If you’re self-publishing your books, formatting the finished versions and distributing them to retailers can be a complex process. Several book distribution services are available to make the process simpler, but each service works differently in terms of retailer access, royalty rates, cost structure, and more.
To help you navigate the myriad options out there, we’ve created a comprehensive guide to the most popular services for print and ebooks and a thorough breakdown of their offerings. Each platform offers different benefits, but there’s no “right” or “wrong” option — you should choose the right tool (or combination of tools) for your particular publishing goals. We hope these reviews help you make an informed decision!
Ready to compare tools? Skip ahead to the reviews, or read on for more information on why and how to use book distribution services!
How does book distribution work?
In order to offer your book to readers, you need to publish it on the retailers and platforms where they buy and download books. The major ebook retailers — Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, and Kobo — all allow self-published authors to directly upload and manage their books. Direct distribution offers a number of benefits we’ll discuss below, but another option is to use an aggregator or distribution service. These services provide a single place for you to upload your books and manage your book details, and handle all the logistics of distributing your books to each retailer and platform where readers will purchase them. Using an aggregator can make it easier to:
- Manage your metadata. Control your book’s metadata (price, description, categorization) at multiple retailers at once.
- Get access to multiple book retailers, library services, or subscription platforms. Many distributors offer easy access to dozens of smaller platforms where you can reach even more readers.
- Track your sales. Keep track of book sales across retailers in one place.
Where should you distribute your book?
In general, the more places your books are available, the more readers you have the potential to reach. While Amazon generates the majority of worldwide ebook sales, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Google Play and Kobo are popular retailers too. There are also subscription platforms like Scribd and library platforms like Overdrive that readers use to discover and read books. A book that’s available widely has a better chance of reaching more readers (and can even help with Featured Deal selection!).
On the other hand, some authors benefit from investing primarily in one platform, like distributing exclusively to Amazon to get access to readers in their Kindle Unlimited program, which we cover in more depth below. Whichever path you choose, remember that distribution doesn’t need to be a one-time choice — different distribution strategies may serve you at different points in your author career.
How much does it cost?
Self-publishing and distribution costs fall into three buckets: sign-up or set-up fees, printing fees, and distribution fees. In cases where there are no upfront fees to publish your book, you pay your distributor only when you sell a copy of your book (usually a percentage of the retail price). A print cost refers to the cost of creating a print book, while a distribution cost refers to the cut of your sales that a distribution service will take for getting your book to retailer partners. We break down the costs for each service below!
Direct Distribution to Retailers
Amazon KDP and KDP Select (ebook and print)
Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) and KDP Select are two different ways to publish your book directly to Amazon. You can make changes to your book at any time with either service, and the publishing process is fast — books appear on Amazon within 72 hours. Here’s how the two options differ:
KDP is non-exclusive, so you can sell your books on other retailers as well.
KDP Select requires the digital format of that book to be available exclusively on Amazon for the 90-day enrollment period. Before the end of the 90 days, you can choose to opt-out of re-enrollment for the next 90-day term. While enrolled in this program, you cannot distribute your book digitally anywhere else, including on your website, on blogs, etc., although you can continue to distribute your book in physical or audio format on other platforms. Though this might sound limiting, there are some benefits to this program:
- Your ebooks are automatically available in Kindle Unlimited (KU), which reaches millions of subscribers
- KDP Select also offers promotional tools like Kindle Countdown Deals, which let you run limited-time discounts for ebooks on Amazon at higher royalty rates, and the option to offer your book for free for up to five days out of each 90-day KDP Select enrollment period.
- There are no additional costs to be enrolled in KDP Select
Best for: KDP Select is best for authors who want to make their books available to KU readers and reap the maximum benefits of Amazon’s book discovery algorithms. KDP is best for authors who want to work directly with Amazon but don’t want to distribute exclusively to Amazon.
Cost: Free to publish, and Amazon takes a cut of your earnings as a distribution fee. It offers two ebook royalty rates for books published via KDP:
- Author keeps 70 percent of the list price for books priced between $2.99 and $9.99 in certain regions, including the US, UK, and Canada.
- Author keeps 35 percent of the list price for books priced between $0.99 and $2.98 or over $9.99 in the US. The royalty rate varies by region. You can learn more about ebook royalties here.
Books enrolled in Kindle Unlimited via KDP Select also earn royalties based on the number of pages read by readers in the program. Learn more about Kindle Unlimited payments here.
