Free Self Publishing Services to Know
Thinking about publishing a book yourself, without spending a dime? You’re in luck: there are plenty of places offering free self publishing services. I go over the ones you should definitely consider. Whether you’re looking for ebook, audiobook, or print distribution, learn how to get a book published for free in no time.
This write-up covers:
- Amazon KDP
- Barnes & Noble Press
- Apple Books
- Google Play Books
- Kobo Writing Life
- Dreame
- PublishDrive
Amazon KDP
Amazon is the world’s #1 online retailer, with over 200 million people visiting the platform every month. With its leading e-reader Kindle, subscription program Kindle Unlimited, and Kindle stores in 13 countries, Amazon KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) is the place to be.
Distribute ebook, audiobook, and print | Get 70% royalties for books between $2.99 and $9.99; 35% if below $2.99 | To get started for free, go to kdp.amazon.com |
Check out this guide on how to self-publish on Amazon KDP.
There is one major issue with this service: KDP requires you to sell exclusively to them for the first 90 days. That means you miss out on the rest of the book market – around 40% according to PublishDrive’s data.
As an indie author, you want to maximize your reach and sell everywhere you can. I’m talking about channels mentioned in the rest of this write-up. Ones like Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Google Play Books, and literally thousands of other bookstores. Publishing wide is how indies made 85% more book sales in 2020 via PublishDrive.
The thing is, other book markets like China are thriving. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, readers have prioritized online means to get their books. Although many physical bookstores have shut down, digital bookstores have filled the gap and surged in demand. Look at these crazy growth rates:
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Self-publishers have been not only resilient but profitable by selling books internationally in various stores (not just KDP). It’d make no sense for you to miss these lucrative spaces.
Skip the exclusivity and sell in Amazon and thousands of other stores with PublishDrive.
Barnes & Noble Press
As the main competitor to Amazon KDP, Barnes & Noble is a great book retailer for reaching millions of readers on its website BN.com and e-reader NOOK. If you’re looking at publishing print books, Barnes & Noble has one of the best services in terms of quality.
Distribute ebook and print | Get 70% royalties for ebooks; 55% for print books | To get started for free, go to press.barnesandnoble.com |
Check out this guide on how to self-publish on Barnes & Noble.
Apple Books
With the Apple Books app pre-installed on every Apple device, publishing authors get exposed to over 1.4 billion users in over 50 countries.
Distribute ebook and audiobook (for audio, you must work with one of Apple’s partners like PublishDrive) | Get 70% royalties for most books | To get started for free, go to authors.apple.com |
Check out this guide on how to self-publish on Apple Books.
Did you know? As a trusted partner of Apple, PublishDrive can help you land featured book promotions by suggesting your title to Apple’s editorial team (with a 90% approval rate).
Google Play Books
With the Google Play Books app pre-installed on Android devices, that’s a potential reach of over 2.5 billion users. And with Google being the world’s largest search engine, acquiring a dedicated books page under Google can help boost discoverability in organic searches or online advertising.
Distribute ebook and audiobook | Get 70% royalties for most books | To get started for free, go to play.google.com |
Check out this guide on how to self-publish on Google Play Books. Or watch the video below:
Did you know? Google is notorious for having a slow publishing process, where it can take authors years to get their books up. PublishDrive speeds things up.
Kobo Writing Life
Rakuten Kobo reaches prominent online bookstores in over 190 countries. In the United States, Kobo gets your book into Walmart. Walmart is one of the largest retailers where 275 million people visit its website monthly.
With audiobook distribution, Kobo gets you into Walmart as well as Indigo (Canada’s #1 bookstores) and Bol (U.K.’s leading e-commerce store). Learn more about the best audiobook services.
Distribute ebook and audiobook | Get up to 70% royalties for books priced more than $2.99; 45% if below $2.99 | To get started for free, go to kobo.com/writinglife |
Did you know? PublishDrive indies saw their book audio and ebook sales from Kobo hike by 60% in 2020.
Dreame
Dreame is the newest reading service on the block. The niche reading app from Southeast Asia was in fact PublishDrive’s #1 store with the most growth in 2020. Indies made a whopping 92,441% more royalties.
Distribute ebook (e-stories) | Get up to 70% royalties for books priced more than $2.99; 45% if below $2.99 | To get started for free, go to starywriting.com |
Check out this guide on how to self-publish on Dreame. Or watch this quick 5-minute video on how to publish with your mobile phone:
Did you know? For bestselling indie author Quinn Loftis, discovering Dreame was a game-changer. Read the case study on how Quinn Loftis runs her best self-publishing business.
PublishDrive (Publish Everywhere)
Okay, so PublishDrive isn’t entirely free. But as an aggregator with global distribution to 400+ stores and 240K+ libraries, PublishDrive is hands down one of the best self-publishing platforms.
It’s free to try out for 14 days. If you end up liking it, it costs as low as $9.99 a month to sell in thousands of stores. You also get a suite of tools and perks for marketing books, managing royalty reports, and more.
Unlike other services, PublishDrive doesn’t take any commission. That means you keep 100% royalties earned from stores.
Distribute ebook, audiobook, and print-on-demand | Keep 100% royalties | To get started, go to publishdrive.com/register |
“I know when I submit my information to PublishDrive, they're in charge of getting it up where it needs to be. As long as I’m on time with my files...I trust PublishDrive to see it done...They handle all the heavy lifting...To take five minutes and do it with PublishDrive saves me a bunch of time.”
Manage all your publishing needs and sell in thousands of stores with one dashboard.
