Beyond Amazon: Where Should Authors Publish Now?

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Where Should Authors Publish Now? ### A 45-Minute Conversation About Going Wide, Going Direct, Print, Libraries, Community Platforms—and Why Different Authors Need Different Answers

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Ama, I have a publishing question that sounds simple and absolutely is not.

Ama

Those are usually the expensive questions.

Dutch

An author says, “Amazon isn’t working for me. Where else should I publish?”

Ama

And everybody on the internet immediately names their favorite platform as though authors were a single species.

Dutch

Exactly.

Ama

They are not.

Ama

A romance writer releasing six books a year does not have the same problem as a poet with two books and a local following. A professor writing specialized nonfiction does not need the same ecosystem as somebody writing twenty-book fantasy series. And an author who already has five thousand readers following them directly is playing a completely different game from somebody hoping a bookstore algorithm introduces them to civilization.

Dutch

So today we are not doing “Amazon bad, mysterious other platform good.”

Ama

No. That conversation is too easy.

Ama

We are asking the better question:

Ama

**What kind of author are you, where are your readers, and what job do you need your publishing platform to perform?**

Ama

Because “publishing” now describes several different jobs that humans have unhelpfully stuffed into one word.

Ama

You may need a bookstore.

Ama

You may need a distributor.

Ama

You may need a printer.

Ama

You may need library access.

Ama

You may need international reach.

Ama

You may need a place where readers actually gather around your work.

Ama

And you may simply need somewhere that does not treat your entire creative business as a tiny rental property inside somebody else’s shopping mall.

Ama

## 0:04–0:09 — First, Amazon Is Not One Decision

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Let’s begin with the thing people often misunderstand about Amazon.

Dutch

You can publish on Amazon without giving Amazon exclusivity.

Ama

Correct. The exclusivity question mainly appears when an author chooses **KDP Select** for the ebook. KDP Select works in 90-day enrollment periods, puts the ebook into Kindle Unlimited, and requires that digital edition to remain exclusive to Amazon during the enrollment period. Print, audio, and other formats can still be distributed elsewhere.

Dutch

Which means “leaving Amazon” and “going wide” are not necessarily the same decision.

Ama

Right.

Ama

An author can say:

Ama

“I still want my paperback on Amazon, but I don’t want Amazon to be my whole publishing strategy.”

Eric Marquette

“I want my ebook on Amazon, Apple, Kobo, Google, Barnes & Noble, and libraries.”

Tony Maine

“I want Amazon as one storefront, while my real business happens directly with readers.”

Eric Marquette

Those are three completely different strategies.

Dutch

And this matters because Kindle Unlimited can be powerful for certain genres.

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Amazon reported a KDP Select Global Fund of **$69.4 million for August 2026**. That does not tell us what any individual author will earn, but it does remind us why some high-volume genre authors remain interested in Kindle Unlimited.

Ama

Exactly.

Ama

So this episode is not saying everybody should flee Amazon carrying manuscripts over their heads.

Ama

For some authors, Amazon may remain extremely useful.

Ama

But a useful platform and a complete business strategy are not the same thing.

Ama

That distinction may save you several years.

Ama

# 0:09–0:16 — Draft2Digital: “Please Handle the Plumbing”

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Let’s start with one of the biggest names in wide indie publishing: **Draft2Digital**.

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Who is this for?

Ama

The author who says:

Ama

“I would like my book in many places. I would also like to spend my afternoon writing rather than creating fourteen retailer accounts and discovering fourteen creative interpretations of tax documentation.”

Ama

That author should look hard at Draft2Digital.

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It is basically an aggregator.

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You upload through one system, select the stores and library channels you want, and Draft2Digital delivers the book outward. It currently distributes ebooks broadly and also offers print-on-demand distribution. Its library options include OverDrive, cloudLibrary, Hoopla, and BorrowBox.

Ama

Convenience has a price.

Ama

Draft2Digital generally takes 15 percent of the payment it receives from ebook and audiobook sales channels, which works out to roughly 10 percent of retail price in many cases. In 2026 it also introduced a $20 one-time activation fee for new publishing accounts and a $12 annual maintenance fee for accounts earning under $100 in book royalties during the preceding twelve months.

