Are you looking to self-publish your book beyond the confines of Amazon? Would you like to know one viable alternative to Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) that'll get your book on Amazon and dozens of other retail sites and libraries? Then, look no further than Draft2Digital (D2D)!
Founded in March 2012 by Kris Austin, D2D is headquartered in Oklahoma City and offers a range of free and automated tools for self-published authors and independent presses. D2D distributes ebooks and paperback books to a wide array of retailers and library systems. I'll cover each of those avenues, what you can expect, and what D2D pays you for each sale.
What makes Draft2Digital so unique is their revenue share model. Yes, it's free to publish through Draft2Digital with no strings attached, but that comes with a split in revenue. How it's split and what you get varies by the retail platform and publication type, so let's cover each option in granular detail.
What Does Draft2Digital Publish?
Draft2Digital currently distributes ebooks and paperback books while offering some assistance with publishing audiobooks. Let's explore each avenue.
D2D eBooks
Draft2Digital excels the most in digital publishing, so you can anticipate seeing them shine in so many ways with ebooks. Account holders can publish their ebooks for free in exchange for the revenue split as mentioned earlier, but it gets kind of tricky if you don't pay attention to the avenue Draft2Digital reaches.
Account holders get distribution to digital stores, subscription services and library services, each with their own payout model. In their words:
The short answer is that our fee is approximately 10% of the price you set for your book (list price). That means most of our stores take about 30%, Draft2Digital takes about 10%, and you keep about 60% of the list price of your ebook.
This quote can be a bit confusing, especially if you look at the royalty for each avenue. Since D2D acts as a middleman, you have to understand that the retailer who sells your book gets their cut too. Draft2Digital takes 10% of your list price, not just 10% of net profits. Now, account for an additional chunk of royalty taken from the point of sale and you're left with the remainder.
Unfortunately, D2D doesn't make that royalty agreement information publicly available due to privacy concerns with the individual retailers. And, the only way for you to find out how much you'd get is on the last step of the ebook publishing process.
The good news is if you're not comfortable with a given avenue, you do not have to select distribution for it. For instance, I already publish books to Amazon by way of KDP, so I deselect that option in D2D.
Just as a quick warning: don’t publish KDP Select-enrolled ebooks on D2D or anywhere away from KDP. That'll get you into hot water with Amazon, so avoid that at all costs. If your ebook isn't enrolled in KDP Select, you'll be just fine publishing it wherever you like.
Digital Stores
Under digital stores, you reach Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books, Tolino, Vivlio, the Smashwords Store, Gardners, Fable, and Amazon. My publication, Amazon Keywords for Books, is $4.99. I get the following royalties at:
Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple, Tolino, Gardners, Fable, & Amazon = 59.5%
Vivlio = 55%
Smashwords = 77%
Subscription Services
For subscription services, you enroll your ebook into premium lending programs and are paid on how much readers consume your book. Everand (fka Scribd) and Kobo Plus are two fantastic options. Think of them like the counterpart to Kindle Unlimited.
For Everand, once a reader gets past a certain threshold (though I couldn’t find any info about what that percentage is), you get paid the full retail value. My book would get the standard 59.5%.
On Kobo Plus, you're dealing with a much different beast. In fact, I covered this program in my review of KDP Select, but will recap some of the important points. Because, you'll notice you don't get projected royalties in the D2D dashboard.
Kobo Plus is a subscription service that allows users to read and listen to unlimited eBooks and audiobooks for a monthly fee. For only $7.99 per month, readers get access to over 1.5 million books through any Kobo eReader or the Kobo app.
But, what's the catch? Kobo Plus must've saw the lopsided way KDP Select pays authors, so they came up with a different system. Instead of being paid by pages read, authors are paid based on the time consumed while reading (or in the case of audiobooks, listening).
Each month, Kobo takes the total revenue earned from Kobo Plus subscriptions and the total minutes that all subscribers spent reading that month. They then divide the Monthly Revenue by the Minutes Read, which designates the monetary value to each minute of reading. As you can imagine, this value fluctuates from month to month based on the subscriber count and total reading time.
