A Change–and a Question

ByD'Ann Mateer
23 Comments

Being an indie author means that selling books is not as straightforward as with a publishing house. Many times, indie authors experiment with different options. A couple of years ago, I did just that, making my ebooks available on platforms other than Amazon. Which meant I had to remove those titles from Kindle Unlimited. 

Now I’m wondering about going back. This decision only affects where ebooks are available, mind you. Paperbacks can still be ordered from bookstores in person or online. But in order to experiment a bit, I’m starting with my two historical romance novellas. 

What does this mean for readers? It means that if you are a Kindle Unlimited member, you can read No Small Storm and Time Will Tell for free! If you are not a KU member, you can only buy the ebooks for these titles on Amazon. 

I know this will be helpful for some readers and not others, that’s why I’m starting small and trying to decide what to do with my four full-length novels currently available on all platforms. 

So I’m asking you—if you read ebooks, where do you buy them? Amazon? Barnes and Noble? An author’s website? Another platform? 

I’d love to hear from you as I try to make my books accessible to the majority of readers. 

(Sorry for the short post. We have had houseguests for the past three weeks, along with a trip in the middle of that. We are traveling again this week, and we have family coming in for a wedding next week! It’s all good, just a lot, and my brain is a bit fried! 🤪)

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Inspired by novelist Eugenia Price, D’Ann’s dream of writing historical fiction with an element of faith began in middle school, though her serious drive toward publication took a bit longer. D’Ann is the author of four historical novels and one novella, as well as a contemporary short stories in a compilation volume. D’Ann and her husband of 30 years can be found in Austin, TX when they aren’t touring historic sites or visiting their grown children.

23 Comments

  1. Hey D’Ann! Blessings in all your travels and with everything that’s on your plate. I always buy my ebooks from Amazon (and all my ebooks are Amazon only too—KU).

    One thing that’s an option, if you’re not aware, is that Amazon now allows an author to loan her KU books to libraries. So that enables readers who are loyal library patrons to get them there as well.

  2. I purchase them from Amazon, as it is easy to download to my kindle. I can also purchase them using Amazon digital credits.

  3. If a book is in our local library I download it to my tablet to read. I do not use any of the other ways.

    1. The vast majority of ebooks I purchase are from Amazon but I do occasionally purchase from an author’s website. However, most of my ebook purchases are done with Kindle and/or Amazon reward points which is why I purchase on Amazon.

    2. Thanks, Judie. I’m going to look into how to get my books on the library apps!

  4. I get my ebooks on Amazon for the most part. It is so easy to do. I do get a few through Book Funnel but I don’t find that easy most of the time. I have trouble finding the book code needed to get the book.

    1. Good to know! I use BookFunnel occasionally, too, as both a reader and an author.

  5. I always buy my eBooks from Amazon, but don’t subscribe to KU. Sometimes I’ve downloaded free indie eBooks from Book Funnel. It’s a little awkward to use and I can’t use my Kindle for it.

    1. Actually, you can download the book from BookFunnel and then forward it via email to your kindle and read it there. It’s a game changer!! (If you don’t know how, google it or BookFunnel also has a step-by-step tutorial on it, too.)

  6. Maybe this is the place to ask. I’ve been discussing indie Christian Fiction books with some readers on a blog. The question was asked, “Why do some indie writers have an actual publisher label listed (like yours being Zarephath Books and Tamera Alexander’s being Fountain Creek Press), while others just say Independently Published?” I figured it had something to do with owning your own business and it being for tax purposes. The readers want to purposely read more indie, but have a difficult time searching for them on Amazon to see which new ones are coming out.

    1. I like having a publisher name for my books. Many other indie authors feel the same. Some are actual entities. Mine is just a name that is for my own books. Does that help?

      1. I think it looks good for an author to have a name for their publisher name. That does answer that part. Thank you.

  8. Hi! I buy my ebooks from Amazon and someone’s B&N. OR….. I borrow from Libby.
    I hope that you find a good solution!
    Happy travels, visits, and wedding!!!

  10. A previous poster wrote about downloading e-books from the library. Where I live and work in the metro Baltimore/DC area, it’s commonplace for people have library cards from two or more county public library systems.
    When a library patron logs into Libby (or Hoopla, some library systems have both), they can see which public library systems have that particular title before checking out.

    1. I’ve been using my Libby app a lot more lately for just this reason! I was able to get a library card for the Houston Public Library, which has a lot more Christian fiction than my Dallas area one.

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