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There are many avenues to make money as a self-published author, from online sales, to bookstore sales, to markets and conventions, but the one my entrepreneur heart truly loves is direct sales. Cut out the middle man, right?
Not too long ago I was seeing my self-published peers selling their books on their own, and immediately was intrigued, but was left wondering exactly how they were doing it. I knew they were earning way royalties, and they had control of their platform, but that was truly just the tip of the iceberg. There are so many pros to selling direct as an self-published author.
If you want to sell direct, but don’t know where to start, buckle in, because I’m going to share what I know, what I still have to learn, my mistakes, and my honest opinion on some controversial points.
PS – I am based in the US, and none of this is legal/financial advice, merely my experience.
Let’s start with the hidden pros of selling direct that NO ONE talks about:
You’ve probably heard this before — “you don’t own your social media.” As a marketing professional who has helped dozens of authors get started, one of the questions I get asked is “how can I track my customer sales?” and I have to tell them “you can’t.” Amazon and Ingram Spark aren’t about to give that data up; telling you where your customers came from, their names or their emails. They own that, not you. So yes, each Amazon sale is great (as an indie author I know we celebrate each page read and sale!) but what about retention on those readers? Stay with me for a moment.
When you sell direct, you get this info. I know all my readers names who bought a book through me (I sign each book personally to them!). And I get their email at the time of sale. It’s just like when you shop online. Say you buy clothing from a boutique… Suddenly they are emailing you about a sale, or sending you a coupon for your birthday. If you loved the store and want to buy more, chances are, you’re not mad about getting that email.
It’s the same with readers! If a reader bought a signed paperback from your website, and then they receive an email when your next book is out… That’s how you grow an author business.
Let’s be real – social media marketing is great because it’s free, but Instagram isn’t going to alert someone who bought your book on Amazon that the sequel is now out. Just saying. (And if they do – they’re also advertising a million other books in that same email. And who opens their Amazon emails anyway?
Here’s what you need to get started selling directly:
Inventory!
Don’t let this scare you, OR hold you back. I didn’t start selling direct for a long time because I didn’t understand how to get inventory. Yes, it’s an upfront investment, but you can start small. Here’s two ways I’ve done it!
- EX: Buy 10 books to start. Let’s do simple math. Say 10 books is $50. You sell each book for $20. That’s $250. You’ve profited $150, and now you can buy 20 books for $100, and so on and so fourth.
Another way I do this is with pre-orders! When I set up my pre-order I don’t have physical books in stock. If I sell 20 pre-orders, then I order 20 books, and use the proceeds from pre-order sales to buy more books and get the ball rolling.
Where to buy author copies:
I buy author copies from Amazon and Ingram Spark. See below:
Author copies are sold at wholesale price. Depending on where you live, copies can take anywhere from 1-4 weeks to be printed and delivered (in my experience) so always plan accordingly.
Recently, I’ve also been using the Prime Business Credit Card, because I get 5% back in purchases from Amazon. I order so many author copies that every fourth shipment, I nearly get one free. [Here’s my referral link]
Logistics: How to sell and ship your own books!
This is where personal preference comes into play. I can only speak from my experience and what I’ve talked to peers about. For me it was really important to keep my monthly costs as close to $0 as possible. Let me break it down for you:
List your books online:
I’ve used the free version of Square for two years now and love it! Here’s why it’s great for self-published authors just starting out with direct sales:
- It’s free to use
- You get your own domain you can link (I link mine on all socials and this wesbite)
- It collects sales tax and takes all the forms of payment
- You can use the free app to take payments at events (tap to pay)
- So easy to set up listings – even for someone not tech savvy!
I do know other authors who use Shopify or even Etsy to sell their books, which works well for them. For me, I didn’t want to pay $30+/month for Shopify. And though I sell my Bookstore Author Guide through Etsy, they take 6.5% of every sale, which really adds up – not to mention you don’t get the customer’s name and email. In my research, Square seems to be the best one for beginners!
Let’s chat taxes.
I get this question A LOT. I’m not a tax expert, and you should find one to talk to because every town and state is different. I will tell you what I do – Square collects sales tax on all my order. When Square pays me (weekly) I put aside the sales & use tax from my sales (Square has easy reporting that shows me the exact amount) so I can pay my state quarterly. Just like how you pay quarterly taxes as a self-published author! It’s really simple, don’t let taxes and payments freak you out and keep you from doing direct sales!
Shipping…how do you do it???
I am one of those strange people who LOVES packaging up things to ship. Signing and wrapping my books with cute pink bubble mailers and stickers makes me so genuinely happy!
