Since Amazon launched the earliest version of Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) in 2007, the business giant—which controls an estimated 50 percent or more of the online retail market in the US already—has maintained an unwavering influence over the self-publishing industry.
Sixteen years later, Amazon boasts 85 percent of the book market share, with Apple Books in a distant second place with only 10 percent, according to Kindlepreneur. Amazon’s royalty split with authors has also remained relatively unchanged—in 2010, the original offer of 35 percent royalties to authors for any book published with the program increased to 70 percent given an author met specific conditions, but since then has stayed the same.
Amazon’s control over the market, with its international reach and household name, is a boon to many in indie publishing, particularly in certain genres. But others feel the company has too much power over the industry, with little to no safeguards in place for authors when policies change or problems arise. Fantasy author Brandon Sanderson, in a July 2023 interview with YouTuber SAVY WRITES BOOKS, said Amazon’s lack of competition and the company’s overall size make it difficult for those using its platform to influence any change when it’s needed. “If you compare one of the bestselling authors in the world to Amazon, I’m just such a small fry, I’m barely even worth noticing,” he said. And if Amazon were to suffer financially in the future, many worry authors whose careers are built exclusively on the platform may suffer with it.
For authors like Sanderson, however, wide publishing—publishing across multiple retailers, including through direct outlets—offers a potential path forward, with more freedom and business security if one retailer starts to suffer.
“We’ve been in a time of great upheaval in the book market with so many opportunities for indie authors over the past decade,” writes author Dan Wood. As time goes on and distribution strategies shift, it’s possible the definition of “wide publishing” will shift with it to include new formats or distribution models, he writes. Other authors agree, and still others say those who distribute exclusively through one platform will likely continue to see success through their own strategies as well. Even as time goes on, the debate is unlikely to resolve entirely. But even without a definitive “winner” and “loser,” as wide publishing continues to expand in definition and grow in popularity, the competition it sparks among retailers may broaden horizons for indie authors everywhere.
As KU rates continue to plummet, more and more
authors are scrambling to gain a “wide” footing.
For me, “wide” has always meant “worldwide.”
I tend to favor Kindle Unlimited as I learn
a new market or genre, but then move away
from the program once I have a solid handle
and am ready to learn more and expand to
broader audiences. KU keeps me lean and flexible
when I may be testing covers, blurbs, and
other aspects of branding. I also use their price
promotion tools heavily to attract readers when
I find myself in a brand new genre or market.
It’s always a short game for me though. The long
game greatly favors diversification—whether by
country, retailer, or even pen name.
The more levers I have in my author business,
the more I can control where I want/need
it to take me.
I think the biggest change is that wide will be the
default, and we're not going to think about it as if
it's wide vs. KU but this is publishing. This is actually
what we are supposed to be. We're supposed to
think of ourselves as wide authors first by default.
Wide still means "not in KU," but it has
shifted from opening up sales on the other
retailers to enabling authors to direct sell via
systems like Kickstarter, Indiegogo, their own
sites, and via co-ops.
[Wide is] necessary. Putting all your eggs in
one basket in the current state of publishing is
scary. People are more loyal to brands and even
authors currently, hence why so many social
media platforms are incentivizing influencers.
This is making them more loyal as well to where
they shop. Authors not having their books
available everywhere, especially on their own
website, are losing those who are more loyal to
convenience than themselves. Some people buy
books anywhere; some buy in particular places.
You need to be available to all. Diversification is
often more helpful than detrimental.
As authors can establish themselves on stores
other than Amazon, they will help the business
of writing flourish in areas other than the
markets Amazon has a hold on.
While Amazon's exclusive Kindle Unlimited
platform has been great for a lot of authors, it's
also a magnet for scammers and people who just
want to make a quick buck. That is only going
to accelerate as the AI tools that are coming
online start to really ramp up. I don't know how
much the other platforms like Apple, Google,
and Kobo will play into the mix, but being able
to reach your audience directly will only grow
in importance. Having your own reader list and
learning how to reach those readers directly will
be the key to long-term author success.
I like to try new things. I don't like to be pigeonholed
in anything. So I like publishing non-exclusively.
And "non-exclusively" means not with
one platform, not with one publisher. I don't
want traditional publishing. If I did that, it
wouldn't be the only thing that I did. The world
is changing so fast that if you hold yourself
narrowly, you're gonna miss so many opportunities
and readers and ways to get your stories
out there.
As someone who went wide at the turn of the
decade, during the pandemic, I can't tell you
what an anxiety balm it's been to have a diversified
portfolio in these ever-changing times.
But I was a huge fan of KU when I could
only write and didn't have much time to attend
to admin.
It was and continues to be an individual
decision best made by the author, themself, with
a clear sense of their long-term goals and where
they are in their career.
Publishing wide can mean so many things—different retailers, different distribution channels, different
formats, different languages. For a long time, authors have been tied to one exclusivity program with
one retailer and all the knowledge and training has been about that one publishing avenue. As authors
go wide, they'll see that there are many places and opportunities to be successful. The industry as a
whole will grow, and more authors will find ways to make a living doing what they love.
Wide is only going to grow until "publishing wide" just becomes "publishing." Authors are gaining
greater control over their businesses and forging their own path through both wide and direct sales,
based on their strengths.
Non-Amazon e-book retailers have been losing
market share slowly for the past decade; I
don’t see that reversing. However, other forms
of selling books are beginning to boom. I’m
talking about subscriptions, Kickstarter, and
direct sales, of course. I see these sorts of things
as “the new wide!”