Kobo Writing Life went onto say:
Imagine we have 100 subscribers paying $9.99 a month each. Our total revenue for that month is 999. Let's imagine that those subscribers spent an average of 2 hours a day each reading. 2 hours a day for 30 days is 3600 (120 * 30 = 3600). So 100 readers spent a collective total of 360,000 minutes reading on Kobo Plus that month.
In order to pay our authors, we calculate the value of one minute of reading time. 999 divided by 360,000 =0.0027 (Monthly Revenue/Minutes Read = Value per Minute Consumed). The payment rate for authors on KWL is 60%. This means that for every minute a reader spends reading your book in this example, you earn 60% of 0.0027. A book that takes a reader 3 hours to read would therefore generate 0.2916 (180*0.0027) * 0.6) in earnings.
The Kobo Plus program continues to expand every year with their current reach at eighteen regions. Compare that to Kindle Unlimited where they reach twelve regions.
Library Services
The part I love most about Draft2Digital is their reach into libraries. I'm a huge advocate for libraries and it was mission critical for me to get my books there. D2D works with Overdrive, Odilo, Bibliotheca, Baker & Taylor, Hoopla, BorrowBox, and Palace Marketplace. But, library distribution is different from the other two models.
D2D recommends charging two to three times more than your normal price because libraries will use the digital book with more than one user.
You're paid in one of two ways:
One Copy, One User - Public libraries implement the "One Copy, One User" practice for ebooks, requiring separate purchases for each copy to enable concurrent lending to multiple users. Once a library buys that book, it will remain in circulation indefinitely.
Cost Per Checkout - Cost Per Checkout (CPC) lets libraries lend the same book to multiple users by paying for each loan instead of a fixed price. Once a term period ends or you remove your book from distribution on this option, the book will no longer be in the library.
I increased the price of my $4.99 ebook to $14.99 for libraries. For the One Copy, One User model, Overdrive, Odilo, Bibliotheca, Baker & Taylor, and BorrowBox provide a 46.7% royalty. Meanwhile, Palace Marketplace provides the best royalty around 59.5%.
For the Cost Per Checkout model, Overdrive and Odilo pay about 10% of the One Copy, One User model or about 4.67%. According to D2D, Hoopla is based on a tiered pricing model. I get about 3.2% of the library price with them.
Side note: Carefully choose your ebook's price because unlike the other avenues, Hoopla won't update or change that price. It's stuck forever on that book unless you desist it and publish a second edition.
D2D Specs for Ebooks
As a whole the Draft2Digital dashboard is easy to navigate and the process is fairly intuitive. Should you ever get lost, contact support for assistance at the bottom of the dashboard under "Contact Us." D2D also has a YouTube channel with plenty of tutorials to help out, so be sure to check them out.
For your ebook, you can upload up to 100MB of a .doc, .docx, .rtf, and .odt. Or, come with your own pre-formatted .epub file. The good news is if you don't have the patience or skills for formatting your ebook, D2D has you covered with their automated interior formatting tool.
On the third step of the upload process, D2D provides formatting free of charge. You have twenty-eight templates to choose from with options for chapter or scene decorations. Once you're happy with it, you can download it in .mobi, .epub, and .pdf.
Here's the crazy part: you do not have to publish through Draft2Digital if you want to use this tool. In fact, the CEO Kris Austin shared in an interview that he encourages authors to use the tools and doesn't want them to feel beholden to D2D. Though he did admit authors staying with D2D would be the ideal scenario.
Is this tool flexible? Not really. There's no way to edit or change any of the elements. What you see is what you get.
D2D Print Books: Paperbacks
In March 2023, Draft2Digital announced the official launch of D2D Print where you can publish paperback books in six trim sizes:
5" x 8"
5.25" x 8"
5.5" x 8.5"
6" x 9"
7.5" x 9.25"
8.5" x 11"
The minimum to maximum page count is 64 to 740 pages. The size and page count play a vital factor in how much you're paid per sale.
You get 45% minus base print costs. And since this is print on demand, you're not responsible for any costs. The customer pays for the printing.
Thankfully, Draft2Digital has a Print Calculator where you can input the trim size, page or word count, the currency, and the book's price. You'll see the unit cost and royalty breakdown.
D2D works with Ingram Book Group to distribute your book to over 40,000 bookstores, libraries, and online retailers. This is the same distribution used through IngramSpark and to a certain extent KDP's Expanded Distribution. But, D2D knew that they're competitors had the same distribution, so they provided unique options unavailable on other platforms.
