These are extraordinary times and every day sees dramatic change due to the global sweep of coronavirus COVID19. There will be many impacts on our lives, but one thing we will all need is immediate cash flow and this can be a problem for authors.
In the UK, an emergency fund has already been launched, but with physical bookstores closing, and speaking and teaching events canceled, many authors will struggle.
If you publish through traditional publishing, royalties can take many months to arrive. You can't control the schedule of payment and you don't get any details of the customers.
If you publish independently through online publishers like Amazon, Kobo, Apple, Google, and other distributors, you will get your money sooner — but it will still be 30-60 days later and once again, you don't get any details of the customers.
If you publish and sell direct, you can receive money in your PayPal/bank account within 10-15 minutes.
Yes, you read that right. Minutes rather than months. You also get the details of the customer so you can own the relationship in the future.
[Please note, this article contains affiliate links to services I personally use and recommend. If you buy anything through my links, I receive a small percentage of the sale at no extra cost to you. I only recommend services that I believe are great for authors.]
You can control your cash flow and sell direct — but only if:
(A) You control the intellectual property rights for your book
You need to have the right to sell your own book in ebook and/or audiobook format directly to readers in specific territories. If you have signed a contract with a publisher, then check that contract first as you most likely do not have that right as you have licensed it to a publisher. However, read it closely, as you might have licensed some territories and not others, for example, UK Commonwealth and nowhere else.
If you are an indie author, and you haven't signed a contract with a publisher, and you are not exclusive to Amazon in KDP Select and/or ACX, you're good to go. [Here's my take on exclusivity vs wide for ebooks, print and audiobooks.]
(B) You have an email list or a way to reach readers
Click here for my tutorial on how to set up your email list if you haven't done this already — might as well start now!
You might also have social media channels that can help.
(C) You change your mindset
Many authors are so obsessed with chart rankings on Amazon that they forget the point is to reach readers who love our books — and for many of us, make a living with our writing.
Selling direct enables readers to support us and money to arrive in our bank accounts quickly — but you will not see a spike in your Amazon rankings. So what do you really want?
The other mindset shift is to become a true business-person. Yes, you have to sell something from your website! You also have to learn a few things, some of which might seem technical, but it's worth it for the control and (hopefully) the money. You will be on the way to becoming truly independent.
Just to be clear, I am not saying that you should stop selling through all the other channels, just that adding direct sales to the mix gives you more control. Basically, I sell my books in every format in every place possible!
If you're ready to sell direct, here are the steps to take.
(1) Format your digital files
I sell ebooks and audiobooks direct. The ebook includes mobi for Kindle, ePub for other readers and PDF versions. The audiobooks are a zipped file containing MP3s which are ordered correctly so they can be played on a device.
There are lots of formatting options for ebooks and print books (for Mac and PC) — from free services to paid freelancers.
Personally, I choose Vellum (Mac only) for my ebook formatting. Here's a tutorial on how to use it for ebook and print formatting.
Vellum does now create an ePub for Kindle, but you can convert it to Mobi format by using BookFunnel, which also has integration for delivering digital files through Payhip (and other services).
Audiobooks take a lot more work, especially if you also want to publish them to audiobook retailers like Audible, Apple Books, Google Play etc. Here's how to self-publish an audiobook, and for more detail, check out Audio for Authors: Audiobooks, Podcasting and Voice Technologies.
(2) Choose a service that allows you to sell globally
There are lots of options with pros and cons of each, but I use Payhip.com.
It's a great service that allows payment through card or PayPal, is easy-to-use with built-in marketing and analysis tools, and also deals with the EU digital tax laws, which many other services don't do. Over the last decade, I have also used e-Junkie and Selz, but neither dealt with the EU taxes in an efficient way.
Basically, if the buyer is in the EU, you have to pay tax in that country, even if you only sell a few dollars worth and even if you don't live there yourself. Payhip deals with this for you — hooray!
