Should you self-publish on Amazon KDP only or going wide through Draft2Digital? For many authors, it’s a difficult decision to make.
Although Amazon has changed its payout method to per-page read since 2015, they still have a very strong and huge readers base in their KU membership!
Despite facing a plunge in the eBook royalties due to the reading page payout system, we still stick with Kindle Publishing. We adapted to the change by publishing more books and hit the 6-figure earning in less than a year.
Right now, for a newly published book of 80-page, I usually get over 1000pages read in a matter of few days on Amazon with no review. I know that I will generate positive ROI for (almost) all my books published on Amazon KDP Select.
Undeniably, Amazon is so powerful.
That’s why we’ve been focusing on publishing Amazon platform from the very beginning and continue to ride the waves of change.
But it isn’t without its downside.
With such a great opportunity with low barriers to entry, it naturally comes with tons of competitions. There’s never been short of self-publishing courses. Ultimately, Amazon is getting flooded with low-quality books. And more and more me too publishers are competing with the limited monthly fund of KDP Select Exclusivity.
To put it simply, more authors are competing with a fixed pie. It’s a zero-sum game.
Steve Chou from mywifequitherjob once said: “To me, Amazon is like a drug, a drug that promises you quick sales in a short period of time while making you addicted and dependent on their marketplace.”
He could not have said it well enough.
Amazon is evolving so it’s our book publishing business.
Related reading:
- Pros and cons of Amazon KDP Select exclusivity
- How to Self-Publish an Amazon (Step-by-step guide for beginners)
This is Why I think You Should Distribute Your Book on Draft2Digital
Founded in 2012, Draft2Digital is a digital publishing aggregator offering conversion and distribution services for authors. By submitting your book through Draft2Digital, your book will be listed on many different distribution channels, including Apple, Barnes& Noble, Kobo, Scribd and libraries, all in one go.
We have an account with Draft2Digital (D2D) and only have one book published on it, selling at $0.00. I barely log in to the account since it doesn’t generate any income.
So to give it a test, I published one book at $2.99 on 4th July 2018. But I was not really convinced of publishing wide at that time, so I didn’t even bother to check the sale till I received an email notification from D2D one month later.
It took me by complete surprise. A new book with no review, no marketing, and promotion, made $22.56 during the first month, and $71.35 (up to date in August), it’s still growing as you’re reading now.
It’s a wake-up call for us, we’ve been getting too comfortable with Amazon’s KDP Select that we totally forget about going wide and publish our books to other online retailers, reaching a wider audience internationally.
Many authors like us are attracted with lucrative earnings and huge readership on Amazon KDP Select that they overlook the potential of going wide and expanding into global markets.
Well, there’s nothing wrong about granting Amazon 100% exclusive rights for your Kindle ebooks if and only if everything is going smoothly…which is unlikely in any form of businesses.
Any changes made to the rules, policies or program will have a significant effect on your revenue. Worse, Amazon may ban your account for violation or complaints, which is totally out of your control. Literally, they have the power to put your out of business overnight.
Publishing 100% on Amazon only, depending on ONE single platform makes your business fragile, no matter how lucrative the marketplace can be.
There’s no right or wrong answer, it’s what we choose to believe in, and thus it’s the choice we made- going wide through Draft2Digital.
What I like about Self-Publishing on Draft2Digital
1. Distribute your books worldwide in one click
Draft2Digital helps you to distribute your books to a wide range of libraries and online retailers with just a click. Instead of creating multiple accounts and submitting your manuscript to each marketplace individually, you can upload your file and manage your distribution in one single platform. It will save you loads of time.
Draft2Digital is still working on adding more sales channels. For now, you can publish your book on retailers and libraries in the list below:
- Barnes & Noble
- Kobo
- iBooks
- Scribd
- Tolino
- 24symbols
- Playster
- Overdrive
- Amazon kindle
- Bibliotheca
- Google Play
2. No Special Formatting required
It’s a real time-saver for self-published authors.
Forget about complicated book formatting. All you need is a Word document (.doc or .docx format, simply upload your manuscript to Draft2Digital, they’ll take care of the rest.
I mean everything from the title page, copyright pages, dedication, and table of content to promotional pages. Just tick the box if you want to include that particular section inside of your book.
To make it easy for them to create the correct Table of Content, make your chapter titles bold and centered, or use a Heading style, or large font.
With Draft2Digital, you can focus on what you do best- write and let them handle the technical issue.
3. Promote your books with custom end matter
By adding these promotional pages, you’ll be able to advertise other books, collect readers’ emails and informing them of your new releases.
With just a click, by adding this end matter can help you to build readership and increase your other books sales in no time.
