Frequently Asked Questions

Books.by is a direct-to-reader publishing platform that gives every author their own print-on-demand bookstore. You upload your book, set your price, and we handle printing, shipping, and payments. You keep 100% of your royalties — we charge a flat annual fee instead of taking commissions. Think of it as your own personal bookshop, backed by professional printing and global fulfillment.

1. Sign up at books.by/get-started
2. Create your author profile — add your name, bio, and photo
3. Upload your book — interior PDF and cover file
4. Set your price — you decide what your book costs
5. Publish — your bookstore goes live instantly

Most authors go from signup to a live bookstore in under 10 minutes. See our step-by-step publishing guide for a full walkthrough.

Not at all. If you can upload a file and type a title, you can use Books.by. The platform is designed for authors, not developers. We provide a built-in cover builder, automatic ISBN assignment, and a clean storefront that's ready to share immediately — no design or coding required.

Yes — and most authors do. There's no conflict or exclusivity requirement. The proven strategy is to keep Amazon for organic discovery and send all your personal traffic (social media, email list, website, back-of-book links) to Books.by, where you earn significantly higher royalties and own the customer relationship. Many authors find that even a small shift in traffic to their Books.by store dramatically increases their income per sale.

Books.by is built for independent authors and self-publishers who want to sell books directly to readers. Whether you've published one book or fifty, whether you write fiction, non-fiction, poetry, children's books, or cookbooks — Books.by gives you a professional storefront with the highest royalties in the industry. It's especially powerful for authors who have an existing audience (email list, social following, blog) and want to capture more revenue from every sale.

No. Books.by is a platform, not a publisher. We don't acquire rights, provide editorial services, or take any ownership of your work. You retain 100% of your copyright and creative control at all times. You can remove your book whenever you want.

Books.by is $99/yr (currently 50% off the regular $199 price). That works out to about $8.25/month. There are no commissions, no per-book fees, no listing fees, and no hidden charges. The annual subscription is the only cost — everything else (ISBN, storefront, global fulfillment) is included. See full pricing details.

No. The $99/yr subscription is the only fee you pay to Books.by. When a reader buys your book, the printing and shipping costs are deducted from the sale price — everything remaining is your royalty. Standard payment processing fees (Stripe's ~2.9% + $0.30) are already factored into the printing/shipping cost line, so the royalty figure you see is exactly what you receive. There are no setup fees, no per-book charges, and no surprise costs.

For most authors, the subscription pays for itself after approximately 10 book sales. If you sell even one book per month, you'll earn back the annual fee many times over compared to the commissions you'd lose on other platforms. The math improves further with higher-priced books or higher volume.

Books.by stores accept all major credit and debit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover), plus Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Shop Pay. Payments are processed securely via Stripe, the same payment infrastructure used by Amazon, Google, and Shopify.

We offer a 100-day no-questions-asked full refund guarantee. If Books.by isn't the right fit for any reason, contact us within 100 days and you'll receive a complete refund. No hoops, no justification required.

Yes. Your subscription renews annually, but you can cancel before your renewal date and you won't be charged again. Your bookstore remains live for the remainder of your paid period. If you cancel, your books, files, and customer data are yours to take with you.

You earn 100% of sales proceeds after printing and shipping costs. There are no commissions and no revenue share. The average Books.by author receives a 40%+ net royalty — roughly 5× the industry average. Your exact royalty depends on your book's trim size, page count, interior type (B&W or color), and the price you set. Use our royalties calculator to see your exact numbers.

Printing costs have two components: a base cost plus a per-page cost. For a black & white interior, the base cost is $1.26 with an additional $0.016 per page. For a color interior, the base cost is $1.379 plus $0.036 per page. For example, a 200-page black & white book costs approximately $4.46 to print. These are the actual costs from our print partner — Books.by adds zero markup. See our POD cost calculator for exact figures.

Your royalty is processed the day your book dispatches. Funds are sent directly to your bank account via Stripe Connect, and typically arrive within 1–3 business days depending on your bank. No 60-day holds like Amazon KDP, no 90-day cycles like IngramSpark, and no minimum payout thresholds.

Stripe Connect supports payouts to bank accounts in 46+ countries, including the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and most of Europe. Whether you're in New York, London, Sydney, or Berlin, you'll receive payouts in your local currency. Standard bank processing times (1–3 business days) apply.

