There are so many publishing options for authors today – that don’t include traditional publishers. Here’s a list of platforms that you can easily learn to use, and use effectively.

Understand Your Limitations and Perks in Amazon’s KDP Select

KDP Select is a program Amazon offers where you get perks for joining, but there are drawbacks, too. This is giving Amazon exclusivity to sell your book. That means it’s can’t “go wide” on all the other sites, like Barnes and Noble. It’s not a permanent process. You can choose to be in KDP Select for 90 days and then make a decision about whether or not to renew it.

Sign Up to IngramSpark and List Your Book

One place many indie authors self-publish is IngramSpark. This is a distributor, not exactly a publishing platform. But it can help you get your book seen by more readers in libraries and bookstores, too. 

Is D2D Is Right for You

D2D (Draft to Digital) is another distributor you can sign up to that will help you get your book in more than one place and they do it for 10% of your sales. In fact, it has an author dashboard where you can manage all of your platform uploads in one spot.  This is great for authors who have changes, because instead of going to each retailer’s site to alter things like prices, covers and files, you can log into your D2D dashboard and do it all at once. 

Self Publish on Smashwords

SmashWords has gained credibility among professional indie authors. Instead of just being an amateur publishing platform, many authors upload their manuscript here to get more readers. Note that D2D now owns SmashWords. It’s going to stay separate for the time being, but the way it operates may change because it’s under new management. So if you’ve used it before, watch for notifications on that. 

Apple and Google Play

Google Play and Apple are two other indie author platforms you can use for your self-publishing endeavors. You can use a Google account to upload your finished (not draft) book and cover.

For the Apple publishing system, go to the Apple Connect program and apply there. You have to enter all of your banking and tax information before getting approved. One of the great things about this platform is that you can set up pre-orders, which help with your launch day sales. 

Become a Barnes and Noble Nook Author

Everyone knows who Barnes and Noble is. You can have a book on their Nook platform easily. Just apply a few weeks before the launch of your book to give it time to go through the approval process. 

Publish on Kobo for More Sales

If you want to reach a Canadian audience, you’ll want to upload your book to KOBO, which is similar to Nook in that it has a reading device. Remember not to just upload one book, but place an entire box set in a series on here because loyal readers love to own collections. 

Be sure to come back for the next episode of the 30-day series on self-publishing your own book!