4. Offers a wide selection of beautiful book layout styles for free
5. Preview your book in various formats
6. Fast and easy payment
Draft2Digital is paying on a monthly basis once you hit the minimum royalty threshold. There are 3 payment methods: Paypal (no minimum threshold), Payoneer(minimum $20) or Direct Deposit (US only).
7. There’s no learning curve
The interface is easy to use and navigate. You can save your time and effort from setting new accounts, managing and learning the quirks of each sales channel. Draft2Digital offers you an easy way where you can publish, manage, updates, and tracking sales all in one single place.
8. You get one unique universal book link to promote your book
For each book published on Draft2Digital, you will get a free Universal Book Buy Link. For example, this is how my book looked like when a reader clicks on my universal link.
You can promote your universal book link on social media, email list, blog post etc effectively. It makes so much easier for your potential readers to buy your book from their preferred digital stores.
9. It’s (almost) free
You can easily sign up for a free Draft2Digital account in less than 10 minutes and self-publish your books to all the major online retailers and libraries all in one go. Yes, you can use all their services- conversion, formatting, distribution, and sales tracking for absolutely FREE.
Though Draft2Digital will get a small percentage (10% of sale prices)for each book sold. I think it’s reasonable for their awesome services and customer support.
You aren’t charged a fee unless you get paid. And you own 100% rights to your books.
How to distribute your book through Draft2Digital
1. Setup your account
Go to Draft2Digital, click “Sign up”, fill up all your information (name, email address and create a new password).
That’s it! Now you can start self-publishing with Draft2Digital and have your book selling globally.
2. Upload your manuscript
To publish your book, click “My books” > “Add new book”.
- Title
- Description
- Contributors
- Sales categories
- Search terms
For your book cover, upload your cover in JPEG. Any tall rectangle image will do, but the dimension 1600×2400 works best here.
3. Choose your sale channels
Currently, Draft2Digital is working with partner stores including Amazon, Apple iBooks, B&N, Kobo, Tolino, Bibliotheca, Overdrive, Scribd, 24Symbols, and Playster. You don’t have to distribute to all these channels, just click on the checkbox to select your preferred sale channels.
4. Price your book
You decide how much you want to sell your book for or give it for free. It’s totally up to you.
5. Manage and track
Want to track your sales and royalties? Click “My report” to view your reports sort by channels, titles, dates etc.
Click here to sign up a free account on Draft2Digital and start earning!
What’s next?
Like learning any new skill, it takes time, commitment and effort to be great at Self-Publishing.
So I’ve shared some self-publishing tips and guides on my 12-Day Self-Publishing mini-series to help you master self-publishing and sell more books.
Day 1: 5 Things Beginners Need to Know About Kindle Publishing
Day 2: 7 Reasons Why You Should Create an eBook for Your Business
Day 3: How to Write and Publish an eBook
Day 4: How To Find Profitable Niches To Publish Online
Day 5: The Biggest Mistake I Made In Self-Publishing and How You Can Avoid It
Day 6: 6 Steps To Sell More Books on Amazon
Day 7: Designing Book Covers That Sell
Day 8: 7 Most Common Self-Publishing Mistakes You Should Avoid
Day 9: 40 Ways to Promote and Market Your Book
Day 10: 49 Inspirational Marketing Tips From Top Authors
Day 11: Top 10 Best Tools for Self-Publishing Authors
Day 12: 12 Best Platforms to Self-Publish Your eBook and Make Money
Bonus: 9 best free tools for creating your 3D book cover mockups
How to become a self-published author?
Are you looking to generate passive income by selling ebooks, but don’t know where to start?
Did you hear that eBooks are a great way to generate passive income in your business or make money blogging, but you don’t possess the knowledge, skills or know-how to self-publish one on your own?
You can copy my success by taking our free 12-day mini-course on how to turn your passions into profit on your own.
Conclusion
Well, as a loyal Amazon publisher, it’s not an easy choice for us to let go of the good of KDP Select to go for the great of reaching a much wider audience on Draft2Digital.
After years of riding waves with Amazon, we think it’s the best choice for us to expanding our readership and business with Draft2Digital.
While for new publishers, I’d recommend using Amazon KDP Select, as it’s still the best way for new book and author to gain traction of the market.
For seasoned self-published authors with more than a couple of titles, there’s no harm in moving out of exclusivity and going wide. You’ll be surprised at what you’ll find.
If wide publishing does not work well for you, you can always enroll back in KDP select.
What is your favorite self-publishing platform?
Do you have any self-publishing tips to share?
Are you using Draft2Digital to publish your book internationally? Share your thoughts and experience. We’ll like to hear from you and perhaps learn something new from you.