How PublishDrive Works as a Perfect Book Network for Authors and Publishers

Every author needs to be part of a book network that sustains all the steps of their career. That means they should rely on a platform that streamlines the publishing process, distribution, and marketing and offers them enough resources to have everything they need in one place.

PublishDrive can do that for you.

With its extensive list of stores, partnerships, tools, and features, authors can tap into a perfect book network that helps them have everything they need within their reach.

PublishDrive’s Features & Partnerships

The publishing process doesn’t end after you hit the publish button. You need to use different marketing strategies to promote the book. Otherwise, it may not get the audience you need and want.

PublishDrive has a few features and partnerships with popular stores and websites that help a book’s discoverability. 

Once you sign up and self-publish your book, you can go to the Promotions tab from PublishDrive’s dashboard and choose the kind of promotion you want to use. 

Here’s what you can find on the platform.

Paid promotions

1. Amazon advertising

With Amazon ads, authors can generate more sales, as their books will be displayed to shoppers actively searching for or viewing products on Amazon.

💡 PublishDrive has a built-in marketing tool that manages Amazon’s Sponsored Products ads directly. It uses AI to identify the most relevant products to target and helps you optimize your ads with four options:

• Automatic targeting. With this option, Amazon matches the ad with relevant keywords and products that are similar to your book.
• Manual keyword targeting. You can choose the keywords you want to target.
• Product targeting. With this, you can target specific products to refine your campaign.
• Negative keywords. This helps you if you want to exclude keywords to prevent irrelevant traffic from driving up costs.

Read more about Amazon ads in our support article.

2. Drive book sales (partnership with Written Word Media)

Authors can promote their books in other places too, and reach thousands of readers interested in a specific genre. 

We’ve partnered with Written Word Media, a platform for self-published authors that has multiple book promotion sites:

• Freebooksy: for titles that are always free or free for a limited time;
• Bargain Booksy: for titles that are priced at $4.99 or below;
• Red Feather Romance: for promoting free and regularly priced steamy romance books;
• NewInBooks: for titles released in the past 60 days.

Pricing

Promotions start at $25. Pricing is based on the size of the audience you will reach and the expected results you will see.

How to book your promotion

Step 1: Choose the promotional site for your book genre 

Step 2: You will be redirected to Written Word Media, where you'll enter your book information.

Step 3: Create a price promo campaign for your promotion under the Promotions tab you can find on PublishDrive’s dashboard. Make sure to set the date to three days before the promotion date.

💡 See more about Free and Paid Book Promotion Services.

Advanced promotions

1. Price promotion

Readers search for book promotions all the time. You can always be ready for those moments and schedule price promotions straight from PublishDrive.

You can set price promotions in the following retailers:

• Amazon
• Apple Books
• Kobo
• Barnes & Noble
• Google Play Books

To create and run a price promotion, you need a published title that’s available in the retailers mentioned above.

To create a promotion, you need to provide the following data:

• The title you want to have discounted
• Start and end date
• Promotional price(s)
• Optionally, you can add data that helps you measure the success of your promotion, such as goal and budget

Note: You can edit your promotion until three days before the promotion starts because the promotional prices will be available at the retailers on the start date you provide at the latest. However, the promotion may be available one day earlier in some retail stores (Barnes & Noble, Amazon).

After the price promotion ends, your original prices may take one or two days to be re-set.

2. Sales events

The Sales events feature allows you to see and apply to various in-house promotions which are available at many of our retailers. 

This is a promotion based on titles on sale, so a discount or price change is required throughout the duration of the promotion.

After accessing the Sales events feature, you will see the following information:

• Store logo where the event is taking place.
• Title and description of the event.
• Application period.
• Campaign period (campaigns always start after the application period ends, with most starting approximately a month later).
• Display of discount details, including the maximum allowed price and the minimum required discount.

3. Review copies

With this feature, you can send review copies to book reviewers using promotion codes. You can also send review ebooks for promotional purposes to some popular stores (currently in Apple Books and Google Play Books). 

These are protected copies available for 28 days that cannot be forwarded or copied beyond the intended recipient. For more info, please read our article about review copies.

3. Featuring in newsletters

You can submit your book to be featured in one of the newsletters from our partners. In this way, readers can notice your title much faster.

