Are you an unpublished author who’s itching their way into the writing world? The ladybug’s chilling on your shoulders today, and she’s come with the gift of great news. It’s time you learn about self-publishing!
Whether you have a book of poems, a novel, an autobiography, or a self-help book saved in your USB, share the fruits of your labor when you get into the world of self-publishing.
What better day to officially become a published writer than on National Author’s Day, November 1? This month is also recognized as National Novel Writing Month, #NaNoWriMo. So, dust off your laptop’s keyboard and become a self-published author.
Want to join the ranks of self-publishing authors like Edgar Allan Poe, Margaret Atwood, Christopher Paolini, E.L. James, Andy Weir, E.E. Cummings, and many more?
Here’s how you can start. We’ve listed some of the best self-publishing companies for authors.
Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP)
Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing is where authors can self-publish their books, print-on-demand or eBooks.
Amazon constitutes 40% of self-published eBooks in the US. That’s a big slice of the pie, making it hard to ignore Amazon as a publishing space.
Why KDP? First, your book is positioned to be exposed in front of millions of shoppers daily. KDP also provides competitive royalty rates: 35% for books priced under $2.99 or 70% for books priced between $2.99 and $9.99.
What’s the downside of joining KDP Select? You’ll be tied to a 90-day exclusive partnership with Amazon, which means you won’t be able to sell your book on other platforms.
Barnes & Noble Press
Barnes and Noble are largely known as one of the leaders in the book industry. They also Barnes & Noble Press, an easy-to-use self-publishing platform that lets writers publish and sell directly to their readers.
While it’s not a guarantee that you get your books on the shelves of Barnes & Noble, you have the platform to publish your eBook or print them through Barnes & Noble Press.
What you need to know about Barnes & Noble Press.
- Books under Barnes & Noble Press can only be purchased at their online and brick and mortar bookstores.
- Depending on how your book is priced, the royalty rates range from 40% to 65%.
- B&N Press has partnered with companies like Reedsy(for editorial), 99 designs (for cover design), and Inkubate (for marketing solutions) just to name a few.
- The B&N Press is available for authors in the US, UK, Canada, Spain, New Zealand, France, Australia, Italy, Germany, The Netherlands, and Belgium.
Apple Books
Launched in 2010, Apple Books is a self-publishing platform for authors.
Unlike KDP, Authors publishing on iBooks gets a flat rate royalty of 70%.
However, Apple Books is the 2nd largest retailer for eBooks behind KDP because Apple targets its hundreds of million users around the world.
Things you need to know when you’re considering Apple Books.
- You need to be a Mac user to publish. Or you can use aggregators like Smashwordsand PublishDrive.
- Free to upload and publish your book.
- You cannot read an eBook on a browser, unlike with Kindle.
- Authors on iBooks use the ePub format and is not compatible with many other platforms.
- iBooks Authors are only available in select countries.
Are you ready to dive into the world of self-publishing?
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