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How to Publish a Book For Free: Top 7 Book Publishing Sites
Michael Adams
Do you want your name on a best-selling novel but don’t know but you are wondering how do i self publish a book at first place? All writers wish to see their dream of writing a book come true. But for the longest time, publishing a book has been difficult.
Getting a book publishing deal from a traditional publisher is far from easy. It involves sending out many book proposals and hoping for a positive response which rarely is the case.
Even those who manage to score a book deal have to spend months discussing the creative direction of the content with editors and negotiating royalty percentages with the publishers before their book is published.
What if you could skip this tedious process and publish your work? What if you could write, edit, and publish your book for free? Is it even possible to publish a book for free?
It surely is! In this article, we’ll look at the top seven free book publishing sites that can help you get your book out in the world. Let’s get to it!
Is It Possible to Publish a Book for Free?
Traditional publishing is no longer the only free route writers have to publish their books. With the growing popularity of e-books, writers can publish their work as an eBook for free on popular eBook distribution platforms without print and publication costs.
Globally, we have observed a shift in reading trends. With the popularity of reading devices like the Kindle, Nook, etc. more and more people are turning to e-books for their reading fix. This means that there is a great opportunity for authors to tell the world their stories successfully without breaking the bank.
Many big publishers including Amazon KDP allow you to publish your book on their platform without a cost. We discuss the distributors a little later in this article.
Self-Publishing Costs: Is It Profitable to Publish a Book?
The book market is expected to generate a revenue of US $14.61 billion by 2024. Hundreds of millions of eBook copies are sold globally and these figures emphasize the massive market size of the industry. But can you publish a book for free and make money on it? Is it profitable to self-publish a book? Here are a few factors to consider if you’re thinking of self-publishing your e-book:
Royalties
Royalties are the primary source of income for self-published authors. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the royalty structure to gauge potential profitability. Self-publishing offers higher royalties than traditional publishing.
Royalty rates vary depending on the platform. Platforms like Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) offer royalty rates ranging from 35% to 70% depending on the book pricing.
It is also important to consider the distribution channel and reach of the self-publishing platform. It is best to choose a platform that has a wide reach and distribution and offers a high royalty percentage to maximize your profits.
Editing and Book Design
Before you publish your eBook, think about how it looks and reads. Even though it’s free to publish, it’s worth spending money on editing and cover design. This makes your book better and more attractive to readers. Remember, people are still spending money to buy your book, and if it is not good quality you won’t sell many copies.
While you can edit and design the cover of your book yourself, hiring pros makes your book stand out. They make sure your book is easy to read and looks good. It might cost you some money, but it’s worth it. A well-made book gets more readers and better reviews.
You don’t have to break the bank for book editing and cover design. At BookQuill, we can accommodate any budget. Call us at 1-833-587-7003 and make sure your book looks the best it can!
Book Formatting
You can’t publish a book without proper formatting. While a book that is mainly just text can be formatted using a free word processor, you may need to hire someone to format your book if it has a ton of images, tables, or in-text citations.
Hiring someone to format your book may cost anywhere between $200 to $3000 depending on the type and length of books.
If you’re not willing to spend this much to hire someone to format your book, consider investing in book formatting software like Atticus or Scrivener and doing it yourself.
Read more about this software in our review of some of the best book editing and formatting software.
Book Marketing
Once your eBook is completed and published, you need to tell people about it. Marketing your book is your responsibility. Therefore, create a detailed marketing strategy to ensure people hear about your book. Some ways to do this cost money, but they are also free or affordable.
Social media like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram can help you connect with readers. Making a website or blog lets people know who you are and what you write about.
You can also join online groups where writers and readers hang out. Talking about your book can help people find it. And if readers like your book, they might tell their friends about it, which is a great way to get more sales.
Top Seven Free Self-publishing Services
Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP)
Royalty Share: 70% on books between $2.99 and $9.99 and 35% for books less than $2.99.
Distribution: Kindle stores in 13 countries and over 200 million monthly visitors on Amazon’s website.
If you have researched the self-publishing route, you probably know of Amazon KDP. Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) is Amazon’s self-publishing platform, different from its traditional publishing platform, Amazon Publishing.
The book giant accounts for nearly half of the digital book market. Amazon sells more than 485 million eBooks every year through its Kindle store. A large part of this includes self-published titles. Writers can upload their eBooks to Amazon KDP for free and reach millions of readers worldwide through Amazon stores.
One feature that sets KDP apart from other publishing options is its KDP Select program. KDP Select is an eBook-exclusive, 90-day program that Amazon offers to promote and market eBooks to more readers.
Writers can enroll in it for no charge and reach more readers through Amazon and Kindle exclusive promotions. When you enroll in Kindle Select, you’re automatically enrolled in Kindle Unlimited (KU). Millions of readers throughout the world pay a small subscription fee for KU to access a library of books. Your eBook will also be available to these readers.
Kindle Select allows you to run exclusive discounts on your book through Kindle Countdown Deals (KCD). Through KCD, you can offer readers a promotional price or run a limited-time discount to create hype for your eBook.
The only downside is that you can’t distribute your book through other channels if you enroll in KDP Select. You have to sign an exclusivity contract for 90 days, after which you can choose to renew your contract or opt out of it.
