The last few weeks we have discussed the number one reason why writers today choose self-publishing over and over again — CONTROL.  Via self-publishing, writers control book titles, book covers, book content (story and words), publishing, copyrights, and promotion.

But we also have to sell our e-books.  To do this, we turn to Direct Sale Vendors.  Direct Sale Vendors sell our e-books for a percentage of the sale.

Who are the top Direct Sale Vendors?

• Kindle Direct Publishing Platform (Amazon) — KDP
• Barnes & Noble ePubit Platform (Nook) — ePubit
• Apple iTunes Connect Platform (iPad) — iBookstore

Listing the KDP platform first was not by accident.  Why?  Because the leading e-reader on the market today is the Amazon Kindle.

First introduced in 2007, the Kindle continues to improve and has multiple versions available today:

·         Kindle
·         Kindle 2
·         Kindle DX
·         Kindle Keyboard
·         Kindle Touch
·         Kindle Fire Tablet

The Kindle application can also be downloaded to most mobile devices, including Blackberry and Android, as well as PCs and Macs.

So how do we get started?

First we need to convert our manuscripts to the Kindle format in order to sell our e-books on the Amazon platform.

Amazon offers a step-by-step process, assisting users with the conversion via script off the Internet.   This do-it-yourself conversion process accepts Word documents and other digital formats, and most importantly stays within the KDP platform requirements.

Once we have the converted manuscript, we must sign into our Amazon account to continue.  But before we get carried away filling in all of the necessary information, we must first answer one question:

Do we want to sell via the regular Kindle Direct Publishing platform, or do we want to sell via the exclusive Kindle Direct Publishing Select Platform?

The main difference between the two platforms stems from the word select, meaning exclusive in this particular instance.

Both platforms allow authors to publish their books on their own.

But the KDP Select platform offers a 90-day exclusive agreement with Kindle/Amazon, making the author’s book exclusive to Kindle/Amazon for ninety days.  This means the author cannot sell on any other platform during this 90-day period – not Barnes & Noble and not the iBookstore.

Of course, with any limitation comes an advantage.  Using the KDP Select platform also gives the author’s book access to the Amazon Lending Library.  By participating in this program, the author has the ability to share in the library “Fund” made available by KDP.  Currently, this fund is $600,000.  The author will receive a share of this fund depending on how frequently his or her book is borrowed.  For example, with the $600,000 April fund, KDP Select authors earned just over $2.00 per borrow.

Additionally, KDP Select users have the ability to offer their e-books for free to their readers for a limited amount of time (five out of the ninety days) — a very clever marketing tool.

Now it’s up to the individual author to determine whether or not these benefits are worth the exclusivity.

Come back next week when we summarize the steps in completing a writer’s journey with Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing.  But for now…

Remember— selling e-books through a personal website and through Direct Sale Vendors provides us with the best of both worlds when it comes to distribution and maximizing our revenue.

For more information on selling with direct sale vendors, please check out our free resource, Getting Started with Direct Sale Vendors.