Free ebook to print book conversions
Create a print cover from an ebook cover (really cool tool, by the way)
Free automated interior formatting
Free ISBNs
And quite a bit more
Heck, I didn't even touch on the automated front and back matter options available through the automated interior formatting tool. This means D2D will help you with:
Title page
Copyright page
Dedication
Also by - this is a great tool if you've already published content through D2D.
New release email notification signup - this is excellent because it keeps your readers in the know about your latest releases.
Teaser
About the Author
And, About the Publisher
The biggest hang-up I had initially about D2D Print was the cost to order a proof copy. Not to mention, it was only available for account holders in the US and Canada. They originally charged $30 plus taxes for a proof copy. This higher premium provided expedited printing and fulfillment.
In a comparison video, I shared how D2D's print on demand competitors charged roughly 70% less and the quality was roughly the same. Yes, the print quality comes out fairly even in comparison to the other companies, but the cost was just too much.
That's not to say your customer paid that much, just you paid that much. Well, that's no longer the case!
In March 2024, D2D announced international print support for thirty-one regions without paying the exorbitant shipping costs. To enable distribution, all account holders must order a proof to verify quality. When your book is officially available online, you can order wholesale author copies to use for in-person events, private sales, or just to self-distribute.
My one nitpick I have is that if you want to make updates to your book, you can only do it for free once every ninety days. Beyond that, you have to buy a Change Token for $25 each. Platforms like KDP don't charge you for updates, but places like IngramSpark charge a $25 update fee sixty days after publishing a book.
Make sure you upload a manuscript that is 100% accurate to what you want or you're going to pay a hefty fee.
I'd love to see a calculator for proof pricing so I know what I'm getting into and don't have to wait until I've uploaded everything only to find out the cost is still too high for my needs.
Shout-out to the D2D team for listening to my original gripes and improving the D2D Print option. Indie authors need more options, so I'm glad to see D2D step up their game and offer a competitive print on demand option few platforms rival.
My only other requests would be to see more trim sizes and add hardcover and hardcover with dust jackets as options. Knowing D2D's track record, it'll come in due time. I don't have any inside intel on that, so it's merely speculation at this point.
D2D Does Audiobooks???
In July 2017, Draft2Digital announced their partnership with the audiobook publishing company, Findaway Voices. However, this deal would only be a bridge between one platform and the other. If you publish your ebook or print book through D2D, you can export the metadata to Findaway Voices with a single click. Beyond that, it's up to you to find a narrator off-platform, manage the audio file upload, and deal with all the audiobook requirements from within the Findaway Voices dashboard.
Draft2Digital takes no cut of the earnings coming from Findaway Voices; they're just merely providing an easy button for folks looking to handle all publication iterations of ebook, print book, and audiobooks.
Spotify acquired the parent company of Findaway Voices for an estimated $123 million around June 2022 and implemented a lot of changes--both good and bad. They've since diminished their market reach by removing some audiobook retailer options, removed their marketplace for narrators, and in February 2024 changed their Terms and Conditions in what many considered a massive rights grab. Within two days, Findaway Voices by Spotify changed the Terms and Conditions and launched an FAQ page in an attempt to explain the new agreement.
Findaway Voices by Spotify deserves its own post, so I'll spare you the granular details.
I'd love to see Draft2Digital offer audiobook distribution, even if it's a direct sales option where they collect their cut similar to ebooks and print books. Do I have any inside intel on that? No, it's merely a pipedream, so I'm hoping D2D is taking notes and considering this option for indie authors.
I trust D2D more, because they've never made such an egregious mistake like Findaway Voices by Spotify did with the drastic changes in the Terms and Conditions.
Unique Tools & Features of Draft2Digital
Rather than share every last feature and tool they have, I'll highlight a few key options and refer you to their knowledge base for an extended list.
Universal Book Link Creation
When you publish a book through D2D, they'll provide you with a Universal Book Link. Quite a few authors aren't aware that when they share one link directing to a specific region, it creates friction for you international audience. If you share an Amazon US link to someone outside of the US, they can't buy your book.
D2D creates a link that displays every marketplace your book appears. Once the potential reader clicks the retailer they prefer, they'll go directly to the region-specific marketplace.
