Wide Publishing for Authors E-Book

Dale L. Roberts

• Herausgeber: One Jacked Monkey, LLC
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Serie: Self-Publishing with Dale
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 159

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

You’ve published your book…
…but is it reaching its full potential?
How can you connect with more readers and expand your reach?

Wide Publishing for Authors provides a comprehensive roadmap to getting books into more stores and libraries, reaching a global audience of readers. Whether you're an indie author or looking to break free from exclusivity, Dale L. Roberts provides actionable strategies to help you distribute your books across multiple platforms and maximize your impact.

What’s the secret to getting your book into more stores and libraries?
Short Answer: Wide publishing strategies and expert guidance.

This easy-to-read guide dives deep into the publishing process, offering proven methods to expand your book’s reach. With step-by-step instructions, practical advice, and insider tips, you’ll gain the confidence to make your book available to readers worldwide.

In this book, you’ll learn how to:

- Compare exclusive and wide distribution models 
- Publish eBooks, print books, and audiobooks on global platforms 
- Navigate aggregate publishers like Draft2Digital, IngramSpark, and PublishDrive 
- Set up direct sales and explore innovative tools like Gumroad and Laterpress 
- Leverage libraries, retailers, and subscription services to grow your audience 
…and much more!

You’ll love this valuable guide because it demystifies the publishing process and provides the tools you need to succeed. Whether you’re new to publishing or a seasoned author, Dale’s insights and strategies make this a must-have resource.

Get it now!

Leseprobe

Wide Publishing for Authors: A Guide to Expanding Your Book’s Reach and Finding More Readers

All rights reserved.

Copyright ©2024 One Jacked Monkey, LLC

eBook ISBN: 978-1-63925-059-2Paperback ISBN: 978-1-63925-060-8Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-63925-061-5Audiobook ISBN: 978-1-63925-062-2

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the copyright owner, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.

Some recommended links in this book are part of affiliate programs. If you purchase a product through one of the links, then I get a portion of each sale. It doesn’t affect your cost and greatly helps support the cause. If you have any reservations about buying a product through my affiliate link, then Google a direct link and bypass the affiliate link.

Table of Contents

Preface:Understanding the Publishing Models

Introduction

Chapter 1:Exclusive Distribution vs. Wide Distribution: Why Wide?

Chapter 2:Amazon Alternatives

Amazon Alternative #1:Apple Books for Authors

Amazon Alternative #2Barnes & Noble Press

Amazon Alternative #3:Kobo Writing Life

Amazon Alternative #4:Google Play Books Partner Center

Chapter 3:Aggregate Publishing

Aggregate Publisher #1:Draft2Digital

Aggregate Publisher #2:IngramSpark

Aggregate Publisher #3:Bookvault

Aggregate Publisher #4:PublishDrive

Aggregate Publisher #5:Lulu

Aggregate Publisher for Audiobooks #1:Findaway Voices by Spotify

Aggregate Publisher for Audiobooks #2:Author’s Republic

Chapter 4:Miscellaneous Aggregate Publishers

Chapter 5:Self-Distribution/Direct Sales

Chapter 6:Where to Start

Chapter 7:Wide Publishing for eBooks

The Wide Publishing or Ebooks

Chapter 8:Wide Publishing for Print Books

The Wide Publishing Checklist for Print Books

Chapter 9:Wide Publishing for Audiobooks

The Wide Publishing Checklist for Audiobooks

Chapter 10:Do Your Research

Conclusion

Before You Go…

About the Author

Special Thanks

Resources

References

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Preface:

Understanding the Publishing Models

The publishing industry has a ton of insider lingo that might not make sense to you or which you have yet to explore. Understanding the publishing models will help you maneuver around potential pitfalls and brick walls. It’s easy to get overwhelmed or misinformed, especially if you aren’t familiar with this business.