Dutch

So you are giving up some margin in exchange for fewer dashboards and less administrative chaos.

Ama

Precisely.

Ama

And there is nothing inherently wrong with that.

Ama

Authors get oddly moral about middlemen.

Ama

A middleman is not automatically evil.

Ama

A useless middleman is evil.

Ama

A useful middleman is called infrastructure.

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Who would you put on Draft2Digital?

Ama

The new indie author who wants to go wide without becoming a distribution specialist.

Ama

The writer with a modest catalog who values convenience more than squeezing every possible percentage point from each retailer.

Ama

The author who wants libraries without personally negotiating a path into every library ecosystem.

Ama

The person who says, “My actual competitive advantage is writing books, not maintaining twelve spreadsheets named FINAL_ROYALTIES_NEW_REAL_FINAL.”

Dutch

And who might eventually outgrow it?

Ama

A higher-volume author whose sales become concentrated in several major stores.

Ama

If you become strong on Kobo, Apple, or Barnes & Noble, going direct can increase margins and sometimes give you more control over promotions and retailer-specific tools.

Ama

That is the recurring theme today.

Ama

**Convenience is not weakness. Direct control is not automatically sophistication.**

Ama

Choose according to scale.

Ama

# 0:16–0:23 — Direct Stores: Kobo, Apple, Google, Barnes & Noble

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Now let’s talk about bypassing the aggregator and uploading directly.

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Starting with Kobo.

Ama

Kobo interests me because it reminds American writers that Earth extends beyond the United States.

Dutch

A controversial geographical discovery.

Ama

Apparently.

Ama

Kobo Writing Life is free, nonexclusive, and reaches readers internationally through Kobo and its retail partners. Kobo says its books reach readers across more than 190 countries. For qualifying ebooks priced at or above its local thresholds—$2.99 in the United States, for example—the standard royalty is 70 percent. Kobo also connects authors with subscription readers through Kobo Plus and can distribute titles into OverDrive for libraries.

Dutch

So Kobo becomes particularly interesting for the author who wants international reach and libraries.

Ama

Yes, especially fiction authors willing to think beyond a U.S.-only audience.

Ama

Now Apple Books.

Ama

Apple is remarkably straightforward on one important point: it advertises a **70 percent royalty on ebooks regardless of price**, with no file delivery fee and no price-matching requirement. Authors can publish directly through Apple's publishing tools.

Dutch

That is especially interesting for authors who sell inexpensive novellas or short works, because some retailer royalty systems change at certain price points.

Ama

Exactly.

Ama

Apple also makes sense for authors whose readers already live inside Apple's hardware world. You are meeting them where they already buy media.

Ama

Then we have Google Play Books.

Ama

Google Play is nonexclusive, costs nothing to list on, and currently offers a 70 percent ebook revenue split in more than 60 supported countries for partners who have accepted the relevant updated terms. Google also gives authors the Google Books preview ecosystem, which creates a different kind of discovery route than a normal ebook storefront alone.

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And Google has one enormous cultural advantage.

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People search Google.

Ama

Precisely.

Ama

If I am an author thinking about discoverability beyond the bookstore itself, Google Books and Google Play deserve attention.

Ama

It may not become your largest sales channel.

Ama

That is not the only measure of usefulness.

Ama

Sometimes the question is whether another door exists through which the reader can find you.

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And Barnes & Noble Press?

Ama

B&N Press is direct, nonexclusive, and currently pays a flat 70 percent royalty on ebooks. It also supports print publishing.

Ama

For an American author who cares about the Barnes & Noble ecosystem, that is worth considering.

Ama

And I want to make one larger point here.

Ama

If you upload directly to Kobo, Apple, Google, and Barnes & Noble, you keep the direct retailer relationship.

Ama

But now you have four dashboards.

Ama

Four reports.

Ama

Four sets of metadata.

Ama

Four systems to maintain.

Dutch

Which is why this is not a question of “direct is better.”