Payment schedule: Monthly, approximately 60 days after the end of the calendar month in which the sales occur. More details here.
Distributes to: Amazon only.
Formats accepted: .doc (Word), .epub, MOBI, and Kindle Package Format (KPF).
Formatting services: Format yourself, and KDP will convert your book to Kindle format. More details here.
Print available: Yes. KDP offers print-on-demand (POD) services for hardcover or paperback and subtracts the printing costs from your royalties.
ISBN: Included for free or use your own. More details here.
Preorder distribution available: Yes. Your book can be made available for preorder up to one year in advance of your release. More details here.
Ebook pricing changes: You can change your price at any time, and it can take 1–3 days for this change to appear on the Amazon website. More details here.
Reporting: Real-time reporting lets you track orders as they’re placed and track royalties as payments are processed. You’ll also see a graph providing daily order totals to help you discern sales trends for your books. More details here.
Customer service: You can email KDP support via this online form, but you may find answers to most questions in its comprehensive Knowledge Center.
Other great features: KDP’s A+ Content feature enables you to showcase engaging graphics on your book’s sales page, and you can use Kindle Instant Book Preview to share a preview of your book on your website or via email.
Apple Books
Authors can distribute directly to Apple Books, Apple’s global reading, listening, and bookstore app, by creating an iTunes Connect account. Going direct with Apple Books offers competitive royalty rates, complete control over your ebook prices, and exclusive promotional tools. Distribution via Apple Books is non-exclusive, so you can distribute directly to Apple and use other distributors for other platforms.
Best for: Authors interested in growing a global audience and directly managing their relationships with retailers.
Cost: Free to publish, and Apple takes a 30% royalty cut on all ebook sales, regardless of book price.
Payment schedule: Payments are made at the end of the month, and will be delivered within 45 days.
Distributes to: Apple Books only.
Formats accepted: .epub
Formatting services: Format yourself, use the Apple Pages app to easily convert documents to .epub files, or partner with another service to format your book for Apple Books. Apple provides a list of preferred formatting partners.
Print available: Print is not available through Apple Books.
ISBN: Provide your own ISBN, if desired.
Preorder distribution available: Yes. Learn more about setting up preorders on Apple Books here.
Ebook pricing changes: Apple does not price-match, so you have total control of your ebook price. You can update your book price across regions at any time. Apple Books also offers the ability to set up price changes for specific dates in advance, including promotional prices. More details here.
Reporting: Sales reports update daily to provide you with next-day data. You can customize your reporting graphs or download spreadsheets of reports.
Customer service: Apple provides a comprehensive support page for creating, publishing, and managing your books and metadata, as well as a contact form.
Other great features: Apple Books offers promo codes that allow you to share free copies of your book with bloggers or reviewers, and authors who go direct are eligible to be selected for featured placements in the store. Apple also offers an affiliate program to earn extra revenue from each Apple Books sale.
Barnes & Noble Press
Direct distribution to Barnes & Noble gives you access to exclusive promotional opportunities on BN.com, including coupon codes and featured placements in email newsletters or on-site themed collections. B&N Press is non-exclusive.
Best for: Authors who want to grow their audience at B&N (US only) and directly manage their relationships with retailers.
Cost: Free to publish, and B&N takes a 30 percent royalty cut on all ebook sales, regardless of book price.
Payment schedule: You’ll receive royalties each month if you’ve earned $10 or more. If your earnings are less than that, you’ll be paid bi-annually, no matter the amount. More details here.
Distributes to: BN.com, where US readers can purchase ebooks or print books. Some authors may also be eligible for distribution to B&N bookstores. More details here.
Formats accepted: .doc, .epub, HTML, .txt, and PDF
Formatting services: Format yourself, and B&N Press will help ensure your files are ready for upload. New books will be published within 72 hours.
Print available: Yes. B&N Press offers POD services for both hardcover and paperback editions.
ISBN: Provided by B&N Press for free for print books, or provide your own for ebooks or print. More details here.
Preorder distribution available: Yes. Ebooks can be up for preorder up to 12 months in advance of publication and print books can be available for 6 months. More details here.
Ebook pricing changes: Sale prices may take 72 hours to go live on BN.com
Reporting: B&N Press offers sales reports by week, month, or year, as well as custom date range filters and a “Recent Sales” view that displays sales from the last two days. All sales reports can be exported to Excel spreadsheets.
Customer service: B&N Press has a support center with answers to common questions as well as a contact form to get in touch with their team.