Traditional publishing is the process in which you submit your manuscript to established publishing houses. If your work is accepted for publication and put under contract, the publisher will then handle editing, design, production, distribution, and marketing your book. You may receive an advance payment and your contract should outline royalties you’ll be paid from book sales, but you relinquish some control over the publishing process. This pathway can be competitive and lengthy, requiring you to go through either literary agents or lengthy direct submissions to publishers. None of the recommendations in this book pertain to traditional publishing.

Self-publishing means you publish books without a traditional publisher. You take full responsibility for editing, designing, producing, and marketing your work. This approach allows for complete creative control and a higher share of the profits, but it also requires more time, effort, and personal resources.

Hybrid publishing combines elements of both traditional and self-publishing, giving you the opportunity to leverage the benefits of both approaches. This model creates a partnership that supports authors in reaching a wider audience while allowing them to maintain some creative control.

Vanity publishing involves you paying a publisher to have your work published. This model rarely involves quality checkpoints—there is often little to no selection process, so if you pay the publisher, they will publish your book whether it’s marketable or not. Under this model, you typically pay costs for printing, distribution, and marketing, and the publisher may not provide high quality editing and covers, although they may include some support and services. This pathway can lead to low-quality publications, since the focus for the publisher is on generating revenue from authors, not selling your books to readers.

Hybrid publishing and vanity publishing seem similar on the surface, so you can easily confuse them if you’re not careful. With hybrid publishing, you pay for specific services while retaining control over your work. Conversely, vanity publishing requires you to pay a substantial upfront fee but as I mentioned, you cannot assume quality editing and covers will be provided for the price you pay, which can lead to potentially low-value product.

When considering these options, carefully review contracts for clarity around rights and royalties. Always investigate a company’s reputation and track record in the publishing industry. Word of mouth goes a long way, so ask around in a community of authors and peers. I’ve found indie authors are a loyal bunch who’ll warn most new authors of the dangers in vanity publishing. Always look for full transparency in costs to avoid hidden fees. Vanity publishing companies often withhold information about additional fees until you require a specific service, at which point they may strongly encourage you to invest in an expensive upgrade that might not provide the best value.

The ALLi Watchdog List and the Writer Beware website are two excellent resources for identifying and dealing with problematic individuals or entities in the publishing world. I include all references and resources mentioned throughout this book in the back.

In this book, I focus exclusively on the self-publishing model, and specifically self-publishing wide. If you want complete creative control over your work, full transparency around costs, and the possibility of reaching readers anywhere they are, self-publishing wide may be the right choice for you.

Introduction

My indie heavy metal band finally made it! As a small-time music group, we performed in shady dive bars to packed clubs. By the late ’90s, we were finally gaining traction and performing anywhere and everywhere. In every venue we played, we sold crude self-made merch and DIY cassette tapes of our music. Did we make millions? Not by any stretch, but we were young, hungry, and ready to do whatever it took to get our music in front of more listeners.

Considered by our peers to be talentless and entirely too arrogant for our own good, we survived and even thrived in the pre-internet era of music. This happened before the emergence of Napster and many other online music services. Somehow, though, we found a way to remain in people’s minds and make a laughable part-time income. We were all young and had day jobs to support our budding music careers, but we knew it was a matter of time before the music industry would eat up all our time and resources as we searched for success. The problem was we didn’t have a clue about how to reach more people.

When I picked up the popular heavy metal magazine Circus, I saw a featured post about up-and-coming metal acts that gave me a tremendous idea. Getting placement in Circus was free; all we had to do was submit a brief bio, a band picture, and a short demo tape. I forked up the money to ship all that out and hoped for the best. A few months later, I made a monumental discovery while browsing the selection at the magazine rack.

Toward the back of the latest edition, my band had landed a fairly prominent spot for up-and-coming acts. I was beyond excited and bought every magazine on the rack, then went to other stores and did the same thing until I had a big stack to hand out to anyone willing to receive a copy. Mind you, this was a big deal. Back then, you could not Tweet about anything or share content on social media. Heck, I don’t even think MySpace was a sparkle in Tom Anderson’s eyes at that time.