Ama

Correct.

Ama

It is:

Ama

**Does the additional control justify the additional work for your particular business?**

Ama

A writer selling eight copies a month across four stores probably does not need to become the Duke of Metadata.

Ama

A writer selling thousands may care very much about every percentage point and every retailer-specific promotional opportunity.

Ama

Scale changes the answer.

Ama

# 0:23–0:29 — IngramSpark: When the Physical Book Matters

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Now let’s change the problem.

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Suppose I care less about ebook ecosystems and more about bookstores, libraries, universities, schools, conferences, and physical copies.

Ama

Now we should discuss **IngramSpark**.

Ama

IngramSpark is not simply “another Amazon.”

Ama

It belongs to the traditional book distribution infrastructure.

Ama

IngramSpark says its global network gives titles access to more than **45,000 retailers, libraries, schools, universities, online stores, and other outlets**. That includes independent bookstores, Barnes & Noble, Waterstones, libraries, and many other channels.

Dutch

Important word there: access.

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Being available for bookstore ordering does not mean somebody at the bookstore has lovingly placed seventeen copies beside Stephen King.

Ama

Thank you.

Ama

This is one of indie publishing’s favorite fantasies.

Ama

“Ingram distribution” means a retailer can obtain the book through normal wholesale channels.

Ama

It does not mean a bookseller has heard of you.

Ama

Distribution solves **availability**.

Ama

It does not solve **demand**.

Ama

Please tattoo that somewhere metaphorical.

Dutch

Who benefits most from IngramSpark?

Ama

Authors with serious print ambitions.

Ama

Local nonfiction.

Ama

Regional history.

Ama

Professional books.

Ama

Poetry or literary projects where independent bookstores matter.

Ama

Authors who speak at conferences and want institutions to be able to order through familiar channels.

Ama

People targeting libraries, universities, schools, museum shops, specialty stores.

Ama

And authors deliberately building a small publishing imprint rather than simply uploading an ebook.

Ama

IngramSpark currently charges nothing to sign up or upload print and ebooks, though print economics depend on manufacturing cost, retail price, and the wholesale discount you select. Its ebook program pays 85 percent of the net revenue Ingram receives.

Dutch

So an author should not ask, “Is IngramSpark better than Kobo?”

Ama

Exactly.

Ama

That is like asking whether a freight terminal is better than a bookstore.

Ama

Different jobs.

Ama

# 0:29–0:33 — Lulu: The Author With Their Own Audience

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What about Lulu?

Ama

Lulu becomes particularly interesting when authors realize the most profitable reader may be the reader they brought themselves.

Ama

Lulu offers print-on-demand and global retail distribution, but it also operates its own bookstore and direct-selling tools. Lulu currently says publishing is free and creators can earn substantially more on sales made through Lulu's own store than through retail distribution. Its global distribution can also list qualifying books through Ingram and other retail channels.

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So this is useful for the author with an audience.

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A trainer.

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Speaker.

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Teacher.

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Nonprofit.

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Coach.

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Artist.

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Community organization.

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Somebody selling from their own website or sending readers directly to a purchase page.

Ama

Yes.

Ama

Because there is a profound difference between:

Ama

“I hope a retailer discovers my customer,”

Ama

and:

Ama

“I already know where my customer is.”

Ama

If you already have the audience, surrendering a large part of the sale to a discovery platform that did not actually discover the customer becomes less attractive.

Ama

This is where author businesses become interesting.

Ama

Your book stops being merely a product on a shelf.

Ama

It can become part of a workshop, event, class, membership, fellowship, speaking engagement, community project, or larger creative ecosystem.

Ama

For some nonfiction and community-focused authors, this can matter far more than winning the Amazon ranking lottery for forty-eight minutes.

Ama

# 0:33–0:37 — PublishDrive and StreetLib: The Catalog Builders and Global Thinkers

Dutch

Now we get into two names that newer American indie authors may hear less often: PublishDrive and StreetLib.

Ama

Both deserve attention, particularly for people thinking globally or managing larger catalogs.

