Updated on December 27, 2022
One of the biggest questions most of the self-publishing authors face is where and how to self-publish books, that too for free. There are numerous platforms to self-publish books. However, Draft2Digital (D2D) is certainly one of the finest platforms to distribute your eBooks throughout the world.
Well, I have been self-publishing and distributing my books (both eBooks, and POD- Print on Demand) with different online self-publishing platforms, including Barnes & Noble (my home page). I told you about how to make a living with self-publishing:
Speaking from the experience, Draft2Digital is my favorite platform to self-publish eBooks.
In this quick post, let me share some of my personal experiences with Draft2Digital.
- Reading Chinese Characters
- Writing Chinese Characters
- Learn Simple Chinese Sentences
- Must-Know Chinese Idioms
- Books to Learn Chinese Characters
What is Draft2Digital?
Draft2Digital is primarily a self-publishing platform. They collaborate with numerous prestigious booksellers and libraries, including:
- Amazon
- Apple
- Barnes & Noble
- Kobo
- Smashwords
Draft2Digital is essentially a book aggregator. That is to say, if you publish with Draft2Digital, your books goes online on so many booksellers’ websites.
In other words, although you can self-publish books separately with Kobo, Apple, Amazon, etc., it takes a lot of time and effort to maintain so many self-publishing accounts. Different platforms have different sets of requirements to publish your books. However, with Draft2Digital, you can just upload your file, and it’ll distribute your book to numerous online retailers (including Amazon, and Apple).
How to Sign Up for Draft2Digital Account?
You can Sign Up here (free).
Universal Book Links
For each of the books, you are provided a Unique Book Link (UBL). The link is very flexible as it gives a buyer an option to buy the books from the retailer of his choice.
What upload format is supported by Draft2Digital?
I always upload my books in the word format (.doc, .docx). The word format is simple, and easy.
No Price Limitation
If you self-publish with Amazon KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing), you have to price your books at minimum $ 2.99 in the US marketplace for a 70% royalty. There is no such a thing with Draft2Digital. You can practically choose any price you wish.
How Much Time It Takes To Self-Publish A Book With Draft2Digital?
It hardly takes a couple of minutes to fill the book metadata and upload the word files. The book goes live on different retailers within a few hours. Before uploading your file, make sure your book is NOT enrolled in the KDP select program.
How Much is the Fee to Self-Publish With Draft2Digital?
Virtually, there is no fee! Draft2Digital doesn’t ask you to provide a credit card information (IngramSpark does). So, no money is taken from your bank account. When you make a sale, 10% goes to Draft2Digital. The whole process is super transparent.
How The Publishers Are Paid?
You might be wondering how Draft2Digital sends payouts. Well, Draft2Digital gives you multiple options to receive payments for your book sales. However, for most of the options, there are minimum thresholds.
My favorite method is to receive payment in my PayPal account. There is no payment threshold for PayPal. Further, the money transfer to PayPal is free. I receive payment on the 15th of every month.
Free ISBN
Draft2Digital gives you a free ISBN for each eBooks. Your eBook will carry the same ISBN on Apple, Amazon, Kobo, etc. Of course, you can supply your own ISBN. However, the ISBN is a very important for your books, especially the print titles. I discussed in the following book in great details whether you should buy ISBN or not-
Sales Reports
One of the biggest frustration with IngramSpark is their frustrating book sales reports!
That’s not the case with Draft2Digital. The reporting tool provides you multiple options to see your earnings in the most flexible way imaginable.
Can You Trust Draft2Digital?
Absolutely! I have been publishing with Draft2Digital for about a year now. No issues! Most importantly, they have a human touch. They care about the publishers. Highly recommended!!
Draft2Digital Customer Services
The responses are fast and intuitive.
Any Problems With Draft2Digital?
There are a few issues with Draft2Digital that an indie author should keep in mind:
- Draft2Digital don’t have KDP Select/Kindle Unlimited.
- You can’t add certain words/terms in your book description, such as “free”, your blog url, etc.
- You can’t have url of other publishers included the book text. For example, you can’t put the url print title of your eBook on Amazon in the book.
- They don’t send payouts to the Wise (formerly TransferWise).
Final Words
I love self-publishing eBooks with Draft2Digital. If you are into self-publishing, Draft2Digital is kind of a must. Sign Up here for free to reach your readers across the globe.