
Ask HN: Alternatives to Kindle Publishing - ystad
I am looking to self publish an e-book. It&#x27;s a fiction book. I dislike Amazon&#x27;s fee structure for Kindle publishing. I wonder if there are any good alternatives.
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WorldMaker
I've heard Lulu ([https://lulu.com](https://lulu.com)) mentioned the most as a
direct competitor of sorts to Amazon's KDP (with a much wider reach than just
KDP) if you still want something of a "real retail" type reach.

Also, I've seen a surprising number of DRM free novels turn to itch.io if you
are looking for a "non-traditional" approach, but someone to handle a lot of
the "storefront basics" for you. This seems to be an extension of itch.io
becoming a major hub for indie TTRPGs, because a indie designer can just throw
a simple PDF (and maybe a DOCX or an EPUB) on itch.io as opposed to the effort
that DriveThruRPG/RPGNow want in PDF formatting. Then a few TTRPG related
novels started using the platform, and like I've said I've seen a surprising
set of novels that aren't even directly game related at this point. itch.io's
flexibility in what they will publish/host is an interesting strength (though
makes it a bit more caveat emptor than a traditional retailer from a consumer
side searching for interesting books).

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rikroots
The following is the eBook publishing pipework I use.

1\. Smashwords[1]. They've been around for a long while now, and the
publishing system isn't as snazzy as KDP. You input a Word file (.doc, not
.docx) and - assuming their "meatgrinder" accepts your document's
formatting[2] - the site outputs epub, mobi, pdf, rtf and various other minor
format versions. The book then gets published on the Smashwords site.

2\. More importantly, Smashwords has a number of partnerships in place - key
ones being Apple Books, Kobo, and Barnes & Noble. This ability to ship
directly into Apple Books is the MAJOR reason why I continue to use Smashwords
as that's where the majority of my 'sales'[3] happen.

3\. You can then download the epub and mobi files and upload them to the other
two mainstream channels as followup actions: KDP for all Amazon/Kindle
distribution; and Google Play Books for the all-important distribution across
Android devices.

4\. For the cherry on top, I sometimes also offer books in hardcopy. KDP has
(I think) processes in place to convert an eBook into a hardcopy book. But
mostly I use Lulu[4] because they've been around for a long time, I like their
publishing flow, and <insert-vitriolic-anti-kdp-rant-here />!

[1] [https://www.smashwords.com/](https://www.smashwords.com/) \- Smashwords
landing page

[2]
[https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/52](https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/52)
\- the Smashwords Style Guide - I guarantee that you come to love-and-hate
this book in extreme-yet-equal measures.

[3]
[https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/11163](https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/11163)
\- I have never knowingly turned down an opportunity to spam the link to one
of my books. It's free. Enjoy!

[4] [https://www.lulu.com/](https://www.lulu.com/) \- Lulu.com landing page

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2rsf
I don't know how do you get into them but some stores actually sell ebooks
directly, guessing by your nick here's one from Sweden:

[https://www.bokus.com/e-bocker](https://www.bokus.com/e-bocker)

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gkbrk
Not sure if it will work for fiction books, but I have seen people self
publish e-books hidden behind a simple Stripe payment. Should be relatively
easy to set up as well.

I believe ddevault published his Wayland book this way.

~~~
sjs382
[https://Gumroad.com](https://Gumroad.com) is a great way to get something
like that up and running quickly, too.

~~~
mindwanderer
I am looking at
[https://gumroad.com/features/pricing](https://gumroad.com/features/pricing)
-> how is this different from setting up my own shopify website for eBook. I
am doing this today with $0.30 + 3% per transaction. Does Gumroad have any
exclusivity? I am sure they have a bigger reach than my website and love their
business model -- this is very fair. btw, my website is www.thenextinnings.com
and the eBook is on sale at $2.99 I have enough details about the book and you
can buy if you like the storyline. thanks for the tips!

~~~
asicsp
I use leanpub and gumroad for my technical books. Both of them are non-
exclusive, you retain the rights and ability to sell anywhere else you like.
Leanpub has 20% cut, but that's probably because they allow you to generate
the ebook in pdf/epub/mobi formats from their website.

An important feature I like is the ability to update the books (due to s/w
versions, typos, adding new content, etc) and notify the users regarding the
new version.

Another feature for both sites is that customer can pay _more_ than the price
of the product. And that does happen often enough to make it a highlight of
using their site. But this may probably apply more for technical books than
fiction.

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mindwanderer
I hate Amazon kindle’s business model options and ethics - can share how they
nudge a creator to choose the 35% royalty (using detailed docs instead of
being explicitly) at every screen when you have explicitly indicated your
would like 70%. Happy to create a Post if there is interest. Don’t see a
viable player who gives the same reach though. I am interested in the
responses

~~~
ystad
Please do share your post. Any experience good or bad is welcome.

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mindwanderer
hi @ystad, looks like u have researched this topic quite a bit, can you please
look at www.thenextinnings.com and suggest if there are alternatives to sell
it? I have priced it at $2.99 for 53K words to ensure it has a broader reach.
I also used paid contractors (artists, copyline editor, marketing etc) from
all around the world. Any suggestions are appreciated!

