When we ask our authors to share their most burning questions, we get a lot of questions about D2D Print. They want to know why it’s still in beta, when it will become an “official” D2D service, and what sets D2D Print apart from other print-on-demand services like IngramSpark.
It’s been a while since we last wrote about D2D Print, so we figure it’s high time we gave everyone some answers.
So here’s everything you need to know about D2D Print, and your burning questions—answered.
Why is D2D Print still in beta?
We first announced D2D Print back in 2018—so why, you may ask, is it still in beta three years later?
For one thing, we’re in good company. Google kept most of its products—including Gmail and Google Docs—in beta for about five years before they were considered ready for primetime.
More seriously, though, we don’t like to label a product “finished” until it meets all of our authors’ needs. D2D Print still has a little way to go before we can officially call it author-ready. (More on those gaps below.)
That said, it’s fully functional, and authors can join the waitlist to participate in the beta HERE. All you need is a D2D account to sign up.
Before we take D2D Print out of beta, we want to be sure we’re meeting all of our authors’ needs—like international support for author copies. It’s still cost-prohibitive to do author copies outside the United States and Canada, though our new print partner has brought us one giant step closer. (And if you’re interested in joining the D2D Print beta, don’t worry—international readers can still order and get a book printed in the country nearest to them. It’s just author copies that have proved tricky.)
And, of course, COVID had a part to play. That pesky supply chain disruption affected print-on-demand services too, so our beta didn’t move quite as quickly as we’d hoped.
Long story short, we won’t make D2D Print official until it’s as close to perfect as we can get it—but for most authors, it’s pretty much ready to use!
What’s so special about D2D Print?
D2D Print works in much the same way as IngramSpark or other print-on-demand (POD) services. We don’t own a network of presses; instead, we work with a partner to print books and fill orders.
D2D Print has no recurring fees, like some other POD services. And we actively work to keep the cost of proof copies, author copies, and updates as low as possible.
For updates, our print parter charges Draft2Digital each time an author uploads a new file. This means that there is an inherent cost in making updates to your books, once they’ve gone live. With the volume of books and authors D2D serves, we’ve had to implement a change fee for these updates.
To mitigate this, however, we cover one update per 90-day period for each of your books. So the way this works:
- You publish your print book through D2D Print, with no cost to you
- In 90 days from publishing that title you can make a free change (so if you need to fix typos or other minor issues, you can do it for free if you wait 90 days after you publish)
- If you need to make a change within that 90-day period, you can purchase a Change Token. The cost of a change token may be adjusted from time-to-time as the cost of changes shifts, but change tokens you purchase or receive now will be good at any time in the future.
- This all applies per book—so each book in your catalog gets a free change every 90 days. If you buy Change Tokens, they can be used on any book, as needed.
Ideally we’d prefer not to charge authors anything for these changes, but we hope you’ll understand why this is necessary! And we hope that the free change on us, every 90 days, helps make up for it.
Some of the other features that set D2D Print apart are:
- Cover converter: We’ll automatically generate a print-ready version of your ebook cover.
- Cover templates: Or, supply your own existing print cover and use our free cover templates to ensure it’s the perfect size.
- Wide variety of trim sizes: All POD industry-standard trim sizes are available.
- Widow and orphan control: Use our auto-generated interior to help keep weird line breaks and widowed or orphaned text to a minimum.
- So many choices: Matte or glossy cover finish, cream or white interior paper, use our free ISBN or bring your own. It’s your world!
- Brick and mortar distribution: Physical bookstores can order copies of your book to line their shelves.
Other Frequently Asked Questions
Where will my book be distributed?
Your print books will be available at Amazon and Ingram, the largest distributor/wholesaler in North America. Ingram supplies print books to Barnes & Noble, Powells, Indiebound, and most independent bookstores around the country. That doesn’t mean you can walk into any bookstore and expect to see your book on the shelf—but if you tell your local stores they can order your books from Ingram, they’ll know how to get them.
Who will be listed as the publisher?
You decide! You can list yourself or your publishing imprint as the publisher, and that information will be sent to sales channels along with the rest of the book’s metadata.
Can I include my table of contents?
Yes—and we’ll even autogenerate it for you so your page numbers match.
Can I order author copies?
Right now, author copies are only available within the U.S. and Canada—but keep an eye out for updates, since we’re actively working on expanding our offering.
We think D2D Print makes it easier than ever for authors to expand their catalogs to include paperback books, in just a few clicks. Leave a comment below to let us know what you think!