# Comparing Aggregators for Going Wide



## archaeoroutes (Oct 12, 2014)

Draft2Digital - https://www.draft2digital.com/getstarted
Very easy to use. Accesses Amazon, Nook, Kobo, iTunes, Playster, Scribd, Inktera, 24 Symbols, Overdrive. In negotiations to add Google. Templates for fancy formatting (not brilliant or some genres, great for others). Good way to produce a quick epub, which can then be uploaded to lots of other sites. Good customer service.

Smashwords - https://www.smashwords.com/signup
Rather clunky to use (don't forget to use doc not docx). Accesses Amazon (some question over how successfully), Nook, Kobo, iTunes, Scribd, Inktera, Overdrive, and lots more. Has own store too (which allows you to run promos that don't affect Amazon pricematch because they are coupons not markdowns). Never had to try customer service, but the automated emails about problems with file checking aren't the most helpful in the world.

Pronoun - https://pronoun.com/sign-up
Never used it, but heard some good things about getting higher royalties from Amazon for sub-$2.99 books.

Streetlib - https://dash.streetlib.com/authentication/signup
Tried it, but got lost with all the confusing site design and bits that kept bouncing to the Italian site rather than the English one.

IngramSpark - https://myaccount.ingramspark.com/Account/Signup
Brilliant for physical books. The terms for ebooks didn't strike me as appealing compared to other offerings, even if you manage to get them to waive the setup/change fee.

PublishDrive - https://publishdrive.com
Accesses Amazon, Google Play, Apple, OverDrive, Odilo, Tolino, Bookmate and others. Only need to set preferences once rather than per book (don't know if that can be overridden for a particular book where you might want different channels).

What do other people think? Add your votes to the poll. Let us know any other pros and cons of each site.
Any other recommendations?


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## Laran Mithras (Nov 22, 2016)

I'll add to D2D's pros: direct deposit into your bank.

I think the others still use PayPal.


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## Guest (Oct 3, 2017)

I went direct for Nook, Kobo, and Google Play.

I'm using D2D for iTunes, Inktera, 24Symbols, and Overdrive.

Using Pronoun for Bibliotheca .  The interface is a bit meh with the whole one page design...would rather quick tabs, especially when editing existing books, but the customer service has been awesome.  I'll probably use them for Google Play for all future books as I'm sick of Google's hideously outdated and clunky interface.

I was on Smashwords and hated the interface enough I gave up on it and pulled both of my books.

I had the same issue with Streetlib and their translations need serious work.  

I love IngramSpark for my paperbacks, I would never recommend them for eBooks - their terms are hideous and can't pick/choose distributors.


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## BillSmithBooksDotCom (Nov 4, 2012)

Love Smashwords but they don't distribute to Google Play and Amazon is almost impossible to get into through them (not that they haven't tried).

Actually found it really easy to format my book through them in Word ... made my own cheat sheet to keep it simple as the official guidebook tries to cover every situation. My formatting is really simple, just normal/body text, a heads, b heads, etc., nothing fancy, so that may explain why I found it so easy.


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## AltMe (May 18, 2015)

Pronoun - Lousy interface, being long winded an spread from here to forever. The creation phase makes you choose from a set of terrible formatting options. (imo)

On the plus side, you can upload an existing epub and bypass the worst of it.

Gets you into Google Play (the only reason I'm using it)


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## archaeoroutes (Oct 12, 2014)

BillSmithBooksDotCom said:


> Love Smashwords but they don't distribute to Google Play and Amazon is almost impossible to get into through them (not that they haven't tried).


I'm direct with both, so hadn't tried. I must have misread the list in Channel Manager when I wrote they did GPlay. OP edited to reflect this.



BillSmithBooksDotCom said:


> Actually found it really easy to format my book through them in Word ... made my own cheat sheet to keep it simple as the official guidebook tries to cover every situation. My formatting is really simple, just normal/body text, a heads, b heads, etc., nothing fancy, so that may explain why I found it so easy.


It was the table of contents that took me a while. The file I was starting with had an automatically generated one. I had to go through and strip that out and add internal hyperlinks manually. Then, of course, I had to remember to save a doc version specifically for them.


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## JZacharyPike (Sep 22, 2017)

Anma Natsu said:


> I went direct for Nook, Kobo, and Google Play.]


How did you go direct with Google Play? I've tried many times to get in, and they're never accepting new partners.


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## Tonya Snow-Cook (Jul 3, 2017)

I voted "Other," because I used Lulu.com to distribute to Kobo, Nook, and iBooks (Lulu also distributes to Amazon Kindle, but I used KDP instead). I distribute to Google Books and Google Play directly, the benefit of having partnered with them years ago.


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## Guest (Oct 4, 2017)

JZacharyPike said:


> How did you go direct with Google Play? I've tried many times to get in, and they're never accepting new partners.


I got my account when I first started, back in like 2015. I think I got in just a few months before they shut it off to new partners.


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## archaeoroutes (Oct 12, 2014)

JZacharyPike said:


> How did you go direct with Google Play? I've tried many times to get in, and they're never accepting new partners.


I applied and they let me in. At the time I didn't realise that was anything special.


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## 39416 (Mar 18, 2011)

Whichever you use, always make sure to go direct with any you may want to run promos with.


