Subscription Services for Self-Published Authors

Originally posted on Publishing...and Other Forms of Insanity.

Subscription services are often overlooked by self-published authors. The reason for the oversight is simple: authors tend to focus on sales rather than borrows. There aren't many book subscription services, so the field is fairly narrow. But those that exist have a huge number of subscribers (and an equally huge number of books).

Self-published authors should consider offering their books on subscription services because, as far as publishing goes, the more venues the better. You should - after perhaps an initial foray into Amazon KDP Select - get your book onto as many sites, and in as many formats, as you can.

Of the three subscription services listed below, Scribd and Oyster are the least restrictive. (Amazon demands exclusivity.) I would recommend going through Smashwords to get your books onto these services because 1) you will get a royalty and 2) Smashwords also makes your book available to libraries.

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Scribd

Scribd is a subscription service with 80 million unique visitors a month. For a monthly fee of $8.99 subscribers can read unlimited books. The Scribd library boasts more than half a million e­books and over 30,000 audiobooks, including New York Times bestsellers, Pulitzer Prize winners, as well as self-published works. 60+ million documents ­have been uploaded by ­users, Essentially, anyone can upload a file onto Scribd, which has led to several copyright infringements, Although Scribd has a huge readership, the best way to ensure that they notice your book, and that you get some monetary compensation, is to go through your publisher. As a self-publisher, you can use Smashwords or BookBaby, each of which offers a Scribd royalty payment.

Recently, Scribd secured $22 million in financing led by Khosla Ventures and including new funds from existing investors. The new funding brings Scribd’s total financing to date to $48 million.