Other great features: B&N Press has partnered with other self-publishing services to provide authors support through every stage of their publishing journey. They also have a blog with self-publishing tips and tricks, including tips for making the most of their platform.
Google Play Books
Google Play is available in over 75 countries, and going direct with Google can maximize your access to that global audience. Direct distribution to Google Play Books also gives you access to unique promotional opportunities, discoverability, and reporting.
Best for: Authors interested in growing a global audience and directly managing their relationships with retailers.
Cost: Free to publish, and Google takes a 30 percent royalty cut on all ebook sales in most regions, regardless of book price. More details here.
Payment schedule: Depends on your region. Learn more about payments from Google here.
Distributes to: Google Play only
Formats accepted: .epub and PDF
Formatting services: Format yourself. Find guidelines here.
Print available: Print is not available through Google Play Books.
ISBN: Provide your own ISBN, if desired.
Preorder distribution available: Yes. You can set up preorders up to one year in advance of the on-sale date. More details here.
Ebook pricing changes: You can change prices for a single ebook at any time or update the prices of multiple books at once. Google offers the ability to set promotional pricing for particular dates in advance. More details here.
Reporting: Sales are reported 1–2 days after the transaction, and earnings reports are available 5 days after the end of each month.
Customer service: Google Play Books has a help center for partners and a contact form to get in touch with their team.
Other great features: Google offers promo codes in select countries to give away free copies of your ebooks as well as an affiliate program offering a 7 percent commission on eligible purchases. Going direct can also increase the discoverability of your books via their Google Books Preview Program.
Kobo Writing Life
Kobo Writing Life is a platform for authors to publish their books directly to the Kobo store. Direct distribution through Kobo allows you to more easily make changes and updates to your book and gives you access to their unique promotional opportunities.
Best for: Authors interested in growing a global audience and directly managing their relationships with retailers.
Cost: Kobo charges no fees to list your book on their website and takes a 30 percent cut on all ebooks priced above $2.99 USD. You can see a more exact breakdown of the royalties it takes here.
Payment schedule: Authors are paid 45 days after the end of each month, as long as they meet the minimum threshold of CAD $50.00. More details here.
Distributes to: Kobo and its partner stores.
Formats accepted: .doc, .epub, and MOBI
Formatting services: Kobo Writing Life will convert your .doc manuscript to .epub for free, and they have this guide for ensuring that the conversion process goes as smoothly as possible.
Print available: Print is not available through Kobo Writing Life.
ISBN: Kobo Writing Life offers discounted ISBNs to US-based authors. More information here.
Preorder distribution available: Yes, Kobo Writing Life supports preorder sales.
Ebook pricing changes: Yes, you can make changes to your book’s price, and they will be reflected on the Kobo website in 24–72 hours.
Reporting: A sales report is available monthly in each author’s dashboard. This guide outlines the information that will be available in each sales report.
Customer service: The Kobo Writing Life helpdesk has plenty of information to help you use their site and a contact form to get in touch with their team. They also have a series of how-to YouTube videos to walk you through different aspects of using Kobo Writing Life.
Other great features: Authors can submit for merchandising placements and other promotional opportunities in the Kobo store for new releases and discounted books. Kobo Writing Life also produces a podcast where they share some excellent advice about the self-publishing process. Additionally, Kobo offers a subscription program for readers, Kobo Plus, which is currently available in select countries. Enrollment is Kobo Plus is available to Kobo Writing Life authors and is non-exclusive, so enrolled titles can continue to be sold on other retailers.
Aggregators & Distribution Services
Draft2Digital + Smashwords (ebook and print)
You may have heard that these two popular ebook aggregators are currently in the process of joining forces! Draft2Digital acquired Smashwords in 2022, and they’ve been working behind the scenes to integrate their tools and services.
Draft2Digital says this integration could take many months. For now, you can choose to sign up for one service or the other, as each company still offers unique features. Smashwords stands out for paying high royalty rates on books sold directly to readers through the Smashwords store and offering exciting merchandising options like a coupon generator. However, at this time, you can’t sell your books on Amazon via Smashwords, and Smashwords also requires you to format your book yourself. Draft2Digital has a smaller distribution network, but lets you distribute your book to Amazon, formats your book for you, and offers print through a new POD service (currently in beta) called D2D Print.
Eventually, the benefits of both of these tools will sit under the Draft2Digital name. See this update for more on exactly how these two services are coming together. (Note: since the time of writing, the merger integration has moved into phase two, and Draft2Digital authors can now sell in the Smashwords store.)