Payhip has a free plan which takes 5% transaction fee, and then two premium plans where the transaction fee is reduced when you pay more upfront. Your choice will depend on how much you expect to earn each month.
(3) Set up your store
Add a new digital product per book in each format. Just upload the digital files, cover and add the description and price. I use USD even though I am in the UK as USD is the most international currency. It only takes a few minutes to set each product up. There is plenty of help documentation as well.
You can sort the products into Collections as I have done with different series and my fiction and non-fiction, so your books are easier to find.
You will also need to set up your payment connections through PayPal and Stripe so people can pay you.
If you don't have these set up already, there will be some hoops to jump through because of international banking laws. So, start this process ASAP if you are new to online payments.
Once they are set up, you will need to slowly ramp up sales. If you get a massive spike when you're just starting out (and we all wish for that!) then your account might get blocked because of suspicious behavior. So get it set up, start transacting with a small group for testing and then ramp up over time.
You can also set up integrations with email providers like ConvertKit (which is the service I use and love!). Click here for my tutorial on how to use them to set up your email list.
(4) Integrate your store into your website
You should already have links to multiple sites on your book pages on your website. [If you don't have this sorted, then check out my tutorial on how to build your own author website.]
With Payhip, you can easily add a button on your site so readers can buy directly from you. You can change the text on the button, so I like to use ‘Buy direct from the author' to emphasize the personal connection.
The Other Stores button goes to my Books2Read.com links as I sell in so many places! If you're wide, it's a great service to use to get one link to share to all stores. [At the time of writing, they do not allow Payhip, but hopefully, that is coming!]
You can also add links in other places — for example, at the top of my Books page I have the following text:
Here are my bestselling books, non-fiction for authors under Joanna Penn and thriller fiction under J.F.Penn, as well as foreign-language editions and workbooks. Click on the books below to see more information and access buy links for all online stores. Available in paperback, ebook, audio, and some in Hardback and Large Print editions.
You can buy my ebooks (and some audiobooks) directly from me: www.Payhip.com/thecreativepenn
You can also get my books for free if you request them on your library app or through your local Librarian.
(5) Email your list
Your readers want to support you and a growing number understand the financial stress that creatives are under, particularly in the case of an economic downturn. Increasingly, many readers also have ethical issues with some of the big sellers and want to support creators and independents directly.
This is a snippet of the email I sent out to my list this week offering a discount on my ebooks and audiobooks if people bought from me directly.
[And yes, you too can use coupon code: QUARANTINE – just go to www.Payhip.com/thecreativepenn ]
You can also add a call to action within your email list auto-responder, perhaps with some special offer for your email list that is valid over time. I use Payhip to distribute my ebooks to my supporters on Patreon.com/thecreativepenn.
(6) Share on social media
You can share products directly from Payhip and include social coupons if other people share as well.
You can also create banners on Canva.com to advertise your products on sale — as I have done on Twitter @thecreativepenn and Facebook.com/thecreativepenn
When is it worth selling direct?
You really need to have an email list or another way to reach people online with your offer. It would also be best if you had a few books as the benefits grow if you have multiple products as you can upsell and cross-sell, and generally make more income per customer.
If you don't have either of these, write more books and build an email list so you are positioned for the future.
Because we will get through this, but the experience will accelerate online sales and marketing and those authors who can control their income will be far better placed for the next time something happens.
I started this site in late 2008 as the Global Financial Crisis hit and I was laid off. I was determined to make sure no single company controlled all my income, and over the years, I have grown multiple streams of income, most of them online, global and digital.
The negative financial experience of the GFC spurred me to change the way I lived and the way I earned. But now I feel that I didn't go far enough. Even though I have been doing direct sales for a decade, I have only ever included it as a secondary option. Now I'm determined to push it as my primary sales channel so that I can own and control even more of my book sales in the future. What do you think? How will you change your processes?