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## archaeoroutes (Oct 12, 2014)

Good point. Particularly for Kobo.
I'm direct with all the big ones apart from Apple. I use D2D and Smashwords to mop up the little ones (and Apple).


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## Guest (Oct 18, 2017)

JZacharyPike said:


> How did you go direct with Google Play? I've tried many times to get in, and they're never accepting new partners.


They do open to new accounts occasionally, you just need to keep your ears open. I made a new GP account a few months ago.


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## 41419 (Apr 4, 2011)

Love D2D.

Don't trust Pronoun at all.


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## Sailor Stone (Feb 23, 2015)

dgaughran said:


> Love D2D.
> 
> Don't trust Pronoun at all.


Can I ask why you don't trust Pronoun? Thanks.


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## 41419 (Apr 4, 2011)

Sailor Stone said:


> Can I ask why you don't trust Pronoun? Thanks.


Sorry, I should have elaborated...

I think it's probably fine to use Pronoun in very specific, limited circumstances - such as accessing Google Play if you don't have a better option - but I don't think it's a good long-term option for two reasons.

First, what is the path to monetization? Pronoun are passing on all received royalties to authors, meaning they are running at a massive loss. They have pivoted several times (originally starting off as Vook) and haven't found a formula for making money yet. That doesn't give me much trust, as a potential customer, that they will find a path to monetization which works for authors. Currently they are being subsidized by Macmillan, but to what end? How long will that continue? I have great skepticism that Macmillan are just doing it for the data, that they would be able to put that to any use - essentially that this will be valuable enough for them to keep subsidizing Pronoun. We've seen what happens with retailers and distributors that can't turn a profit - books can get tied up, a danger if you ever want to take them down for whatever reason, whether that's selling the rights to a publisher or enrolling in Select or whatever.

Second, the guys behind Pronoun have a little bit of history in not being exactly upfront. Back when they were Vook, the marketed themselves as "paying 100% royalties" when in fact they had a wholesale agreement with Amazon which meant the effective royalty rate was around 50%. So that also creates a little distrust.

So... yeah. If you want to use them in limited, specific circumstances, I think that's probably okay. I just wouldn't personally recommend using them as a long-term option, or switching over from D2D etc.

YMMV, of course.


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## A. N. Other Author (Oct 11, 2014)

Draft2Digital
Pronoun (for GooglePlay and libraries)
Ingram Spark for expanded distribution (higher royalties with Createspace if it's Amazon and CS only)
And "other"

"Other" being Publishdrive. I sell very little with them, but they get into a lot of niche markets that I will conquer when the world hears of my greatness. 

I go direct to Kobo and Amazon only. I used to go direct to Nook, but price changes are faster through D2D.


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## Chrissy (Mar 31, 2014)

JZacharyPike said:


> How did you go direct with Google Play? I've tried many times to get in, and they're never accepting new partners.


Contact Google Play's Customer service.

Ask them to put your name on the waiting list. So when they do accept new partners, they will send you a personal email to sign up.

Then be patient. They'll email you sooner than you think.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

D2D is the only one that I haven't heard many complaints about from indies over the years for one reason or another. If I were to go wide, I'd go direct to iTunes, B&N, Kobo, dtrpg, and use D2D for other outlets.


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## Salvador Mercer (Jan 1, 2015)

My own thoughts on Pronoun per David's post are basically in agreement. The only speculation that I see right now is that they may (I am speculating big time here) have some sort of commission agreement for driving paid royalties though PayPal.  It wouldn't be enough to run their business right now (again I speculate) but it could help defer their start up costs. I also think that they may want to capture a large author audience in order to offer B2B deals with commissions on those as well. The carrot for now is their pass through of all royalties and 70% on pricing less than $2.99.


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## Sailor Stone (Feb 23, 2015)

Salvador Mercer said:


> My own thoughts on Pronoun per David's post are basically in agreement. The only speculation that I see right now is that they may (I am speculating big time here) have some sort of commission agreement for driving paid royalties though PayPal. It wouldn't be enough to run their business right now (again I speculate) but it could help defer their start up costs. I also think that they may want to capture a large author audience in order to offer B2B deals with commissions on those as well. The carrot for now is their pass through of all royalties and 70% on pricing less than $2.99.


The question then, is what is Macmillan's motivation in running Pronoun the way they are now? Could they be wanting to get into the ebook selling business on their own and so therefore starting Pronoun and attracting authors is a way to get a toe in the water?
I emailed them and asked a similar question about six months ago and I got an immediate "no" in a return email. It was like they wanted to get off the subject as fast as possible.
Any thoughts on this? They're acting like they are an indie author's best friend, which if they were trying to monetize the relationship would make perfect sense. But they're not. So what are they doing all of this for?


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## The Bass Bagwhan (Mar 9, 2014)

Jim Johnson said:


> D2D is the only one that I haven't heard many complaints about from indies over the years for one reason or another. If I were to go wide, I'd go direct to iTunes, B&N, Kobo, dtrpg, and use D2D for other outlets.


I'm probably looking at something like this, but are there really benefits to going direct? Compared to the extra hassle of going through the publishing process 4-5 times?


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## Sailor Stone (Feb 23, 2015)

The Bass Bagwhan said:


> I'm probably looking at something like this, but are there really benefits to going direct? Compared to the extra hassle of going through the publishing process 4-5 times?


