Can writers sell their ebooks directly through a Facebook store rather than through something like Amazon KDP?

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No. For most authors, a Facebook store is not an option for ebooks, because Meta’s Commerce Policies prohibit commerce content that promotes “the buying, selling, or trading of downloadable digital content” (Meta Commerce Policies). Amazon KDP is where I tell beginners to start. Below is why, and how I use Facebook. If your product is a short booklet, read whether it is worth self-publishing a booklet.

Can you sell ebooks through a Facebook store?

Not as downloads. Facebook’s shops are built for physical products, and the policy above rules out downloadable digital content. Policies change, so check Meta’s page before you plan around it. A paperback or hardcover is a physical product, so print is a different question, but I have not sold print through a Facebook shop. If you want to sell a digital file outside KDP, read about selling books on Etsy, where a book you wrote can be a PDF download or a printed copy.

Are printed books allowed in a Facebook shop?

Meta’s Commerce Policies ban commerce content that promotes the buying, selling or trading of downloadable digital content, digital subscriptions and digital accounts. They don’t ban books by format. Books come up in the policy only where they infringe someone else’s rights, such as unauthorized copies (Meta Commerce Policies). So a paperback you hold the rights to is not ruled out the way an ebook download is. That is not the same as Meta approving your shop, so check its current rules and setup pages first. I have not sold print through a Facebook shop, so I can’t tell you how it compares with Amazon.

Why start with Amazon KDP?

There are many places to sell: Amazon, IngramSpark, Draft2Digital, Lulu, your own site and more. When I started I was told to start with Amazon, and that is where I send everybody: find people who have sold a lot of books and who have tested the options. I have published 230 books, and my free 12-step self-publishing checklist shows where to begin. How do you publish a book on Amazon? walks through it.

Amazon is one of the biggest search engines on earth. People go there to buy Kindle books. They have an account set up and payment ready. On Facebook there are extra steps, and ad costs cut deeply into your book sales.

KDP pays 70% of the list price, minus delivery costs, on ebooks priced $2.99 to $12.99 on Amazon.com (this range took effect 07-Jul-26, up from $9.99), and 35% outside that range (KDP eBook list price requirements; royalty options).

Do Facebook ads work for selling ebooks?

They didn’t for me. Other authors, particularly fiction authors, said Facebook ads worked well for them, so I tested it. I tried selling ebooks through Facebook ads, and the cost climbed over time, which told me it wasn’t a great strategy for me. Facebook ads can be useful for reaching people who already know you, such as previous customers when you have a new book, and some authors with huge email lists do well with them. I compare the Amazon options in which ad on Amazon works best.

What do the surveys say about ads and email lists?

The Written Word Media 2025 Indie Author Survey (1,346 self-reported responses, published 02-Dec-25) rated Facebook ads as effective for authors who learn the system, and Amazon Ads and BookBub Ads as mixed, hard to optimise and easy to overspend on. It also found that authors with an email list had a median income of about $300 a month, against about $15 without one. The survey notes that the figures are self-reported and show a link, not cause.

So ads can work, but they are a skill, and my advice is to learn it with a small budget you can afford to lose. An email list is the thing you own, and that is where I would put the effort before a Facebook shop, which for ebooks is not an option anyway.

What does KDP pay compared with other routes?

On Amazon.com the 70% royalty option needs a list price of $2.99 to $12.99. The 35% option covers prices from $0.99 to $200, depending on file size. Delivery costs still apply to the 70% option (KDP, September 2026). Meta’s Commerce Policies list “downloadable digital content, digital subscriptions or digital accounts” among the things commerce content may not promote, so ebook downloads do not fit a shop there.

How do I push sales on Amazon?

I publish the ebook through KDP and can run Amazon ads directly to it. For paperbacks I like IngramSpark, and I have used Lulu for my hardbacks.

Whichever platform you use, run ads. Publishing without ads is a key reason authors earn little.

What have you found? Have you had success with other platforms such as Draft2Digital? Tell me in the comments.

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