Kindle Direct Printing (KDP) offers Expanded Distribution for print book sales. Expanded Distribution allows Libraries and Universities to order your book, but the formula for royalties is much less. Below is a quote from KDP found at Expanded Distribution.
“Booksellers and libraries purchase paperbacks from large distributors. If you enroll your paperback in Expanded Distribution, we’ll make your book available to distributors so booksellers and libraries can find your book and order it.”
“We currently work with distributors in the United States and the United Kingdom, but booksellers and libraries worldwide may purchase books from these distributors. It’s free to enroll your paperback in Expanded Distribution, and it allows your book to be made broadly available outside of Amazon.”
“Enrolling your paperback in Expanded Distribution doesn’t guarantee it will be accepted by distributors or ordered by a particular bookseller or library. The decision to list your book lies with distributors, and the decision to order your book lies solely with the individual booksellers and libraries. We can’t provide details on which booksellers and libraries purchased your book.”
While not mentioned in the three paragraphs above, I have read that KDP one of the distributors is IngramSpark.*
Expanded Distribution may be a matter of Royalties. I would not recommend anyone thinking they should quit their job after self-publishing a book. The next image is of the Royalty calculations for Member of the Cast (MOTC). Notice that Expanded Distribution reduces the royalty to $0.15. Right or wrong, I chose $10.00 for each paper copy of my book. The price could be raised to increase Expanded Distribution royalties, but the increase may hurt print copy sales.
If the numbers in the image confuse you, an earlier article explains how the royalty formula works.
If you want your book in the hands of people, Expanded Distribution may help. I have confidence in MOTC, believing that word of mouth will eventually increase sales. However, with millions of self-published books each year, authors need to take a realistic view of prospective sales.
*IngramSpark is a publisher that works hard to get books into the Library, University, and other booksellers. While it is a topic for another time, IngramSpark is available to self-publishing authors.
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