Publishing & Distribution Resources for Authors
Not sure where to start?
Check out industry expert Jane Friedmanβs Key Book Publishing Paths.
Read my three-part blog series about the Indie Publishing Process.
Read Successful Self-Publishing: How to Self-Publish and Market Your Book by Joanna Penn*.
Find even more great resources on the Alliance of Independent Authorsβ Self-Publishing Advice site, including a blog, podcast, publishing services ratings and warnings, books, courses, and more. Get even more benefits by joining ALLi.
Check any service or professional youβre considering on the Writer Beware directory.
Links marked with a * are affiliate links, which means I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases. I only recommend resources I personally use or have tried and believe in. All Amazon book links are affiliate links.
Blog Posts
Books
See the index page for this resources section for books I recommend about other author-related topics.
Successful Self-Publishing: How to Self-Publish and Market Your Book
by Joanna Penn
Do you want to successfully self-publish in eBook, print, or audiobook formats? Experienced independent author Joanna Penn shares her tried-and-true approach.
Wide for the Win
by Mark Leslie Lefebvre
Wide for the Win prepares you not only with a fundamental understanding of the mindset required for long-term writing and publishing success, but also insights and proven processes that allow you to take full control of your intellectual property's earning potential and reach more of the right readers for your work than ever before.
Courses
Authorpreneur Academy
Created by industry leader Dave Chesson.
https://academy.kindlepreneur.com/
Launched in 2025, this affordable course is an excellent road map to the ins and outs of writing, publishing, and marketing for fiction and nonfiction authors alike. I havenβt taken it, but I trust and respect Dave Chesson and the work he createsβI have full confidence that youβll get great value from this course.
The Self Publishing Formula
https://selfpublishingformula.com/
Taught by: Mark Dawson and other guest course instructors
Award-nominated best-selling author Mark Dawson teaches his proven self-publishing method, with courses provided by other experts in the independent publishing industry.
Note: I have not personally taken this course, but many authors I respect and trust have and highly recommend it.
Distribution
Print-on-Demand (POD) Print Distributors
IngramSpark
USA (Utah)-based print-on-demand and distribution arm of the global bookselling company Ingram. One of the most popular print-on-demand services, due to their affordable prices and large distribution network.
I have always used this service for my print-on-demand books, and have been consistently happy with their prices and quality, even though I often have to ship books to Canada.
Note: While you can distribute eBooks through IngramSpark, I donβt recommend it. Instead, use an aggregator like Draft2Digital or PublishDrive until you feel confident enough to publish directly through the independent publishing arms of most major stores. Once youβve figured out how to do it there, you can do it anywhere, you are only limited by how much time you want to spend whenever you need to make changes.
Bookvault
UK-based print-on-demand and distribution, with very affordable prices and shipping rates, even to North America. Offers bespoke design options most other POD printers donβt, such as foil, sprayed edges, and box set covers, making them a popular choice for special editions. (Note they also have partner printers in other countries, but not all locations have all service options.)
Lulu
USA-based print-on-demand and distribution. Very high quality and author-friendly. A little pricier per copy than the previous two services.
eBook Publishing Aggregators
When youβre first starting out, you may want to go through an aggregator to save you having to learn the ins and outs of multiple platforms at once. If you ever decide to publish your book directly later, itβs a fairly painless process to switch from one of the aggregators below. (See note below about Direct Distribution Platforms.)
Draft2Digital
https://www.draft2digital.com/mysecretwish*
A user-friendly eBook distribution aggregator that also integrates with IngramSpark for print-on-demand publishing and InAudio for audiobook production. Distributes to several library borrowing apps such as Hoopla and Overdrive. Free to upload. Takes a percentage of sales as its fee.
PublishDrive
A user-friendly distribution aggregator for eBooks, audiobooks, and print. No revenue share; pay monthly fees based on number of titles instead.
Direct Distribution Platforms
Many authors publishing on βwideβ (meaning, not exclusively to the Amazon KDP Select program) will publish directly to the four main eBook distributors except Apple. They will then also publish to Apple (which is a notorious pain to publish to directly) and other platforms, such as foreign distributors and libraries, through an aggregator like Draft2Digital.
Here are the platforms where you can directly publish eBooks (and often audiobooks, noted):
Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing
Publish eBooks and print books directly through this platform. Note that if you use both Amazon KDP and IngramSpark for print distribution (for wider availability, especially in libraries), you will need to let IngramSpark know not to publish your book to Amazon or youβll have issues.
(Personally, I publish all my print books through IngramSpark and distribute to Amazon through them, as I find IngramSpark has consistently better quality; it does have its own challenges, though, such as the author-facing platform being challenging to maneuvre.)
Amazon is usually the most lucrative platform due to its popularity; however, its audience is primarily US-based. To reach a global audience, consider also publishing through other platforms.
Barnes & Noble Press
https://press.barnesandnoble.com/
Distributor eBooks and print books directly through Barnes & Noble. (I only use them for eBook distribution.)
Google Play Books
https://play.google.com/books/publish/u/0/
Get set up as a publishing partner with Google Play Books and distribute eBooks and audiobooks through them directly, including digitally narrated audiobooks.
Kobo
https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/p/writinglife
One of the easiest dashboards to work with (and the highest royalties), Kobo lets you directly distribute eBooks and audiobooks to a global audience.