Books2Read: Free Marketing Tool
As if that wasn't enough, Draft2Digital outdid themselves in February 2018 when they launched the free-to-use service, Books2Read. If you're not exclusively using Draft2Digital for distribution, Books2Read has you covered for Universal Book Links. Books2Read (B2R) is a D2D-owned site and service that helps authors with certain aspects of marketing.
With B2R, you can insert links to your paperback, hardcover, and audiobook iterations, in addition to sharing ebook links. And, to stack more value on that, they even allow you to enter any affiliate store IDs in the background, so if someone buys a book from your link to a specific retailer, you get a kickback.
For example, I am in the Amazon Associates program where I get about 4% per sale of my books. So, I provide Books2Read with my affiliate store ID and then it's set and forget. I essentially get to legally double dip on the sale of my book. I get paid once for the sale, and I get paid a small commission more for referring the customer. Meanwhile, your reader pays the same amount. It's a win for everyone!
Books2Read also provides other services, so feel free to browse their site for more details. You will need a Draft2Digital account to log in.
Payment Splitting for Co-Authors
The next huge feature not enough people are talking about is payment splitting. As you can imagine, co-writing a book might be fun and profitable, the headache of figuring out who gets paid what and paying them can be a hassle, especially years after publishing. Rather than fuss with all that extra work, D2D handles the payments for you. It's of no extra cost to you, but all payees must have an account, payment method, and completed tax interview.
PublishDrive is the only self-publishing company I know with a payment splitting tool called Abacus. Unlike D2D's tool, Abacus doesn't manage the payments and you have to pay a monthly fee for every book tracked. But, you don't have to use PublishDrive for their payment splitting tool and you get deeper analytics and tracking.
So you know, I'm merely sharing an alternative should Draft2Digital not measure up to your expectations. I'd prefer the more hands-off approach to payment splitting in D2D, but that's personal preference.
Smashwords Access
In February 2022, Draft2Digital acquired the another well-established digital publishing company called Smashwords. This came as a huge surprise to me because I always viewed them as adversaries. Apparently, that was far from the truth. I had the pleasure of interviewing both CEOs of Draft2Digital and Smashwords and they were incredibly friendly and both driving home a sense of unity. Rather than work against each other, they decided it was best to work with each other to positively impact the indie publishing community at large.
It's been a couple of years since that acquisition and slowly, D2D has migrated some features from Smashwords, one of them being the Smashwords Store. I cannot say enough nice things about the Smashwords store. Is it the most modern storefront? No. Is it professional and well laid out? Absolutely.
Right now, you can publish your books to Smashwords by way of D2D. Eventually, all roads lead to D2D with only the Smashwords storefront up. When will that happen, no one knows. D2D is very calculated and deliberate about their movements. I'm sure they witnessed some of their contemporaries botch major moves.
Back in 2018, CreateSpace merged with KDP and pandemonium ensued! Files were lost, earnings plummeted, and some metadata came in a garbled up mess. It created a lot of extra work and hassle for account holders. Similar issues happened to Lulu and IngramSpark in 2020.
My thoughts are that D2D can take all the time they need if it creates less heartache for me in the long run.
Now there's three really cool features about Smashwords. The first being the coupon code creation. You can run special deals and discounts for your ebook without drawing the ire of platforms like Amazon. These coupon codes can be set for whatever you want for however many redemptions you need.
Next, Smashwords reports all sales to various bestseller's lists including USA Today, New York Times, Publisher's Weekly, and more. So, if you're really eager to get mainstream publicity through mainstream bestseller lists, then Smashwords needs to be in your next book launch strategy.
I could devote an entire video to Smashwords, but I'll hold off with one more neat feature--the regular website sales. Smashwords is big about hosting big digital sales events where authors discount their books, then share it with their following. That explosion in traffic on Smashwords guides more customers and new readers to authors they may have never found in the sea of options on Amazon. I've personally seen a decent amount of sales for every event they host. Keep an eye on your email inbox or subscribe to my podcast on YouTube for details about upcoming events.
Other Notable Acquisition
Around July 2023, Draft2Digital acquired the book cover design service at SelfPubBookCovers.com (SPBC). Draft2Digital CEO Kris Austin shared:
“Conventional cover design procurement is unnecessarily difficult and time-consuming for authors and artists alike... With the acquisition of SPBC, we’re excited to introduce a better way for authors and artists to collaborate on the perfect cover design.”