At least for Kobo you do if you want to take advantage of using their in-store promos. I sell a fair amount of books there in the promos and not near as many when my books aren't being featured on the site.


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## BillyDeCarlo (Apr 11, 2017)

Sailor Stone said:


> At least for Kobo you do if you want to take advantage of using their in-store promos. I sell a fair amount of books there in the promos and not near as many when my books aren't being featured on the site.


Can you do that if you get to Kobo through D2D, Pronoun, or other aggregators?


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## Sailor Stone (Feb 23, 2015)

BillyDeCarlo said:


> Can you do that if you get to Kobo through D2D, Pronoun, or other aggregators?


Not that I'm aware. If someone knows otherwise feel free to jump in.


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## Laran Mithras (Nov 22, 2016)

The Bass Bagwhan said:


> I'm probably looking at something like this, but are there really benefits to going direct? Compared to the extra hassle of going through the publishing process 4-5 times?


Yes, there are benefits. D2D blocks a LOT of my titles. Yes, I write erotica but I also write real stories with plots, morals, and goals. Almost every one gets rejected for one idiotic reason or another. I've given up trying to convince them when they block the books. Interestingly enough, going direct bypasses that "filter." D2D tells me Kobo has blocked your book. So I go load it directly and it's accepted.

What D2D has to deal with is broad restrictions given by the outlets. Kobo blocked everything from D2D a couple of years ago. I can imagine that D2D doesn't want to suffer that mess again and simply applies sometimes overly harsh blocks on books. My most recent blocked book was a woman in completely demure lingerie - nothing see-through - with panties. They said it was pornographic and blocked it on all channels. Apple accepted it, Kobo, Nook, Amazon. I don't think that's necessarily D2D's fault, just something they have to deal with - which means *we* have to deal with.

So, something to consider about going direct.


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## AA.A (Sep 6, 2012)

Sailor Stone said:


> At least for Kobo you do if you want to take advantage of using their in-store promos. I sell a fair amount of books there in the promos and not near as many when my books aren't being featured on the site.


 How do you do Promos with Kobo? I am fairly new with them.


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## Sailor Stone (Feb 23, 2015)

Ahmad_Ardalan said:


> How do you do Promos with Kobo? I am fairly new with them.


You should have a promotions tab at the top of your author account page. If not, ask to allowed access to their in-house promos. Click it and you will see a list of upcoming promotions that you can apply to have your books included.


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## cleopatraa (Apr 10, 2016)

Suposedly I am not in the mood to deal with the whole tax treaty thing with the US as an European author, what distributor would you recommend? I am currently only using Kobo, but I would also like to gain a foot on other platforms.


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## Bookread (Mar 8, 2016)

I actually found Smashwords's interface and uploading process rather easy. I'm not sure why when others have had so much issue with it. I swear by Smashwords, personally. Their home store pays the highest royalties out of anyone. I routinely get $.81 royalties for $.99 books.


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## D A Bale (Oct 20, 2016)

Direct with Amazon and Kobo and Smashwords for everything else.  I've never understood why so many have complained about SW.  They're fast and easy and a huge supporter of the indie world (that's how they make their living).  I actually sell often to libraries through Smashwords, get excellent service when I need to deal with customer service (which is rarely), have the highest royalty payments at all levels, and they pay promptly every month regardless of how high or low your balance - and through PayPal there is only a delay of a day before it hits your bank account after you make your transfer request.

Easy peasy.


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## Guest (Oct 21, 2017)

I have been with all of the aggregators now and the only one that stands up without issues (for me at least) is D2D. I agree with everything said about Pronoun and Streetlib - they've got a long way to go to attend to the author's needs. Pronoun especially need to kick out their web developer who loves big fancy pages with nothing in them. Streetlib have issues with reporting amongst other things. I think one aspect of Pronoun that people might be missing is that you HAVE to register your amazon link to the book and they may be using that for affiliate income.  Whatever you do, if you go Pronoun route to Amazon be prepared to experience major issues, like losing the original ASIN meaning previous buyers might accidentally re-purchase your book.


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## NeilMosspark (Sep 30, 2016)

dgaughran said:


> Love D2D.
> 
> Don't trust Pronoun at all.


I'll have to agree here, but not because I feel that pronoun is a bad company or evil by any means. My only worry with pronoun is that they may not have 'skin in the game'. They are running it at a loss or at least at a break even if they are getting kickbacks from amazon etc. However, I suspect that they are testing the waters for free, and once they create enough of a client base, they will likely move to a model similar to D2D.

They are affiliated with larger publishers, and thus may be able to sustain this.

Alternately, as publishers, they also have the opportunity to glean information about indie authors. Ie. you write a book, it does super well, they can easily and effectively offer a publishing contract for wide books that may do well in physical stores, while keeping you in the loop on your sales. This may be a good hybrid model if they move that way.


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## Skip Knox (May 12, 2013)

Is this a fair summary? With the caveat that individuals may have individual complaints about individual aggregators.

Draft2Digital: the consistent winner
Smashwords: nearly as good, though some people complain about the interface
Pronoun: still has a way to go
Streetlib: still has a way to go
IngramSpark: good, but pricey and probably suited only to specific situations


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## BillyDeCarlo (Apr 11, 2017)

In addition to the $49 setup fee, IngramSpark charges $25 to upload a changed copy of the book, which is pretty annoying. A lot of us have to do that when the front matter or back matter changes to put in info about a new title or series. I know they have discount codes or whatever, but that's just to get you on the hook for those fees.


