Breaking Up with D2D?

After almost 6 years, I’m ending a relationship. It started during COVID when the world shut down, and it lasted even after the world moved on.

Now it’s time for me to also move on from D2D, aka Draft2Digital.

For years, all three of my books: Before the Legend, Roman Identity, and How to Self-Publish Without Going Broke have been available for multiple retailers such as Apple, B&N, Kobo, and more. This was made possible through Draft2Digital (D2D). This third-party hosting platform managed my book titles across multiple retailers, saving me time that would otherwise have been spent manually listing my book with the 14 online retailers I use.

So what changed?

This year, the platform is now charging a $12 maintenance fee. The only time that the fee is waived is if the author makes $100 or more in sales. Sounds easy, right? Not quite. What most people don’t know is that the majority of retailers will pay the author only 60-70% of the retail price. For example, let’s say a retailer takes a 40% cut of your sale price, and D2D takes another 10%, that means you’re only getting paid out 50% in royalties, slicing your earning potential in half. To make matters even worse, the little royalties you’re making go directly towards the annual maintenance fee! Failure to pay the annual payment fee by July 12th will result in your books being delisted from retailers!

As an indie writer, I’m fortunate to even get a sale or two on a good day. Most of my sales come through Amazon, not so much the other retail channels, although I have gotten a trickle of sales (after promotional sales). While I enjoy publishing widely to a variety of retailers, hosting my books with D2D is no longer a viable option at this time. So starting July 7th, I will delist all of my books from all retailers except for Amazon. This process may not take effect right away, but I wanted to give all my readers a fair warning before the books are pulled.

What does this mean for readers?

What does that mean for international customers?

A: You will still have access to the eBook and paperback versions of my books on Amazon, including those that live outside the U.S.

Will the eBook of Before the Legend be free?

A: Yes. If you’ve signed up to my newsletter, you automatically received a free copy (check your inbox if you haven’t). For Amazon shoppers, the eBook of Before the Legend will be listed as .99 cents, but those who have Kindle Unlimited can download it for free.

Any plans to sell your book outside Amazon?

A: Short answer is yes. The plan is to eventually branch out to other retailers, but not through D2D. As for selling directly from my site, I’m still weighing my options as to what makes the most sense, especially for customers living outside the continental U.S., and shipping costs.

Last chance to download from your favorite retailers!