Smashwords
Best for: Authors who want to publish to the Smashwords store in addition to other platforms.
Cost: Free to publish, and Smashwords takes 15 percent royalties on sales through the Smashwords store and 40 percent royalties on sales through its distribution network.
Payment schedule: Monthly (prior to 2017, it was quarterly). More details here.
Distributes to: Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Kobo, Overdrive, Scribd, Tolino, and more.
Formats accepted: .doc and .epub. More details here.
Formatting services: Format yourself, then upload it for automatic conversion. There’s a comprehensive Smashwords Style Guide to help. Custom formatting services are not available, but you can pay someone to format it for you, which costs $30–$60.
Print available: Print is not available through Smashwords.
ISBN: Included for free or provide your own, if desired.
Preorder distribution available: Yes. List your book for sale weeks or months in advance. More details here.
Ebook pricing changes: You can change your price at any time fairly quickly. It can take anywhere from one to three business days for price updates to reflect at retailers.
Reporting: Daily sales reporting from Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, OverDrive, and the Smashwords store.
Customer service: Smashwords has a comprehensive FAQ page and list of resources on the contact page.
Other great features: Smashwords offers a few unique marketing and merchandising tools and resources, including a coupon generator to create custom discount codes for your readers and the Smashwords Erotica Certification System to help authors who write erotic content ensure that their books meet the policies of their retailers.
Draft2Digital
Best for: Authors who want to use a single distribution platform to publish to all major ebook retailers.
Cost: Free to publish, and Draft2Digital takes 10% royalties on the retail price of each book sold. More details here.
Payment schedule: Monthly. More details here.
Distributes to: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Kobo, Overdrive, Scribd, Tolino, and more.
Formats accepted: .doc, .epub, Rich Text Format (RTF), and .txt.
Formatting services: Conversion to .epub, MOBI, PDF, and paperback included. Unlike Smashwords, Draft2Digital doesn’t have a single style guide or require you to format yourself, but here are more details on how to ensure a smooth file conversion.
Print available: Yes. Draft2Digital has a POD service, though it is still in beta at the time of this writing.
ISBN: Included for free or provide your own, if desired.
Preorder distribution available: Yes. You can list your book for sale up to a year in advance.
Ebook pricing changes: You can change your price at any time, though the time it will take for that change to reflect at each retailer varies.
Reporting: Daily sales reporting. Reports update as soon as they’re available in dynamic, easy-to-read charts.
Customer service: If your questions aren’t answered by Draft2Digital’s FAQ or Knowledge Base, you can use this contact page to reach the team.
Other great features: Draft2Digital provides a list of recommended resources for services outside its scope and a Universal Book Links (UBLs) service that allows you to create a single book link for all readers to buy your book wherever they like to shop. They also help authors with arranging promotions or securing merchandising opportunities on retail sites.
PublishDrive (ebook and print)
PublishDrive is an all-in-one self-publishing platform that enables authors to take their books worldwide, including in hard-to-reach markets like China. They place a heavy emphasis on simplifying the book distribution process and emphasize a global audience. PublishDrive does not take royalties from authors; instead, they use a tiered subscription model that charges a monthly or annual fee.
Best for: Established authors looking to reach an international audience.
Cost: PublishDrive offers monthly or yearly plans, which start at $16.99 per month. These plans change in price depending on the number of books and formats you need to publish. You can read more about the benefits of each payment plan here.
Payment schedule: PublishDrive pays out an author’s earnings monthly. Since it has an expansive distribution network, PublishDrive has shared the details of its payment schedule by retailer here.
Distributes to: Amazon (KDP and KDP Select Publishing), Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, Kobo, Overdrive, Scribd, and more.
Formats accepted: .doc, .epub, and MOBI.
Formatting services: The PublishDrive subscription includes access to their Ebook Converter. You can find more information about how to format your manuscript for ebook conversion here.
Print available: Yes. You can read more about PublishDrive’s POD business here.
ISBN: While PublishDrive does not provide ISBNs, they have their own PUI identifiers that are recognized by stores worldwide for audio and ebook editions.
Preorder distribution available: Yes. PublishDrive allows you to upload your book for preorder in both print and ebook.
Ebook pricing changes: PublishDrive lets you set up promotional pricing across retailers for any of your books. More details here.
Reporting: PublishDrive reports sales from most retailers within 2–3 days. More details here.
Customer service: PublishDrive’s Help Center has plenty of quick answers for frequently asked questions. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, you can contact them here.
