Why should I choose Indie Reads?

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At Indie Reads, we are committed to giving authors the highest royalties possible for their books, and working to make indie and self-publishing a viable career path for the many, not just the lucky few. To do this we have provided very author-friendly terms for sale. These include:

• 95% royalties on all direct sales, both ebooks and physical copies

• Equal distribution of subscriber fees and indie reads related sales (grab bags, blind dates with a book, 3D prints) to all participating authors

• Royalty reimbursement for any sales made on Amazon and B&N

We will go into more detail on each of these terms below.

 

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What are the limitations and exclusivity terms for partnering with Indie Reads?

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In terms of exclusivity, you are free to advertise and sell your books on any platform. Partnering with Indie Reads does not come with any exclusivity requirements, with one exception – you must own all the rights to promotion and distribution of your books. For many indie and self-published authors, this is not much of an issue, EXCEPT that your ebooks cannot be enrolled in Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited program. Amazon demands exclusive rights to promotion and distribution of your ebooks when you are enrolled in the program, and so we cannot legally sell them on our site. You can still sell your physical books. If your book is not in KU, you can still sell it on Amazon while selling it on our site.

For limitations, we want to be up front. We are a small company, just starting out. Readership is small and therefore, sales will be low until we build up more readers and active users. We may not be the best place for someone who already has an established fanbase or who is doing well in Kindle Unlimited.

 

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What are you doing to protect our property and prevent piracy?

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Piracy of electronic books is a difficult problem. We cannot ensure that your books won’t be pirated, only that we have taken steps to limit this wherever possible within our budget. We currently attach an invisible, digital watermark into each book. This watermark has the Indie Reads logo and is timestamped. The watermarks are placed a random spots in the book, to make it harder for someone to pirate the book without being noticed. We will take legal action if necessary. The second thing we do is that each buyer receives a unique link to download the ebook. This link expires after download, or after a certain period of time (30 days), to prevent mass sharing of the book. We are always looking for ways to improve our security and will be looking at potential DRM software or an alternative, as we get the funding to do so.

 

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What do I need to do to get my books for sale on your site?

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You will need to sign our Vendor Agreement (you can read a copy here), which details different types of sales (direct vs indirect) and what the requirements are for participating in the program and for leaving the program. To request an official vendor agreement, please submit a request to empeck@indiereadssparc.com

 

After signing, you will send your epub or PDF files (epub preferred) to the following email address: empeck@indiereadssparc.com where they will be watermarked as explained above. Then, they will be added to the site for sale. By default, we set the price as the same as the price on Amazon. If you would like your ebook priced differently than on Amazon, or would like to put it “on sale” for a specific period of time, please contact us at empeck@indiereadssparc.com

Any questions you have, you can direct them to that email address as well.

 

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What is a “direct sale” and how does that differ from an “indirect sale”?

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Direct sales include anytime a buyer purchases your book from our site at full price or at a reduced price if it is on sale. Indirect sales include subscriber fees and any Indie Reads related sales like grab bags and experiences. Details for this can be found in the vendor agreement. Indie Reads reserves the right to adjust how Indirect Sales are distributed, but direct sales will always be at 95% royalty (5% commission to Indie Reads). In addition, a direct sale may become an indirect sale if the reader uses a coupon that reduces the sale price to zero. Coupons are not sent out frequently, and you will be notified whenever they are being distributed.

 

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What is the royalty reimbursement program?

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We know that authors typically receive low royalties for their books (40-60%). We are committed to reimbursing you up to 95% for any sales made on Amazon or B&N. We will have a submission process where you can send a list of your sales to us for reimbursement. The reimbursement program is completely donation funded, and will only occur for as long as we have donation funds available.

 

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How do I get paid?

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Payment will occur quarterly. We use PayPal for payment distribution, so you will need to have a paypal account in order to receive your payments. Prior to payment, you will receive an invoice listing all of your sales and other income sources (indirect sales, bonuses, etc) for the quarter.

 

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How do I sell physical copies of my books?

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We do not currently have the means to distribute physical copies of your books directly from Indie Reads. What we have done is establish a multi-vendor marketplace, similar to Etsy, where you can list your products at the price you set. This does not have to be limited to books, but can include merchandise, special editions, and other branded content. Authors will be responsible for carrying their own inventory. Many authors choose to get author copies delivered to their house so they have a supply on hand. Any sales made this way will count as a direct sale, so you will receive a 95% royalty.

We are working to establish relationships for reduced shipping costs, particularly for international sales, and for special edition printing. At this time, you will be responsible for setting your shipping rates for each country you want to sell in.

If you are interested in selling physical copies of your books on our site, please check out this video with instructions for getting an account set up: https://www.indiereads.org/video

 

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Will you promote my books?

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We will do everything we can to promote your books with the resources that we have. We have a presence on Instagram/Threads and TikTok. We do giveaways, book sales, events, and author interviews. We will also conduct local events where we are located (Harrisburg, PA). Still, most of the marketing and promotion of your book will be up to you.

 

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I don’t think Indie Reads is for me, but I believe in your mission and would like to contribute, what can I do?

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1. Consider purchasing books and other items from our bookstore

2. Tell others about us, personal contacts are best – friends, relatives, direct communication. Social media promotion is always appreciated. Consider setting up an interview with us.

3. You can donate to the royalty fund here: https://www.indiereads.org/royalty-fund

 

 

What is your policy on the use of AI-generated art?

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At Indie Reads we highly recommend using art that is made without AI. This can include commissioned art, personal art, and stock photos. With that said, we will not refuse your book if it contains AI-generated cover art, but we ask that you inform us, so that we can tag the book for transparency for our readers. We will NOT accept AI-generated books/writing and any author found violating this policy will be removed from the platform.

 

If you have any questions not answered here, please contact Evan Peck at empeck@indiereadssparc.com

 

Thank you and looking forward to partnering with you!