I'm often asked, "What do you mean when you say, 'Buy direct?'". Before I entered the book industry, I'd never heard this terminology. Honestly, as readers - we read. We grab books in all the places where we get them: libraries, yard sales, bookshops, online retailers, from friends... When it comes to fresh stories filled with suspense, secrets, and unforgettable characters, we want them! In any way we can get them.
Readers are undeniably the cream of the crop, and that’s why you’re so important to authors like me. You get the excitement of our books and every time you dive into our stories, we feel like you get us. You understand the voices in our heads that wake us from a deep sleep and force us to our keyboards. The forgetting to brush our hair because the perfect book idea struck us in the shower, and we could barely be bothered to get dressed in our mad dash to the nearest notebook.
While we’re happy to have you purchase the fruits of our muse through any retailer, many authors have gone the extra mile to ensure our books can reach your hands without any third-party involvement. We sell direct to you, right from our very own websites.
This is important for a few reasons, a big one being that we can offer deals, discounts, and bundles that simply are not available on other platforms. Two other reasons are:
· Authors keep more of the proceeds. Platforms like Amazon, and other popular retailers, take a substantial cut of each sale. A cut that often leaves authors receiving less than 30%. Direct sales let us retain a much larger share, which means more resources to invest in writing the next book, producing audiobooks, creating beautiful editions, and delivering more of the stories you crave at prices that remain affordable. (Barnes & Noble recently rolled out a mandatory price increase, and authors have a choice to comply or remove our books from that platform. Which means alienating readers on that platform in one way or another.)
· We get paid faster. Instead of waiting 60, 90, or even 180 days (or longer) for retailer payouts, direct sales puts funds in our hands within a week. This past February, I received a payout from a retailer that included books sold the previous October. That’s a long time to wait! Every retailer is on a different timetable, and every country that retailer does business in is different. So, when I sell books in the US, Canada, UK, Australia, Japan, India, and all of the over fifty countries where I have book sales—even when these books sell via the same retailer on the same day, I don’t receive payment from that retailer for those books at the same time. Confusing, right?
These reasons are the basic drivers behind why I love running my own Shopify store. It’s a win-win for everyone, and celebrates the power of direct connection. Many readers enjoy the convenience of big retailers, and those options are wonderful too. But choosing direct sales is a meaningful way to support the authors whose work you love, while often unlocking signed paperbacks, bundles, or other exclusives that aren't available elsewhere.
This is why I’m thrilled to invite you to a special group promotion featuring books available directly from the authors' own websites. While each website will be different, these authors are using the power of BookFunnel to make the process of delivering their ebooks and audiobooks seamless. You'll receive your books via easy download links, often with handy delivery to your preferred device. It's professional, reader-friendly, and the BookFunnel library allows you to keep your books synced and organized.
Prefer paperback? You know I have you covered, and most of these other authors do too. So, whether you're in the mood for psychological thrillers, fantasy adventures, or something in between, there's likely something perfect for your reading list. Check out this group of authors and click on any book cover that catches your attention, and then shop directly at that author’s store.
Thank you for helping us sustain our businesses! Your support keeps our creative pipelines flowing. I'd love to hear which books catch your eye. Drop me an email or feel free to post on your social media and give me a tag. I’ll see those tags eventually…hopefully! I just purchased Dream Interpretation for the Mystical Soul by Pamela Cummins. Super excited to see if there's anything about grass in this book. Don't ask...
Happy reading,
Lee Dawna