I've been working hard all month, and especially this week, to provide you with another alternative to buy my ebooks online. And now I'm able to present my direct store! (Psst, it's up there in the top nav and a button on every book page now!)
A lot of people have asked me why I've bothered setting up a direct store when so many people use Amazon. In fact, many authors do not even publish outside of Amazon! So they looked at me perplexed when I said this was what I wanted to do.
The answer is quite simple: options. I like to have options, and I like for my readers to have options as well. Sure, for most authors, Amazon, Nook, Apple Books, Kobo, and even Google Play are enough. But I've had other readers tell me that they want to use PayPal to buy books, and only some of these places take PayPal. They want that option to buy.
I'm also bothered by how much Amazon and the other vendors take from me to do nothing but deliver a book to a reader. Let's face it. I'm not a big name author (though it's great to have hit the USA Today list with some of my fellow cozy mystery authors) so they're giving me no special promotion when I list a book with them. Yet, they take about 30% of books priced between $2.99 and $9.99. Amazon even takes 70% for books less than $2.99 and greater than $9.99! This is why you'll never see a large box set of mine at Amazon.
Now, when I sell direct, I keep 95% of the retail price! And when I have a few titles that only sell 5-10 copies per year (if that), the extra percentage can mean quite a lot. If more people buy direct in the future, I may actually be able to pay off my advertising spend! I may even be able to make minimum wage! Think of what a huge difference that could make for authors in general.
Why should YOU buy direct? It's actually pretty easy now. I had a Selz account in 2014, remember that? It was hard to keep updated, it cost me money every month, and it didn't handle side loading ebooks. But now? Now I have more options to sell direct.
For my direct store, I have chosen to use PayHip, which is a company out of the UK, to host and deliver my files. When you purchase, you'll get both the Kindle Mobi file and an ePub. Read them however you like. If you don't know how to use these ebook formats, a second email from BookFunnel comes after purchasing which will load the book onto your e-reader or mobile device or tablet. I've timed it. You can buy and be reading within 5 minutes. Isn't technology amazing?
If you have more questions about buying direct, read the Buying Direct FAQ. I plan to offer all of my books direct, and now, some of my books — the Kami No Sekai short stories, FACE TIME, and SUMMER HAIKUS — are ONLY available direct. I will also be offering other box sets and new releases direct-only. It's a whole new paradigm!
Want to try out the direct store for yourself? Here's another thing I can do: offer coupons! You can get 20% off everything in my direct store until Sept 10, 2018 with the following coupon code.
I hope you take advantage of this! Especially with my larger omnibuses also on sale. Have a great weekend everyone!
