5 Best Publishing Companies for Books in 2020

About this video

Dale L. Roberts ranks five self-publishing companies for books in 2020 by accessibility, features, royalty rate and reach, arguing modern self-publishing is more accessible than ever and a good way to test yourself and build a following before seeking a traditional deal. First, Lulu.com offers self-fulfillment through Lulu xPress integrated with Shopify, stellar print and glossy cover quality, and a generous royalty rate for on-site fulfillment, but no audiobook distribution yet. Second, Draft2Digital is an aggregator run by indie authors that distributes ebooks to Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Google Play and more for a share of net profits, with wide distribution and audiobooks via Findaway Voices, though its print service was still in beta. Third, PublishDrive is also an aggregator with the widest global reach, but it had shifted from revenue-share to a subscription model: the first book is free and keeps 100% of revenue, while additional books incur monthly charges, so the author takes on all the risk. Fourth, IngramSpark, part of Ingram Content Group, offers the widest print reach including brick-and-mortar stores, but charges upload and update fees and requires authors to bring their own ISBN, with free ISBNs available to US-based authors as an exception. Fifth, Amazon KDP is presented as the easiest, most direct route to Amazon, letting authors keep all profits without a middleman and use Amazon Advertising integrated with the KDP dashboard, though it has no integrated audiobook distribution — ACX is separate and not integrated with KDP.

Key takeaways

• Lulu stands out for Shopify self-fulfillment via Lulu xPress, stellar print quality and generous on-site royalties, but lacked audiobook distribution
• Draft2Digital is an author-focused aggregator offering wide ebook distribution for a share of net profits, with audiobooks via Findaway Voices and print still in beta
• PublishDrive offers the widest global aggregator reach but moved to a subscription model — first book free at 100% revenue, then monthly charges shift all risk to the author
• IngramSpark provides the widest print distribution including brick-and-mortar stores, but charges upload/update fees and requires your own ISBN except for free US ISBNs
• Amazon KDP is the most direct path to Amazon with no middleman and integrated Amazon Advertising, but no integrated audiobook distribution since ACX is separate

Episode details: published May 19, 2020 · 8:48 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Dale L. Roberts’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

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