Chris A. Baird | July 21, 2020
self publishing with Barnes and Noble

Have you heard about self publishing with Barnes and Noble but ain't sure if it's a good idea or not? Take time to read this article to know if it's worth it or not.

Unlimited Sites To Self-Publish

Today's question has three answers and you're going to want to stick around. Because the third answer is a secret to how putting your ebooks on Barnes and Noble can cost you a lot of money.

Now let's get into it. Today's question that was sent in is, is it worth self publishing with Barnes and Noble? Well, this is an excellent question.

When we first started publishing, we notice quickly that there are many places on the internet that we can actually self-publish. We can publish on Barnes and Noble, Lulu, Amazon, Ingram Spark, Smashwords, etc.

There's just an unlimited number of sites that we can put our books out onto. We've heard of Barnes and Noble. We've been to the store, we're wondering maybe this is a good idea or maybe this is a bad idea to publish on there.

We're just not sure if that is exactly what we should be doing. Check out my free Self-Publishing Secrets Checklist to help you get started on your self-publishing journey.

So let's get into it. When I first started self-publishing, I was not aware of all, that you even could do it on Barnes and Noble. It was only after I had moved on to Smashwords.

I was pulling myself out of Amazon KDP Select. To test and see if I could maybe make more money on these other sites than just sticking with Amazon.

So when I put my books out, I then began to see that my ebooks would be available through the Nook and Barnes and Noble. And so they were going there.

My paperbacks were already pushing through to Barnes and Noble. So we had that set. But then the question was, is this a good idea to have my ebooks in addition to the paperback books?

Upshot Of Smashwords

This is something that a lot of people wonder. So, is it worth self-publishing with Barnes and Noble? Let's get into the answers.

The first answer of today is yes, but if you're going to do it, it should be done through Smashwords for your ebooks. I use a program called Jutoh to create the ePub format, that's necessary for Smashwords.

Then, they will distribute your audiobook or your ebook through different networks. Including through Kobo and it'll get out through Barnes and Noble.

So that you're able to put it on the Nook, they're able to see and buy the book through that platform. So, if you're going to do it, that's the way to go.

The second is that paperbacks on KDP Print will automatically sell through Barnes and Noble, through the extended distribution. Some people argue that you should also publish them through Barnes and Noble.

I would disagree with this strongly. It is because the amount of sales you're going to see coming through Barnes and Noble is going to be so small.

Check out this related article: Is It Better To Self Publish?

That it's going to be nearly impossible for you to make your money back for the time that you invested to get it out on to that platform. So it is best just to stick with the 30% or 40%.

Whatever the royalties that you will be getting through Barnes and Noble through your Amazon KDP Print, just let it go through extended distribution. Through the Barnes and Noble platform in that way.

That brings us on to our third answer of the day which is our secret answer of the day. And that is you probably should not do your ebooks through Smashwords. Since it means you can't run ads on Amazon against those same ebooks.

Significance Of Ads

Now you might be wondering why? Does it make any sense? And let me explain. If you wish to run ads on the Amazon platform, your Kindle books absolutely must be registered in KDP Select.

And if you've registered under KDP Select, that means that you have agreed by contract to not sell your books elsewhere, at least the ebook versions.

That means that you cannot sell those ebooks through Barnes and Noble or Smashwords. While complying with the contract you have just made with Amazon.

Now, the reason Amazon is so important is that the vast majority of your sales will be done through Amazon. And for me, three to five times something like that in the total number of sales is passing right on through those ads.

So the ads are incredibly important to get your books to sell. Now, if selling books is important to you, well then of course you can push the distribution.

But the only reason it's even strategic to do the distribution in the first place is that you want to see your books sell. That's why we want our books everywhere so that we can sell more copies of those books.

If Amazon is currently the best place, then you should keep your books on Amazon under KDP Select that's the ebook versions. And not use Smashwords to get the ePub versions filtered through and out on to Barnes and Noble.

Check out this related article: Self Publishing Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing?

But don't fear it. As we talked about before, your paperbacks will still continue through the expanded distribution on Amazon. They'll just flow right on through there.

This is something you're not going to need to worry too much about. So, is it worth self publishing with Barnes and Noble?

Well, what have you found? Go ahead and let me know below in the comments and check out my other blogs and videos, you'll see answers to more of your self-publishing questions.

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