This is an added bonus to selling direct: When you ship directly to your readers, you can add reader swag (like bookmarks, business cards, prints, stickers, etc) and package the book with your branding, or just make it nice! I guarantee a reader is going to remember getting a nicely packaged book from an author over an Amazon package thrown on their doorstep. It’s a great way to build a fan base.
Pirate Ship to buy labels:
I used to go to the post office and have them weigh each package and hand write the customer’s address on the package. Woof…that was a lot of work. Now I use Pirate Ship, which is also 100% free and saves me a TON of money. I actually learned about it from another author who does really well with her direct sales.
According to Google – Pirate Ship is a shipping software that helps users find the cheapest rates for USPS and UPS shipping. It’s free to install and use, with no monthly fees or hidden cost.
I download my CSV file (the report from Square) and upload it to PirateShip. They give me the rates for shipping (always at a discount) and I buy the labels directly online, print them out with my thermal printer, and slap those babies on my bubble mailers.
PS – Pirate Ship also offers media mail pricing, and allows you to schedule pickups.
Protect your privacy with Anytime Mail!
Sending out books to new readers is really fun – but also, there’s no way I want hundreds of readers to have my home address. For safety purposes, I use a PO box, but not one from USPS. I use Anytime Mail – which is a physical mailbox, and it allows me to run my business through it. You don’t need an LLC to do this.
It’s $14.99/month, and gives me peace of mind to be able to put a different address as my return address on my packages.
Supplies I use...
I found the items I love and I’ve stuck with them! Here is what I swear by.
- Bubble Mailers – I buy pink ones, but they come in all colors. They are waterproof, and protect my books. Everyone tells me my books always arrive totally undamaged, which is pretty rare when buying a book.
- Thermal Printer – This printer is so small, it plugs directly into my laptop, and prints all my shipping labels. No more ink or taping on paper labels! A few author friends of mine bought the same one – it has great ratings and though it’s an upfront investment — trust me, it’s worth it!
- Bookmarks – this is 100% optional. I design my own bookmarks in Canva and order directly through them. It’s very affordable and adds something extra for my readers. Bonus tip – add a QR code to your website/link.tre on your bookmarks so readers can engage with you!
- Stickers – I am a sticker feign. I sprinkle my packages with fun reader stickers. I buy them in bulk – here’s just an example of what I mean. I also love making custom stickers for each book – I’ve hired artists and designed them myself too. Just a fun extra that is not needed but always cool!
- Cellophane sleeves – this is optional, but after working for a bookstore that packages hundreds of books a week, I’ve learned a trick or two. These plastic sleeves protect the book during transit like you can’t believe!
Where I advertise my direct sales:
This is going to depend on each author and their preferred marketing strategy. I direct paperback sales to my Square site through Instagram, Tiktok, Facebook, etc (all organic posts). I have the link in my link.tre on my profiles, instead of leading readers to Amazon. When readers ask for links to my books, this is the link I provide.
I’ve found the bookish community to be incredibly kind and eager to support indie authors. When given the choice between Amazon and a direct sale, I’ve found a lot of readers would rather buy directly from the author.
Bonus thoughts: What about TikTok shop?
Okay this is a whole post in itself but I’ll sum it up. Maybe you’re on booktok or maybe I’ve already lost you. A lot of indie authors found a ton of success selling their books through Tiktok shop (it’s quite complicated to set up in my opinion).
However, remember when Tiktok was banned? That ability to sell through the shop was gone, and no one really knows if/when that could happen again.
I tried TikTok shop for 8 months and didn’t love it. It’s very restrictive (you only get 1-3 days to ship your product or you get penalized). They control when you get paid, and they take a decent chunk of your profits. Not to mention, you don’t get the customer’s emails to reengage with them down the line.
I can’t with good conscious recommend Tiktok shop – but if you want to try it out, you may have a lot of success! I did not find that was the case for me and many of my peers.
Direct Sales Truths!
I’m all about transparency, so of course there could be downsides to everything. Here are the ones that I don’t personally feel are cons, but are worth thinking about.
- You’re responsible for fulfillment (as opposed to a third party like Ingram or Amazon)
- You have to have room for stock (this may be hard if you’re in a small living situation)
- You need to be physically present and able (If you travel a lot, or aren’t able to physically package books, drive to post office, etc, then this might be a challenge for you)
Personally I have found a lot of fufilment (no pun intended!) doing direct sales. I love signing little notes for my readers, and getting to see all the locations my books are going to – how cool is it to be able to see all the states your book has been shipped to!? I think it’s so exciting!
Questions?
I hope this helps! I tried to put out everything I know, and answer all the questions I’ve been asked about selling direct as a self-published author. If you have questions, or need some clarity, I’d love to chat. Book a 1:1 call with me here!