Are you selling direct to readers? Or do you have any questions? Please do leave a comment and join the conversation.
Joanna,
As always, great information!
I concur with your thought process. Ironically, this month, I set up an eStore on my website and am now offering my eBooks for sale in ePub and MOBI (i.e., Kindle) format. I have also tried to get creative with my direct eBook selling strategy. I’ve begun “bundling” my latest book into several new service offerings now available through my online store called, Library Marketing Services. I’m not trying to pitch the service, but instead just sharing with others the “mindset” change I’m currently going through. Bundling my books into another offering is one such change. Viewing my books as a “foundation,” so to speak, I’m trying to figure out what other complimentary “structures” (i.e., revenue streams) can I attach to them and build around them that will generate sustained revenue and growth.
Sounds like a great business design, Eric!
How do you prevent pirating? Bootlegging selling on these platforms?
Hi Joanna, what a great timing! Thanks!! One question: I’ve just started with Bookfunnel as well and they mention that “they can deliver books if an author sells them on their website”. What is the difference between Payhip and Bookfunnel, regarding the direct selling? Thanks! And stay healthy! Best, TJ
Hi Tara,
You have to deal with the sale (Payhip is a shopping cart) and then Bookfunnel will deliver the book (delivery)
so basically, you cannot SELL through Bookfunnel.
You can deliver the files just through Payhip, but it’s just downloadable files so readers have to know how to manually get the files onto their devices, whereas Bookfunnel provide a much easier interface for the reader to get it onto their device. It’s about customer service!
Thank you for the terrific tips. Love your idea of a quarantine coupon. Do you know if offering a coupon to encourage purchases from your own site would trigger Amazon to also lower the price of that product on their site?
No, they don’t price match to author sites as far as I know. Only to the big sellers – like Apple, Google Play, Kobo, Nook etc
It’s against TOS to have it listed lower anywhere else, even on your own site, but they don’t care about coupons. Therefore, the way to do it is to list it for the same price, then offer a coupon to reduce the actual price. 🙂
Great content and suggestions! Made one of my books free in PDF and half-price for print to my email list… as a quarantine special… and pocketed some cash today already, plus got all the email addresses to stay in contact. Fulfilling the print order with KDP author copies I had on hand.
Big win for all parties involved!
Brilliant! So glad it has worked for you already!
Great tips as always, Joanna,
I plan on offering direct sales for signed copies of my physical books since I won’t be doing as many cons this year thanks to covid-19.
I don’t have a “store” on my website, but I do have a mailing list through Mail Chimp and a PayPal account. Can I sell author-direct books from Mail Chimp? I am woefully ignorant about this whole process, which seems to address only ebooks. How can I sell my print books?
I have only addressed digital ebooks and audiobooks here, because I don’t do print books myself. You can certainly use PayPal direct payments but you still have to deliver the ebooks somehow, and account for taxes, which is why I use a shopping cart and payment processor like Payhip. Many authors do print sales, but of course, you need to stock them, ship them, and manage the physical sales process.
One tip that I picked up from Garrett Robinson: prioritise direct sales on your website (and in your emails). Put the buy direct at the top. Add a paragraph explaining why it’s good to buy direct (you get more royalties, they get to keep their books on whatever device they want and they pay the same). At my last book release, I did this in my launch email, and half my sales were direct.
And you can do preorders too, if you hook up Bookfunnel actions with Payhip. (Or without bookfunnel, where you email all preorders… like I did because I didn’t know about the actions.)
I do wish that Payhip supported multiple currencies (at once). I dislike having to price everything only in one currency. I’d rather have proper territorial pricing.
I’m definitely going to prioritize direct sales in my next launch – at least for non-fiction. Let’s raise the multi-currency thing with Payhip – if everyone asks, it might happen!
Do you sell on amazon?
I thought that if amazon found you selling your book for less than the amazon price there was hell to pay.
See you at the Webinar this afternoon.
