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How to sell ebooks online

Short answer

Publish on Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing to reach readers who shop on Kindle, and sell direct from Gumroad, Payhip or your own site to readers who already follow you. Many authors do both: Kindle for discovery, direct sales for bundles and the reader's email. Just skip KDP Select if you sell the ebook anywhere else.

Two ways to sell, and which is yours

A marketplace that brings readers

Kindle readers search Amazon for their next book, and KDP delivers it to every Kindle device and app. You set the list price, but Amazon controls the store page and the reviews, and you never learn who bought your book.

Best for

Fiction and series authors chasing new readers.

Your own site that keeps readers

Selling the file yourself lets you offer PDF and EPUB together, bundle worksheets or bonus chapters, and keep every buyer's email for the next launch. Replo builds the book's site and checkout on your brand, and sells the ebook as a one-time download.

Best for

Nonfiction authors with a newsletter, podcast or social following.

Where to sell ebooks and what each platform charges

Fees for selling ebooks
Your own site (Replo checkout)Your Replo plan2.9% + $0.30 card processingReplo checkout runs on Stripe, and Replo's docs list no extra per-sale fee.
Amazon KDP (ebooks)Nothing upfront70% at $2.99 to $12.99, else 35%The 70% option subtracts delivery at $0.15 per MB, so file size changes your cut.
GumroadFree, no monthly fee10% + $0.50, plus 2.9% + $0.30 processingSales that come through Gumroad's Discover marketplace pay a flat 30% instead.
PayhipFree plan, $0 a month5% + Stripe or PayPal processingProcessing is modeled at Stripe's standard 2.9% + $0.30 card rate.

Kindle pays you a royalty Amazon sets rather than charging a fee, so compare the take-home column. Direct sales keep more of each copy but only sell what you promote.

What you keep on a $10 ebook

Each platform's fees on one $10 sale, before shipping, taxes, monthly plans and any ads you choose to buy.

  1. Your own site (Replo checkout)$9.41 kept, $0.59 in fees
  2. Payhip$8.91 kept, $1.09 in fees
  3. Gumroad$7.91 kept, $2.09 in fees

Launch checklist

  • Export an EPUB for Kindle and other stores, plus a PDF for readers who buy from you directly.
  • Decide on ISBNs: KDP makes one optional for ebooks, but most other retailers require one.
  • If you buy ISBNs from Bowker, buy enough for every format, since each format needs its own.
  • Skip KDP Select if you sell direct, because enrolled ebooks must be exclusive to the Kindle Store.
  • Design a cover that still reads at thumbnail size, since that's how shoppers first see your book.
  • Offer the first chapter on your site as a free sample in exchange for an email address.

Build your ebook's website

Replo builds a site for your book with a sample chapter signup, reader reviews and checkout for the ebook download.

The prompt Replo starts from

Build a website for my ebook, [book title], about [topic]. Include a hero with the cover, a section on what readers will learn, a free first chapter in exchange for an email, an author bio, reader reviews, a buy section that sells the PDF and EPUB as one download, and a link to the Kindle edition.
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Frequently asked questions

How profitable is selling ebooks?
It depends on your audience more than the book. An ebook costs almost nothing to deliver, so each sale is mostly margin once it's written, but most titles sell few copies without a newsletter, a series or steady traffic sending readers to the page.
Do I need an LLC to sell ebooks?
No. If you sell on your own, you're a sole proprietor by default, which the SBA calls easy to form. The trade-off is that your business and personal assets aren't separate. An LLC adds that protection, which some authors want once sales grow.
Do I need an ISBN for an ebook?
Not on Kindle: KDP makes an ISBN optional for ebooks. Most other retailers require one, and if you buy your own from Bowker, each format, such as EPUB and PDF, needs its own number. A single ISBN costs $125 there, and a block of 10 costs $295.
What kind of ebooks sell best?
Ebooks that solve one specific, urgent problem for a reader you can reach sell more easily than broad overviews. Before writing, look at what readers in your niche already buy on Kindle and at the questions your own audience keeps asking you.

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