Be a Tortoise, not the Hare

I know what it’s like, you’ve finally finished your book and are eager to complete all the sections in your KDP Dashboard so that your paperback can be bought by readers. But don’t make the same mistake as me. I guessed at some of the settings and regretted it, and it took months to rectify my over-enthusiasm.

Let’s kick off this beginner’s guide by making sure we’re all on the same page about what Expanded Distribution means in the context of your KDP Dashboard.

What is Expanded Distribution?

If you’re releasing your paperback through a distributor like Amazon, you have the option of making your book available to their Amazon Distribution Network, or through an Expanded Distribution Network.

Amazon Distribution Network

• You set up your book in your KDP dashboard
• You opt out of Expanded Distribution
• You book shows up on Amazon Online
• Customers visit the Amazon Website to buy your book
• Amazon prints and distributes your book to their customer

Expanded Distribution Network

• You set up your book in your KDP dashboard
• You select Expanded Distribution
• You book shows up on Amazon Online
• Amazon sends your book details to other distributors
• Your Book shows up as available to order through other distributors
• Customers visit the Amazon Website to buy your book, Amazon prints and distributes your book to their customer
• Bookstores and libraries can order your book through their book distributor, and the distributor prints and distributes your book to their customer

Before you rush through your set up, and choose Expanded Distribution, you need to understand the impact of checking the Expanded Distribution option.

Where is the Expanded Distribution Check Box?

This powerful check box is in the Pricing and Royalty Tab of your KDP Dashboard, which is the third page in your paperback set up screens.

The help prompts is innocuous enough:

“Reach more readers by distributing your paperback through bookstores, online retailers, libraries, and academic institutions.”

We all want to reach more readers, so the obvious response is to check the box and move on with your set up, so that you can hit the publish button.

But don’t check this box before you’ve made a decision about your paperback distribution.

Ask yourself this Question

Do I only want to release my paperback through Amazon KDP?

• If the answer is YES, then you can go ahead and click the Expanded Distribution option.
• If the answer is NO, then – step away from the box – don’t click it.

If the answer is YES

Here’s the Impact of selecting the Expanded Distribution option:

• Amazon will make your book available to their wider distribution network, which means your book won’t only be available through Amazon online. It will also be made available to order through booksellers and libraries who order from companies like the Ingram Content Group  who are one of the major printers and distributors of print-on-demand books.
• You’ll receive less royalties than if you were choosing expanded distribution through Ingram’s self publishing portal, Ingram Spark.

If the answer is NO

Here’s the impact of NOT selecting the Expanded Distribution option

• If you only make your paperback available through Amazon KDP, then readers will only be able to order your book through Amazon online.
• Libraries and bookstores order their books from distributors like Ingram Spark, so won’t be able to order your book unless you set up your book directly through Ingram Spark (or another paperback distributor like Lulu, Bookbaby, Blurb, and Draft2Digital who at the time of writing were in beta testing for paperback).

Your knee-jerk reaction will probably be to choose the expanded distribution option through Amazon. But first your book has to be eligible for Amazon’s expanded distribution, and you need to think about the royalty rate implications.

I set up my paperbacks through Ingram Spark, and I have the flexibility of setting my own paperback royalty rate, which is higher than the royalty rate set by Amazon.

You can read more about distributing your paperback through Amazon or another distributor, in the next article in this series:

How does Amazon Expanded Distribution work?