Since the featured spot included a way to contact us, a ton of mail flooded in. In fact, after that, we received the first ever “fan mail” of our lengthy yet tumultuous career. One letter after the other requested more details about our music, where we were playing, and how to stay in touch. Heck, we created our very own snail mail newsletter. That used to cost us more to manage than we made, but we were geeked up to reach a wider audience than we had before.

We had unknowingly submitted to a magazine with global distribution, so heavy metal fans from every corner of the United States and even as far as Israel got to know us. As a result, we found one of our most dedicated and loyal fans in Suri, a young girl living in Israel. She became our #1 fan, someone we’d send postcards to on a near weekly basis. Months into our pen pal arrangement with Suri, she let us know with a heavy heart that we wouldn’t hear from her for a while because she was slated to join the Israeli military. Even though she could hardly afford to pay for our music or merchandise, we always found a way to accommodate her.

How crazy is it that an American metal band could connect with a fan in Israel well before email became as widely used as it is now? We knew we had a good thing going, and we were thankful every day for the likes of Suri and scores of other fans. Just imagine if we hadn’t submitted to this magazine: Where would we be? Would we have the same treasured memories of being in a dysfunctional rock group? I believe this opportunity breathed life into our band and ignited our ambition to new levels. Did we capitalize on it? Possibly not enough, but that’s another story for another day.

The magic of reaching every corner of the world without investing in more than a little postage was pretty amazing back then. The good news is, if you’re an author you can reach far wider than our band could have ever dreamed of back in the mid- to late ’90s. Even though we were producing music and you’re publishing books, you’ll be able to draw some parallels between my backstory and the topic of this book—publishing wide.

Publishing wide means that you distribute your books to every imaginable platform in an attempt to reach more readers. Sometimes, this equates to more revenue. Practically, it means making your books more accessible by not limiting yourself to only the most popular retail sites.

The good news for you is that you won’t have to mail out your manuscript like we mailed our cassette to a magazine. Heck, you may never have to send a single copy of your book to a reader. When you publish your book wide, the retail sites that sell your book handle shipping for you. Meanwhile, you can write your next manuscript or promote any backlog of books you may have.

The more concerning news is that you’re going to have to put in some work to make publishing wide possible. Successfully publishing on multiple platforms is not as simple as writing the book and then pushing a button. Uploading to any random site in any order won’t do, because you might miss opportunities for better reach and decent payout.

After publishing hundreds of books online across scores of platforms, I have the experience and insights you need to march forward confidently and publish your books to the widest audience. Sure, you could Google your way through the best steps for publishing wide, but that’s fraught with dangers, peril, and all kinds of headaches if you aren’t careful.

Wide Publishing for Authors includes the practical steps to get your book onto as many virtual and physical retail shelves as possible. I break down all the steps you need to understand what you should do and why. It’s not enough for you to agree with my recommendations. You need to comprehend why each site might be good for you and if that path actually fits into your goals as an author.

If you don’t have the patience to hear me out on each avenue and its merits, skip ahead to the guide for the type of publication you’re selling:

EbooksPrint booksAudiobooks

Before you skip to those sections, I implore you to hear me out. Not all avenues I recommend will resonate with you. Some suggestions will be unsuitable for a few authors. At the very least, you’ll get insights into how I get my books onto more online retailers.

Assuming you’re ready to get to work, let’s dig in!

Chapter 1:

Exclusive Distribution vs. Wide Distribution: Why Wide?

These days, you don’t have to look far to find someone who knows a little about the self-publishing business. Most indie authors know how to publish on Amazon through Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) and Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX). While there’s nothing inherently wrong with publishing through those avenues, it’s rather short-sighted for some authors since Amazon doesn’t reach every nook and cranny of the world.

