Last year, we discussed the number one reason why writers today choose self-publishing over and over again—CONTROL.  Via self-publishing, writers control book titles, book covers, book content (story and words), publishing, copyrights, and promotion.

But we also have to sell our e-books.  To do this, we primarily turn to Direct Sale Vendors.

Direct Sale Vendors sell e-books for a percentage of the sale. Who are the top three Direct Sale Vendors?

• Amazon’s Kindle Direct Platform
• Barnes & Noble’s Nook Press Platform
• Apple’s iTunes Connect Platform

By setting up an account with each of these Direct Sale Vendors, our e-books can be found on all three of these platforms.

So how does a buyer find our e-books?

It’s quick and easy… Search, Buy and Sync.

For example, while a buyer uses his device (for instance, the iPad), he searches the respective application (the iBook app) for our story.  Once he finds our title, he can simply purchase the e-book, loading it directly to his device.

There’s also the less direct way… say a reader is sitting at home in front of his or her computer.  By shopping the Barnes & Noble or Amazon website, he or she can still buy our books to load directly onto their reading device of choice.  Of course, sometimes the e-books don’t load immediately to the e-reader without some sort of action on the buyer’s part.  This usually requires a USB connection cord, specific to the reader, and a little drag and drop action.

Either way, it’s still a simple process for the buyer to buy and sync the e-books with his or her device.

However, Direct Sale Vendors aren’t the only way to go…

Come back next week when we discuss another way for self-published authors to maximize their distribution and revenue.

In the meantime, check out our Getting Started with Direct Sale Vendors series…

Kindle Direct Part One
Kindle Direct Part Two
Nook Press Part One
Nook Press Part Two
iTunes Connect Part One
iTunes Connect Part Two