Before submitting your title to one of the available campaigns, make sure your title is distributed to one of the stores mentioned in each campaign.

4. Store-specific featuring

The partnerships with popular stores give our users monthly book featuring opportunities or special marketing campaigns. 

• Featuring on Apple Books (iBooks)

We can recommend books to Apple Books’ editorial team for featuring in the following languages: English, Hungarian, Spanish, Italian, French, German, and Romanian.

They are mostly interested in new releases, so if you have one coming up, let us know a few weeks in advance.

Bibliotheca, Hoopla, 24symbols, and Dreame also let us recommend books according to their marketing calendar and topics. 

5. Social media

If you have any success stories you want to share with the PublishDrive community, we’ll be happy to post them on our social media channels. So, if you have been selected for a BookBub campaign, or won a competition, let us know. PublishDrive is happy to share your news through our social channels.

PublishDrive's Partner Stores & in-Store Opportunities

PublishDrive helps authors and publishers reach their audience regardless of the format they choose for their books. They can also publish the same title in all three available formats and reach an even wider audience.

Print-on-Demand

Print-on-demand eliminates the need for a large inventory or upfront costs. The print-on-demand service is also beneficial for readers, as it allows them to access a wider selection of books that may not have been traditionally published or may be out of print.

1. Amazon Print

Amazon is not only one of the largest online bookstores in the world but also one of the largest online marketplaces, where people can buy everything from merchandising to electronics.

Amazon's Print-on-Demand (POD) service, known as Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) Print, allows independent authors and publishers to self-publish print books through PublishDrive and sell them on Amazon.

⚡ PublishDrive Features

Built-in tool for Amazon Sponsored Products ads (boosted with AI capabilities to improve campaign performance).

2. Ingram Distribution

Ingram is the world’s largest wholesaler/distributor of print books. Ingram's distribution network includes major retailers such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and independent bookstores, as well as libraries, schools, and other educational institutions.

⚡ PublishDrive Features

PublishDrive handles most print formatting requirements (PDF versions, color schemes, font embedding, CMYK limit, barcode issues, etc.), making sure your files are perfect for Ingram stores.

3. China Print (PublishDrive Exclusive) 

PublishDrive partner stores in China help authors and publishers reach a huge market:

• The CNPeReading Platform collaborates with prominent international publishers and integrators to offer a vast collection of digital resources in foreign languages. These resources are made available to library customers and end-users through innovative digital solutions. 
• DangDang and JD.com are the largest e-commerce platforms. The DangDang store has an estimated 30 million monthly visitors. 
• JD.com is one of the two leading online retailers in China in terms of transaction volume and revenue and is a Fortune Global 500 member. 
• TMall, an Alibaba Group-operated online retail website in China, has over 500 million monthly active users and is available in Chinese.

⚡ PublishDrive Features

Occasional promotional opportunities for the Chinese retail and library market.

Audiobook 

With the audiobook format gaining popularity by the minute, here’s your chance to distribute to popular stores and reach a global audience.

1. Apple Audiobooks

Apple Books is a leading online bookstore preinstalled on all Apple devices that reaches millions of readers in over 50 countries. 

One of the key features of Apple Audiobooks is the integration with Apple's ecosystem of devices and services. For example, users can pause an audiobook on their iPhone and continue listening on their iPad or Mac, and the app also integrates with Siri, allowing users to control playback using voice commands.

⚡ PublishDrive Features

• Direct publisher account management;
• Price promotion opportunities;
• In-store featuring opportunities;
• Secure review copy distribution tool.

2. Audible

Audible is a leading provider of digital audiobooks and spoken-word content. Audible has also expanded into original content, producing exclusive audiobooks and podcasts in partnership with authors, celebrities, and other creators. These original titles include fiction, non-fiction, and children's books, as well as educational content and entertainment.

3. Google Play Audio

Google Play Books is preinstalled on all Android devices, reaching billions of readers around the world in over 75 countries. It offers audiobooks along with ebooks, including bestsellers, new releases, and classic titles, as well as textbooks and academic titles.

⚡ PublishDrive Features

Secure review copy distribution tool.

