Where to Publish eBooks

Updated Mar 2025

I know when I first started out I didn't have much idea of what I was doing or where I needed to put my books, so this page is just a little list to help others in the same situation.

For help with formatting your manuscript for upload check out this page:

The Big Three

Amazon KDP

Amazon KDP - you use your Amazon ID to sign in and you can start uploading books straight away. They have a well ordered help section which will show you how to go about it.

To create an eBook listing on Amazon we need:
  1. the manuscript formatted in docx, Kindle Package Format, or ePub
  2. a cover file of 1600 x 2560 (portrait) | 72 dpi | jpg or tiff
  3. a description to make people want to buy the book (Kindlepreneur have a great free tool to help you with this).
  4. 7 keywords to help people find the book
Amazon also offers KDP Select, which gives various extra promotion options and the possibility of a share in the monthly global KDP fun, however, it means you cannot publish anywhere else. I object to this on principle.

Smashwords

Smashwords - this is an eBook distributor which will send you books to Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Flipkart, Oyster, Scribd, the Diesel eBook Store, Baker & Taylor's Blio and Axis360 (libraries) and more. They have a starter page here to give you all the help you need.

Draft2Digital

Draft2Digital - Smashwords is now only a site to sell eBooks, and they have merged with Draft2Digital for the uploading and publishing of eBooks. They are also a distributor to Apple, Barnes & Noble, Kobo and many more, including library services.

To create an eBook listing on D2D we need:
  1. the manuscript formatted in docx or another Word friendly format
  2. a cover file of 1600x2400 or there about - jpg works best
  3. a description to make people want to buy the book (Kindlepreneur have a great free tool to help you with this).
  4. a short description of 400 characters or less (this is optional, but useful)
D2D offer front matter and back matter options Amazon do not, so if you wish to use them the manuscript can have all front and back matter removed. Title page, copyright page, dedication, Also by and Teaser pages are generated automatically if you select them, and there is the option of setting up About the Author and About the Publisher pages as well.

It also has Books2Read - a universal booklinker site that also has landing pages and lots of useful things like that.

You can also make paperback and hardbacks there, but it looks to be much more expensive than with Amazon so for me it wasn't worth it because I didn't want to have to hike up my Amazon prices that much. I would suggest trying it out yourself to see about your own titles.

Google Play

Google Play - these guys are finally getting there, their interface used to be terrible and it's still more complex than Amazon and Smashwords, but it's getting better. They have a checklist here on how to set up your account and sell books.

The create an eBook listing on Google Play we need:
  1. the manuscript formatted as an ePub
  2. a cover file of 1600x2400 or there about - jpg works best
  3. a description to make people want to buy the book (Kindlepreneur have a great free tool to help you with this).
Of course there are many other small sites as well, but these are the big names.

If you have any questions or suggestions for additions to the list, please feel free to drop me a comment.

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