On a typical $24.99 paperback (200 pages, B&W), here's a rough comparison:

• Books.by: ~$20 royalty (80% net)
• Amazon KDP: ~$5 royalty (20% net, after 40% commission + printing)
• IngramSpark: ~$3–6 royalty (depends on wholesale discount)

The difference comes from Books.by charging zero commission. On other platforms, the retailer takes 40–65% of the sale price before you see a cent. See our full platform comparison.

Books.by does not charge transaction fees. Standard Stripe payment processing fees (approximately 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction) are included in the printing and shipping costs — so the royalty figure displayed in your dashboard is exactly what you receive. No deductions, no surprises.

Interior files should be PDF (print-ready). Cover files can be PDF or high-resolution images (PNG, JPG at 300 DPI). If you've published on Amazon KDP, IngramSpark, Draft2Digital, or Lulu, your existing files are fully compatible — no reformatting needed. We also have a built-in cover builder if you don't have a cover file ready.

Books.by offers 13+ trim sizes covering every popular format:

• Standard fiction: 5" × 8", 5.25" × 8", 5.5" × 8.5"
• Trade paperback: 6" × 9" (most popular)
• Large format: 7" × 10", 8" × 10", 8.5" × 11"
• Pocket/mass market: 4.25" × 6.87"
• Square and specialty formats also available

See our complete printing & sizes guide and best book sizes guide for recommendations by genre.

Paper types:

• White (Standard): 60 lb / 90 GSM uncoated — best for non-fiction, business, and general use
• Cream / Natural: 60 lb / 90 GSM uncoated cream — warm tone, ideal for fiction, poetry, and literary works
• Premium Color: 80 lb / 118 GSM coated — vibrant reproduction for photography, art books, and children's books

Color options:

• Black & white — standard text printing ($0.016/page)
• Standard color — good for occasional images ($0.036/page)
• Premium color — vivid, full-color throughout on coated stock

All options available with matte or gloss cover finishes. See our color & paper types guide.

Yes. Books.by provides a free ISBN for every published book with no restrictions. Unlike some platforms that assign ISBNs tied to their imprint, your Books.by ISBN is yours to use anywhere. You can also bring your own ISBN if you've purchased one separately.

You do, 100%. Books.by is a platform, not a publisher. You retain full copyright, ISBN ownership, and all creative and commercial rights to your work. There are no exclusivity requirements and no rights transfers. You can remove your book at any time and take everything with you.

Yes. Your $99/yr subscription covers unlimited books. There's no per-book fee and no limit on the number of titles in your store. Whether you have one book or a hundred, it's the same flat annual price.

Yes. You can update your interior file, cover, title, description, pricing, or any other detail at any time from your dashboard. Changes take effect immediately — no approval process, no waiting period, no additional charges.

Books.by currently specializes in print-on-demand paperback books. Ebook support is on our roadmap. In the meantime, many authors sell ebooks through other channels (Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, Kobo) and use Books.by exclusively for print sales, where the royalty advantage is greatest.

Hardcover is on our roadmap and coming soon. Currently, Books.by supports paperback books with matte or gloss cover finishes. We'll announce hardcover availability to all authors when it launches.

Books can range from approximately 24 pages up to 800+ pages depending on the trim size and paper type. The exact limits vary by format — our upload system will confirm compatibility when you add your files.

When a reader orders your book, it's printed and shipped on demand — one copy at a time. There's no inventory to buy, no minimum order quantities, no upfront costs, and no unsold stock sitting in a warehouse. Each book is printed fresh at the facility closest to the reader, then shipped directly to their door. It's the same technology used by major publishers for backlist titles.

Professional-grade — indistinguishable from traditionally published books. Our printing partners use the same commercial digital presses as major publishers. We offer multiple paper weights, cream and white stocks, matte and gloss covers, and full-color printing on premium coated paper. You can order proof copies to check quality before going live.

Yes, and we strongly recommend it. You can order proof copies at printing cost (no markup) before or after publishing. This lets you check paper quality, color accuracy, cover alignment, and overall feel. Most authors order 1–3 proofs before making their book publicly available.

