ericdontigney
patreon
Update: Why Don't I Sell Directly?
🕑 Added 2025-03-18 18:10:43 +0000 UTCThis comes up every so often, so I figured it was worth taking a minute to address it directly.
So, just why is it that I don't sell copies of my books/ebooks directly from this page (or from some other website) aside from signed copies of physical editions? There are a couple of reasons.
The first reason is that most of the things that people would want to buy are also under contract with my publisher. In other words, I gave up my right to sell the books directly in exchange for the massive amount of support that my publisher provides me. They don't mind me selling signed copies because I sell such a limited number of them and because I usually buy some or even all of the copies I sell, even if it is just at cost. But, if I start selling ebooks directly, I cut them completely out of the deal, which means that I violated the contract. My publisher has been very good to me. For example, they let me keep the chapters of my books that they've published on Patreon. That's because they're super nice and very awesome. Most publishers make their authors take those chapters down before publication. So, I'm very invested in not doing things that would make them dislike me.
The other primary reason has to do with the terms that Amazon imposes on my publisher. In exchange for listing the book exclusively on or through Amazon, my publisher and by proxy me get a bigger share of the profits. Here's the thing. Amazon takes that exclusivity thing very, very, very goddamn seriously. They take it so seriously that, if I ever did go rogue and start selling ebook copies directly, and word got back to them about it, there's a good chance that they'd pull all of my books down off the site. Maybe forever. Maybe just until I compensated them for the lost revenue plus lawyer fees. They might even ban me or any book (old or new) that has my name on it from the site permanently. That would be very damaging not only for me but also for my publisher. Hence, it's something I'm very keen to avoid.
Incidentally, Amazon also doesn't really care if I sell signed copies of the physical edition because they already made a little money off it, and it's a product they don't/can't really sell since it requires my active participation. The part they care about is that I'm not competing with them.
There you have it. The reasons aren't very exciting, but they are important.
Comments
Eleeyah
Does Ingram have the kind of market share to make that profitable?
chump1999
I know a lot of people who are withdrawing from the Amazon ecosphere (straw that broke the camel's back). It may soon be more financially viable to not be Amazon exclusive in the near future. I know Eric would get more money from each sale by selling direct to us. And then I could more easily put my books on my NAS Calibre library.
Rocinante
Your pub needs to talk with Ingram. They can get a much better deal with Ingram than Amazon.
Bryce Oakes
Hey I appreciate you taking the time to explain the issue. It's totally understandable. It's unfortunate Amazon has been taking steps to make their walled garden more closed as of late though. I can no longer export my kindle purchases to read on my nook and it's a shame. I appreciate the continued access to the content via patreon though so kudos to you and your publisher.