4. Kobo Audio

Kobo Audio is an audiobook platform and service offered by Kobo, a digital reading company. It allows users to purchase and listen to audiobooks through their Kobo e-readers or mobile devices. Kobo Audio also provides features such as audiobook recommendations, syncing across devices, and adjustable playback speed to enhance the listening experience for users.

5. Overdrive Audio

OverDrive is one of the largest library providers representing 43,000 libraries in 75 countries on four continents. It provides libraries and schools with access to ebooks, audiobooks, magazines, and videos for lending. OverDrive's service allows users to borrow digital content on their computers, tablets, smartphones, and e-readers.

⚡ PublishDrive Features

In-store featuring opportunities.

6. Bookmate Audio 

Bookmate is a subscription-based ebook and audiobook service that allows users to access a large library of digital books and audiobooks for a monthly fee. It has eight platforms but mainly focuses on the Russian, South-East Asian, and Spanish e-reader markets with 6 million active readers.

The platform partners with publishers, booksellers, and libraries to provide access to its collection of digital content.

⚡ PublishDrive Features

Occasional promotional opportunities for Russia, Indonesia, and the Philippines

7. CNPeReading Audio (PublishDrive Exclusive)

As mentioned before, besides print-on-demand CNPeReading provides audio content to thousands of libraries in China and in the East Asian region.

⚡ PublishDrive Features

Occasional promotional opportunities for Chinese libraries.

8. Findaway

Findaway is an audiobook aggregator service that sells audiobooks to retailers like Barnes & Noble, subscription services like Spotify and Scribd, and digital library providers like Bibliotheca and Odilo. Findaway's mission is to make it easy for people to access and enjoy digital content, no matter where they are or what device they use.

⚡ PublishDrive Features

Occasional promotional opportunities.

9. Gardners

Gardners is a UK-based book wholesaler and distributor and one of the leading international wholesalers of books, eBooks, music, and film. The company also provides a range of services to its customers, including e-commerce solutions, marketing support, and bespoke order fulfillment.

⚡ PublishDrive Features

Occasional promotional opportunities for newly released titles.

10. Voxa Audio

Voxa is Romania’s first subscription mobile reading app for ebooks and audiobooks. It aims to cater to the Romanian market helping to promote Romanian literature and culture, but also international books in English or translated into Romanian, filling a gap in the market for audiobooks and ebooks in Romania.

PublishDrive is the first self-publishing platform to help indies reach this new market. Romania’s ebook market serves over 2M readers, valued at $63M, with an annual growth rate of 7%.

11. LazyJoy Audio

LazyJoy is a worldwide digital reading aggregator that wants to bring everyday joy with content of spoken-word entertainment, audiobooks, ebooks, and picture books. LazyJoy collaborates with large (Chinese brand) smartphone companies, unicorn internet companies, and big global content providers.

12. Storytel Audio

Storytel is a Swedish-founded digital subscription service that became the leading subscription streaming service in Northern Europe for audiobooks and ebooks.

The platform allows users to download audiobooks and ebooks for offline listening and reading, making it a convenient option for those who want to consume books on the go.

⚡ PublishDrive Features

In-store featuring opportunities.

13. Empik

Empik is a Polish retail chain that sells cultural and entertainment products, including books, music, movies, games, and stationery. It has grown to become one of the largest retail chains in Poland, with over 61% of sales in the Polish market (which is over €550M with a growing market trend). Empik has its own subscription platform called Empik Go for ebooks and audiobooks.

Besides its online presence, Empik is also known for its modern and innovative approach to retail, with many of its stores offering a range of cultural and entertainment events, including book signings, concerts, and art exhibitions.

Ebook - Major US and Worldwide Retailers

1. Amazon

Amazon is one of the largest online ebookstores in the world, which captures at least half of the digital book market.

⚡ PublishDrive Features

Built-in tool for Amazon Sponsored Products ads (boosted with AI capabilities to improve campaign performance)

2. Apple Books

Apple Books (formerly iBooks) is a leading ebook reading and store application that comes preinstalled on all Apple devices. The Apple Books app allows users to purchase and download ebooks, audiobooks, and textbooks directly from the app.

⚡ PublishDrive Features

• Direct publisher account management;
• Price promotion opportunities;
• In-store featuring opportunities;
• Secure review copy distribution tool.

