I am a fan of trying new things. Sometimes, I'm a little scared though. If you're like me, it may take a nudge to get you to try something like me. Hopefully, it doesn't have to be the same nudge I had.
I've published through Amazon for years, had all of my books through Kindle Unlimited where people could read my books without buying the whole book. I did like that feature, but I have to be honest with myself--there wasn't much money in it for me. You could be different--if you're getting sales from it, please by all means, stick with it.
Amazon has benefits as well as downsides of publishing through them. They are free. They handle the process and pay you after each sale (90 days later, toward the end of the month). They also have ACX which is an awesome place to get your books narrated. So far, for me, ACX is the best place to have audiobooks done (I can talk about them at a later time).
Amazon allows shorter books like children's picture books that are 10-20 pages long. You can also create journals with them. You can choose to have one of their covers on your book or have one made for you (this is an area where you have to take care of). Of course, you can make your own with or without their templates (need page number, size, and format). If you've published through Amazon, these things may be something you already know.
I am new to Draft2Digital, and I already like them. Why?
They will reach out to other places like Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Apple, and more. You get to choose which stores to sell your books. You can set your ebook for free if you want to. That's handy if you have a permanent free ebook like I do. They format the book for you and even include fancy details on your pages (you choose the look you want and if you want the chapters to begin on the right side). If your spine and backmatter are plain, you only need the front cover, which makes it easier when designing the cover. Draft2Digital also has a segment you can fill out for "about the author" and "other books by author" so you can include that in the beginning or end of your book, which is updated when you publish each book. That saves time. You can have ebook AND paperback set for pre-order for up to a year ahead. Of course, once you publish, you can't make changes. My best advice is not to publish until you're ready, even for pre-orders. And you can have one link for all of them.
The downside for Amazon is you can't go wide unless you're using your own ISBN number. If you register for Kindle Unlimited, you can't put your ebook anywhere else. You can't mark for your ebook for free, the lowest price they have is .99 unless you're doing a special discount for up to five days.
The downside for Draft2Digital is, paperback page count is at a minimum for 63 pages, which means you can't do those children's picture books with them. Ebooks have no limitation on page count. I think. You can't use colored pictures in paperback, but can for ebook. They don't allow journals or other similar type books. You can make changes every 90 days after the book is published, but you have to wait for that window, so if you catch a mistake in the story, you have to wait unless you want to pay a 25$ fee for paperbacks. Ebooks can be changed at any time and as often as you want. You have to upload your own cover. They do not provide generic covers like Amazon does, but they can point you in the right direction to have covers made by artists unless you want to create your cover.
So, there you have it. Who is better? It depends on what you want to get out of the company. As I said, I published through Amazon for years. I didn't market like I should have so sales were low. Within a couple of days with D2D, going with the same amount of marketing, I've already hit a few sales. Of course, I'm still keeping track so that could change for the better or worse. Who knows? But at least, my chances are better because it's in more places to be seen more. For me, D2D is better. Will it be better for you?
Did I leave any pros and cons out for either? Share below. Tell me your experience with Amazon or Draft2Digital. Thank you!!
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