Why does direct-to-reader publishing matter now?
Many authors believe that traditional distribution and big-box retail are the only ways to publish. But the playing field has changed. Those channels still matter, but they're not the only way to reach readers. Selling direct puts you in charge of pricing, packaging, customer data, and the margin you actually keep.
When you sell a copy of your book directly, you're not selling to some nameless, faceless buyer at the end of the supply chain; you're delivering your book to someone who chose you. BookBaby gives indie authors the tools they need to print and distribute their books through today's most popular global channels, as well as a storefront that's designed for direct sales. No need to become a logistics manager or even a print expert. Our Print On Demand services and global distribution make it easier than ever for you to reach Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and more.
Going from discovery to purchase: what you need
At the core of direct-to-reader publishing is having a sales funnel in place that takes the reader from discovery to purchase (and then to fandom!). To do all of this, you need a few services working together like cogs in a machine:
A direct sales storefront
First, you need a direct sales storefront. BookBaby's Bookshop helps you sell directly to readers without the middlemen. It's also incredibly author-friendly with no web design or development experience needed, and no need to mess with plugins, templates, or updates. Bookshop also pays higher royalties than others, and you're in complete control of both pricing and promotions.
Print On Demand
Print On Demand or POD means your book is only printed when it's ordered. That means no need to ship boxes from your garage or store unsold books. POD lets you offer physical books worldwide while only paying for what you sell. Plus, with BookBaby, you get the added benefit of worldwide distribution to dozens of retailers and wholesalers.
eBook distribution
One of the core best practices in marketing is to go where the people are, and that means making sure your eBook gets in front of people where they regularly buy eBooks. Amazon, Kobo, Apple Books, and others are popular places to read, buy, and recommend books. Thanks to BookBaby, your eBook can be found on all of them.
Design and editing
People unfortunately do judge a book by its cover, which is why you'll want to make sure that yours looks irresistible. Even if you're not a graphic designer, help is here. BookBaby offers professional book cover design, interior formatting, and editing so that your book looks and feels just as professional and polished as a book published by a traditional publishing house.
Marketing and metadata
One of the biggest issues holding back self-published authors is marketing, which can feel overwhelming. Thankfully, BookBaby can help here as well. We offer the option to optimize your metadata, which is how online bookstores like Amazon and other catalogs find and make your book title searchable. We also offer ad campaign creation and marketing consultation services to help you get the support and guidance you need when selling directly to readers.
Whether you want us to handle your ad creative and copy, or you'd like to do it yourself with the right guidance through our consulting programs, we have the expertise you need to take your next steps with confidence.
Getting started with direct-to-reader publishing
Now that you better understand what direct-to-reader publishing is, how exactly do you get started with it? We've distilled it down into a step-by-step process that makes it easy. Here's what to know:
Finish the book and polish it
It pays to invest in a professional edit. If readers don't judge a book by its cover, you can be sure they'll judge it within the first 20 pages. Fortunately, BookBaby's professional editors deeply understand the editing process and know the market, so whether you need line editing, copy editing, or proofreading, our diligent team of editing experts can help make your book truly shine.
Create a cover and format the interior
Your cover is the first impression potential readers have of your book. Is it elegant and sophisticated? Intriguing and dark? Professional and modern? Whatever style you're looking to create, you don't have to be a graphics wizard to make it happen. BookBaby's cover design experts and interior formatting pros can make sure that your book looks impressive enough to stand out and compete on bookshelves and in thumbnails.
All of our graphic design work is handled in-house by expert artists with backgrounds in a variety of styles, so you'll be sure to be matched to the perfect designer who can bring your ideas and vision to life!
Prepare formats for every type of reader
If you're looking to reach even more readers directly, it makes sense to offer your book as an eBook as well. BookBaby can help you not only convert your eBook to today's most popular formats, including EPUB and MOBI formats, but also help you distribute your book to Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, Kobo, and more. We can also distribute your eBook globally to international sites to reach an even greater number of readers.
Launch on BookBaby Bookshop first
We recommend launching your book on our Bookbaby Bookshop first. Bookshop is how you can sell your book directly to readers when publishing with BookBaby. Bookshop gives you the highest royalties and you can sell both your printed book and eBook there. We also give you helpful analytics to show where your users are coming from and which offer(s) they've claimed so that you can tell which promotions are working and which need to be revised.