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## Travelian (Jun 1, 2017)

BillyDeCarlo said:


> In addition to the $49 setup fee, IngramSpark charges $25 to upload a changed copy of the book, which is pretty annoying. A lot of us have to do that when the front matter or back matter changes to put in info about a new title or series. I know they have discount codes or whatever, but that's just to get you on the hook for those fees.


With one of ALLI's membership, you get a discount code for free set-up and revisions.


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## BillyDeCarlo (Apr 11, 2017)

Travelian said:


> With one of ALLI's membership, you get a discount code for free set-up and revisions.


One-time or as long as you are a member? For one book or multiple books?


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## Travelian (Jun 1, 2017)

BillyDeCarlo said:


> One-time or as long as you are a member? For one book or multiple books?


Haven't done it yet. So don't have definitive answer.


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## Guest (Oct 22, 2017)

BillyDeCarlo said:


> In addition to the $49 setup fee, IngramSpark charges $25 to upload a changed copy of the book, which is pretty annoying. A lot of us have to do that when the front matter or back matter changes to put in info about a new title or series. I know they have discount codes or whatever, but that's just to get you on the hook for those fees.


They also have discount codes for waiving the fees, though not as many times a year. But yes, if you do update your print books a lot, it would be excessive. I haven't myself, just twice actually, one when I grouped my books into a series, and the second time I did second editions with new covers and updated the interior formatting. Since they were new books, I used the waived set up fee codes, so didn't cost anything.


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## lynnemurray (May 19, 2011)

Right now I'm using Amazon, getting no results in KU and slowly moving my books wide with D2D. Pronoun sounded intriguing until I heard it was run by Macmillan. They took over St. Martin's Press. SMP published six of my mysteries in the previous publishing world. (St. Martin's business model for mysteries involved a lot of guaranteed sales to libraries back in the day, so they could take a chance on new authors without much risk.) I got my rights back from Macmillan with no problem when I wanted to self-publish. But I have a very clear memory of the message they gave me when they kicked me to the curb: "I don't think we can make any money together." That was an eye-opening statement for me, and I simply can't believe their priorities have changed. They may be playing the long game, and of course, this is business to them. But I'd examine everything they were offering and what it would cost me to go with them before I committed to them.


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## 41419 (Apr 4, 2011)

lynnemurray said:


> Right now I'm using Amazon, getting no results in KU and slowly moving my books wide with D2D. Pronoun sounded intriguing until I heard it was run by Macmillan. They took over St. Martin's Press. SMP published six of my mysteries in the previous publishing world. (St. Martin's business model for mysteries involved a lot of guaranteed sales to libraries back in the day, so they could take a chance on new authors without much risk.) I got my rights back from Macmillan with no problem when I wanted to self-publish. But I have a very clear memory of the message they gave me when they kicked me to the curb: "I don't think we can make any money together." That was an eye-opening statement for me, and I simply can't believe their priorities have changed. They may be playing the long game, and of course, this is business to them. But I'd examine everything they were offering and what it would cost me to go with them before I committed to them.


I have long wondered what Macmillan gets out of this deal - i.e. why they would subsidize Pronoun. It can't be for the data, as others have speculated, as Macmillan wouldn't know what to do with it (and it wouldn't be any good to them anyway as they wouldn't be willing to copy self-publishers' best practices).

My own theory is that Macmillan is doing it to pad their own end-of-year numbers. Notice on Amazon how all the books say "Published by Macmillan"?


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## Guest (Oct 23, 2017)

dgaughran said:


> My own theory is that Macmillan is doing it to pad their own end-of-year numbers. Notice on Amazon how all the books say "Published by Macmillan"?


If you don't put yourself in as publisher on Pronoun the Amazon entries will show 'published by Pronoun'. As for their intentions.? I'm thinking it's to do with having a foot in the door and testing the waters. There is [big] change coming and I suspect Macmillan are positioning themselves to take advantage of things if it suits them. Their deal with Amazon for 70% on sub $2.99 books is a carrot for many low-priced books. Their website doesn't smack of serious intentions yet, but when they decide where they're going I suspect that will change. I have nothing against them except their lack of seriousness and a preference to showcase instead of assist authors.


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## Sailor Stone (Feb 23, 2015)

TobiasRoote said:


> If you don't put yourself in as publisher on Pronoun the Amazon entries will show 'published by Pronoun'. As for their intentions.? I'm thinking it's to do with having a foot in the door and testing the waters. There is [big] change coming and I suspect Macmillan are positioning themselves to take advantage of things if it suits them. Their deal with Amazon for 70% on sub $2.99 books is a carrot for many low-priced books. Their website doesn't smack of serious intentions yet, but when they decide where they're going I suspect that will change. I have nothing against them except their lack of seriousness and a preference to showcase instead of assist authors.


