If you are planning to self-publish, direct publishing may be the best way. What is direct publishing? Direct publishing is uploading your manuscript directly to the e-publisher, without a middleman. This allows you to publish on various publishing platforms on your own terms.
Advantages of Direct Publishing
Here is a look at why direct publishing could be the easiest part of becoming a published author.
- Your e-book is published within 24 to 72 hours.
- You control the pricing, marketing, and promotion of your e-book.
- You don’t need to share your sales profit percentage with anyone.
- If you update your e-book, you can make the updated versions immediately available to the readers. This is especially handy if you had your cousin’s girlfriend’s mother edit the manuscript instead of hiring a professional editor before publishing the first time.
What are the Current Platforms of Direct Publishing?
So, how do you start your own self-publishing journey? Here is a look at the current top publishing platforms and what makes them a good choice for you.
- Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (Amazon KDP)
This is one of the most popular places you can go to for direct publishing. Your book will be available less than 24 hours after you click Publish.
- CreateSpace
If you want to self-publish your book in print (eliminating the benefit of easy revision), you might want to consider Amazon’s CreateSpace. However, your printed book can only be sold through Amazon. If you want other platforms to publish your book as well, you will need to pay a fee. Sign up with them
- Lulu
Lulu is a global self-publishing company and is one of the first in the self-publishing industry. They can help your book reach almost 225 countries worldwide. Visit Lulu here.
- Kobo Writing Life
With Kobo, you can self-publish e-books in over 190 countries. Kobo also lets you keep track of your sales. Self-publish with Kobo here.
- iBooks
With iBooks, you can either distribute your books exclusively in Apple or reach a broader audience. For iBooks, set up an account here.
- NookPress
Publish either in print or e-book form with NookPress. There are no delivery fees or production costs involved. Check them out here.
- SmashWords
SmashWords have published over 442,000 book so far. Visit their website here for more information.
- BookBaby
can help you reach a variety of retailers. Take a look at their website and learn how they can help you by clicking here
- Draft2Digital
The main platforms they help you reach are Apple and Barnes & Noble. You can also distribute from Kobo, but for this they charge a small percentage of your royalties. Go here to sign up with Draft2Digital.
- Issuu
Issuu boasts over 15 million publications. Go to their website by clicking here and start publishing with them.
Now that you have a better knowledge of direct publishing platforms, you can confidently use them to help turn your book into a best seller! You can even use multiple platforms to distribute your books where allowed.
