Founder series · 2 September 2026 · 6 min read
Founder series: selling books direct without leaving the retailers behind
Retailers give you reach; a direct store gives you the reader. Authors who run both keep the discovery engine and stop handing over the full margin and the mailing list on every copy.
1. What to sell direct, and what to leave on retailers
Send the single ebook to retailers where browsing happens, and keep the things retailers handle badly: series box sets, signed or numbered editions, companion PDFs, workbooks and early access. Those are also the highest-margin items in the catalogue, which makes the direct store worth running even at modest volume.
2. Royalties are not the only maths
A direct sale at full price beats a 70% royalty, and beats a 35% one badly, but the fee stack still applies. Compare take rate plus processing against any monthly cost at your real monthly copies — and count the value of an email you can sell to again in three months.
3. Delivery readers do not complain about
Offer EPUB and PDF in one purchase, deliver both instantly in the receipt, and give a re-download page for the reader who lost the file. Watermark with the buyer's email rather than locking the file with DRM: it deters sharing without punishing the honest reader on a Kobo.
4. Exclusivity, pre-orders and the launch week
If you are enrolled in an exclusivity programme, the digital edition cannot be sold direct during the term — plan launches around it or publish wide. Pre-orders on a direct store are simply a product with a delivery date and an email at release, which is more control than any retailer gives you.
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FAQ
- Can I sell my ebook direct while it is on Amazon?
- Yes, unless you are in an exclusivity programme like KDP Select for that title. Wide-published authors routinely sell EPUB and PDF direct at full price alongside retailers.
- Do readers know how to load an EPUB?
- Most do, and the rest need one short instruction line per device in the receipt. Including PDF in the same purchase removes nearly all remaining support requests.
- What sells best direct for authors?
- Box sets, signed or special editions, companion workbooks and early access — anything a retailer listing cannot represent well.
Founder series: keep going
Compare the platforms on an author's terms, then check the founder FAQ:
- Best platform for indie authorsAn indie author's comparison of Gumroad, Payhip, Shopify, Etsy and your own store — royalties, EPUB delivery, reader emails and pre-orders for selling direct instead of only through retailers.
- Best platform for coaches & consultantsA coach's comparison of Gumroad, Payhip, Shopify, Etsy and your own store — client emails, workbook delivery, upsells into calls and how each supports a paid program.
- Best platform for artists & illustratorsAn artist's comparison of Gumroad, Payhip, Shopify, Etsy and your own store — commission, licensing, high-resolution file delivery and who owns the collector's email.
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