The retailers
The major places writers earn from. Each one has its own quirks around pricing, royalties, and exclusivity. Most self-published writers end up on most of these via a mix of direct uploads and an aggregator.
Amazon Kindle (KDP)
- Reach
- The biggest. Vast majority of US ebook sales pass through here.
- Royalty
- 35% on prices outside $2.99 to $9.99, 70% inside it (with US/UK/most-of-Europe delivery-fee deduction). KU pages-read program pays separately.
- Notes
- Anyone can sign up for KDP directly at kdp.amazon.com, create a free account, and publish straight to Kindle. KDP via Draft2Digital is invite-only — that's just D2D's quality filter so the Kindle store doesn't fill up with slop. It does NOT mean you can't be on Kindle. The recommended pattern: sign up for KDP directly for Kindle, AND use D2D for everywhere else. Best of both.
Apple Books
- Reach
- Strong on iPhone and iPad. Reaches 50+ countries.
- Royalty
- 70% on every priced book.
- Notes
- Easier price control across countries than most retailers. Apple is famously strict about ending prices in .99 — they round if you don't.
Barnes & Noble Press
- Reach
- US-focused. Direct ebook + print on demand.
- Royalty
- 70% on $2.99 to $9.99, 40% outside that range.
- Notes
- Distributes to Nook devices and the Nook app. Smaller than Amazon but worth being on if you write US-market fiction.
Kobo
- Reach
- Big in Canada, Australia, the UK, Europe, and Japan.
- Royalty
- 70% on most prices.
- Notes
- Has a Kindle-Unlimited-style subscription called Kobo Plus. Kobo Writing Life (KWL) is the direct upload tool. Reachable through aggregators too.
Google Play Books
- Reach
- Android phones, Chromebooks, anywhere with the Google Books app.
- Royalty
- 70% on most prices.
- Notes
- Direct uploads only — most aggregators don't go here. Worth signing up directly if you have time.
Smashwords (now part of Draft2Digital)
- Reach
- Direct retailer + the original aggregator. Heavy reader audience among indie-fiction fans.
- Royalty
- 60% via Smashwords; varies for the partner stores Smashwords distributes to.
- Notes
- Smashwords merged with Draft2Digital, so most writers reach Smashwords through D2D now.
Public libraries (OverDrive, cloudLibrary, Hoopla, BorrowBox)
- Reach
- Reached through aggregators like D2D. Pays per check-out or per copy.
- Royalty
- Variable — the library pays a license, the aggregator pays you a share.
- Notes
- Library readers are a different audience. They check books out for free; the library bought the license. Reach + reviews matter more than per-sale revenue.
Bookshop.org
- Reach
- Indie-bookstore-friendly online retailer.
- Royalty
- Reached through D2D for ebooks. Direct partnerships for print.
- Notes
- Smaller than the giants but loyal audience that wants to support indie bookstores.
Direct from your own site
- Reach
- Limited to your own audience (newsletter, social, fans).
- Royalty
- 80%+ via tools like Payhip, Gumroad, or Shopify with a digital-product plugin.
- Notes
- The highest-margin sale you can make. But it requires audience-building. Most writers do this on top of the retailers, not instead of.