Though Amazon dominates online retail today, it’s not the only player in the market. In fact, scores of online retailers reach different audiences in other parts of the world. Whether a region doesn’t get Amazon distribution or a customer is outright against supporting the online juggernaut, ignoring Amazon alternatives is like saying those customers aren’t worthy of reading your content. Sure, you wouldn’t actually say that, nor do you imply that. But the fact remains that if you exclude any options beyond Amazon, you may not view other platforms as viable. I’ll argue that if you aren’t willing to reach any/all customers, you’re leaving out a lot of readers.

When you hear the term publish wide, that means publishing beyond just Amazon. Yes, publishing on Amazon may be the path of least resistance, but it’s not the only path to reaching new readers.

A Balanced Look at Exclusive Distribution: Amazon KDP & ACX

KDP and ACX are self-publishing distribution platforms owned by Amazon. With KDP, you can sell ebook, paperback, and hardcover books on many Amazon platforms and some partner sites. If you’re publishing ebooks, KDP distributes your ebook to thirteen Amazon marketplaces. For print books, KDP distributes to twelve Amazon marketplaces (paperback) or nine (hardcover). ACX publishes your audiobook to Amazon, Audible, and Apple—which, if you’re keeping count, is the smallest of the three, distributing to only three marketplaces.

Audible commands about 63.4% of today’s online downloadable audiobook market.i However, that doesn’t mean you’re beholden to that platform alone. After all, you didn’t write and produce a book simply to appear in just three marketplaces, right?

If you dive deep into the KDP platform, you may find some confusing information. No matter what program you take part in, Amazon does not require exclusivity for print books. You can still sell your print books widely, even if you distribute ebooks through KDP Select or audiobooks exclusively through ACX.

Conversely, KDP Select is an exclusive program that applies to ebooks. When authors enroll their ebooks in KDP Select, they agree to Amazon-only distribution of that title for ninety days. KDP Select distribution is renewable for additional consecutive periods after the first ninety days unless the book is unenrolled. This means that the author cannot distribute any electronic version of their book in any format anywhere except on Amazon.

Will they find out if you do? Well, you’d be amazed at how observant Amazon is. Never doubt their ability to find authors breaking the ninety-day agreement. Some authors inadvertently run afoul of the KDP Select agreement; and when they get caught, they will either receive a warning or a more serious penalty—account suspension.

To publish wide, you must deselect the KDP Select option to prevent the agreement from renewing. If you’re already enrolled in KDP Select, you need to fulfill any remaining time in the agreement before going wide.

ACX is a bit more complicated. Should you want to publish your audiobook through ACX, you have two options: exclusive and non-exclusive. ACX rewards exclusive audiobooks with a higher royalty rate of 40%. For those who choose non-exclusive distribution, ACX pays a significantly lower royalty of 25%. Authors often ask me if it’s worth going wide with an audiobook; my answer is always the same:

What is your goal as an author? Do you want to reach more readers? Or make more money?

You will reach more readers publishing wide, but I cannot guarantee you’ll make more money. Some authors earn more publishing their audiobook wide. Most authors break even at best with audiobooks. Based on your genre, your production quality, marketing, and many other factors, you won’t know the best avenue for your audiobooks until you try several.

Like KDP Select, the ACX distribution agreement for each audiobook requires exclusivity for ninety days. An important exception to this is if you’ve produced an audiobook on a royalty split agreement. By avoiding upfront narrator costs via a royalty split, you’ll be bound to your agreement’s terms, potentially staying with ACX for at least seven years.

If you’ve paid to produce your audiobook and have no restrictions or contracts that require exclusivity for the narrators to get paid, you can start with exclusive ACX distribution. Like with KDP Select, you can unenroll after the initial enrollment period ends. To change your distribution agreement to non-exclusive, contact [email protected]. Once you are not exclusively bound to ACX, you can publish your audiobook anywhere and everywhere, including some avenues few other self-publishing resources discuss. I’ll cover those later.