Draft2Digital: The Perfect Match for Self-Published Authors

Entering the world of publishing is like going for a ride on a roller coaster at 120 miles per hour and not knowing where you will end up. It’s exciting. It’s scary, but most of all, it is full of opportunities. I remember the first time that I published a book. It was new for us to have a computer in our house at that time, let alone a place where a book could be published. Several social media websites were just getting off the ground, and publishing a lesbian fiction book when I could barely find one at the library or book store seemed unheard of.

I didn’t know where to go at that time. I had no idea what exclusive contracts were. I didn’t even know anything about formatting my book or setting a price. All I knew was that I wanted a book on the shelves that would speak to me, and if I couldn’t find one, then I was going to create it. I got my script together, uploaded it to Amazon Kindle, and used their cover creator to design the front of my manuscript. Then, with a push of a couple of buttons, it was all set.

At first, I saw more sales than I ever thought I would in one lifetime, but as time went on, and the KDP program changed, so did the number of people clicking on my work. I started to wonder what was wrong. There were millions of people in the United States, let alone the world, so I knew there had to be readers that hadn’t saw my work. I set out to do a little research, and to be honest, it took a couple of years of digging to find a solution.

First, I learned about cover designs and formatting. I did my best to correct these issues and moved on. Then, I learned about advertisement and marketing. I created an advertising budget, set up a couple of social media profiles and a website, and started to advertise. The sales did start coming in better than they were before, but the figures still weren’t where I wanted them to be.

That’s when I learned about worldwide distribution. Little did I know that when I signed a contract with KDP, my books would only be available through Amazon. I didn’t know how many other places I was missing out on. I read a couple of author’s blogs, articles, and researched a couple of websites. Then, I finally found a solution to my distribution issues. It was called Draft2Digital.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I still kept my books on Amazon. It is one of the largest distribution chains in the world. However, after unenrolling in KDP and putting them on Draft2Digital as well, I saw a nice increase in sales. I was reaching people that didn’t know anything about my books, and they were enjoying them.

Draft2Digital is still good to me to this day. I truly do love this platform. It was free to sign-up. They only take 10% of every book sold, which is lower than that of other distributors. You can also update and reformat your e-book for free as many times as you want. Besides that, Draft2Digital also will add a title page, copyright page, dedication, teaser, about the author page, about the publisher page, and an also by page to your book for free just by clicking a button. Oh, and did I mention that you get a free universal link to lead your customers to the retail outlets where your book is sold?

Now, if that isn’t impression enough, the ease of adding your manuscript is unlike any other process that I have gone through. The software that they use makes it easy to upload almost any document. They have formatting tools to assist you and make your book look more professional. They also have templates that you can use to change how your book looks. If you are creating a paperback, you can adjust the size of your book, and you have the ability to choose whether the cover is glossy or in presented in matte.

Draft2Digital also does a fantastic job of getting your book out there. They sell to retailers like Kobo, Tolino, Amazon (if you aren’t already on there), Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Scribd, Overdrive, Biblioteca, Baker & Taylor, BorrowBox, Vivlio, and Hoopla. By doing this, they are able to sell to other countries, and I’ve even seen a couple of my books at Walmart and Target since distributing with them.

So if you can’t tell, I really like Draft2Digital, and like every other company, they want their users to recommend them. I don’t usually follow those guidelines, but I am incredibly impressed with this company. I feel like they are good to their authors, and I think that they open up the door to more opportunities for self-published writers. I hope you will check them out, and I wish you success in your writing career.