Includes their non-exclusive subscription program for readers, Kobo Plus, and access to library borrowing service OverDrive.
Audiobook Distributors
InAudio
Formerly Findaway Voices. Distributes to most places except Spotify. Allows digitally narrated files from Google Play Books and ElevenLabs.
Spotify for Authors
New in 2025: Create a Spotify for Authors account and upload your books directly through them.
ACX (Audible - Amazon brand)
Includes services to hire a narrator, as well as distribution to Amazon and through Audible. I donβt actually recommend this service, as they have notoriously bad accounting practices and treatment for authors. (Thatβs why thereβs no link.)
But if you DO go through them, I recommend you pay your narrator upfront instead of doing a royalty-share agreement, which requires you keep your book exclusively on Amazon for seven years.
Special Mentions:
Bookfunnel
This fantastic company is a direct distribution service for eBooks and audiobooks. Pay a yearly fee to be able to securely send eBooks and audiobooks to your readers. Perfect for lead magnet distribution, and for selling directly to your readers through your store or for bulk fulfillment of Kickstarters. Includes one of the best and most accessible combined reading/listening apps, and also allows readers to load your books into their own preferred reading apps instead.
Kickstarter
https://www.kickstarter.com/discover/categories/publishing
Kickstarter is a fantastic way to launch new books or serve readers through bespoke creative projects such as special editions, box sets, new formats, or book-adjacent content such as book boxes and swag.
Over the last several years, the Publishing category has been growing by leaps and bounds. As of 2025, it is especially active in fantasy, sci-fi, horror, and some romance genres, but you can see success in genres of all types. For more information about launching your project on Kickstarter, I recommend the following resources:
Marketplaces & Directories
Reedsy
reedsy.com
A marketplace of reputable and vetted service professionals for the publishing industry. Find editors, cover designers, illustrators, ghostwriters, publicists, marketers, web designers, and more.
Editors Canada
editors.ca/directory
Check the Canadian-based Editors Canada online directory for someone who is a good fit for you.
Editors Freelance Association
www.the-efa.org
Check out the American-based association directory to search for professional freelance editors.
Christian Editor Connection
christianeditor.com
A free service that matches established, professional editorial freelancers with authors and publishers seeking their services.
Editors
Talena Winters
www.talenawinters.com/editing
Unleash story magic! I help struggling independent authors unlock their inner word wizard and write their best stories as a developmental editor for fantasy, science fiction, suspense, thriller, romance, womenβs fiction, and memoir for middle grade, young adult, and general audiences.
Bookmarten Editorial
Brenna Bailey-Davies
www.bookmarteneditorial.com
Brenna provides assessment and copyediting services for indie authors of fantasy and romance, with a focus on books with queer representation.
Graphic Design
Patrick Knowles
https://www.patrickknowlesdesign.co.uk/
Patrick designed all of my current Rise of the Grigori covers. I canβt recommend him enough. You can contact him through his Reedsy profile.
Mandi Lynn
www.mandilynn.com
She works in almost all genres, but her favorite to design is contemporary and dystopian.
I have communicated with Mandi about one of my projects. I went with someone else, but was impressed by her professionalism and diverse portfolio.
Andreea Olteanu
https://reedsy.com/andreea-olteanu
Illustrator and book cover designer specializing in visual story telling through fantastical pictures and bold colour palettes.
I have communicated with Andreea about one of my projects. I went with someone else, but was impressed by her professionalism and beautiful artwork. I will definitely be using her in the future when I find the right project fit.
Natasha Mackenzie
https://reedsy.com/natasha-mackenzie
Skilled designer in a variety of genres. Very versatile portfolio.
I have communicated with Natasha about one of my projects. I went with someone else, but was impressed by her professionalism and diverse portfolio and her impressive artistic skill. I needed a different look, but I look forward to working with Natasha in the future.
Kylie Alexander
https://www.kyliealexander.net/about
Book cover designer and book interior designer. Image manipulation.
I stalked Kylie to try to get her to work on one of my series, but my email ended up in her spam folder. By then, Iβd found someone else. However, she is a phenomenal designer with an impressive, diverse portfolio, especially in nonfiction (though Iβd found her because of her cover for Night Spinner by Addie Thorley). I hope to work with her in the future.
Services
Tools
Atticus (Chrome-based book formatting app)
Create professional print books and eBooks easily with the all-in-one book writing software.
ProWriting Aid (editing app)
ProWritingAid helps you craft, polish, and elevate your writing. Has a very affordable and decent AI-powered beta reader feedback service, as well as copyediting software that works within your favourite writing tools.
Marlowe (manuscript critique app)
Get an affordable expert analysis of your novel in minutes with this AI-powered app.
Draft2Digitalβs ePUB Validator:
https://draft2digital.com/book/epubcheck/upload
Check to make sure your eBook file passes muster before loading it to a publishing platform.
Books2Read Universal Book Links:
https://books2read.com/links/ubl/create/
A free tool that gives you one link for readers but lets them go to their retailer of choice. A service by Draft2Digital, but you can use it without having a D2D account.
At its heart, marketing is simply telling a story that your Ideal Readers wants to be a part of. For authors, this is exactly what we do. In this introduction to book marketing for independent authors, learn the basic principles youβll need to master to have a career as a writer.