3. Barnes & Noble

Barnes & Noble is one of the largest book retailers in the United States, with more than 1 million titles, operating approximately 630 retail stores across all 50 US states. Barnes & Noble also has a strong online presence, offering books, ebooks, and other products through its website.

⚡ PublishDrive Features

Promotional opportunity for newly released titles.

4. Google Play Books

Google Play Books is an online ebook platform and digital distribution service operated by Google, reaching billions of readers around the world in over 75 countries.

Users can purchase, download, and read ebooks and audiobooks on their smartphones, tablets, and computers using the Google Play Books app or web browser. The service offers millions of ebooks and audiobooks from various genres and supports file formats such as EPUB, PDF, and audiobook formats like MP3 and AAC. 

⚡ PublishDrive Features

• Direct publisher account management;
• Secure review copy distribution tool.

5. Kobo 

Kobo has more than 12 million readers across 190 countries. It’s also one of the most internationally recognized e-reading brands. Since its foundation, the company has expanded its product line to include a range of e-readers, tablets, and mobile apps. It also has developed partnerships with various booksellers and libraries around the world to offer a wide selection of ebooks.

⚡ PublishDrive Features

• Price promotion opportunities;
• In-store featuring opportunities.

Ebook - Reading Subscription Services with Millions of Users

1. Kobo Plus

Kobo Plus is a subscription-based service offered by Kobo that allows subscribers to access a large selection of ebooks for a monthly fee. 

The service is available in several countries, including Canada, the Netherlands, Belgium, and the United States. Subscribers can read the ebooks on their Kobo e-reader devices, the Kobo app on their smartphones or tablets, or through the Kobo website. 

⚡ PublishDrive Features

Occasional promotion for new releases.

2. Scribd

Scribd is one of the most popular online digital libraries and ebook subscription services, with over one million active subscribers. This reading-focused subscription service offers unlimited access to its content for a monthly subscription fee: bestselling titles, academic and scientific publications, and more.

⚡ PublishDrive Features

• In-store featuring opportunities;
• Promotional opportunity for newly released titles.

3. Storytel

Storytel is a leading digital subscription service for audiobooks and ebooks available primarily in Europe but also in parts of Asia and South America. Storytel also produces its own original audiobooks and ebooks, in addition to partnering with publishers to offer a wide selection of titles. 

⚡ PublishDrive Features

In-store featuring opportunities.

4. Bookmate

As mentioned previously, Bookmate is a subscription-based ebook and audiobook service that allows users to access a large library of digital books and audiobooks for a monthly fee. It has eight platforms but mainly focuses on the Russian, South-East Asian, and Spanish e-reader markets.

⚡ PublishDrive Features

Occasional promotional opportunities for Russia, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

5. Dreame (PublishDrive Exclusive)

Dreame is a reading app that caters to female readers under the age of 40 in the English-speaking South Asian market. It features an episodic model that works for Romance, Sci-Fi, and Fantasy. Readers pay to unlock each episode individually and are charged per 100 words.

⚡ PublishDrive Features

In-store featuring opportunities.

6. 24symbols

24symbols is an e-reading subscription-based service focusing on readers in America, Spain, and Latin American countries. The company has partnerships with publishers around the world to provide access to a wide range of ebooks.

⚡ PublishDrive Features

Occasional promotional opportunity for Spanish-speaking markets.

7. Perlego

Perlego is a non-fiction-focused e-reading subscription service for academic and non-fiction ebooks. The platform offers access to a library of more than 400,000 ebooks from over 4,000 publishers, including Pearson, Wiley, and Oxford University Press. Perlego provides a subscription-based service that allows students, professionals, and other users to access and read ebooks on various devices.

⚡ PublishDrive Features

Occasional promo opportunities for 28 EU countries.

Ebook - Global Library Providers

1. Baker & Taylor 

Baker & Taylor is a distributor of books with the widest network of libraries, schools, major book labels, and more. Its services are used by thousands of libraries and retailers in over 120 countries.

⚡ PublishDrive Features

In-store featuring opportunities.

2. Overdrive

OverDrive is a digital distribution platform that provides access to ebooks, audiobooks, and other digital content to libraries and schools around the world. It offers a vast collection of digital content from thousands of publishers, including bestselling titles, academic publications, and children's books.

⚡ PublishDrive Features

In-store featuring opportunities. 

