KDP Select vs. Expanded Distribution: Which Pays More?

One of the most crucial decisions an independent author faces after writing "The End" is how to distribute their masterpiece. The choices you make here directly impact your reach, your marketing strategy, and, most importantly, your potential earnings. At Macspire Publishing House, we frequently guide authors through this labyrinth, and the question that repeatedly surfaces is: KDP Select vs. Expanded Distribution – Which Pays More?

It’s not a simple answer of one being inherently superior. Instead, it’s about understanding your book, your genre, your audience, and your long-term goals. Let's break down the realities of both paths to help you make an informed, profitable decision.

Understanding KDP Select and the Power of Kindle Unlimited

KDP Select is Amazon's exclusive program for Kindle ebooks. When you enroll a book in KDP Select, you agree to make it available exclusively through Amazon for a 90-day period. This means your ebook cannot be sold digitally anywhere else—not on Apple Books, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, or your own website.

So, why would an author agree to such exclusivity? The primary draw is inclusion in Kindle Unlimited (KU). KU subscribers can read your book as part of their monthly subscription, and you earn royalties based on the number of pages read by these subscribers from the Kindle Global Fund. For many authors, particularly in specific genres, this translates into a significant volume of reads and income.

Key Benefits of KDP Select:

• Kindle Unlimited Readership: Access to a vast pool of dedicated readers who often consume multiple books a month. This can generate substantial "read-through" for series authors.
• Promotional Tools: KDP Select offers powerful promotional tools, including Kindle Countdown Deals (limited-time price reductions that maintain your 70% royalty rate) and Free Book Promotions (offering your book for free for a limited time to boost visibility and attract new readers).
• Amazon's Ecosystem: Your book benefits from Amazon's powerful recommendation engine, internal ads, and built-in audience. For many new authors, this can be an easier entry point into discovery.
• Higher Royalty Rate for Sales: For ebooks priced between $2.99 and $9.99, KDP Select (and regular KDP) offers a 70% royalty rate in major territories (US, UK, Canada, Australia, etc.), which is generally higher than the 35% royalty for books outside this price range or for ebooks sold in other territories.

Considerations for KDP Select:

• Exclusivity: The biggest constraint. You're putting all your ebook eggs in Amazon's basket. If you want to reach readers who prefer other platforms, you cannot do so with your KDP Select enrolled ebook.
• Kindle Unlimited Royalties: While volume can be high, the per-page royalty rate for Kindle Unlimited royalties fluctuates monthly and is typically quite low (often between $0.004 to $0.005 per page). A full-length novel might earn you $2-$3 per read, but only if the reader finishes the entire book.
• Renewal Cycle: KDP Select enrollment is for 90 days and automatically renews unless you opt out. Missing the opt-out window can lock your book in for another period.

Value Tip: KDP Select often performs exceptionally well for authors in genres with high reader velocity, such as romance, sci-fi, fantasy, thrillers, and mystery. Readers in these genres frequently subscribe to KU and binge-read series. If your book fits this profile, KDP Select might offer a strong initial boost.

Embracing Expanded Distribution: The "Wide Publishing" Approach

Wide publishing, often referred to as Expanded Distribution, means making your ebook available on as many platforms as possible beyond Amazon. This includes major retailers like Apple Books, Kobo, Barnes & Noble (Nook), Google Play Books, and even smaller regional stores or libraries. For print books, this typically involves using services like IngramSpark in addition to or instead of KDP Print.

By opting for Expanded Distribution, you forego the exclusivity of KDP Select and the benefits of Kindle Unlimited, but you gain a broader market reach and diversify your income streams.

Key Benefits of Expanded Distribution:

• Maximum Reader Reach: You can reach readers who don't shop on Amazon or don't subscribe to Kindle Unlimited. This includes international readers, readers who prefer specific devices (like Kobo e-readers or Apple products), and those who consciously avoid Amazon.
• Diversified Income: Instead of relying on a single platform, your income is spread across multiple retailers. This provides greater stability should one platform's algorithm or policies change.
• Professional Image: Having your book available across all major retailers can give it a more established, professional appearance, similar to traditionally published titles.
• Library Access: Many wide distribution platforms, especially services like IngramSpark, make it easier for libraries to purchase your ebook or print book, opening up a significant potential market.