Ama

PublishDrive uses a subscription model rather than taking a percentage of royalties under its current plans. It says authors retain the full store royalty after paying the plan fee, and it currently offers a free tier for distributing one ebook to Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo. Larger plans expand the distribution network and catalog capacity.

Dutch

That model changes the math.

Ama

Completely.

Ama

A percentage-based distributor can be wonderful when sales are modest because your costs rise only when revenue rises.

Ama

A subscription distributor becomes more attractive when your catalog and sales are large enough that paying a predictable fee is cheaper than surrendering a percentage forever.

Ama

It is the difference between renting by the hour and signing a lease.

Ama

Neither is automatically cheaper.

Ama

Volume decides.

Dutch

And StreetLib?

Ama

StreetLib is strongly oriented toward international digital distribution. Its current standard options include a $99 annual subscription or a $299 lifetime-access plan for up to 100 titles, with authors receiving 85 percent of net revenue. StreetLib is nonexclusive and distributes ebooks and audiobooks broadly across international stores and services.

Dutch

So who should care?

Ama

The multilingual author.

Ama

The internationally minded publisher.

Ama

Someone with readers across territories where Amazon may not be the cultural center of book buying.

Ama

The author building a catalog rather than gambling everything on one title.

Ama

The writer who sees publishing as a small global business.

Ama

These platforms become more interesting as the author stops thinking:

Ama

“Where do I upload my book?”

Ama

and begins thinking:

Ama

“How do I manage intellectual property across markets?”

Ama

That is a very different question.

Ama

# 0:37–0:40 — Diarmi: Not Really a Bookstore at All

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Now I want to throw in something stranger.

Dutch

Diarmi.

Ama

And here the word “alternative” needs a warning label.

Ama

Diarmi is not really a replacement for Amazon, Apple, Kobo, or Barnes & Noble.

Ama

It is trying to do something different.

Ama

Its current terms describe Diarmi as a community for publishing and collaborative fiction. Authors retain copyright, publishing is free, and the platform takes a nonexclusive license to host and promote the work. Diarmi also says at least 50 percent of eligible platform revenue is reserved for authors through its Creator Fund or successor programs.

Dutch

So the interesting part is not simply “sell an ebook.”

Ama

Correct.

Ama

The interesting part is **community, serialized reading, collaborative worlds, discovery, and shared universes**.

Ama

But authors need to understand the anthology rules carefully.

Ama

If you voluntarily submit a story into a Diarmi anthology, other contributors in that anthology receive limited rights to build on the characters, settings, and story elements within that anthology on Diarmi. You still retain ownership of your original work, but collaborative participation creates specific inter-author permissions and dependencies.

Ama

That could be fascinating for some writers.

Ama

It could be horrifying for others.

Dutch

Which is another example of why “best publishing platform” is a nonsense question.

Ama

Exactly.

Ama

If I write tightly controlled literary fiction and regard every character as sacred private intellectual property, collaborative-world licensing may make me sweat through my cardigan.

Ama

If I love shared universes, fan communities, branching narratives, experiments, serialized fiction, and readers gathering around story worlds, I may find the model genuinely interesting.

Ama

Different author.

Ama

Different answer.

Ama

# 0:40–0:44 — The Author Match Game

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All right. Rapid round.

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I give you an author.

Dutch

You give me the publishing strategy.

Ama

Proceed recklessly.

Dutch

Debut novelist. One book. Limited technical patience. Wants wide ebook availability.

Ama

Draft2Digital.

Ama

Do not build a multinational publishing bureaucracy before you have twelve readers.

Ama

Learn publishing first.

Dutch

Romance or fantasy author writing a fast series and already making meaningful sales.

Ama

Now we need to know whether Kindle Unlimited is central to the business.

Ama

If KU is working exceptionally well, Amazon exclusivity may still make economic sense.

Ama

If the author wants wide distribution, I would seriously consider going direct to the largest stores—Kobo, Apple, Google, Barnes & Noble—and using an aggregator for smaller outlets and libraries.

Ama

Now the extra control may justify the administration.

