Heads up! This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you click and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission—at no extra cost to you! Think of it as a little tip jar that helps keep the coffee flowing while I bring you more bookish wisdom. Thanks for your support!
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 more royalties in royalties, and they also 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.” And as a marketing professional, I know how true that is. As a marketing professional who has helped several other 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 isn’t about to give up that data, 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 makeup from a boutique store. Suddenly a month later, they are emailing you about a sale, or sending you 10% for your birthday. If you loved the makeup 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 your signed paperback from your website, and then they get an email when your next book is out? Uhm hello, that’s amazing.
Let’s be so 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 what I mean!
Author copies are sold are 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.
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 for events
- When I sell at signings, I use my phone’s Square app to take payment. I don’t even need the card swiper, customers can just tap their cards on the phone or pay with Google/Apple pay.
- So easy to set up listings – even for someone now tech saavy!
If you want to try out Square, you can use my link and get free processing on your first $1,000 worth of orders.
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 information 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 genuinely so 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 use 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, but it allows me to run my business through it. You don’t need an LLC to do this. When I traveled, I used a virtual PO box which was 2x the price of Anytime Mail. So I think it’s a keeper for me.
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. Plus, it appears more professional.
Supplies I use...
I found the items I love and I’ve stuck to 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, plug 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’s got 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 not needed but always cool!
- Packaging – I wrap my books like Christmas gifts in tissue paper to protect the edges and covers. I’ve used both tissue paper like this, and brown craft paper like this. It’s totally up to you! I’ve seen people just use clear sleeves too.
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 and Threads (all organic posts). I have the link in my link.tree 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). They sold A LOT.
However, remember when Tiktok was banned? That ability to sell through the shop was gone, and no one really knows how long it will remain again (this was written March 2025).
I tried TikTok shop – and technically I still have an active shop, however I don’t really advertise it or use 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 concious 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 everything I know, and answer all the questions I’ve been asked about selling direct as a self-published author. If you have questions – please feel free to DM me on Instagram!