Yes, something like this. If the big five keep sailing down the Amazon and trying to sell books by Amazon's rules they will soon find themselves in sinking ships. I'm sure they know this. My thinking is MacMillin is using the Pronoun data to help build a better store in the future. I hope so anyway. 
I also hope BookBub is looking to do the same thing. All the parts are there for them to do this (except for the storefront) as it is now. 
Judging from what I'm reading on other Writer's Cafe threads, Amazon now owns the publishing industry and they can do whatever the hell they want, when they want, and they don't have to justify it to anybody in any way, shape, or form. Their storefront sucks for both readers and authors, but it's not like they have anyone to fear competion-wise so what does it matter. 
If we, as writers, publishers, and promoters want a healthy book selling market, we need something (someone) else to take a try at selling ebooks and print books online. The only other company that seems to care right now is Kobo and while they look to be doing well in other countries besides the U.S., they are, so far, unable to boost their U.S. market share up out of the low single digits.
I don't trust Pronoun, but then I sure don't trust Amazon, so I'm left rooting for Pronoun, along with hoping somebody like Wal-Mart decides it's time to get into the book selling business for real.
This thread is about who is the best aggregator for going wide, unfortunately, when you go wide in today's market, 80% of your "wide" is still Amazon.


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## Sailor Stone (Feb 23, 2015)

On more thing about Pronoun; they now let their authors set up their own website for each pen name that they use, and it has buy buttons that let the customer click to every major vendor to purchase books. This is great for authors who have more than one pen name and don't want to deal with all that it takes to run a website for each pen name. 
But my main point is that it also makes it very easy for Pronoun to have immediate access to thousands of author websites to add their own store button whenever they choose.


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## Guy Riessen (Mar 27, 2016)

Sailor Stone said:


> If we, as writers, publishers, and promoters want a healthy book selling market, we need something (someone) else to take a try at selling ebooks and print books online.


This is why it was particularly exciting to see BookFunnel offering a distribution system so authors can easily sell and distribute their books directly from their own author website. Along with aggregators, you can now easily distribute directly to your fans and you get nearly all the money (just minus your regular BookFunnel account costs, and the cut Paypal--or whoever you use--takes). Just another small income stream that operates outside Amazon's near monopoly. Here's the link if you want more info: https://authors.bookfunnel.com/help/delivery-actions/


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## Anna Drake (Sep 22, 2014)

I like Pronoun.  This morning I received an email, from them telling me one of my books is in the top 15 percent for the supernatural>ghosts category. I could never have figured that out on my own. They also provide a page for each book that lists all of the outlets on which the book is sold. I link to that page on my website home page and avoid putting retailers' names there. I find that helpful.


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## ZsofiaMacho (Sep 8, 2017)

archaeoroutes said:


> What do other people think? Add your votes to the poll. Let us know any other pros and cons of each site.
> Any other recommendations?


Hi,

great poll  And I especially like the comments!
It would be great if you could include http://publishdrive.com - I know for a fact that some people here at KBoards use our services 
We go directly to Amazon, Google Play, and all the other biggies (Apple, OverDrive, Odilo, Tolino, Bookmate etc.) and reach some interesting niche markets. Unlike Ingram for example, we don't have any hidden fees or setup costs.


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## Indecisive (Jun 17, 2013)

cleopatraa said:


> Suposedly I am not in the mood to deal with the whole tax treaty thing with the US as an European author, what distributor would you recommend? I am currently only using Kobo, but I would also like to gain a foot on other platforms.


I just uploaded my books to PublishDrive yesterday. I'm direct most places and have been with Smashwords since I started in (gasp!) December 2012.

I can't speak to sales yet, but here are two of my favorite things about PublishDrive:

You get to pick the distribution channels once for all of the books, rather than doing them individually for each book as at Smashwords.
If you upload the epub, it will import some metadata directly from the epub file, which saves hassle. (Why not the ISBN, though?) FWIW, I format my epubs in Jutoh -- it may work differently if you use a different program to generate epubs. Does anyone hand-code epubs any more?

Sorry for the digression, but yes, PublishDrive is looking good so far.


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## ZsofiaMacho (Sep 8, 2017)

ameliasmith said:


> If you upload the epub, it will import some metadata directly from the epub file, which saves hassle. (Why not the ISBN, though?)


Thank you for the recommendation Amelia!  I'm glad that you're happy with the service so far. We automatically import ISBNs as well - I pm-d you with details.


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## archaeoroutes (Oct 12, 2014)

OK. Scratch Pronoun.

"Two years ago Pronoun set out to create a one-of-a-kind publishing tool that truly put authors first. We believed that the power of data could be harnessed for smarter book publishing, leveling the playing field for indie authors.

We are proud of the product we built, but even more so, we’re grateful for the community of authors that made it grow. Your feedback shaped Pronoun's development, and together we changed the way authors connect with readers.

Unfortunately, Pronoun's story ends here.

While many challenges in indie publishing remain unsolved, Macmillan is unable to continue Pronoun’s operation in its current form. Every option was considered before making the very difficult decision to end the business.

As of today, it is no longer possible to create a new account or publish a new book. Pronoun will be winding down its distribution, with an anticipated end date of January 15, 2018."


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## BillyDeCarlo (Apr 11, 2017)

I just signed up with them yesterday and got an email at 1am that my book went live on google play. I must have been one of the last. So what happens now, does my book stay on google play? I used D2D for the other distributors for the same book, only google play and bibliotecha from pronoun.


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## 41419 (Apr 4, 2011)

I've heard that D2D are in negotiations with Google Play for some time about distributing there. The one sticking point is Google's discounting habits but D2D are hoping the Pronoun situation will give them enough leverage to get movement on that.


