Worldwide Book Distribution
Worldwide Book Distribution for Self-Published Authors
Distribution decides where readers can buy your book: Amazon only, or also bookstores, libraries and other ebook stores around the world. We explain what each channel really does and set up the combination that fits your book.
- Channels chosen for your book, not by default
- Listings checked once they go live
- Delivered by an in-house team, never subcontracted
- No lock-in on standard services
The problem
Distribution is a set of choices, and some of them conflict
Many authors assume distribution is a single switch: turn it on and the book is everywhere. In practice it is several decisions. Which platform prints your paperback? Should the ebook be exclusive to Kindle or sold on every store? Do you want bookstores and libraries to be able to order it? Some of these choices rule out others, and some are hard to change later.
Getting them wrong does not stop the book being published. It just means it is missing from places your readers buy, or set up in a way that makes it unattractive for bookstores to order.
The channels
How self-published books reach readers
Amazon
Amazon KDP prints paperbacks and hardcovers on demand and sells them, along with Kindle ebooks, across Amazon's marketplaces. For most self-published authors this is the largest single channel.
Bookstores and libraries
A wholesale distributor such as IngramSpark lists your print book in a global network that, by its own figures, includes over 40,000 retailers and libraries, so they can order it.
KDP Expanded Distribution
An option for KDP paperbacks that offers the book to bookstores, libraries and academic institutions through distributors. It does not apply to KDP hardcovers.
Ebook stores
Beyond Kindle, ebooks can be sold through Apple Books, Kobo, Google Play Books and others, directly or through an aggregator that reaches several stores at once.
Not sure which option fits?
Send us the brief. You will get a scope, a timeline and a fixed price within 24 hours — no obligation.
The key ebook decision
Kindle exclusive or wide?
If you enrol an ebook in KDP Select, it must be exclusive to Amazon for the enrolment period: you cannot sell that ebook on other stores at the same time. In return it is included in Kindle Unlimited and becomes eligible for Amazon's promotional tools. Going "wide" means selling on every store instead.
Neither is right for every book. Genres with heavy Kindle Unlimited readership, such as many romance and thriller sub-genres, often do well exclusive. Authors with readers on Apple, Kobo or library platforms, or outside Amazon's strongest markets, may do better wide. We look at your genre and readers before recommending one.
- A distribution plan: which channels, in which formats, and why
- Print-ready and ebook files prepared to each platform's specifications
- Title records with consistent metadata: title, author, description, categories and keywords
- Pricing for each format and marketplace that covers printing costs
- Advice on ISBNs, so the same edition can go to more than one channel where needed
- A check of each live listing once it appears
Honest limits
Listed is not the same as stocked
Distribution makes your book available to order. It does not put it on a bookstore shelf. Stores and libraries decide what to stock, and with print-on-demand titles they usually order copies when a customer asks rather than holding stock. Amazon itself notes that Expanded Distribution does not guarantee any bookseller or library will order a book.
Bookstores also weigh the wholesale discount and whether unsold copies can be returned. If physical retail matters to you, we explain those settings and their effect on your royalty before you choose them.
Free proposal
Tell us the goal. We’ll send the plan.
Share your requirements and a strategist gets back to you within 24 hours with scope, timeline and a fixed price. No obligation, no sales pressure.
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Response within 24 hours
Usually much sooner during business hours.
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Talk to a strategist
Not a call centre — the person who scopes your work.
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Fixed pricing upfront
You approve the number before anything starts.
Prefer to talk?
[email protected]Questions
Questions about book distribution
Still unsure about something? Talk to a specialist — no script, no sales pitch.
Your book can be listed on Amazon marketplaces around the world and, through a wholesale distributor, made available to order by retailers and libraries in many countries. Ebooks can reach readers wherever the stores operate. Exactly where depends on the channels you choose, which we plan with you.
Many self-published authors use both: KDP for Amazon, and IngramSpark for bookstores and libraries. Using both usually works best with your own ISBN, and it takes some care so the two set-ups do not conflict. We look at your goals and recommend the simplest arrangement that reaches your readers.
We can make it available for bookstores to order and set the trade terms they look for. We cannot make a store stock it; that is the store's decision. Local stores are often most receptive when the author has a local connection or an event, which we can help you plan.
An option for paperbacks published on KDP that offers the book to bookstores, libraries and academic institutions through distributors. It is free to enrol but pays a lower royalty than Amazon sales, does not apply to hardcovers, and does not guarantee orders. Some authors use IngramSpark for these channels instead.
They can, through library distribution platforms, if your ebook is distributed wide rather than exclusively through KDP Select. Library lending is one reason some authors choose not to go exclusive. We explain the options as part of the plan. Print editions can also reach libraries through wholesale distribution.
We recommend setting up each platform account in your name, so each channel pays royalties directly to you. Ask us to confirm the account arrangements for your project in writing before set-up begins. We can guide you through creating each account, so you understand where your sales and payments are reported.
Works well with
Pair it with the rest of the stack
Ready when you are
Ready to work with the pros?
Get a free proposal in 24 hours — scope, timeline and fixed price. No obligation, no lock-in contract.
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