- Expanded distribution can help you reach more readers
through bookstores, online retailers, libraries
and academic institutions
but is it really worth the 20% cut in royalties?
Isn't there another way around this?
There actually is.
But first when you're self publishing on Amazon KDP
what is expanded distribution
and is KDP expanded distribution worth it in 2021?
Well expand the distribution
is this it's additional distribution
off and a way from Amazon.
So this means it's not on amazon.com, amazon.co.uk
none of the Amazon properties.
In fact, you'll find if you use expanded distribution
you end up in places like Barnes & noble, Walmart.com,
Target and so much more.
The big issue is you're gonna be limited
in print trim sizes, paper type,
as well as full color options.
And this actually breaks down to like this.
If you want white paper, you have 12
of the 15 options you normally have through KDP.
And then if you want cream paper
you only have four of the 15 options.
And then if you want full color
you have seven of the 15 options.
There is no custom trim size available
through expanded distribution for KDP.
And here's the real kicker.
You get 40% minus print fees.
Now this is substantially lower
than what you get for distribution through Amazon.
Now, bear in mind, you can select expanded distribution
and it won't affect the royalties
that you get from sales on Amazon's platform.
So just because you choose expanded distribution
doesn't mean you're gonna get paid
any different through Amazon.
You're just gonna get paid 40% minus print fees
through any of the sales done
in expanded distribution alone.
So why the lower royalties
there's a little bit more that you need to kind of know.
Last year I interviewed the former director
of Ingram Spark Robin Cutler, and I spoke with her.
And from what she stated, the parent company
of Ingram Spark is Ingram Content Group
who also owns Lightning Source
who fulfills print runs for ready for it?
KDP expanded distribution.
So the distribution for expanded distribution
is exactly the same as Ingram Sparks distribution.
And this reaches out
to tens of thousands of online retailers.
So why it's lower is because KDP is taking their cut.
So there's the net profit that comes
in from expanded distribution.
And then KDP goes, oh, we'll be taking some
of that since we're gonna help you out with it.
But stick around.
There is a workaround.
I know Amazon doesn't want me to tell you this
but I'm going to tell you anyway.
First how are you paid for expanded distribution royalties?
Well, what happens is when a sale is made 30 days
after that sale it's being credited over towards KDP
and then KDP pays you 60 days
after the close of a given month.
So this means that you could probably
be getting your expanded distribution royalties
about upwards of about 90 days after the original sale.
You'll usually see a lump deposit of all the sales
at the end of the month inside your KDP sales dashboard.
It's pretty cool.
You'll see, just this huge spike.
It's very fun.
And I always look forward to the later portion
of the month for not only getting paid
but also seeing those expanded distribution royalties.
So is KDP expanded distribution worth it?
Well, yes, if you don't want to fuss with anything else
if you just wanna click a box
and just have somebody else do
all the work for you, that's fine.
Now, if you're sticking around this long,
you heard me say there's a bit of a workaround.
You probably say, I want the same distribution,
but I want all the royalties
instead of having KDP take a piece of my pie.
So how you get to expand the distribution
without Amazon is through Ingram Spark.
As I kind of hinted before.
Now all you have to do
is set up a free account at Ingram Spark.
You're going to need your own ISBN
now the International Standard Book Number is free
if you're in Canada
and certain regions throughout the world,
but if you're in the US or UK, you've got to get it
through Balker or Nielsen, respectively
and it typically can kind of be pricey.
So if you end up buying some
ISBN make sure you get them in bulk
in the US or UK, anywhere outside those regions
you're gonna need to do your own due diligence
and figure out what it costs in your region.
The good news is Ingram Spark actually does offer free ISBN
for US account holders only.
Now there is an asterisk on this
and we'll get to that in just a moment.
There's upload fees and update fees.
I know, take a deep breath.
You're going, but it's free for me to do through KDP.
That's all right.
I told you I was gonna give you a good workaround.
So it's $49 to upload a book.
If you need to update that book, it's an additional $25.
I'm gonna tell you to date.
I have not spent a single dime on uploads or update fees.
See, I became a member
of the Alliance of Independent Authors.
I know I've talked
about them exhaustively here on this channel
from time to time, I'm gonna bring them up again here
you pay about $89 to about $119 per year
to be a member.
And there's numerous perks.
But one of the big perks, the ones that I like is the fact
that you get to waive all Ingram Spark fees.
So this means if you get two to three title uploads
per year, you've essentially paid
for the ally membership and keep in mind.
There's other perks in that.
By the way you can go visit Dale links.com/alli
and you can be able to find out more details
about how you can become a member, but keep in mind
this is something that they don't come
out and tell you until it becomes too late.
- [Man] Oh no
- You can do the free ISBN in for US account holders
but you're gonna have to pay for the upload fee.
However, if you come with your own ISPN
you can be able to waive that upload fee.
So you've got an either or you can have one or the other
but you can't have both at the same time.
So the steps that you're gonna wanna do
is publish the KDP first.
For some reason, Amazon gets like the jealous girlfriend.
If you happen to be going over and talking to somebody else
they're gonna go, what are you doing?
It's real weird when it comes to the ISBN.
So publish to KDP first, and then you're gonna go
over and publish to Ingram Spark next.
Uploading to Ingram Spark is a fairly similar process
to upload into KDP,
but I'm gonna promise you
it's a little bit more detailed.
It's a more granular approach to the metadata.
So there's a lot of information I would recommend
if you've never done it before
put aside about an hour of time
so you can kind of figure
out things as you're going through.
And there's always a support ticket
that you can go ahead and put in
if you don't find something or don't understand something.
And by the way, speaking of Ingram Spark
I did a complete overview
of the company here and my second channel.
That's the podcast channel, go over and take a look at it
in this video right here and subscribe while you're there.
And if you've already seen
that then you can also take a look at this right over here.
YouTube says you should check it out.
I think you should take a look at either one of them.