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## ZsofiaMacho (Sep 8, 2017)

BillyDeCarlo said:


> I just signed up with them yesterday and got an email at 1am that my book went live on google play. I must have been one of the last. So what happens now, does my book stay on google play? I used D2D for the other distributors for the same book, only google play and bibliotecha from pronoun.


PublishDrive goes to Google Play (and to many other stores). Here is a full list of stores: https://admin.publishdrive.com/stores


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## archaeoroutes (Oct 12, 2014)

I'm in the process of switching my Overdrive supply from Smashwords to D2D because they make setting a specific price for it so easy.


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## KelliWolfe (Oct 14, 2014)

For those who haven't checked on them in a while, Streetlib goes to Google Play. They've also done a big revamp of their UIs this year which include much better reporting and things like country-specific pricing, and they've opened an office in the US with picked members of their Italian team to run it. Customer support is very good. They've got access to dozens of smaller outlets that no one else covers, largely in Europe, so if you have translations into other languages you might want to give them a look.


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## Fleurina (Nov 13, 2017)

LOVE Draft2Digital, and looking forward to publishing with them again once my term with KU is over.


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## 75845 (Jan 1, 1970)

archaeoroutes said:


> I'm in the process of switching my Overdrive supply from Smashwords to D2D because they make setting a specific price for it so easy.


I assume you are referring to the fact that Smashwords cannot combine library specific pricing (which it has had for years) with country specific pricing (which it introduced recently). Of course using D2D for Overdrive allows you to set a different library specific price for all the other library distributors that Smashwords gives access to.


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## archaeoroutes (Oct 12, 2014)

Mercia McMahon said:


> I assume you are referring to the fact that Smashwords cannot combine library specific pricing (which it has had for years) with country specific pricing (which it introduced recently). Of course using D2D for Overdrive allows you to set a different library specific price for all the other library distributors that Smashwords gives access to.


You inspired me to look again. Something about the Smashwords interface just makes me bounce off it. I keep ending up in the reader bit, not the publisher bit.
Having chosen my channels in Channel Manager, which took a while to realise I had to do because I expected to be able to deal with everything about the book in the book's settings page, I figured that if there was an option to set a different price it would be there.
Now I've found Pricing Manager, which lets me do that. I hadn't found it before because the book's pages did let me set the USD price. I've just now set the library price (in USD as you say) and individual country prices.

Now all I need to do is find the bit of text in my latest book that Smashwords claims is in the wrong font size so I can get it to accept it for 'premium' distribution...


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## archaeoroutes (Oct 12, 2014)

Only 20 days until Pronoun shuts completely. How are people doing with their transfers to other aggregators?


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## Used To Be BH (Sep 29, 2016)

I recently put a book out wide to test the waters. I used D2D, Smashwords, Publishdrive, and Streetlib.

Based on my past experience, I used D2D for every outlet they serve except Amazon. Then I filled in other outlets from each of the others in the order listed. (Each aggregator has at least a few outlets that are unique to it.

Of the four, I found D2D the easiest to use, though all four of them are manageable. The last two seem slower at getting books up on their respective outlets, though that may not be a fair comparison, since I used them mostly for smaller stores that may not update info as fast on the store end. Publishdrive got the book up on Google Play very quickly. It's also possible that the holiday season slowed down the process. Publishdrive and Streetlib both got the book up on four or five outlets within the first few days--and then everything came to a halt right after Thanksgiving. I suspect the time of year has something to do with that.


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## archaeoroutes (Oct 12, 2014)

I got all excited when Playster appeared on D2D's distribution list a while ago. I'd been wanting to try them out but couldn't work out how to get in until then.
Haven't had a sale through them yet, though


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## jimmypete (Mar 1, 2016)

Any opinions on scribl.com?


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## Used To Be BH (Sep 29, 2016)

jimmypete said:


> Any opinions on scribl.com?


Potentially clever idea, but crowd pricing? The payout sounds as if it would be more erratic than KU.

For those of you who haven't looked yet, Scribl starts every book out at free, then prices it according to how well it sells--the more it sells, the higher the price.

One problem with that model is that a savvy customer would grab things that are tempting when they first come out. If enough of the site's audience does this, then there won't ever be much of a price climb.

There could also be a temptation to wait on a book that has a higher price until it comes down.

The site's developers obviously think people will chase quality, but the system looks gameable. Customers could manipulate the system to get high quality at a low price by only buying books at a low price point.


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## Colin Higbie (Jan 31, 2018)

Bill, speaking as someone at Scribl (so admittedly with a bias), in using pricing as a marketing tool and one of the big 4 P's of marketing, gaming the system is something we have given a lot of thought to in designing our CrowdPricing system. With the exception of the brief free period, the pricing really maximizes revenue at all price points -- with less popular books getting a boost from the lower prices and the top books able to sustain sales at higher prices than they could with author-set prices, because those higher prices being set based on overall customer spending and preferences communicate value to the readers who care about that. The scenario you describe is the natural behavior... of SOME customers. As with any product or service, there are different market segments with different purchase behaviors. The three that are most relevant to CrowdPricing are:

1. The "Bargain Hunters" who place price above all else in deciding which books to purchase. Could be because they want to get as many books for their $5 as possible or because they don't have much money or because they don't care much about books, but just want something to read to kill time while going on that flight to Houston next week. A small subsegment of this group would be the ones who spend their time hovering around the site looking for a new, free release and grab it at launch. 

