Best Websites for Self Publishing Books

About this video

Roberts lists what he calls the six best websites to make money self-publishing online. Number one is Kindle Direct Publishing, which he says Amazon has offered since late 2007, praising its easy navigation, intuitive upload, and support, and noting the newer option to convert an ebook to paperback in the dashboard, though he calls that process still a bit sketchy. Number two is CreateSpace, where Roberts says he got his start and continued to make a bulk of his income; he praises its customer support and dashboard, its distribution to Amazon and expanded channels, and notes it also offered music and video distribution, arguing physical books hold the largest market share. Number three is ACX (Audiobook Creation Exchange), which he calls under-utilized and says he and many others make a fair chunk of change from, while noting its lack of availability outside the US and UK. Number four is Smashwords, with broad distribution to dozens of retailers and subscription services. Number five is Draft2Digital, with a smaller distribution palette than Smashwords but greater ease of use. He gives honorable mentions to Barnes & Noble, Apple iBooks, and Rakuten Kobo for direct uploads and competitive royalties, before naming Pronoun as number six.

Key takeaways

• Roberts ranks Kindle Direct Publishing first, citing Amazon’s platform since late 2007, easy uploads, and a newer but still sketchy ebook-to-paperback conversion option.
• CreateSpace is second: Roberts says he got his start there and made a bulk of his income there, and notes it also offered music and video distribution, not just paperbacks.
• ACX is presented as under-utilized for audiobooks, but Roberts notes it was not available in markets outside the US and UK.
• Smashwords offers broader distribution to dozens of retailers and subscription services, while Draft2Digital offers a smaller palette but makes up for it in ease of use.
• Honorable mentions Barnes & Noble, Apple iBooks, and Kobo allow direct uploads with competitive royalties, though Roberts says he prefers uploading once and sacrificing a little royalty percentage; Pronoun rounds out the six.

Episode details: published July 8, 2017 · 4:57 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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