eBook Retailers and Distributors

There are quite a few eBook retailers on the Internet. Many of them are unknown or only have a small group of followers. Some of them are much bigger and are tied to specific devices. In addition to selling your eBooks on your own website and using it as a hub for your content, we highly suggest that you upload your eBooks to as many other retailing sites as possible and use distribution options when they are available. Visibility is important, and some readers will only frequent certain retailers.

Don't forget that we offer eBook conversions into all of the major eBook formats. We will also be offering a distribution system to many of these retailers later this year.

Retailers Open to Anyone

If you are an author or a small publisher with a small number of titles, you will find that your options for retailing and distribution are somewhat more limited than those of a large publisher. The eBook retailers below allow anyone to publish content, regardless of their number of titles or status as a publisher. Note that each site supports different eBook formats.

• Amazon’s Digital Text Platform (Kindle Store)
  • Mobipocket files only, with or without DRM
  • Amazon sells more eBooks than any other eBook retailer, and it has one of the largest collection of books. Combine that with a growing ecosystem of devices and software reading options, and you have a great place for authors and publishers to sell their content.
• Apple's iBookstore
  • Apple recently opened up the iBookstore for authors and publishers to upload their own content. You must have a Mac computer and a US bank account to use the iTunes uploading system. Also, the signup process can be a little bit intimidating. If you are unable to use the system because of those limitations, some of the other retailers on this page are registered aggregators to the iBookstore.
• Barnes & Noble
  • B&N recently announced that they will offer a new service called PubIt! to authors and publishers. PubIt! will be similar to the Amazon DTP, and will give users the ability to upload a Word document or other file, which will be converted to the ePub format. The system will also accept professionally designed ePub files, so the high-quality conversions that we apply will not be lost in an inferior conversion process. B&N has not announced when PubIt! will be made available.
• Smashwords
  • Smashwords-specific Word document, styled according to the Smashwords Style Guide (auto-converted into 9 different formats)
  • In addition to selling books at its own online store with the lowest fee of any retailer listed here (only 15%!), Smashwords also makes its catalog available in the Stanza Application on the iPhone/iPod Touch and in the Aldiko Book Reader on Android phones.
  • The Smashwords Premium Catalog offers authors and small publishers a way to distribute their titles across a variety of retailers, including Amazon, Apple's iBookstore, the Sony eBook Store, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo. Since some of those retailers are normally closed to individuals, the opportunity to get an independent title up for sale with them can be helpful. However, be aware that the formatting of Smashwords' books leaves much to be desired, and they have had problems getting their books distributed to some of those retailers as a result of that.
• Lulu
  • ePub, PDF, and Microsoft Reader (.LIT) formats, with and without DRM.
  • Lulu is well-known for its Print On Demand (POD) services, and the ability to sell eBooks through them is great. They take a cut of $1.49 + 20% per sale, and charge an additional $.99 if you use the DRM option.
  • Lulu is an Apple-approved aggregator for the iBookstore.
• eBookMall
  • $19.95 submission fee applies. PDF, Word, Mobipocket, Microsoft Reader (.LIT), plain text, PalmDOC, Gemstar.
  • NOTE: Look at the Lightning Source info below for an alternate distribution option to this retailer.
• Scribd
  • PDF files only. Cannot sell other formats.
• Kobo (formerly Shortcovers)
  • ePub files only. Provides eBooks to Borders. Uses their own DRM for online viewing and Adobe Content Server for ePub files. You have to contact them via e-mail and sign a publishing agreement. 50% royalty on each sale.
  • NOTE: Look at the Smashwords info above for an alternate distribution option to this retailer for books of any size.
• Mobipocket eBookBase
  • NOTE: Effective September 2009, Mobipocket is no longer opening new accounts. They now suggest that you place your books up for sale on the Kindle Store via the DTP.

