Why Authors (and Readers) Need More Than Just Amazon
Selling Direct-to-Consumer
I still remember the first ebook I ever bought—UR by Stephen King. Reading on my first iPhone, and later my Kindle, was thrilling. But then I realized something unsettling: I didn’t actually own the book. If Amazon ever decided to remove it, I’d be out of luck.
That moment stuck with me. And now, with Amazon’s recent changes, I think it’s time we start looking at alternatives—not because we should abandon Amazon completely, but because readers deserve to truly own the books they buy, and authors deserve more control over their sales. I even wrote about this in my recent publication, Why I Won’t Be Boycotting Amazon, but one thing remains clear: we need options.
If you know me, you know I’m always preaching about direct-to-consumer sales. Selling ebooks directly to readers comes with serious perks. First, there’s the money—instant payments instead of waiting months for Amazon royalties. That means we can reinvest earnings right away, making it easier to run ads and grow our audience.
Then there’s creative control. Selling direct lets us design our own landing pages, tweak book descriptions, and set prices however we want—without being at the mercy of Amazon’s sudden changes. Higher royalties per sale mean we actually keep more of what we earn.
But the biggest reason? Owning reader data. When someone buys from Amazon, we don’t know who they are. But when they buy directly from us, we collect emails, understand their preferences, and build stronger connections. That makes marketing more effective, helping us reach the right readers when we launch new books.
Selling direct also gives us flexibility—running A/B tests, experimenting with pricing, and offering special deals Amazon won’t allow, like exclusive bundles, early access, or signed digital editions.
And setting up a store? Easier than you think. Platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, or Payhip make it simple to create a professional storefront, and services like BookFunnel handle secure ebook delivery, so readers get their files hassle-free.
Once your store is live, the next step is driving traffic. Email marketing is a game-changer—letting fans know they can buy directly (maybe with a special launch discount) can boost sales fast. Social media and targeted ads help, too, attracting high-intent buyers who are ready to read.
One idea I’ll be pitching to my mastermind group: What if a group of authors joined forces to create a shared ebook store? Figure out the royalty logistics, combine platforms, and drive more traffic together.
At the end of the day, selling direct isn’t about leaving Amazon—it’s about having choices. Readers should be able to own their ebooks, and authors should have the freedom to build sustainable businesses. The more control we take, the better experience we create—for ourselves and our readers.
What do you think? Have you tried selling direct, or is it something you're considering? Let’s talk in the chat
Etsy for Books! I don't really know how Etsy manages the disbursements of earnings, but the model for cooperative indie selling is out there. Picking it apart is the challenge, I guess. If there was a way to automate royalties paying to authors quickly, that would be a cool add-on for the RM bookstore. We've never really put a lot of thought into the ebook market though.
I think what hits people hardest is that driving traffic takes time and energy. A lot more than people realize. It also takes marketing chops, education, learning - a lot more than people realize. I say this having studied going wide in multiple groups and in an extremely thorough paid course (yup, I'm in AMMO). It is a ton of work.
The 'Zon offers something unique - a massive storefront that lets you drive traffic without as much effort. And for a while, it worked for pretty much everyone.
Now the 'Zon is realizing that their loss leader (because they don't make money on the books) is a bit cumbersome, so like any business they're going to cut things up, ditch things, and shift things around. Because they're allowed to do that, since it is their spot (the downside of being exclusive).
And some of their choices are alienating readers - and also, giving BookTubers things to chew on. Bad press and miffed readers can quickly cause sales to tank.
So that "sure thing" is becoming far less of a sure thing. And the social media algos that favor negativity mean that the things readers dislike about Amazon (again, I'm not defending the 'Zon, there's a lot to dislike) will continually get pushed up the algos. Criticism has always sold, but it does even more so these days.
But the hard thing is that the alternative is a ton of work with potentially little yield. It requires having a lot more books out there to make any kind of a profit (in most circumstances, unless you go all-in for Kickstarters, special editions, Patreon, etc - which are their own kind of extensive work).
I know. Welcome to small biz life. And your words here are gracious. But also, just saying "do direct and/or go wide" is a bit trite for the amount of work it is, and the understanding that with people scattered everywhere to all the sales platforms, it's very challenging to wrangle cats into a specific space.
However, I am a huge fan of doing things to help and serve the author community so that people can take the steps they need to. The shared ebook store around a specific genre or category - like MG fiction - is a great idea. It's inspiring how you step in to do the things, JJ!
I think your idea of an online storefront