Other great features: The PublishDrive Blog has a variety of resources to support authors on the self-publishing journey. It also offers a number of promotional opportunities on retailers, all of which can be arranged and tracked directly from your PublishDrive account.
IngramSpark (ebook and print)
IngramSpark is an easy-to-use POD platform and online publishing tool that provides access to Ingram’s global distribution network for print and ebook content. It’s a one-stop shop for print and ebook distribution but has upfront costs and fees in addition to royalties. IngramSpark is amongst the original players in the POD game and continues to be known for creating quality print editions.
Best for: Authors who want to prioritize selling in print or to the widest network of brick-and-mortar stores.
Cost: Free to create an account, then a one-time setup fee per title ($25—$50) plus printing and shipping costs that vary based on format. IngramSpark’s royalties aren’t explicitly listed on the site, so you’ll need to use its royalty calculator to factor Ingram’s share into the cost of distribution.
Payment schedule: You get paid for sales approximately 90 days after the end of the month in which the sale was made.
Distributes to: A massive list of ebook and print distribution partners, including international retailers.
Formats accepted: PDF for print, .epub for ebooks, and a JPG for the ebook cover image.
Formatting services: Conversion from PDF to .epub available for 60 cents per page. Page count is based on the source PDF. For example, a 100-page book = 100 x .60 = $60 conversion fee.
Print available: Yes. IngramSpark is one of the most reliable POD services and is known for producing good-quality, professional-looking books.
ISBN: IngramSpark used to require you to use your own, but now offers free ISBNs. More details here on the differences between using a free IngramSpark ISBN and purchasing your own.
Preorder distribution available: Yes.
Ebook pricing changes: You can update your price weekly.
Reporting: IngramSpark provides a monthly Sales Report via email, including the book title, ISBN, Quantity Shipped, Wholesale Price of books sold, Cost of Printing, Returns, and Net Compensation per title.
Customer service: You can email support from the help section of your account dashboard. If you don’t have an account, use this form. IngramSpark also has a comprehensive knowledge base.
Other great features: For print books, IngramSpark offers a wide variety of customization options. They also offer online courses to learn the basics of self-publishing.
BookBaby (ebook and print)
BookBaby is a self-publishing, book printing, and distribution tool that offers a range of services from line editing to book marketing. Unlike other distributors, BookBaby does not take royalties; instead, it charges an upfront fee for its services, which you select a la carte for each project. If you’re confident in your ability to sell thousands of copies or hundreds at a higher price point, BookBaby doesn’t take a cut of book sales, so this pricing model could be better for you. It also offers POD and worldwide distribution.
Best for: Authors who want to easily edit, design, and distribute books in one place, and feel confident that they’ll be able to recoup the high setup costs.
Cost: BookBaby charges upfront fees based on your book’s genre, format, and page count. Prices vary but start around $300. The upside of paying upfront is that for any ebook sale made on a retailer in BookBaby’s distribution network, you keep 100 percent of your earnings from that retailer. For any eBook sale made through BookBaby’s own digital bookstore, BookShop, BookBaby keeps 15 percent of the sale.
Payment schedule: When you sign up for BookBaby, you set a pay point in your account. This can be as low as $10. Once your sales have reached the pay point, BookBaby will automatically issue you payment the following Monday. Since different retailer partners report sales and send payments on different schedules, exactly when you get your royalties can vary.
Distributes to: Amazon (KDP and KDP Select Publishing), Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Overdrive, Scribd, and more.
Formats accepted: .doc, .epub, and PDF.
Formatting services: Professional ebook formatting starts at $299 and varies based on your exact needs, like whether you need text formatting, cover design, or an ISBN.
Print available: Yes. POD starts at $149 if you’re distributing to only the BookBaby store and $399 if you’d like to add other stores. More details here.
ISBN: Costs $49 to get one through BookBaby, but you can also provide your own if you desire.
Preorder distribution available: Yes.
Ebook pricing changes: You can make changes from your BookBaby account anytime. Changes will become active on retailer sites in 10-14 days.
Reporting: BookBaby reports sales approximately 90 days after the end of a month for book sales made during that month. They note that this number varies depending on how quickly retailers report their sales to BookBaby. The Accounting Dashboard makes it easy to manipulate your data in different ways.
Customer service: BookBaby offers email and phone support as well as online help resources including FAQs, tutorials, and a contact form.