Considerations for Expanded Distribution:

• Increased Management: Publishing wide often means managing multiple retailer dashboards, uploading files, setting prices, and monitoring sales on each platform. This requires more time and attention.
• Marketing Effort: While Amazon has a built-in audience, marketing wide requires a more proactive, multi-platform strategy. You'll need to drive traffic to your book on each store, potentially using various ad platforms or cross-promotion techniques.
• No Kindle Unlimited: You miss out on the potential page-read income from KU, which can be a significant revenue stream for some authors.
• Varying Royalty Rates: Royalty rates can differ across platforms (e.g., Apple Books offers 70%, Kobo offers 70% above a certain price point, Barnes & Noble Nook offers 65%, Google Play offers 52% of list price).

Value Tip: Non-fiction, literary fiction, and niche genres often thrive with wide distribution. These readers might be less inclined to subscribe to KU and are more likely to seek out specific titles across various platforms. Authors building a long-term brand or targeting international markets will also benefit significantly from wide availability.

The Royalty Math: KDP Select vs Wide Publishing Payouts

This is where the rubber meets the road. "Which pays more?" isn't a fixed calculation; it depends heavily on your sales volume and reader behavior on each platform.

KDP Select Royalty Structure:

• Ebook Sales:
  • 70% Royalty: For ebooks priced between $2.99 and $9.99 in eligible territories (US, UK, CA, AU, NZ, IN, JP, BR, MX, DE, FR, ES, IT). Amazon deducts delivery costs (minimal for ebooks).
  • 35% Royalty: For ebooks priced below $2.99 or above $9.99, or in territories not eligible for 70%. No delivery costs are deducted.
• Kindle Unlimited Page Reads: This is the tricky part. The Kindle Global Fund is a monthly pool of money Amazon distributes to KDP Select authors based on their share of total pages read by KU subscribers. The per-page rate typically hovers around $0.004 to $0.005. So, if your book has 300 pages and a KU subscriber reads it all, you might earn $1.20 - $1.50.

Wide Publishing Royalty Structure (Ebooks):

• Apple Books: Generally 70% royalty.
• Kobo: 70% for books priced $2.99 USD and above; 45% for books priced below $2.99 USD.
• Barnes & Noble (Nook): 65% royalty.
• Google Play Books: Typically 52% royalty of the list price you set, but they retain the right to discount your book.
• Direct Sales (from your website): 100% royalty (minus payment processing fees), but you bear all the marketing burden.

Print Books (A Separate, But Related, Calculation):

For print, the decision often involves KDP Print (Amazon's print-on-demand) and IngramSpark (a major print distributor for bookstores and libraries). KDP Print offers simpler integration for Amazon sales, but IngramSpark provides true wide distribution.

• KDP Print: Royalties are (List Price x Royalty Rate) - Printing Cost. Royalty rate is 60% for expanded distribution (US and international), or 40% for books only available on Amazon in some regions.
• IngramSpark: You set the wholesale discount (typically 55% for bookstores) and the returnability. Royalties are List Price - Wholesale Discount - Printing Cost.

The Bottom Line on Royalties: KDP Select *can* pay more if your book performs exceptionally well in Kindle Unlimited, particularly for series that hook readers and generate high page reads. A single KU full read might earn less than a direct sale at 70%, but the volume from KU can compensate. However, if your book doesn't gain traction in KU, the 70% direct sales royalty on Amazon might be your only significant income. Wide publishing offers higher per-unit royalties on some platforms (like Apple and Kobo for similarly priced books) but may require more active marketing to achieve similar sales volumes.

