Authors: Book Publishing Options

How Should I Get My Book Published?

While my focus is on marketing and not book publishing, this is a rather common question as a starting point. I've been grateful to spend time with many authors and publishing affiliated folks to become familiar with the basics of the options available.

I am the first to admit, I am no expert on this nor profess to be, but I'm an amazing researcher and am happy to share my discoveries and resources.  

Also bear in mind, publishing options change—plan to do a bit of research on the matter when you're ready to publish for the most current info.

First Book - Where's A Good Start?
Excellent question! Let's start by defining the global options available with thanks to Books.by for their tutorial and an amazing comparison chart:

• Marketplaces: you publish on their store, they have the customers, you receive a percentage of the sale - they keep 30-65% of the sale (Amazon, Barnes and Noble) 
• Distributors: they make your book available to retailers who then sell your book, gets you into stores you may not otherwise have access to, multiple middlemen means lower royalties, and you still don't own the customer relationship (IngramSpark, Draft2Digital)
• Direct sales: you sell directly to readers through your own processes, you own the customer relationship, highest royalties; however, you must generate all of the traffic, PR, and granular business aspects such as shipping and taxes (Books.by, Shopify, Gumroad, Lemon Squeezy)

​Chart below is courtesy of the same Books.by 2026 self-publishing guide:

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Focusing on Amazon
My dear friend Gillian Whitney, author, podcaster, book coach, and publisher (with her husband), hosted a fabulous podcast February 25, 2025 discussing ISBNs which led to a discussion about Amazon publication options. She has transcribed the podcast into an article you can find here along with the option to listen to the podcast if you prefer. Above is her LinkedIn, here is her website.

Gillian's recommendation for first-time authors: "[I]f you are a first-time author who is unsure whether publishing is going to stick, the free ISBN [with Amazon] is a perfectly reasonable starting point. There is no shame in it. You can always change your mind later — it is just more work if you do."

ISBNs (each book format's individual book number of record) are needed to publish and sell books. A different one is needed for each book format. Purchasing them individually can be expensive, but they are sold in bundles a bit more affordably if you plan to publish in multiple formats or author multiple books. Gillian has plenty of detail in her article. Let's return our focus to Amazon, probably the most frequently used by independent authors.

Amazon's Free ISBN: The Pros and the Cons
Per Gillian's article: "Amazon (through Kindle Direct Publishing) offers a free ISBN for paperback and hardback editions. For Kindle eBooks, no ISBN is required at all — Amazon simply does not ask for one. Neither do Apple Books or Barnes & Noble Press for ebooks, though aggregators like Draft2Digital and IngramSpark do require them." The pros and cons are taken directly from her article.

• The Pros of Using Amazon's Free ISBN
  • It is genuinely free — no cost for paperback or hardback editions
  • Amazon handles registration for you — no metadata entry required on your part
  • Available to authors worldwide, not just in the United States
  • The book shows as "independently published" on BookWire — not as Amazon-branded
• The Cons of Using Amazon's Free ISBN
  • You cannot take it with you — the ISBN belongs to Amazon and cannot be used on any other platform
  • Amazon is listed as your publisher, not you
  • If you later want to move to a different platform using that ISBN, you will need to unpublish, apply for your own ISBN, republish, and then ask Amazon to transfer your reviews to the new listing

Buying Author Copies on Amazon
On behalf of a client, I asked Gillian about options for authors to purchase (affordably) printed copies of their book for distribution at meetings as a beautiful "business card" or to even sell independently off Amazon. I wasn't sure if there may be regulations about potentially inflating sales numbers if the author is the one predominantly purchasing the books. 

Here's what she had to say: "When an author publishes their book on Amazon, they have the ability to order Author copies at cost. You can order as many copies as you like (up to 999 per order) and sell them independently yourself at whatever markup price you choose. Many authors sell their author copies at conferences, speaking engagements, etc."

Very good to know—thank you, Gillian!

Get to the Point
There are a number of ways to consider publishing your book! We have only scratched the surface here, but we've laid the groundwork for future posts and tackled a decent summary about Amazon to get you started.

This post focuses on Amazon as it's one of the most popular means for authors aiming to publish independently rather than through traditional publishers whose process can take months and may ultimately not be accepted in their printing calendar. 

Gillian Whitney is a fabulous resource for authors looking to get published! She has published six books now and is involved on the publishing side of things with her husband. Her weekly podcast is roughly 30 minutes, hosting many guests related to the publishing and marketing process for books. She hosts monthly events on LinkedIn with featured guests for an hour where Q&A is available. 

Some authors prefer the broad distribution and authority of working with traditional publishers. Others prefer the speed and independence of independent publishing options.

As an independent author, you do have some input in the price that will be charged depending on whether you're aiming for a profit or prefer to "freely" share your information. Amazon has a rock-bottom price point of slightly above the cost to print a book or $0.99 minimum for Kindle books.

Your Turn!
Have you published a book yet or thinking about it? Any stumbling blocks along the way?

A book is an amazing asset to have for your business to demonstrate your thought leadership and expertise! It's a fabulous calling card for authors, solopreneurs, and even nonprofits interested in broadening their reach.

I'd love to hear your experiences! I'd also be very happy to help you put the finishing touches on your nonfiction book with proofreading/editing skills. My favorite part of publishing is the marketing before and after your book is published--Let's Chat! You can also find me on LinkedIn and Substack!