–Don
It’s not less than the Amazon price. It is full price, but if you use a discount coupon it is reduced. I also don’t think they price match against this kind of direct sale, but regardless, it is the same price in the store.
Hi Joanna
Thank you for this very useful information.
I don’t sell many ebooks, I’m non-fiction so paperback are preferred. However, I am planning on selling through my website, so at the moment I’m in KU, if I sell ebooks through my own website, does this mean I would come out of KU?
Many thanks as always
Sheila
If you’re in KU, you have to be exclusive to Amazon, so you can’t sell direct.
You said this in one of your comments: “You can certainly use PayPal direct payments but you still have to deliver the ebooks somehow, and account for taxes,”
Can you please explain how you account for taxes in the US? Do you have to pay each state sales tax separately, and if so are there any services that can handle this part for you?
I’m in the UK so I use Payhip, but you can use different options. This article has more: https://selfpublishingadvice.org/selling-books-on-your-author-website/
Hi Joanna. Great content as usual. But how do I get people to my payhip page. Are you able to place your payhip link in your ebooks? or does that run afoul of platforms like amazon?
You can put links in your books but just direct people to your website.
In the end, it’s all about marketing and putting links where people will find them. That’s why I do so much content marketing. It brings people to my site and some of them will click to buy. You can also put links in your email sequences, social media etc. But as with any kind of book sales, you have to drive the marketing. It is all a long term game.
This is brilliant, as ever. I am a keen listener to your podcast but I happened upon this post while researching ways to sell my 12 hour audiobooks direct from my website. I’ve just set up my ebooks with payhip and was wondering if I could sort it for audiobooks. I notice you say ‘some’ audiobooks. Is this the shorter ones! Or is it just that you havent’ finished sorting them all our there yet?
Cheers
MTM
I just have some audiobooks in ACX for 7 years exclusivity, so I can’t sell all my audiobooks direct or wide. That will slowly remedy over time!
I use zipped MP3 files on Payhip for the audio I do sell.
How do you integrate BookFunnel and Payhip? I just signed up for Payhip and I can’t seem to find the option to do so on their site. I did find an option to direct to another site upon purchase – do you just direct them to the relevant BookFunnel landing page?
Here you go: https://authors.bookfunnel.com/help/setup-payhip/
Hurray! Thank you so much!
Thank you. Great article and lots more to read. I started writing a guide on teaching pre-school dance; tested the market; bought a new website – it doesn’t seem to support digital downloads; started (but never published) another blog/website; partially wrote the book; got totally confused – and STOPPED!
Now really wanting to trying to get a plan in place to get this thing started. Love your podcasts. Hoping to see my way through the fog soon.
I understood you to say that Vellum can only be used with a Mac. Are there any other options for computers?
Yes, it’s Mac only. You can find other formatting options here: https://www.thecreativepenn.com/formatting/
or you can use Mac in Cloud for a PC – https://paulteague.net/how-to-use-vellum-on-a-pc/
Joanna – I enjoy following your posts. I want to eventually sell direct but I’m not sure it will work well for me as an author of children’s middle-grade fiction. Almost all my sales are physical copies. Is there anything you suggest for an author like me that wants to sell direct?
You can sell physical books direct. Try aer.io in the US through Ingram. Some people have stock and use Shopify or just PayPal to sell print direct, but you do have to hold stock. Depends if you think it’s worth it! Check out what Karen Inglis does at https://selfpublishingadventures.com/
It would be nice if you indicated up front that the vellum? program is only good for Mac computers. I wasted a lot of time watching the video only to find out it wont work on my windows programs.
Apologies, that’s on my tutorial and the Vellum website, but I’ll add it here.
How to do it with print books?
Thanks for being a proponent of the direct-to-customer approach. I tried Googling how to sell books directly to customers and it’s SWAMPED with SEO-abusive Amazon/Walmart/Barnes&Noble/etc. ads. The internet is really, just, such a sad place… to put it mildly…