Strategic Considerations for Your Distribution Path

1. Your Genre and Audience

• KDP Select Dominators: Romance (especially sub-genres like contemporary, paranormal, reverse harem), Sci-Fi/Fantasy (epic, urban, space opera), Thriller, Mystery, YA. These readers often use KU as a subscription library.
• Wide Publishing Sweet Spots: Literary Fiction, Non-Fiction, Business, Memoir, Cookbooks, Poetry, Children's Books. Readers for these genres are more likely to buy from their preferred retailer or discover books through non-Amazon channels.

2. Your Author Goals

• Rapid Visibility & Series Momentum: KDP Select can be powerful for launching a series, using the first book in KU to drive readers to buy subsequent books (if those are also in KU, or even wide in a "hybrid" strategy).
• Long-Term Brand Building & Diversification: Wide publishing helps build a broader author brand, reaching more demographics and insulating you from the whims of a single retailer.

3. Marketing Bandwidth and Expertise

• KDP Select: Focus your marketing efforts on Amazon Ads, Amazon's promotional tools, and building an email list for Amazon-centric launches.
• Wide Publishing: Requires a broader marketing approach. Think about advertising on Facebook, BookBub, Google Ads, or promoting to specific retailer audiences (e.g., Kobo promotions, Nook blog features). Managing multiple platforms can be a significant time commitment.

The Hybrid Approach: Getting the Best of Both Worlds

Many successful authors don't choose one path forever; they strategize for each book or format. This is the hybrid approach:

• Ebooks in KU, Print Wide: You could enroll your ebook in KDP Select, leveraging KU for digital readers, while distributing your print version wide through IngramSpark to reach bookstores and libraries. This is a very common and effective strategy.
• Series Strategy: Some authors put the first book of a series in KU to attract readers, then make subsequent books wide. Or, they rotate books in and out of KU, experimenting with exclusivity for a period before going wide.
• Perma-Free First-in-Series: A widely used tactic is to make the first book of a series permanently free across all wide platforms to hook readers, then monetize the rest of the series. This isn't possible while enrolled in KDP Select.
• Experimentation: You can always start with KDP Select for 90 days, analyze performance, and then decide to go wide. The flexibility is a huge advantage of self-publishing.

Value Tip: If you're new to self-publishing, starting with KDP Select for your first book or two can be a simpler way to get established and learn the ropes of Amazon's ecosystem. Once you have a few books out and understand your audience better, you can explore wide distribution with more confidence.

Making Your Decision: Key Questions to Ask Yourself

Before you commit to a distribution strategy, consider these questions:

• Who is my ideal reader, and where do they buy books? Are they hardcore Kindle Unlimited subscribers, or do they prefer Apple Books or their local independent bookstore?
• What genre is my book, and how does that genre typically perform on different platforms? (Refer to the genre tips above).
• How much time and effort am I willing to invest in managing multiple platforms and marketing strategies? Wide publishing often demands more administrative effort.
• What are my financial goals? Am I prioritizing high volume reads (KDP Select potential) or higher per-unit royalties and diversified income (Wide potential)?
• Is this a standalone book or part of a series? Series often benefit from different strategies than one-off titles.
• Am I willing to experiment and adapt? The publishing landscape changes, and being flexible is key to long-term success.

Conclusion: The Best Path Is Your Path

Ultimately, there's no universal answer to whether KDP Select or Expanded Distribution pays more. It's about finding the optimal strategy for *your* specific book, *your* unique goals, and *your* target audience. For some authors, KDP Select and its Kindle Unlimited royalties will generate substantial income, especially those writing in fast-paced genres. For others, the broader reach and diversified income of wide publishing will prove more profitable and stable in the long run.

The key is to make an informed, strategic decision, track your results, and be prepared to adapt. Many successful authors leverage both approaches, using KDP Select for some titles and wide distribution for others, or moving books between strategies over time. At Macspire Publishing House, we encourage authors to think critically about their distribution and marketing, understanding that a well-considered strategy is just as vital as a well-written book.