With the acquisition came the start of a new division called Author Success headed up by prolific author and founder of Author.email, Nick Thacker. He went onto say:
“Our mission at Author Success, as it is with SPBC, is to help authors efficiently procure the highest-quality essential publishing services for the least cost and effort... Just as authors have always been a key constituency of D2D, with the SPBC acquisition, cover artists are also now a key constituency we seek to serve at D2D. We want to help every professional cover designer in the world to participate in, and profit from, SPBC’s unique premade covers marketplace.”
I'm not entirely sure what the Author Success division will do for us right now, but knowing D2D's track record, it should be good news.
How Does Draft2Digital Pay?
Draft2Digital pays account holders once per month based on the payment method chosen.
Direct deposit or PayPal = no minimum payment threshold
International direct deposit = $10 minimum payment threshold
Payoneer = $20 payment threshold
Check = $100 minimum payment threshold
Since D2D is an aggregate publisher, you'll see some delays in sales from each retailer. This wait time varies and if you have any questions about common wait times, contact support.
The Pros & Cons of Draft2Digital
Now that you have a firm grasp on Draft2Digital, let's discuss my honest thoughts about the platform including the good and bad. Let's start it off with the pros of Draft2Digital.
The Pros of D2D
#1 Plenty of Free Resources
Draft2Digital is author-focused and while they'd love for you to use their platform for publishing, they don't require it for using any of their free resources. Do you need your ebook or print book fully formatted, but can't afford to hire a pro? Then use D2D's automated interior formatting tool. Would you like to create a universal book link that'll honor all readers regardless of region? Then use D2D's Books2Read software.
#2 Perfect for Cash-Strapped Authors
As mentioned previously, Draft2Digital is the ideal platform for cash-strapped authors. Between the automated formatting tools to universal book links and beyond, D2D offers solutions for any author working on a tight budget. And, they never require exclusivity or a blood oath to use their tools.
#3 Always Improving
Though Draft2Digital has been around for over a decade now, they've shown no signs of complacency as they continue to iterate and improve all aspects of their business. They truly are a company run by indie authors for indie authors based on all the sweet features rolling out on a regular basis. Ultimately, they know that if you succeed, they succeed, so they provide you with as many reasons to work with them as possible and a place to grow your author brand.
The Cons of D2D
While I'd love to tell you Draft2Digital is perfect and don't have a single flaw, they do have some shortcomings and weaknesses. But, they're no different from any other self-publishing company, so they're not exempt from this level of scrutiny.
#1 D2D Print’s Limitations
D2D Print is still rather limited. Not to mention, you only get one free update every ninety days. Should you want to make additional updates to your print book, you have to buy Change Tokens at $25 a piece.
It doesn't cost you a dime to update your print books on KDP. But, D2D isn't alone in this practice of charging update fees because IngramSpark has a $25 update fee for publication sixty days after publishing. I'm certain D2D isn't thrilled about the fee, because if they had the opportunity to charge us for so many of their other free tools, they would've. This fee might reach beyond what D2D handles in their end of the bargain, possibly Ingram Book Group.
That's speculation and I do NOT have special insights into where that money goes.
#2 D2D’s Bad Reviews Online
One Google search of "Draft2Digital Reviews" will present you quite a few negative reviews and posts about the company. The criticism typically focuses on three recurring issues:
Account closures
Withheld earnings
Region blocking
Account closures are going to happen, especially if you've already been terminated from platforms like KDP. In their FAQ, D2D clearly states:
No, if your book has been blocked on a retailer’s site Draft2Digital will not be able to publish it on your behalf.
And, in some instances, account closures happen due to improperly filling out the tax info. D2D is required to follow protocols for KYC or Know Your Customer. This is the mandatory process of identifying and verifying a person's identity when opening an account and periodically over time.
As you can imagine, if an account's KYC isn't compliant, D2D has to revoke access until the problem is resolved. And, they can't pay someone if the KYC isn't in compliance, therefore the money remains in limbo.
As for blocking, some regions and specific countries are red flagged as hotbeds for bad actors which prevents D2D from doing business there. This isn't the ideal scenario for D2D, because they want to work with all authors.