Distributors

Before we move on to talk about retailer options that are only open to publishers, it is important that we mention the eBook distribution option available from Lightning Source Inc. (LSI). LSI offers eBook distribution through Ingram Digital, one of its sister companies. It distributes ePub, PDF, Microsoft Reader (.LIT), and eReader files to eight retailers:

• AllRomanceeBooks.com
• OmniLit.com
• Powells.com
• eBookMall.com
• Diesel-eBooks.com
• Fictionwise.com (only offers eBooks in MS Reader and Palm/eReader formats)
• BooksOnBoard.com
• eBooksAboutEverything.com

Most of these retailers are not typically available to independent authors and small publishers. The LSI/Ingram process works as a wholesale arrangement. Ingram Digital hosts your content, buys each copy from you at a wholesale price that you set, sells it to the retailer, and distributes it to the consumer on behalf of the retailer. Signing up with LSI/Ingram requires a signed contract and a publisher account with a good credit rating. Each time you upload a file to the website you have to pay a setup fee, so it is important to make sure your files are ready to go before uploading them.

While it would be nice to see more retailers using the Ingram distribution system, this is a good way to get your books onto retailers that might otherwise ignore you.

Retailers with Volume Restrictions

Most of these sites require that you have at least 10 titles to set up an account, so they are usually limited to publishers or prolific authors.

• Books on Board
  • Limited to publishers who either represent at least 3 authors or have at least 15 titles. Mobipocket, ePub, PDF, eReader, Microsoft Reader (.LIT). E-mail "pub-support" at their domain name to get more information.
  • NOTE: Look at the Lightning Source info above for an alternate distribution option to this retailer.
• All Romance eBooks
  • Romance titles in all sub-genres. Minimum of 10 titles, though some exeptions are made. They do accept self-published authors. Mobipocket (with DRM), ePub (with DRM), PDF (with DRM), eReader (with DRM), Microsoft Reader (.LIT - with DRM), HTML, PalmDOC, Franklin eBookman (FUB), Hiebook (KML), RocketBook (RB).
• OmniLit
  • Same company as All Romance eBooks, just covering additional genres. Minimum of 10 titles, though some exeptions are made. They do accept self-published authors. Mobipocket (with DRM), ePub (with DRM), PDF (with DRM), eReader (with DRM), Microsoft Reader (.LIT - with DRM), HTML, PalmDOC, Franklin eBookman (FUB), Hiebook (KML), RocketBook (RB).
• BookGlutton
  • Limited to publishers with at least 10 eBooks to sell. Might also be open to authors with many titles and a good sales record. Only sells non-DRMed ePub files.
• eBooks.com
  • No information about limitations or number of titles. Publishers must fill out a form to be contacted about the agreement.
• Sony eBook Store
  • Sony's Publisher Portal is open to small, medium, and large publishers. You can fill out a form on the website to be contacted about a publisher contract. No information is given about title number limitations. Don't forget that Smashwords Premium Catalog titles are distributed to Sony. See above for more information.
• Fictionwise, eReader.com
  • Authors: Fictionwise, a Barnes and Noble company, has the most restrictive policies on authors of any eBook retailer. They require at least 10 previously-published books from "established print publishers (not vanity presses or similar outfits that charge the author)", and they require an exclusive contract ("The Fictionwise author contract is exclusive--this means that electronic copies of your works must not be available for sale anywhere else on the internet for the duration of the contract."). Unless or until they change these terms, eBook Architects does not suggest that individual authors utilize them as a direct eBook retailer. However, look at the Lightning Source info above for an alternate distribution option to this retailer.
  • Publishers: Fictionwise offers 5-year contracts with publishers that have at least 25 titles from at least 5 established authors. These contracts are non-exclusive, so publishers can also publish their titles elsewhere with no restrictions.

No Access

The notable eBook sites below do not currently have direct retailing options available to authors and small publishers.

• Diesel eBooks — Distribution to this retailer through Lightning Source is available (see above)