Writer’s Club

MASTERCLASS: TRADITIONAL PUBLISHING VS. SELF PUBLISHING

HOW TO SELF PUBLISH PRINT BOOKS: A WIKI HOW OVERVIEW

SELF PUBLISH ON DEMAND

KINDLE DIRECT PUBLISHING (KDP) 

• Direct
• Free to Upload
• Royalties: 70% on ebooks priced between $2.99 -$9.99 OR 35% if priced below $2.99

Kindle Direct Publishing is Amazon’s self-publishing platform (not to be confused with ‘Amazon Publishing,’ their division that operates like a traditional publisher). Any author can self-publish using KDP, though you’ll need to do it manually yourself. Please be aware that Amazon KDP is not the same as Amazon KDP Select. KDP Select is Amazon’s exclusivity program — meaning that, if you choose to enroll in it, you can only sell your book on Amazon; In exchange for this, Amazon will give you access to Kindle deals and free promotions and/or enrollment in Kindle unlimited.

APPLE BOOKS

• Direct
• Free to Upload
• Royalties: 70% on most ebooks

Apple founded its self-publishing service in 2010. Though Amazon has surpassed it as the foremost ebook reading platform since then, Apple Books still gets a fair amount of eyes. Using iBooks Author, self-publishing authors can quite easily upload their titles onto Apple Books, all without having to pay a fee!

BARNES & NOBLE PRESS

• Direct
• Free to Upload
• Royalties: 70% on ebooks priced above $0.99

As you might expect, Barnes & Noble Press (formerly known as NOOK Press) is the self-publishing platform belonging to the big box bookseller. B&N Press is easy to use and it’s free to upload your book. Exclusivity is not required to publish with B&N Press. It’s important to note that you can set your book for free on this platform. What’s more, Barnes & Noble is still working on innovating and adding new features for self-published writers. In January 2021, B&N Press introduced an ad portal to help new authors to create marketing campaigns on the Barnes & Noble website for their books.