Other great features: BookBaby moves fast! It’s known for offering quick turnaround times for book editing and formatting services, as well as an easy-to-use interface when you want to DIY. They also offer advertising services on Facebook, LinkedIn, and other reader-facing platforms.
Lulu (ebook and print)
Though Lulu does have ebook distribution services, they’re more widely known for their sustainable POD service. Lulu, like some of the other distributors on this list, provides authors the option to sell through the Lulu store and a network of global distribution partners. The Lulu Direct program also allows authors to sell books to their readers via their own websites.
Best for: Eco-friendly authors interested in flexible printing options.
Cost: You can estimate what it costs to print with Lulu by using their pricing calculator. To give you a sense of where the pricing will start, a 300 page trade paperback will cost about $8.71 per book.
Payment schedule: Lulu pays out an author’s earnings monthly. You can find a more detailed explanation of their schedule here.
Distributes to: Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, Ingram, Kobo, Scribd, and more.
Formats accepted: .epub and PDF
Formatting services: While Lulu doesn’t offer live, in-house formatting help, they do have several guides and templates for authors creating print books and ebooks. They also have a partner directory to connect you to the resources you might need.
Print available: Yes. Lulu offers authors the tools to create plenty of different styles of print books.
ISBN: Lulu provides authors with a free ISBN if their book meets certain requirements. For more information on their specific ISBN policies, check out their FAQ page.
Preorder distribution available: Lulu discourages using their site for preorder distribution at this time.
Ebook pricing changes: Lulu allows you to set up promotional pricing on your books, but it recommends setting up those prices months in advance, which may not make it the best option for authors planning to run frequent ebook discounts. More details here.
Reporting: Authors can track their sales in the My Projects page in their account. Authors are provided with both the date the sale was made and the date the sale was reported to Lulu. Authors are also able to download a CSV report of previous sales.
Customer service: Lulu’s Knowledge Base has both articles and videos to answer commonly asked questions. If you need additional information, you can contact Lulu’s support team here.
Other great features: Lulu’s YouTube series, Lulu University, provides authors with lots of information about the self-publishing world. Their author toolkit has information about all the different tools and services an author might need during their self-publishing journey.
Blurb (print only)
Blurb is a self-publishing platform focused exclusively on designing, printing, and publishing print copies of your book. You can use Blurb’s free design tools, including customizable templates to help you get started, to create a variety of print formats like trade books, magazines, or photo books. The platform is accessible no matter your level of design experience, but if you use InDesign, you can download Blurb’s InDesign plugin to create blank templates in Blurb’s required size and format.
Best for: Authors who want to publish image-heavy or design-focused printed works with full control over formatting.
Cost: It’s free to start a project, and you pay to publish your book per number of pages. Prices start at $2.99 for 24 pages plus $0.02 per additional page for a trade book (use Blurb’s pricing calculator to estimate the total). Blurb partners with Ingram for distribution, so costs per sale are based on the distribution fees of Ingram and the retailers you’re distributing to. Blurb charges no additional royalty fees for sale via Ingrams.
Payment schedule: You get paid up to four months after selling a book through an Ingram retail partner via Blurb. More details here.
Distributes to: Ingram’s worldwide distribution network, Kickstarter, and Blurb’s own bookstore. Blurb is the only distribution platform to partner with Kickstarter.
Formats accepted: To use Blurb’s in-house design tool, BookWright, you’ll need to have the text of your book as an RTF file. Alternatively, you can upload a completed PDF of your book to the site.
Formatting services: Blurb has a team of cover designers, layout designers, illustrators, and other experts who you can hire to help out with specific aspects of the formatting process. More details here.
Ebook available: Blurb is primarily a print distributor, and does not offer ebook services.
ISBN: Included for free if you make your book using Blurb’s in-house tools. More details here.
Preorder distribution available: No.
Pricing changes: You can update your book’s price at any time from your Blurb Dashboard. More details here.
Reporting: Blurb has two different ways for you to track your sales. You can view your sales for the last 45 or 90 days in your account on your Sales Overview page, or you can look at your monthly profit reports. More details here.
Customer service: Blurb has a comprehensive knowledge base and allows you to submit a request with specific questions.
Other great features: As well as BookWright and the InDesign plugin, Blurb’s design tools include integration with Adobe Lightroom, for turning photo galleries into books, and an Adobe Photoshop Wall Art plugin for turning photoshop files into wall art.
Which combination of distribution tools do you use? We’d love to hear about your experience in the comments below!
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This post was originally published on August 11, 2015 and has been updated with new tools and features.
