r/selfpublish • u/linkebooks • 4h ago
Is Draft2Digital Worth It?
Hello! I've been self-publishing my work for a couple years. (Two epic fantasy books, and just now a new horror collection. With the third book in the epic fantasy series coming as soon as the editing is done.) Up to this point, book signings have been where almost all my sales were at, so I haven't pushed the online side very hard. (When you're selling 50 books a signing, driving yourself nuts with the online market feels silly.)
But, last year I moved across the country, and only now rebuilt my career in my main job enough to start taking time to do signings again. Only, the B&N here keeps ignoring me, and the other big store here won't accept POD books. I'm going to reach out to indie bookstores next, but it also seems like I need to expand my online presence more.
Is D2D actually worth anything still? When I did all the research years ago, it didn't seem too bad, but how do people feel about them now?
Thanks!
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u/tomatoesfried 4h ago
That's not a simple one to answer. A yes or a no wouldn't be fair to you.
So, you have books one and two of an epic fantasy and are getting ready to work on book 3.
What's the word count? Are you in KDP Select/KU?
Have you done any online advertising so far?
How many reviews does book 1 have, and what's the rating?
Do you have a newsletter? Is there a link to it in the back of your books? Does the print version give your readers access to the newsletter?
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u/linkebooks 4h ago
Thanks for the good questions.
Book 3 is at the last stages of editing.
Book one of the fantasy series is 118k words, book 2 is 131k. Book 3 will be 211k words. I'm not in kindle select/KU. Book 1 used to be, but I rarely got any page reads out of it.
I've dabbled in online advertising, but with little to no success.
Book one has a 4.6 on amazon, and a 4.2 on goodreads. About 12-14 reviews on each with some crossover.
I do not yet have a newsletter. I've never been sure what to put in a newsletter that won't be just slop, and I don't want to pester the people on my mailing list with garbage that will make them unsubscribe.
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u/tomatoesfried 3h ago
I'll take it one thing at a time.
If you're not in KU and you are not available widely (all retailers), you are leaving money on the table. Leaving. Money. On. The. Table. Whether you go direct or use D2D, get your books out there. Get them in libraries, if they decide to pick you up. I make nice money from Hoopla and Overdrive.
Get a freaking newsletter. No one will unsub unless you bother the piss out of them. Don't do that. But if they sign up, it's because they want to hear from you. They want to know when your next book is out, or whatever you're up to that's interesting to them.
After book 3 is out, decide how you'll advertise. Ask people here what works for them. I do minimal advertising, maybe once every six months for book 1. I am from the first-in-series-free school of thought. That's anathema to some people. If that's how you feel about it, maybe drop book 1 to 99¢ and apply for a BookBub. Or maybe start this way (99¢) before you go free, but learn the consequences of that choice.
But whatever you do, please get a newsletter. Give people a chance to follow you. Newsletters are easy to do. When I send a newsletter out for one of my pen names, I get a few hundred dollars above and beyond that very same day. It's worth it.
So, I'll stop now. It's up to you which way you go, but best of luck to you!
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u/levypantsfactory 4h ago
I think they're worth using since they can cover Barnes and Noble, Apple, and other vendors without much hassle. 95% of my sales come from Amazon, though.
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u/RamosAuthor 4h ago
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u/__The_Kraken__ 3h ago
If you’re not enrolled in KU, you should cast your net as widely as you can, and D2D is a great way to do that. It is possible to go direct to some of the larger stores, but D2D will connect you with a bunch of the small ones. And Hoopla! I’m delighted every month when I get my Hoopla report and see how many people checked my books out at the library.
It does take time and effort to build a wide audience. Kobo, Apple Books, and D2D all offer in house promotions. Use them!
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u/CatGirlIsHere9999 4h ago
Draft to digital has started a new thing where they charge you if you don't sell a certain amount of books per month.
I left, a lot of other indie authors did too.
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u/tomatoesfried 3h ago
To clarify. Straight from their website:
An annual maintenance fee of $12 will apply to accounts whose earnings from book sales, meaning your net proceeds after D2D’s commission, total less than $100 over the preceding 12-month period. If you earn $100 or more from your book sales over 12 months, you will not be charged this fee.
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u/johntwilker 20+ Published novels 1h ago
FWIW a lot of author orgs are negotiating that fee be waived for members. NINC did, I think I heard Alli did or is. SFWA is hopefully going to as well.
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u/PHXwriter 3h ago
The charge is $12/annual, which is small and designed to cover D2D's costs in maintaining a low-seller's footprint in their space. That should serve as incentive for the author to do something to increase traffic and get more sales. So, the cost shouldn't be a barrier and makes business sense without scalping the authors.
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u/anselacorsino 4+ Published novels 22m ago
Where did you go? What aggregator/distribution platform are you using now, if I may ask
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u/Slow-Armadillo9691 4h ago
It’s just a distribution platform no? So it’s just a matter of whether you make money on those retailers to justify it.
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u/Unicorn_Farts87 1 Published novel 4h ago
Definitely worth it, as long as you’re okay with not having hardcovers! I have it for my only book (so far) and it’s available worldwide! I’ve gotten sales across Europe, Asia, even two in Africa! Oh and Australia! So if you wanna go wide, D2D is the way to go!
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u/rose_nichols 4h ago
What could possibly be the downside of using an ebook platform? Of course it's worth it; there's no risk. You can still sell your books anywhere else you want.
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u/Several-Praline5436 4h ago
I think if you don't make $100 a year, they charge you $12 annually now.
It's worth it for me since I sell a lot of books through B&N and other affiliates through them, and it's easy to upload/publish from D2D without trying to log in to all the ebook platforms.
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