Dutch

Literary novelist or poet who cares deeply about independent bookstores and libraries.

Ama

IngramSpark becomes much more interesting for print.

Ama

Wide ebook distribution through Draft2Digital or direct platforms can supplement it.

Ama

And then the author still has to do the human work of making bookstores care.

Ama

Availability is not affection.

Dutch

Local historian, trainer, professor, consultant, or nonfiction author who speaks to groups and sells books personally.

Ama

Direct sales deserve much more attention.

Ama

Lulu can make sense for print-on-demand and direct ordering, with IngramSpark useful if bookstore, institutional, and library availability matter.

Ama

This author should think in terms of **audience ownership**, not merely retailer ranking.

Dutch

Author with thirty books.

Ama

Now calculate.

Ama

Do not choose by vibes.

Ama

Compare the percentage you are surrendering through an aggregator against subscription-based distribution through something like PublishDrive or StreetLib, or the labor cost of going direct.

Ama

At thirty books, small percentages stop being small.

Dutch

International or multilingual author.

Ama

Kobo, StreetLib, and PublishDrive deserve serious study.

Ama

Do not assume the American book market is the Earth book market.

Ama

It is not.

Dutch

Experimental fiction writer who loves shared worlds and reader community.

Ama

Look at Diarmi as an experiment alongside—not necessarily instead of—traditional ebook and print distribution.

Ama

Understand the licensing rules before joining anthologies.

Ama

Then play.

Dutch

Author whose entire marketing strategy is “upload book and wait.”

Ama

Prayer.

Ama

Possibly candles.

Ama

No distribution platform fixes absence of demand.

Ama

# 0:44–0:45 — The Real Alternative to Amazon

Dutch

So after forty-five minutes, what is the answer?

Dutch

What is the best alternative to Amazon?

Ama

There isn't one.

Ama

That is the answer authors usually dislike because it requires thought.

Ama

The better question is:

Ama

**What do you want your publishing system to do?**

Ama

Amazon excels at access to Amazon's enormous customer base, and KDP Select adds Kindle Unlimited in exchange for ebook exclusivity.

Ama

Draft2Digital sells convenience.

Ama

Kobo offers international ebook reach and library opportunities.

Ama

Apple gives you a strong direct ebook storefront with a simple royalty structure.

Ama

Google brings books into Google's search-and-reading ecosystem.

Ama

Barnes & Noble gives American authors another direct retail relationship.

Ama

IngramSpark is fundamentally about professional print and wholesale distribution.

Ama

Lulu becomes especially interesting when you bring the customer yourself.

Ama

PublishDrive and StreetLib start making more sense when catalog size, international reach, and business infrastructure matter.

Ama

And Diarmi is asking an entirely different question: what if publishing becomes community and collaborative world-building rather than simply putting another digital rectangle on another virtual shelf?

Dutch

So perhaps the real alternative to Amazon is not another company.

Ama

Exactly.

Ama

The real alternative is **not allowing one company to define what publishing means for you.**

Ama

A writer can have Amazon.

Ama

And bookstores.

Ama

And libraries.

Ama

And direct readers.

Ama

And international readers.

Ama

And community.

Ama

And events.

Ama

And audio.

Ama

And worlds that extend beyond the book itself.

Ama

The mistake is believing publishing begins and ends at the upload button.

Ama

Publishing is the architecture between the work and the people who might care about it.

Ama

Build more than one road.

Dutch

And maybe stop asking, “Where should I publish?”

Eric Marquette

“Where are my readers, and how many doors am I willing to give them?”

Eric Marquette

That is a much better publishing question.

Dutch

This has been *Lagniappe Logic*.

Ama

Where culture, creativity, technology, and occasionally suspicious accounting meet over coffee.

Dutch

Check the show notes before choosing a platform because pricing, royalties, distribution partners, and terms change.

Ama

And read the terms yourself.

Ama

Especially the boring paragraphs.

Ama

The boring paragraphs are where civilization hides the knives.

Dutch

Until next time.

Ama

Make the work. Know what you own. Know where it travels.

Ama

And make it very easy for the right reader to find the door.