2. The "Busy Readers" who value their time above the relatively small (from their perspective) cost of a book. They will almost never buy a self-published book without a high rating or recommendation from a friend. This segment of bigger spenders have classically been reluctant to buy self-published titles over concerns of getting a chapter or two in, only to decide that they hate it. While they have no publisher loyalty, they do trust that a book from a big publisher (or the top Scribl tiers) has been reasonably well vetted. This segment targets the top-performing books at the top $CP tiers. 

3. The "Avant Garde Readers" who derive personal satisfaction out of knowing they helped a book become popular. These are the readers who like to find books before they're popular, write long and detailed reviews, and believe they helped propel the book to success. Back in the old days, they were the ones who started or joined book clubs, not for the social aspects, but because they really wanted to promote the lesser known books they found. This segment targets the middle tiers, with some looking for books in the lower tiers with some positive reviews, but still not popular enough to have moved to the higher tiers, and some waiting until books are already in the higher tiers, where the volumes are lower and they're less likely to hit a poor quality title. 

Note that the system is structured so that there are fewer books in each successively more expensive tier. 

With respect to gaming the system, we've worked hard to harness all of these incentives to game the system (by authors trying to promote their books and by customers who want a book for less than its value) and build the system to use those incentives. It's good for authors if some people download the book for free at launch to start spreading the word. If the book has a lot of downloads right away, it will only be free for a few days. If it continues to have negligible interest, it can stay free for up to 6 weeks. Books are not priced based on their independent sales, but relative to popularity of similar books and based on sales over time, so the top-priced books can only reach that point by maintaining sustained popularity over time, even as the price went up, assuring those Busy Readers a quality title at those prices and pulling in customers who otherwise avoid self-published titles. As the number of titles on Scribl.com increases, the grouping for comparative pricing gets ever tighter so you don't have books in super popular genres burying great books from more obscure genres. Our Story Elements system gives us all the data we need to segment these over time.

I hope that helps clarify. There is of course a lot more going on and a lot more economic and marketing logic behind this, but I've tried to post a brief summary. Maybe not so brief.


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## notjohn (Sep 9, 2016)

I enjoyed this thread, and I'm glad it was opened up again, so came to my attention.

In the past I've had accounts with Lulu (for Apple), Smashwords, Kobo, and Barnes & Noble. I early abandoned Smashwords because, frankly, it gave me the creeps. Awful website, terribly slow to pay, and crummy conversions through the MeatGrinder. Oh, and partners that discounted at random, spiling my Amazon returns.

I gave up Lulu when Draft2Digital came along. It's a wonderful platform, much better than Amazon's IMHO, and well worth the 10 percent I give up by not selling direct. I was never able to get onto Apple because I don't do Mac OS, so when D2D came along, I jumped to it, then closed my accounts at Kobo and B&N.

Nothing against those stores. Just too much of a bother to maintain a lot of books at multiple outlets when D2D would do it for me. 

I've had an account with Google Books from the beginning, but would probably give it up if D2D distributed there.

Apple won't stock my Guide because, they claim, the subtitle is not on the cover. So rather than delete the subtitle for the other stores served by D2D, I opened an account at Streetlib. Neither could they get it on Apple Books, or whatever it's calling its bookstore today, confirming my suspicion that my real sin is mentioning Amazon too often. Funnily enough, Streetlib did sell a copy through one of its minor-minor outlets -- in Spain, as I recall -- so I might leave it open and see what happens there.


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## notjohn (Sep 9, 2016)

Oh, and as for the poster who wrote:



> Suposedly I am not in the mood to deal with the whole tax treaty thing with the US as an European author


That should no longer be an issue for residents of any country with a zero-tax treaty, which surely is most or all European countries? All one need do is enter one's home-country tax ID.

Or does that work only on Amazon?


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## archaeoroutes (Oct 12, 2014)

Loving how quickly I just rolled out my military scifi series to wide. Uploaded the word doc to Draft2Digital, took the epub and put it on Kobo, Barnes & Noble and Google and then put the word doc into Smashwords. Lots of fiddling then needed on Smashwords to deal with international pricing and stopping it trying to distribute to places I already reach in other ways, but still got it all done in the spare bit of time I had today.


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## archaeoroutes (Oct 12, 2014)

I really with Smashwords wouldn't default to distributing everywhere (and makes you have to remember to go to a different bit of the site to make those changes).  A couple of times I've been prevented form uploading directly to a site because Smashwords got there first!


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## Gaylord Fancypants (Jun 15, 2018)

Is there a secret to Streetlib? I published hundreds of erotica and romance there from my back-catalogue like six months ago, not a single one has ever made a sale, even books that are wracking up sales on other venues. Do I need to do something to make that stuff visible?


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## KelliWolfe (Oct 14, 2014)

Gaylord Fancypants said:


> Is there a secret to Streetlib? I published hundreds of erotica and romance there from my back-catalogue like six months ago, not a single one has ever made a sale, even books that are wracking up sales on other venues. Do I need to do something to make that stuff visible?