We can help publish your book on Amazon! Learn more about our Amazon Book Publishing Service or call us at 1-833-587-7003.
Barnes & Noble Press
Royalty Share: 70% on eBooks and 55% on printed books minus printing costs
Distribution: Nook devices and millions of readers on the BN website.
Barnes & Noble Press is the third-largest self-publishing platform. It reaches millions of readers through online stores and its e-reading device, Nook. B&N is a great option if you want readers to have a print copy of your book as it offers a print-on-demand service.
Unlike Amazon KDP, you do not have to enter into an exclusivity contract with B&N Press. This means you can sell your book with other distributors while selling it on Barnes and Noble Press.
Barnes & Noble offers many promotional opportunities like online discounts, feature collections, and deal newsletters. These efforts would help you reach more readers. The only drawback is that B&N limits your reach to the US.
PublishDrive
Royalty Share: 100% on eBooks.
Distribution: More than 400 digital bookstores.
PublishDrive is an aggregator site that publishes your eBook on 20+ channels and 400+ stores. It publishes your book on all major platforms including Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and more.
If you enter into an exclusivity agreement with one publisher, your eBook becomes exclusive to that publisher. This may not be the best choice for new and indie authors who are solely relying on royalties for income.
The advantage of publishing with an aggregator site is that your eBook is available on multiple platforms. So more people can access them and be able to purchase them.
The best part about PublishDrive is that they let you keep 100% of the royalty profit at a subscription fee of just $100. You have to pay them $100 per month and you can keep all the royalty from the book sales.
Kobo Writing Life
Royalty Share: 70% on books above $2.99 and 45% on books less than $2.99
Distribution: 12 million readers in 190 countries and 275 million monthly visitors on Walmart’s website.
Kobo Writing Life is a self-publishing platform that launched back in 2012 and is one of the biggest competitors to Amazon. Millions of people have discovered books through Kobo thanks to its massive international reach to 190 countries.
Kobo offers access to detailed sales analytics so you can track the performance of your eBooks. It also gives you access to an exclusive promotional tool with which you can submit the title of your book directly to the merchandiser for promotions.
The promotional activity tab shows all available promotional opportunities and lets you apply them to your books. All you have to do is select your book, input the sale price, and submit it!
Kobo has a more user-friendly platform when compared to other distributors, which is a plus for first-time or relatively new authors.
Apple Books
Royalty Share: 70% on all eBooks
Distribution: 1.4 billion users in 50 countries
Apple Books has a massive reach exceeding 1 billion readers and is available in 50 countries. Apple has made self-publishing on Apple easier for authors than other platforms.
All you need to do is make an iTunes Connect account on authors.apple.com and you can upload your eBook. Apple offers 70% royalty on every eBook sale and doesn’t have any hidden fee or exclusivity requirements.
Apple doesn’t give you access to any special promotional tools for publishing through its website. Therefore, it is best to publish on Apple Book through an aggregator so you can publish to multiple platforms and widen your reach.
IngramSpark
Royalty Share: 65% to 70% depending on the book market.
Distribution: Over 40,000+ stores worldwide
If you want to publish on multiple platforms and make your eBook available to an international audience, IngramSpark is an excellent option. It is an aggregator site with a massive international reach in regions including but not limited to the USA, UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.
IngramSpark allows you to view sales across platforms and create detailed sales reports all in one place. It also offers a print-in-demand option so if you want your readers to have a print version of your book they can get it.
IngramSpark offers some amazing free publishing like a book cover template generator, print and ship calculator, and book-building tools. These could be very helpful for new authors working with a limited budget.
Draft2Digital (D2D)
Royalty Share: 60% of the book’s price per copy
Distribution: 15+ digital stores and worldwide reach via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc.
D2D is another aggregator site like IngramSpark and PublishDrive. It publishes your eBook on multiple platforms so it can reach a wider audience. It allows you to view sales performance across platforms in a consolidated report.
D2D has other interesting features that set it apart from its counterparts including the automated end-matter tool and universal book links. The automated end-matter tools add any of your new works to the “Also by this author” so people can view everything else you have published via D2D.
The universal book links tool combines all the different retailer’s links into one sales page so the author can view sales across platforms in one space. D2D offers a free book formatting service which is great for new writers looking to save some money.
Conclusion
Publishing a book can be a daunting task, especially if you are self-publishing. You may feel solely responsible for making your book a success, with a big publisher not shouldering costs or assisting with distribution. Self-publishing can indeed be intimidating.
Fortunately, many self-publishing platforms exist to aid young and budding authors in publishing their work. We have reviewed some of the best ones you can turn to for self-publishing your book. Be sure to choose the one that best aligns with your book distribution goals.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cheapest way to publish a book?
Publishing an eBook is the cheapest way to publish your work. Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Apple Books, none of the biggest book distributors charge a fee for uploading your books online.
How much does it cost to publish a book?
On average self-publishing a book may cost between $2000-$4000.This covers editing, book cover design, and marketing costs.
Can you publish a book with no money?
To self-publish your book without any upfront investment, you need a free publishing service. Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and PublishDrive are examples of companies that let you enlist your book on their site without any cost. However, they do get a share royalty percentage on each sale of the book.
