Where to Publish Your Book? How I Chose My Platforms as a Self-Published Author
As an indie author exploring self-publishing for my first novel, here's how I am choosing which platforms to use.
Once you start the self-publishing journey, you quickly realize the hardest part isn’t writing the book—that’s actually the fun part! Once written, you need to edit it, format it, and then you need to figure out your marketing plan and publish it.
One of the big decisions I’m grappling with now is where to publish it.
There are a lot of options. Different platforms for ebooks, different ones for print, and a whole world of acronyms (KDP, ISBN, KU, POD… and more). When I finished my romantic comedy and started researching how to actually get it into readers’ hands, I realized I needed to make a few key decisions up front.
Here’s how I chose my platforms, what I learned in the process, and what I’d recommend to anyone trying to navigate the indie publishing path for the first time.
I Chose Kindle Unlimited for My Ebook
After looking at all the ebook options—Apple Books, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, Google Play—I decided to launch my ebook exclusively on Amazon through Kindle Unlimited (KU). That means readers who subscribe to KU can read my book for free, and I earn royalties based on how many pages they read.
To do that, I enrolled my book in KDP Select, which gives Amazon exclusive rights to distribute the ebook for 90 days at a time.
Why I chose Kindle Unlimited:
It’s where most readers are. Let’s be honest: Amazon dominates the ebook market. For a new author without an existing fanbase, it made sense to go where the majority of readers already are.
KU has a huge audience. Kindle Unlimited has millions of subscribers, many of whom actively look for books they can borrow as part of their subscription. It's a great way to gain visibility and get your book in front of voracious readers.
Promotional tools. Enrolling in KDP Select gives you access to features like free book promotions and Kindle countdown deals, which can help boost rankings and exposure
Pros of Kindle Unlimited:
Large audience reach
Higher discoverability for new authors
Easier marketing and Amazon promos
Simplicity—one platform to manage
Cons of Kindle Unlimited:
Exclusivity. You can’t publish your ebook anywhere else (even on your own website) while enrolled in KDP Select.
Page-read royalties. You’re paid based on how many pages readers actually read, not just downloads or sales.
You're tied to Amazon. Which is fine for many authors—but worth considering if you want more control or wider distribution.
I might explore going “wide” with other platforms later on, but for now, Kindle Unlimited made the most sense for my launch, especially as someone new to self-publishing.
I Chose KDP and IngramSpark for My Print Book
Print is a slightly different story.
Amazon KDP offers a print-on-demand (POD) option that makes it easy to publish paperbacks directly through your KDP dashboard. It’s free to upload, and your book is available on Amazon within days.
But—if you want your print book in bookstores or libraries, or if you want broader wholesale distribution, you’ll need more than just Amazon. That’s where IngramSpark comes in.
Why I chose both:
KDP Print gives me great Amazon coverage and higher royalties for Amazon sales.
IngramSpark gives me access to bookstores, indie retailers, and libraries that prefer to order through Ingram’s wholesale network (and may avoid Amazon).
Yes, it’s more work to use both—but it’s worth it if you want the widest reach.
If you decide to publish across different platforms, it’s really important to get your own ISBN. If you use Amazon's free ISBN, they become the “publisher of record.” It’s fine if you only ever plan to sell through Amazon, but if you want your book to appear on other platforms like IngramSpark, you should purchase your own ISBNs.
If you're in Canada, ISBNs are free. In the U.S., you buy them through Bowker, and they aren’t cheap—but if you’re planning to publish multiple books, it's worth getting a block of 10. Note: Ebooks and print books need their own individual ISBNs.
Final Thoughts
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to “Where should I publish my book?” It depends on your goals, your audience, and how much time and energy you want to put into managing multiple platforms.
For me, the mix of Kindle Unlimited for ebooks, KDP Print for Amazon paperbacks, and IngramSpark for wide distribution gives me the best of all worlds.
It’s a bit of a learning curve—but then again, so is writing a novel. And if you’ve made it that far, trust me: you can figure out the publishing part too. As for marketing… that’s a whole other story.
— Tracy