"Wide" distribution is really a misnomer meant
to convey non-exclusivity to the dominant
retailer. In reality, "wide" authors sell to just three
to five relevant customers, or retailers, rather
than just one. Both situations are quite risky
and leave authors with relatively little control
over their career growth. Authors also have very
little knowledge of who their customers actually
are because that information isn't shared
by retailers. As more authors learn how to sell
directly to their readers, bypassing the retailers
altogether, Amazon exclusivity may become less
popular. ... "Wide" just means wholesaling to
more than one distributor. I think many authors
have experienced the serious drawbacks associated
with purely wholesale channels.
We've been in a time of great upheaval in the book
market with so many opportunities for indie authors
over the past decade. As authors begin to take a
longer view of their careers, I am confident they will
recognize the long-term value of library discoverability
in building lifelong fans and reject options
that prohibit that. Beyond that, wide publishing will
continue to grow as more retailers and subscription
services enter the market and as new tools enable
authors to sell directly to their most dedicated fans.
The definition of wide to me has always
meant way more than the simple debate of
Kindle Unlimited vs. the other four or five
major retailers. Publishing wide to me has
always included numerous opportunities
available to writers beyond just the indie
author sphere. That includes traditional
publishing, but it also includes opportunities
for writers that come up via various
social and digital media.
For more than a decade now, I have fought with writers old and new about relying solely upon Amazon.
I’ve written blog after blog recommending that writers go wide, and yet many writers never listen.
Most of them give me the same song and dance: Amazon is the biggest retailer in the world. It’ll
never go away.
I have not gone back in my blogs to see when I started writing about going wide. I do know that I
actually used the picture of eggs in a basket several years ago to encourage writers to go wide. And if
you look at any of those old blogs, particularly from 2011 or 2012, you’ll see the kinds of statements I
mentioned above littering my comment field.
I kept saying that someday Amazon will change, and that change will hurt writers, particularly
those who tie their entire writing career to Amazon. The writers who have gone exclusive through
Amazon via Select are really going to be in trouble.
And the trouble has already started.
[Wide] is everything. Going with only one store
with exclusive rights is just bad business. Go
with as many stores around the world as you can
get into.
[We were] in Amazon up until the end of last
year when we decided to go wide from our
website. Sometimes I think the market isn't
ready for what we're doing. There's sometimes
changes in the marketplace that make it a little
bit more hospitable for when the time is right.
Jonathan Yanez
I don't subscribe to the idea of exclusive versus
wide. It focuses too much on such a narrow sliver
of your intellectual property's potential. The
question should be: How do I make my IP work
the hardest and smartest for me and my family?
Sure, exclusive vs. wide is an important question
for many and going wide can be a great tactic.
But don't mistake tactics for strategy. Exclusive
vs. wide is such a small part of the bigger picture
that if you put it on a pie chart of potential, you
wouldn't even see it.
Having our books available in as many formats
and as many places as possible will continue
to be a successful strategy for a lot of authors.
I believe more authors will begin to explore
wide as the visibility and cost of advertising
on Amazon becomes more of a challenge. I've
always been wide, and I think there are so many
paths to success that we'll continue to see it as a
major strategy for decades to come.
I think there will be people who will be successful
wide and there will be people who can't make
wide work. Wide is not the "answer," but it's
also not wrong. There is no morality attached
to being wide or not wide. But I think wide
will likely always be a viable option. ... I feel
like anything that isn't Amazon will continue
to expand. We are nothing if not creative, as a
group, and I anticipate that we'll continue to
proliferate the definition of "wide" publishing.
I strongly believe the future of publishing is
wide-and more specifically, that it stretches
beyond the traditional book retailers where
most of us initially built our careers. My backlist
has found a second life these last few years on
serial fiction apps—platforms that weren’t even
on my radar (and some of which didn’t even
exist) even a few years ago. With the constant
changes in our technologies, the way people
read is shifting, and the ways readers buy books
are constantly evolving, resulting in new and
non-traditional ways for authors to share their
stories with readers. While I don’t believe that
traditional books (or the ways people currently
read or buy them) are going to disappear, we’re
in a period of publishing where there are more
ways than ever to get our work out there, and
being wide puts us in a position to experiment
with new platforms that could take our careers
in directions we never imagined.
As the retailers make "pay to play" an
increasing part of discoverability on their platforms
(whether through direct ad programs or
the assumption that writers will pay to send
readers to them via outside advertising), I think
it's wise for authors to diversify. Platforms
rise and fall (and sure, even the framework
you build your direct store on will eventually
crumble) but having the ability to control your
work and use your advertising dollars to send
readers directly to you without fear of getting
your account terminated or running into other
snafus is invaluable.
The thing so many of us forget is that the indie
publishing industry as we know it is so young.
The digital stores/platforms we use for publishing
(and view as the standard) aren't that old either.
I can't imagine that Amazon, Apple, Google,
etc. will be the only places where we sell books
forever. Neither can we guarantee that they will
be as strong as they currently are. - As new platforms,
retailers, and even methods of human
communication form and develop, the opportunities
for selling wide will only grow.
More than ever, the personal relationship with
readers will be a bedrock of sustainability for
creators. Publishing wide offers an author so many
different platforms and opportunities to reach fans.
Using AI as a time saver on rote tasks opens up
more time to specialize in multiple platforms, not
just one. ... Wide will mean meeting readers and
fans of your content where they are. This means
beyond the e-book store, and many authors now
"Go Wide" with merchandise, special editions and
formats, and membership or micro-transaction
sites like Patreon, Royal Road, and more. This also
shapes the future concept of a mid-lister, where
making a wage that provides a living for an author
requires multiple income streams.
Previous
Next
