Your books look lovely. I’m interested in buying one. Which one would you recommend? Lately I’ve been into fairytales and mystical kind of poems. 🥳 I just started a 2nd publication all about self-publishing. So this was helpful to read. I used IngramSpark for publishing both of my poetry books.
Thank you, Kassi! Hmm I'd say either Poems of August or I Saw Myself Alive in a Coffin. Poems of August is inspired by Taylor Swift's album "folklore," so it's modern fairy tale adjacent. I'd say the Coffin book has a little more fairytale/mystical vibes. And very nature inspired!
Thanks for the suggestion. I’ve enjoyed IngramSpark. I think it does a good job on many areas. But every publishing platform is different and there are perks that Amazon has for sure.
I can see why authors use Amazon for self-publishing. Mainly I’m really happy with the paperback quality of my books. I did an ebook for my 2nd book but it barely made sales. I think ebooks sell better on Amazon with kindle unlimited (for exposure). I’ll be diving into all kinds of topics with my publication hoping to help authors with their publishing goals. There’s a lot of info/resources to weed through.
That’s awesome! It’s always nice to have self-publishing resources because there IS so much to weed through. I think the main reason I’m interested in Ingram is that you can do pre-orders, which would be nice.
I've only recently heard about it (like, in the past month), but looking at their website and reading through their FAQs, I'd be curious to try it out for e-book versions of my books. I didn't see anything about distribution of print books (other than through Amazon), though I may have just missed it.
This is so thoughtfully put together, Kait! It's such a balance between hating Amazon and not wanting to be a part of their platform... and also just wanting it to be easy to sell a book. <3 I did a combo of KDP, Ingram AND selling on my site.
Right?! Like, I really don't want to go through Amazon, but it feels more straight forward than the other options. And doesn't cost anything beyond the printing cost. When you sell copies on your site, are they copies you already have on you, or do you do kind of a pre-order situation?
This is so insightful, tysm for sharing this 🌹🫶🏻 I have a close friend who self-published her novels through KDP, so I always assumed that was the route I would eventually go as well. They all have different trade-offs, but it’s wonderful to have options. Thank you 🙏🏻
I’m so glad you found this helpful! I found out some new info re: Ingram, so I’m going to update the post with that. But just a heads’s up, the 85% royalty is ONLY for e-books. Print royalties are 45% - something they don’t disclose on their site.
I believe if you publish the book through Ingram, Amazon would just be the distributor, not the publisher. So the Ingram royalty rate would apply to books sold via Amazon.
After digging around on IngramSpark more, it looks like the 85% is the royalty amount for e-books ONLY. From additional research, it looks like the print royalty amount is 45%. And I had to find that amount from other resources, then make sure that it checked out using Ingrams compensation calculator. So this is another reason I’ve been weary of using Ingram - they don’t disclose the full royalty amount and only list the 85% on their website (without clarifying that that’s only for e-books).
Your books look lovely. I’m interested in buying one. Which one would you recommend? Lately I’ve been into fairytales and mystical kind of poems. 🥳 I just started a 2nd publication all about self-publishing. So this was helpful to read. I used IngramSpark for publishing both of my poetry books.
Thank you, Kassi! Hmm I'd say either Poems of August or I Saw Myself Alive in a Coffin. Poems of August is inspired by Taylor Swift's album "folklore," so it's modern fairy tale adjacent. I'd say the Coffin book has a little more fairytale/mystical vibes. And very nature inspired!
How have you liked IngramSpark so far?
Thanks for the suggestion. I’ve enjoyed IngramSpark. I think it does a good job on many areas. But every publishing platform is different and there are perks that Amazon has for sure.
I can see why authors use Amazon for self-publishing. Mainly I’m really happy with the paperback quality of my books. I did an ebook for my 2nd book but it barely made sales. I think ebooks sell better on Amazon with kindle unlimited (for exposure). I’ll be diving into all kinds of topics with my publication hoping to help authors with their publishing goals. There’s a lot of info/resources to weed through.
That’s awesome! It’s always nice to have self-publishing resources because there IS so much to weed through. I think the main reason I’m interested in Ingram is that you can do pre-orders, which would be nice.
I’m curious, so with Amazon you can’t pre-order copies of your book before launch day? Or is it that customers can’t pre-order?
Customers can't pre-order if you publish via Amazon (KDP). I can't remember if you can pre-order author copies or not.
Thanks, that’s helpful ☀️
What are your thoughts on Draft2Digital?
I've only recently heard about it (like, in the past month), but looking at their website and reading through their FAQs, I'd be curious to try it out for e-book versions of my books. I didn't see anything about distribution of print books (other than through Amazon), though I may have just missed it.
How yall getting 70% with kindle? They give me 35%
You can choose between the 70% option or the 35% option. I always select the 70% option, though I don’t full understand the difference. Here are two sources on KDP: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G200641280 and https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G200634500
Yeah I chose the 70% and it still just gives me 35%. I don’t seem to have done anything to disqualify myself so idk
Yeah, I need someone to explain the 70%, 35% thing to me like I'm five 😅
This is so thoughtfully put together, Kait! It's such a balance between hating Amazon and not wanting to be a part of their platform... and also just wanting it to be easy to sell a book. <3 I did a combo of KDP, Ingram AND selling on my site.
Right?! Like, I really don't want to go through Amazon, but it feels more straight forward than the other options. And doesn't cost anything beyond the printing cost. When you sell copies on your site, are they copies you already have on you, or do you do kind of a pre-order situation?
Yes, they are author's copies which I usually order a stack through my local printer, but you can also get for cheap on KDP <3
This is so insightful, tysm for sharing this 🌹🫶🏻 I have a close friend who self-published her novels through KDP, so I always assumed that was the route I would eventually go as well. They all have different trade-offs, but it’s wonderful to have options. Thank you 🙏🏻
I’m so glad you found this helpful! I found out some new info re: Ingram, so I’m going to update the post with that. But just a heads’s up, the 85% royalty is ONLY for e-books. Print royalties are 45% - something they don’t disclose on their site.
Interesting! When I did research a year or two ago, I thought Ingram was a much worse deal than KDP but now I'm reconsidering.
So if Ingram has an 85% royalty rate, but you plan to sell on Amazon, the royalty would be less right? Because now they're distributing to Amazon?
I believe if you publish the book through Ingram, Amazon would just be the distributor, not the publisher. So the Ingram royalty rate would apply to books sold via Amazon.
After digging around on IngramSpark more, it looks like the 85% is the royalty amount for e-books ONLY. From additional research, it looks like the print royalty amount is 45%. And I had to find that amount from other resources, then make sure that it checked out using Ingrams compensation calculator. So this is another reason I’ve been weary of using Ingram - they don’t disclose the full royalty amount and only list the 85% on their website (without clarifying that that’s only for e-books).
Oh, ugh. Thank you for sharing, Kait!