Take advantage of global distribution
One of the biggest reasons to work with BookBaby's direct-to-reader publishing services is our global distribution network. See your book (and eBook) on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, and through library wholesalers without having to set up individual revenue streams and profiles for each of them. Everything can flow back into your Bookshop page, and BookBaby can handle your royalties and payments for you.
Run targeted marketing and capture data
Use BookBaby's targeted metadata optimization, email promotions, Bookshop homepage promotion, and paid social ad packages to help you reach more readers. You can also capture reader emails through Bookshop and build a mailing list for special announcements, bundle offers, sales, and more.
Measure and iterate
Using Bookshop analytics, you can see which channels are bringing in readers and which ones are converting them into buyers. Was it a mention on GoodReads? Being featured on the Bookshop homepage? A Facebook ad? By tracking your marketing efforts, you'll know exactly what's working so you can continue to refine your marketing.
Why choose BookBaby as your direct-to-reader publisher?
BookBaby isn't the only Print On Demand company out there, but we are one of the only ones that specializes in all things books and self-publishing. Publishing with BookBaby opens up a wealth of opportunities and expertise you can't find anywhere else, at affordable prices that make your decision easy.
Sell directly and keep more of your money
BookBaby Bookshop is designed for authors who want to sell directly to readers. No design experience is necessary and you can even link to other platforms like Amazon in case your readers would like to buy through there. When they buy through Bookshop, however, you get the benefit of higher royalties than many other storefronts. That means more money in your pocket per sale, plus faster payouts, all by prioritizing direct sales.
Global reach without the need to keep inventory
Because BookBaby specializes in Print On Demand, there's no need to keep boxes of books in your garage. Your book is printed, packaged, and shipped right when it's ordered. It's also available to major retailers and wholesalers without you needing to store boxes. This gives you the massive leverage of global distribution without the overhead.
One vendor, zero hassle
One of the best reasons to choose BookBaby is that you have everything accessible through a single vendor. You don't need to go pull together editors, designers, graphic artists, book formatting experts, and printers and then try to get them to work together to cobble something that looks like a book but is full of delays, mismatches, layout problems and other issues.
BookBaby brings it all together, all in one place. No more scattered energies or missed deadlines. You get everything you need, from editing and design to printing and distribution, through one centralized hub.
Marketing muscle when you need it
Pricing, metadata optimization, Bookshop promotions, and paid ads are a lot to manage. BookBaby is here to help you take your launch beyond your personal network. No need to be a natural marketing genius when you've got precise targeting and a team of marketing professionals behind you that are dedicated to making your book stand out and get noticed.
Book launch tips for direct-to-reader publishing
You don't need a ton of tactics to sell successfully directly to readers. Just a few tried-and-true strategies can help you break through the noise and stand out. We've helped thousands upon thousands of indie authors across every genre imaginable, and these are the best practices we recommend for book launches and follow-up promotions.
Preorders on BookBaby Bookshop
You can use Bookshop to set up preorders. Create an incentive like signed copies, a bonus short story, or a behind-the-scenes PDF and deliver it to people who exclusively order through Bookshop. Preorders through Bookshop also help you capture emails and build your list of readers.
Bundles and limited editions
Create a small batch of signed or deluxe editions through BookBaby's hardcover printing, then sell the rest as Print On Demand. Scarcity converts well, especially for your most loyal readers. Specialty cover designs also stand out as eye-catching extras that fans love.
Metadata for discovery
Don't overlook your book description, categories, and keywords. Take the time to carefully set them up, and if you're not sure how to proceed, BookBaby's metadata optimization service can help make sure your book gets found where lovers of your genre tend to search. We take great care to craft your title, keywords, and other elements that make it easier for your book to be found in catalogs and online (including Amazon Kindle and other large networks).
BookBaby Bookshop homepage and email promos
BookBaby offers a promotion that puts your book front and center on the Bookshop homepage, as well as part of an email blast to our large list of indie book readers. This is a great way to get your name out there if you're a first-time author, plus get attention from people who love and follow indie authors.
