites? I know I could read through the terms of services, but just in general is it allowed? Not allowed or just depends?

 

[big soft moose]

Could you cross-publish between these various sites? I know I could read through the terms of services, but just in general is it allowed? Not allowed or just depends?

Yes, if you're wide as a self publisher you can publish pretty much anywhere, its only Kindle Unlimited aka KDP select which require excusivity.

Amazan as a whole also don't like it if you're cheaper elsewhere that you are with them, and some others may have similar terms but theres no other absolute exclusions i can think of

 

[KBWrites]

I've had the best luck with Draft2Digital / Smashwords

 

[wearywanderer64]

To promote, I use Storyorigin but I did use Bookfunnel before that. How do people fare the two?

 

[Naomasa298]

Don't just rely on the platform itself. Use other marketing channels, such as social media, to drive traffic to the sales channel.

 

[wearywanderer64]

Don't just rely on the platform itself. Use other marketing channels, such as social media, to drive traffic to the sales channel.

I've tried Twitter and facebook with virtually no results.

 

[Naomasa298]

I've tried Twitter and facebook with virtually no results.

How have you used them? If you've just created a profile and put your work on it, then yes, you won't get a lot of traction from that alone.

 

[wearywanderer64]

How have you used them? If you've just created a profile and put your work on it, then yes, you won't get a lot of traction from that alone.

Basically that. But a lot of people said even paid promos there are a waste. How do you promote?

Thanks for repling by the way,

 

[Naomasa298]

Basically that. But a lot of people said even paid promos there are a waste. How do you promote?

Thanks for repling by the way,

Engage with, and in the places where your readers are likely to be found. Participate in their groups. Give people reasons to want to seek you out. I don't know what you write, so I can't make any suggestions on that front. Publish new and regular content of interest to your potential readers, so they actually follow you are look for your updates. Publish excerpts or teaser material.

 

[Set2Stun]

I'll probably be giving self-publishing a go within the next month or two (for the first time). I just presumed I'd only be putting it on Amazon. so it's nice to know there are other options, though they don't come close to the market share. Is it worth the effort to drop a book on all platforms at once? Or maybe just see how it goes on Amazon first before branching out ?

 

[Damage718]

Can you only publish on Amazon if you have an Amazon-created ISBN? I thought that was part of the deal, though I could be wrong. In any case, it's good to buy your own ISBNs, not just for that reason but since you own your own rights.

 

[big soft moose]

You can only use an amazon provided isbn on Amazon but you can publish the same book elsewhere with a different isbn

The only time you are limited to Amazon only is if you e signed up to Jo for unlimited / KDP select

 

[Set2Stun]

This is all new to me, so I've been googling a bit lately. From Amazon's FAQ site it does say that you have the option to use your own ISBN.

What is an ISBN and Imprint?

kdp.amazon.com

 

[Damage718]

You can only use an amazon provided isbn on Amazon but you can publish the same book elsewhere with a different isbn

The only time you are limited to Amazon only is if you e signed up to Jo for unlimited / KDP select

In reading it now I phrased my question above wrong (doh!) What I meant was that if you use an Amazon-created ISBN, you're limited to only Amazon, I think.

If you buy ISBNs from a place like Bowker you can use them on Amazon. I've done it for all my books. I believe the snag is that the Amazon ISBNs are free, but no other platform will accept them, so you have to have your own ISBNs if you want to sell on other sites. I've never tried to sell anywhere other than Amazon and some local/indie shops, so I'm not 100% sure of that, but I thought that was the case.

 

[big soft moose]

If you use the Amazon register isbn you can only use that isbn on Amazon. You can still publish the same book elsewhere with a different isbn

 

[Set2Stun]

I've continued my research and I think I'll be self-pubbing with Amazon, B&N, Kobo (apparently has 25% of the ebook market in Canada somehow?), and iBooks.

I created an Ingram account but I'm not sold on their business model. You can make your book available for purchase by book stores (Indigo/Chapters is big here but you can't sell directly through them - though they do buy from Ingram) and libraries, however they mention that most buyers will only purchase books that are returnable.

That's a problem for someone like me, who is just gonna be rolling the dice and seeing what happens. If say, Walmart decides to buy 500 copies, and they only sell 50, I am on the hook for the printing costs of 450 books. That's if they just destroy the unsold copies. I can get them shipped to me, but it's $3 a pop. Either way I would be ruined.

I guess I'll just put it on there with no returns selected, but that's almost a guarantee for it not to sell from Ingram. Not a ton of options out there for the self-pubbers, I am learning.