Yes. You can order copies of your own book at printing cost with zero markup. This is ideal for author events, signings, conferences, or personal stock. Author copies are ordered through your Books.by dashboard and ship to any address. Since there's no per-copy commission, your cost is just the base printing and shipping.

Books.by partners with Lulu's global print network, one of the largest and most established print-on-demand operations in the world. They operate facilities across multiple continents and print millions of books annually for publishers of all sizes.

Books.by ships globally. We have printing facilities in the USA, UK, Europe, and Australia. Orders are automatically routed to the printer closest to the reader, which means faster delivery times and lower shipping costs. Your readers see accurate shipping estimates and costs at checkout.

Standard shipping is typically 5–10 business days depending on the reader's location. Because we print locally across four continents, most domestic orders arrive in 5–7 days. Readers can see estimated delivery dates at checkout before they purchase.

Shipping costs vary by the reader's location and the book's size/weight. Because we route orders to the nearest printer, shipping is typically lower than you'd expect — there's no cross-ocean freight for most orders. Readers see the exact shipping cost at checkout before completing their purchase.

Yes. Readers receive shipping confirmation with a tracking number via email once their book is printed and dispatched. They can follow their order through to delivery.

If a reader's book arrives damaged or with a printing defect, our support team will arrange a replacement or refund. Quality issues are rare, but when they happen, we handle them quickly. Readers can contact support directly, or you can flag it from your dashboard.

Every Books.by store gets a clean, professional design that showcases your books beautifully on desktop and mobile. You can personalize it with your author bio, profile photo, brand colors, and custom messaging. No design work required — the store is publication-ready the moment you sign up.

Yes. Every author gets a personal URL: books.by/yourname. It's short, memorable, and perfect for your social media bio, business cards, email signature, or the back cover of your book. Custom domain support is coming soon.

Yes — this is one of Books.by's biggest advantages over Amazon and other retailers. You get full access to customer information including names, email addresses, and purchase history. This lets you build a direct reader relationship, grow your email list, and market future books to proven buyers. Amazon and other retailers never share this data.

Yes. Your dashboard shows real-time sales data, revenue, visitor analytics, and conversion metrics. You can track performance over time, see which books are selling best, and understand where your traffic is coming from. You'll also receive instant email notifications every time someone buys your book.

Absolutely. You have full control over your book's retail price. There are no minimum or maximum price requirements. You can adjust pricing at any time — test different price points, run promotions, or match seasonal demand. Our royalties calculator shows you exactly how much you'll earn at any price.

Yes. Books.by supports discount codes that you can create and share with your audience. This is great for book launches, email subscriber perks, social media campaigns, or limited-time offers.

Yes, and it takes minutes. Your existing print-ready PDF files from Amazon KDP are fully compatible with Books.by — no reformatting needed. Upload the same interior and cover files, set your price, and publish. You don't need to stop selling on Amazon; most authors run both simultaneously and direct their personal traffic to Books.by for the higher royalties.

Yes. Print-ready PDFs from any major platform are compatible. If your files meet standard print-on-demand specifications (correct trim size, bleed, resolution), they'll work on Books.by without modification.

If you own your ISBN (purchased it yourself), yes — you can use it on Books.by and any other platform. If your ISBN was assigned by another platform (e.g., Amazon's free ISBN), it may be tied to that platform's imprint. In that case, Books.by will provide you with a new free ISBN at no cost.

Once your Books.by store is live, update the links in your:

• Social media bios (Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Facebook)
• Email signature and newsletter
• Author website or blog
• Back matter of your book ("Available at books.by/yourname")
• Linktree or link-in-bio tools

Every reader you send to your Books.by store instead of Amazon earns you roughly 3–5× more per sale.

Visit the author's Books.by store (the link they shared with you), select the book you want, and check out — just like any online shop. You can pay with credit/debit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, or Shop Pay. You'll receive an order confirmation and tracking number by email.

Yes. All payments are processed securely through Stripe, the same payment platform used by Amazon, Google, Shopify, and millions of other businesses. Your payment details are encrypted and never stored on Books.by servers.

Since books are printed on demand specifically for each order, we can't accept returns for change of mind. However, if your book arrives damaged, has a printing defect, or the wrong item was sent, contact support and we'll arrange a replacement or full refund.

Yes. If an author has multiple titles in their Books.by store, you can add several to your cart and check out in a single order. Shipping is calculated for the full order.