My recommendation? If you're blocked in your region, consider other alternatives like PublishDrive, IngramSpark, Lulu, Streetlib, and more. Will you get the same distribution offerings as D2D? Probably not, but you can get most of the major retailers from other companies.
Also, I'm not trying to take anything away from these review sites, but the vast majority of folks posting these negative comments share a fairly one-sided view of the exchange. I've covered some of these bad reviews in a previous video that I'll share later.
#3 Lack of Transparency with eBook Royalties
There's a lack of transparency in the royalty structure. You can easily find out how much you make with D2D Print with their D2D Print Calculator. For ebooks though? You have to figure that out by going to the last step in the publishing process.
I asked for a list of royalty percentages based on the individual avenues, but they declined to comment due to privacy concerns. D2D negotiates the best deal they can based on the avenue. As you can imagine, every retailer is going to require different slices of the pie, so D2D doesn't want the retailers knowing what other retailers provide for royalties.
But, here's the thing: all any retailer has to do is open a D2D account, go to the last step in the upload process and see roughly what a given avenue provides.
I believe D2D would be better off just making it public knowledge so account holders have a clear understanding of how they're getting paid before making a decision to choose that path.
Final Thoughts on Draft2Digital
Overall, I'm a huge proponent of Draft2Digital and consider them among the most widely respected and trusted companies in self-publishing. Though they have some shortcomings, it's greatly outweighed by their strengths. I'll keep you abreast of any changes or updates, so make sure you're subscribed to this channel and turn your notifications to "All" so you don't miss a single video.
Remember how I was telling you about the negative reviews about Draft2Digital? You won't believe some of the allegations folks are slinging at them and other self-publishing companies. Check this out.
And, if you want something lighter, then check out this recent interview with D2D and Fable, where I spoke with reps from both companies about their recent partnership and how authors can reach over 650,000 avid readers and 25,000 book clubs.
What are your candid thoughts about Draft2Digital? Would you change anything about D2D to make it better? What do you like most about them? Drop it in the comments; I read and reply to all comments!
Sources:
D2D's Terms of Service: https://www.draft2digital.com/terms-of-service/
D2D's Terms and Conditions for Payment Splitting Program - https://www.draft2digital.com/payment-splitting-terms-of-service/
D2D's Frequently Asked Questions - https://www.draft2digital.com/faq/
D2D's Knowledge Base - https://www.draft2digital.com/knowledge-base/
How does Kobo Plus pay? - https://kobowritinglife.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360059386091-How-does-Kobo-Plus-pay
Spotify paid $123 million for Findaway, the bedrock of its audiobook ambitions - https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/28/23280187/spotify-findaway-audiobook-podcasts-audible-amazon
Outrage Over New Terms of Use at Findaway Voices Forces Change - https://writerbeware.blog/2024/02/19/outrage-over-new-terms-of-use-at-findaway-voices-forces-change/
D2D Print Price Calculator - https://www.draft2digital.com/podcalc
Books2Read Changes Everything Starting Right Now - https://www.draft2digital.com/blog/books2read-changes-everything-starting-right-now/
PublishDrive - https://DaleLinks.com/PublishDrive (referral link)
Abacus - Royalty Software for Publishers - https://publishdrive.com/abacus.html
The End of the Draft2Digital vs Smashwords Era - This video
D2D's 2023 Year in Review - https://www.draft2digital.com/blog/draft2digitals-2023-year-in-review/
Draft2Digital Acquires SelfPubBookCovers.com - https://www.draft2digital.com/blog/press-release-draft2digital-acquires-selfpubbookcovers-com/
Introducing New Print Proof Shipping Options! - https://www.draft2digital.com/blog/introducing-new-print-proof-shipping-options/
Understanding the Steps of a “Know Your Customer” Process - https://www.dowjones.com/professional/risk/glossary/know-your-customer/
As it happens, I was already familiar with D2D. But had I not been, this post would have been a goldmine of information. Excellent material!
This is hugely helpful. I've been trying to figure out the best way to do wide e-book distribution when my next book is published. It looks like this is a good pairing with KDP, as long as I do Draft2Digital first. I'll stick with IngramSpark and KDP for paperbacks and hardcover.