Check your book list. If a book isn't available there will be an X instead of a checkmark in the "Vis." column at the far right. If it has an X, go to the book page and make sure the Available checkbox up at the top of the form is checked. With erotica, you may need to fill out the Adult content section of the form so the book status isn't Undefined before they will push it to the retailer sites. IME things get wonky if you're using Firefox. I had to switch to Chrome to be able to see everything and for all the scripts to work.


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## Used To Be BH (Sep 29, 2016)

Gaylord Fancypants said:


> Is there a secret to Streetlib? I published hundreds of erotica and romance there from my back-catalogue like six months ago, not a single one has ever made a sale, even books that are wracking up sales on other venues. Do I need to do something to make that stuff visible?


Is Streetlib your only distributor? If not, do you use it to distribute to any of the big outlets?

I don't have any sales with Streetlib either, but I've only distributed one niche book to them, and I only used them for the outlets that were unique to them (mostly European markets where English is not the first language). Consequently, it's not really much of a test of Streetlib. It's more a test of the reach a book written in English might have for multilingual audiences.

Based on looking over SL's catalog, I'd say books written in certain languages, such as Italian, will do better their SL's unique outlets. As far as larger outlets are concerned, the question isn't how you distribute to them, but how you advertise. I don't think Barnes and Noble sales will be affected by which aggregator you use, but they may be affected by how much you advertise the outlet.


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## Secret Pen Pal (Dec 27, 2013)

An update on Smashwords: They've paid me on time for the several months I've used them. I upload an epub. That bypasses the meatgrinder. When there's an epub problem, it gives a notice on the spot. I use Calibre and Sigil for any fixes.

As noted above, you have to go to the channel page after each upload to opt out of being distributed to all the channels. D2D finally remembers store preferences.

GooglePlay opens to direct accounts at random. I'm direct everywhere except Apple and a few small ones. That 10% cut becomes significant at volume.


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## wherewithalpress (Apr 26, 2018)

Gaylord Fancypants said:


> Is there a secret to Streetlib? I published hundreds of erotica and romance there from my back-catalogue like six months ago, not a single one has ever made a sale, even books that are wracking up sales on other venues. Do I need to do something to make that stuff visible?


Hi Fancypants,

Megan with StreetLib here. I asked Lucia in our Customer Care and she had this to say: _Regarding erotica: in general, authors who publish erotica with us need to be aware of this https://help.streetlib.com/hc/en-us/articles/115005658265-Managing-Erotica-books Then, if he thinks that any of his books are not showing up in certain stores while they should, he can contact me/us at [email protected], so that I can follow up on his situation._

I hope that helps!


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## Bookread (Mar 8, 2016)

I'm surprised Smashwords is so low. I think their customer services is fantastic.


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## KelliWolfe (Oct 14, 2014)

Bookread said:


> I'm surprised Smashwords is so low. I think their customer services is fantastic.


Aside from Smashwords' user interface belonging in 1997 and the near universal hatred of the Meatgrinder? And while their customer service isn't bad, it isn't anywhere near the same league as either D2D's or Streetlib's. I have never in 25 years of working in IT dealt with tech firms that had better or nicer support staff than those two have. They're unfailingly pleasant, obviously know their systems and what they're doing and aren't just reading from scripts, and if they don't have an answer for you right away they will not stop until they find it and get it back to you promptly. There have been days where I've been ready to tear my hair out in frustration, usually over some idiocy by a sales channel, when I would happily have had Lucia's or Tara's babies after they busted it to get the problem fixed.

Plus they actually *listen* to feedback and are honestly interested in what their customers have to say, and both also make continuous improvements to their systems and work hard to get new tools in the hands of authors/publishers and regularly make new sales channels available.


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## dgcasey (Apr 16, 2017)

KelliWolfe said:


> when I would happily have had Lucia's or Tara's babies after they busted it to get the problem fixed.


I just had dealings with Tara over the past day or so and she came through like a trooper. I'd take her out to dinner if I didn't have a Honey Bunny that would make my life miserable if I did.


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## archaeoroutes (Oct 12, 2014)

Just had a look at moving my Overdrive distribution for D2D to Kobo (as I am direct with Kobo anyway). I would get an extra 30c per book under the OCOU model if I did move. However, it looks like Kobo doesn't access the CPC model that D2D allows, so I didn't bother.

OCOU = one copy one user - the library buys a copy of your book and only one user can borrow it at a time
CPC = cost per checkout - unlimited number of users can borrow your book at once and every time someone does you get 1/10 of the OCOU royalty


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## archaeoroutes (Oct 12, 2014)

Do the differing statements from D2D and Smashwords about payments from Barnes and Noble being withheld make any difference to people's feelings about the two aggregators?


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## notjohn (Sep 9, 2016)

archaeoroutes said:


> Do the differing statements from D2D and Smashwords about payments from Barnes and Noble being withheld make any difference to people's feelings about the two aggregators?


Smashwords gives me the creeps!

D2D announced that B&N would be delaying payments, but that turned out to be a misunderstanding. B&N is partially deferring payments to large booksellers. It didn't seem to realize that D2D serves a multitude of mostly very small booksellers. We'll get our payments in full and on schedule.


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## archaeoroutes (Oct 12, 2014)

Draft2Digital still seems to be the leader, but has anything changed recently? Any new aggregators out there I should add to this list?


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