Set up your print and ebook distribution
Set up an ebook aggregator beyond Amazon
Optional. One account that sends the ebook to Apple Books, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, and the services libraries lend ebooks through.
Authors often hire help with this: metadata or distribution.
Why it matters
Every reader who does not own a Kindle, and every library that lends ebooks, is on the other side of this decision. For some books that is a small number and the account is not worth opening. For others, particularly books with a library audience or readers outside the United States, it is most of the potential readership. Either answer is fine, provided you made it on purpose and know what an exclusivity program would cost you.
Your part
- What you do
- Do it. You normally do this yourself.
- Who normally owns it
- Author. Author-publisher chooses the aggregator and the channels
- When
- Two to three months before publication, so the stores have time to list the ebook (Set up your print and ebook distribution: twelve to three months before publication, once the isbns are settled and the files are close to final)Checked September 15, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
Your part changes with your publishing route.
How to do it
The full walkthrough
An ebook aggregator is one account that delivers your ebook to many stores and library services at once, collects the metadata in one place, and pays you one statement instead of nine. It exists because opening an account with every store separately is more administration than most author-publishers want.
What it reaches that Amazon does not: Draft2Digital's own partners page names Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Everand, Tolino, Vivlio, Gardners, Fable, and Bookshop.org, and the library ebook services OverDrive, Hoopla, cloudLibrary, and BorrowBox. The Smashwords store is now one of the channels Draft2Digital lists there too. PublishDrive is another aggregator; read its current store list and terms on its own page. We do not recommend one over another, and the right choice depends on which stores and which library services you actually want.
The library services in that list are worth noticing. For many author-publishers, an aggregator is the only realistic way a public library can lend the ebook at all, because libraries buy digital lending rights through vendors rather than from a retail page.
On cost, Draft2Digital's frequently asked questions page states a one-time account activation fee of 20 United States dollars, an annual maintenance fee of 12 United States dollars for accounts earning under one hundred dollars a year, and revenue taken as a commission of roughly 10 percent of the retail price. Those numbers move, and other aggregators price differently, so check the current price on their page before you sign up.
One real conflict to know about before you start: Amazon programs that require Kindle ebook exclusivity for an enrollment period cannot be combined with selling the same ebook elsewhere. If you are enrolled in one, going wide with the ebook is a decision to leave it, not something you can do alongside it. Read Amazon's current terms for that program rather than assuming.
Common mistakes
- Signing up while an exclusivity program is still running on the Kindle edition.
- Leaving every channel switched on without knowing which ones you wanted.
- Assuming an aggregator reaches libraries automatically; the library services are specific channels you select.
- Letting the description and price drift away from the Amazon listing.
- Taking a fee figure from an article instead of the aggregator's own page.
Identifiers for Set up an ebook aggregator beyond Amazon
Set a status on any record and it joins this step. All book identifiers.
| My status | Identifier | Why this matters | Yours |
|---|---|---|---|
| ISBN The International Standard Book Number, printed above the barcode. Most formats sold through the book trade get their own. | Every retailer, wholesaler, and library orders and lists your book by this number, and the title, contributors, format, price, and publication date attached to it are what those systems display, so one wrong detail shows up in many places at once. Traditionally and hybrid published authors normally receive the numbers from the publisher and check what is attached to each one. If you publish the book yourself, you buy the numbers and assign them, and you are the one who decides whether your imprint or a platform is recorded as the publisher. Keep one list of every ISBN beside the edition and format it identifies so you can check listings against it. | Add your ISBN-13 |
What done looks like
- A named reason to go beyond Amazon: specific stores, specific countries, or library lending.
- One aggregator chosen, with its current fees and commission read on its own page and the date noted.
- The store and library channels selected deliberately rather than all left switched on.
- The same title, subtitle, contributors, description, and price as every other edition record.
- Any Amazon exclusivity program checked and settled first, so the two decisions do not collide.
- Each store listing checked once it appears.
Ask your publisher
Copy this into an email. Replace the bracketed parts with your details.
Sources and last checked
- Official source
- Official source (opens in a new tab)
- Last checked
- September 15, 2026
- How confident we are
- Verified
Rules and deadlines change. We last checked this information on September 15, 2026. If you see something that needs updating, please tell us.