This video is primarily for authors interested in self-publishing. If you want to traditionally publish, getting a deal is how you get your book on Amazon. wipes hands Done.

For self-publishing authors, you have some additional avenues to explore. And ideally, you are picking 1 option. Because if you pick all of them, you’ll have multiple listings, and that is a nightmare. I go over all of the important decisions first-time self-publishing authors need to make in Self-Publishing for the First-Time Author.

Today, we’re talking distribution strategy to get your book to Amazon.

1. Get there directly – the direct, easiest way to get your book listed for sale on Amazon.com (and .co.uk and .ca and .au) is Amazon KDP. Kindle Direct Publishing. This platform allows you to self-publish an eBook, a Paperback, or a Hardcover of your book. Or all three. Amazon KDP pushes your book to Amazon and the associated country sites. They have an expanded distribution option for print books. I do not recommend it. If you want your books on other platforms, you’re gonna need another platform to get there.

You’ll notice so far I’ve only mentioned eBook and Print. To get your audiobook to Amazon, you need to use ACX, audiobook creation exchange. It’s pretty much KDP for audiobooks. But it’s not.

Pro- direct control, most royalties for sales on Amazon
Con- it’s only Amazon, that’s it.

2. Use a self-pub platform that distributes to many different sites, including Amazon
   The next method is to use a self-publishing platform or aggregator. Many platforms exist that allow you to send your eBook, your print books, or your audiobook to many different retailers from one site.

Draft2Digital or Lulu, or IngramSpark for eBook and Print.
Findaway Voices/INAudio for Audio.

You can list your title on Amazon or Audible as well as dozens of other platforms. This is called wide ro going wide because your book is available to a wide range of retailers. *NOTE: If you select Kindle Unlimited/Kindle Select for your eBook, you CANNOT publish it anywhere except for KDP. *

The downside here is that you don’t have as much direct control over the listing, and you pay a small fee to the aggregator.

Pros- Amazon and lots of other retailers
Cons: pay a fee on each sale to the aggregator
Less direct control over sales/pricing/how your book metadata is displayed.

Can you use both? Yes, ish. I use Amazon KDP for my first Amazon sales. I use IngramSpark for my wide print (or everywhere) and D2D for my wide eBooks. I use ACX and Findaway Voices for audiobooks. That’s it. I try not to have too many different retailers because it is a lot to maintain. But I also just listed 6 different platforms, so maybe that is a lot.

This is a more complex strategy. If you want to start out with just Amazon and add more retailers later, you can. If you want to launch it all on day one, you can. Pack your patience and have a clear plan.

I have videos on most of the major platforms for how to upload as well as pros and cons. Check each of them out so you can see which one might work best for you, your book, your strategy, and your personal preferences.

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Music from: Wondershare Filmora Sounds: “Something Cheer You Up”