Getting self-published lesbian books into libraries for fun and profit
Amazon's rule change last year means even your books enrolled in KDP Select can be made available to libraries. Here's how to do that, make some money, and serve your readers.
Last year, Amazon changed its terms of service for KDP Select, their program which requires ebooks to be exclusive to the platform in order for self-published authors to earn money from Kindle Unlimited page reads and receive other perks. Significant exclusivity is still required, but books enrolled in the program, which is very popular among Sapphic authors and readers of Sapphic fiction, could now also be made available to libraries.
Lots of authors cheered. Lots of readers did too. I know I have readers who tell me that money is tight or they live in a country where Kindle Unlimited is not available. They are grateful when I can offer them my books on other platforms or allow them to get my books from the library. Getting a local library card is one of the first things I do when I move to a new place. I have many fond library-related memories, and the stock photo that popped up when searching for an image to illustrate this article may inspire a new lesbian romance. Libraries are the best, but I digress…
So, how do you make your ebooks available to libraries, whether you are exclusive to Amazon or publish wide, and convince them to make your book available to patrons?
Distributing to libraries
The easiest way to distribute to libraries is to upload your books to Draft2Digital. They can handle .doc, .docx, RTF, and formatted ePub files. Your cover should be a JPG or PNG that is 1600x2400 pixels or larger. Include up to ten search terms and several BISAC categories in your book’s metadata. Have a long description (50-4,000 characters) and a short description (one paragraph, 50-400 characters).
Very important for those books enrolled in the KDP Select program: On the final page that asks you where you want your book to be sent to, ONLY select the library services (OverDrive, cloudLibrary, Hoopla, and BorrowBox) at the bottom of the page. Scroll past the “digital stores section.” Scroll past the “subscription services” section. Do NOT allow your book to be sent to any other platform such as Apple or Barnes & Noble which could lead to you violating KDP’s terms of service. You are only publishing to libraries. Hit publish, and you’re done.
Nice feature: when you want to take your books out of the KDP Select program and publish your books wide, which you will probably want to do at some point, it’ll be easy. Your book will already by uploaded to Draft2Digital, and you can just select all the stores you couldn’t publish to before. Easy peasy.
If your books are wide, I still recommend going through Draft2Digital. If you publish your books direct to Kobo, which I do, you can also use Kobo to get to OverDrive while using Draft2Digital for the other library services.
Making them available to patrons
Anyone who has published at least one book knows that making a book available and getting it into readers’ hands are two different things. Just because a reader can request your book from their library, doesn’t mean they will.
Recommendation: Participate in all promo opportunities. Draft2Digital has a robust promotions program. These library distributors have regular sales. Get your book into all of them. Complete the form on this page to be added to Draft2Digital’s promotions mailing list.
Another recommendation: Tell your readers to ask their local library to stock your book or give them tips about how to access your books at other libraries. Online library services like Overdrive require a local library card, but if the local library doesn’t have that many lesbian books or isn’t interested in acquiring them, something like the Queer Liberation Library can be a good option. Some libraries also have a bigger geographic reach that it would seem at first glance. For example, when the Dayton Metro Library acquired a bunch of my books, I was fascinated to discover that anyone in the state of Ohio was eligible for a library card from this system. They didn’t have to live in Dayton to get a card and access my books.
Tip: Library pricing is different from retail pricing. Your library price should be two to three times that of your regular retail price.
Do you make your books available to libraries? What do you think about this change to KDP’s terms of service?