3. Hoopla

Hoopla is a digital media platform that provides users access to a vast collection of ebooks, audiobooks, movies, TV shows, music, and comics. Hoopla is accessible from various devices, including smartphones, tablets, computers, and streaming devices such as Roku and Apple TV. Its offline download feature lets users enjoy their favorite content without an internet connection.

⚡ PublishDrive Features

In-store featuring opportunities.

4. Odilo

Odilo is a global digital content platform that provides libraries and educational institutions access to a wide range of digital materials, including ebooks, audiobooks, videos, and courses. Odilo serves over 5,000 libraries and institutions in 43 countries, offering more than two million titles in various languages and formats.

⚡ PublishDrive Features

• In-store featuring opportunities;
• Promotional opportunity for newly released titles.

5. Bibliotheca

Bibliotheca is a global provider of library solutions, offering a wide range of products and services that help libraries and other public institutions enhance their collections.

⚡ PublishDrive Features

• In-store featuring opportunities;
• Promotional opportunity for newly released titles.

6. Mackin

Mackin is a provider of K-12 educational resources and solutions for schools and libraries, with a focus on digital content and technology. It provides content to over 50,000 institutions in the US. 

⚡ PublishDrive Features

Occasional promotional opportunities for the US secondary education library newsletter campaigns.

Ebook - Regional Stores in Asia, East, and Western Europe

With these stores added to the list, you can truly go global as an author or publisher. 

1. iReader

The main goal of iReader is to offer its users a premium mobile reading experience. To achieve this, the company has introduced a product series, including iReader Ebooks, iReader Comics, and iReader Magazine, that offer a wide variety of topics and content. With these, iReader has established itself as a leading provider of mobile reading solutions within the industry.

⚡ PublishDrive Features

In-app featuring opportunities.

2. Tolino and German Network

Tolino is the second-largest sales channel for ebooks in Germany. It’s also a brand of e-readers and ebooks that is popular in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. People can read ebooks on Tolino’s app or on their laptops or tablets.

⚡ PublishDrive Features

Occasional promo opportunity for the German ebook market.

3. Ciando

Ciando is one of the largest German ebook retailers. Ciando's distribution platform provides content to libraries, schools, universities, and other institutions, making it an essential supplier of digital reading materials. The company also has a digital publishing service that enables authors and publishers to distribute their content in digital formats.

⚡ PublishDrive Features

Occasional promo opportunity for the German ebook market.

4. E-sentral

E-sentral is South Asia’s biggest ebook store with more than 400,000 active users in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore. Its catalog includes over 300,000 e-books from both local and international publishers.

⚡ PublishDrive Features

Occasional promo opportunity for the Indonesian and Malaysian ebook market.

5. DiBook

DiBook is a Hungarian retailer that distributes books in Hungarian, English, French, Italian, Spanish, and German.

⚡ PublishDrive Features

Occasional promotional opportunities for the Hungarian market.

6. Ekonyv.hu

Ekönyv.hu is another Hungarian retailer that provides content to the Hungarian and Eastern European e-book market.

⚡ PublishDrive Features

Occasional promotional opportunities for the Eastern European market.

7. Multimediaplaza.com

Multimediaplaza provides content to the Hungarian and Eastern European ebook market.

⚡ PublishDrive Features

Occasional promotional opportunities for the Eastern European market.

8. e-letoltes

E-letöltés provides content to the Hungarian and Eastern European ebook market.

⚡ PublishDrive Features

Occasional promotional opportunities for the Eastern-European market.

Besides these regional stores, there are also some I’ve already mentioned, such as China's leading ebook retailers and digital library providers: JD, Dangdang, CNPeReading, Gardners, Empik, Voxa, and LazyJoy.

PublishDrive’s Facebook Group

People at PublishDrive can help authors and indie publishers with all their publishing, marketing, and distribution needs. But there are some inquiries only an author can answer. That’s why we created a Facebook Group for those who seek advice or guidance from those who have already published a book.

If you want to join the group and be part of the conversation, click here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1443135315733609/ 

A Perfect Author Network

As you can see, once you choose to self-publish with PublishDrive, you have everything you need under one roof. We handle worldwide distribution and offer marketing opportunities so authors and publishers can sell more books faster and easier.

Join us