High-converting creative ads
Running a short, highly focused ad campaign is a great way to see what kind of creative ads your audience identifies with and enjoys. At BookBaby, our Ads for Authors program can help you target interested audiences. You can also work with consultants directly to learn how to set up and manage your ad campaign yourself so that you're prepared with future ideas and insights that can help you build and connect to your readers.
Author events and book bundles with other authors
Collaborating with other authors can help you spread the word beyond your own network. A joint email blast or a physical bundle with other authors in your niche can multiply your reach without doubling the cost. Check out local book clubs or events, or even online networks or groups to find like-minded authors in your genre that would be open to a joint promotion.
How do I set pricing?
Bookshop and direct sales let you set your price and keep a larger chunk of the payment. We give authors generous splits on eBooks and reasonable splits on print sales, helping you keep more per sale than typical retail channels. That means you might sell fewer books, but those few can add up to a more meaningful income. Plus, with our pricing and printing calculators, you'll know ahead of time exactly what you'll be paying and how much profit you'll receive after printing costs and fees are taken into consideration.
We recommend that if you want to sell your book directly to readers through Bookshop, that you set a price that respects your reader and your time. Don't undercut the perceived value of your book. Cheap pricing often tells readers "this book isn't high quality." Test a few different price points as part of different promotions. For example, you could set a lower price for a flash sale, and your standard list price for long-term discovery.
Getting started: your next steps with direct-to-reader publishing
Direct-to-reader publishing has a few common practices that are involved in getting your book into the hands of readers. For example, since your book is being printed on demand, you want to be sure that it looks and reads professionally — like a book from a traditional publishing house. That's why we recommend using BookBaby's file review and conversion services, so that your files meet the specs of each retailer, whether they're promoting your eBook or listing your printed book.
Publishing your book directly to readers without a marketing plan to back it up is also a common misstep for first-time authors. BookBaby's marketing services can help you learn how to market your book yourself, or handle the heavy lifting for you. Get your launch roadmap so that your book isn't just sitting on a virtual shelf as readers pass you by.
We recommend combining Bookshop direct sales (which pay higher royalties) with global distribution for added discoverability. This captures the high-margin direct buyer while keeping your presence steady in larger retail ecosystems.
Ready to maximize your book sales?
You wrote your book because you had something that needed to be shared and heard. That's why selling your book shouldn't be looked at as an afterthought. You're giving readers a deliberate invitation into your world, and direct-to-reader publishing helps you put that invitation into the hands of the people who are most likely to enjoy and appreciate what you have to share.
Direct to reader publishing also lets you reach the readers who are most likely to respond: the ones who choose to follow you and recommend your book to others. With this in mind, a handful of well-executed direct sales can do more for your author career as a hundred scattered retail placements. Why? Because direct sales build relationships that traditional retail placements can't match. That being said, traditional retail placement still has its place — so why not enjoy the best of both worlds?
With direct-to-reader publishing, you're not just getting a "warm lead" — you're getting a real reader who is willing to take the time to step into your world, learn about you as an author, get to know your characters, and cherish your story. That in turn could lead to more revenue, repeat buyers, and a larger network built on word of mouth that matters. Direct-to-reader publishing is a long game, to be sure, which means you have to keep the cadence rolling with plenty of value. Whether that ends up being short exclusive stories, serialized essays, behind-the-scenes notes, early access to chapters, or even merchandise like bookmarks and posters that give readers a greater glimpse of your world, BookBaby can help you make it all possible.
Last but not least, resist the urge to fall into the vanity trap. Being seen on a thousand scattered marketplaces might look great on a spreadsheet report, but tells you nothing about who your reader truly is. Through BookBaby's global distribution, you can be discoverable, but your most valuable traffic should be sent back to where you can cultivate the relationship and enjoy the highest margins; that being your Bookshop link. With BookBaby Bookshop, you can build an email list by capturing emails at checkout, keeping your readers informed of news, events or special bonuses they can't get anywhere else.
Ready to get started? Visit BookBaby.com to get a free, no-obligation price quote on publishing your book with our Print On Demand services. Plus get additional support where and when you need it, from cover design to copy editing, to translation and audiobooks. Everything we offer is designed to help you publish and promote as an author, and going direct to reader is your best chance of building and cultivating that growth.