The world of print publishing can be daunting for indie authors trying to do everything on their own. Draft2Digital created D2D Print to be a print-on-demand option for authors looking to publish with the support of a team behind them.
Print should be accessible, not just to the traditional publishing world, but to indie and self-published authors. That was the philosophy behind D2D Print, so ease of use was an important cornerstone of how we designed this service.
That is not to say we weren’t ready for questions. The world of print publishing can be complicated. That’s why our support team has always been available to guide authors through the process.
We’ve collected the most frequently asked questions our support team has received about our print-on-demand service. This week, we’re sharing the first five to help you get a better understanding of D2D Print.
We also answered these questions on this episode of D2D Answers.
What Does Print-on-Demand Mean?
We can start things off with the basics. If you aren’t familiar with print publishing, the idea of print-on-demand might be new to you.
As the name implies, print-on-demand books are published and made available, but they are only printed on request. If a reader orders a copy from a distributor or a bookstore places an order for the book, a copy will be printed and shipped out.
This is different from most traditional publishing, where it is common for books to be printed in bulk in advance of the book’s release.
Most indie print publishing is handled on demand so authors can sell to readers without the costly investment of a pre-printed inventory.
Can I Order Author Copies in my Country?
Draft2Digital works with authors across the globe, so we have worked to make D2D Print an option for our international authors.
Author Copies and Print Proofs are not available in all regions, but we continue to work with international printers to add more supported regions for author copy availability. The full list of the current countries where author copies are supported is on our Frequently Asked Questions page. (To find it, search for “author copies.”)
Authors outside of these countries can still use D2D Print for publishing and distribution, even if author copy support has not reached you just yet.
Can I Publish Low or No-Content Books? What about Short-Form Writing?
We understand the desire to get content out into the world, but D2D Print only supports text-based book publishing at this time. Our vendors have a wealth of low-content books available, so our service is here to serve fiction and non-fiction content. This includes journals, coloring books, workbooks, and calendars, among other similar styles of non-narrative-based content.
D2D Print also has a minimum page count of 64 pages. This may not suit the needs of authors who write short-form content, like poetry or flash fiction. Of course, nothing is stopping authors who write short narrative fiction or poetry from combining several works together and publishing them as a collection! If it worked for Walt Whitman, it can work for you!
Do I Have to Publish an Ebook Before I Can Publish With D2D Print?
Not every author has used Draft2Digital to publish their ebooks. Some authors have never published an ebook and aren’t looking to start now.
For authors who have never published an ebook, or published their ebooks through another service, worry not. D2D Print is still here for you.
When you start a new book project with Draft2Digital, you have the option to start an ebook or a paperback. You can publish your print books without ever touching the ebook side of Draft2Digital.
If you ever change your mind, you can add an ebook to your existing print book project—or vice versa!
I’m On Amazon (or Ingram Spark) Already; Can I Use D2D Print?
We know many authors curious about D2D Print have already published print books with other distributors. We welcome KDP Print and Ingram Sparks users to try D2D Print, but there are important conditions to consider.
D2D Print doesn’t currently offer a la carte distribution. D2D Print Books are distributed across the extended Amazon and Ingram Spark distribution networks.
If your print books are already available on store sites through Amazon or Ingram, submitting the same print book through our system will create a double listing of the print book on store sites. You can have multiple printings of your book available as long as they have unique ISBNs.
If your ISBN is already registered with Amazon or Ingram, it’s marked as “already in use.” It cannot simultaneously be re-used to submit a book to those services through other outlets like D2D Print.
To publish through Draft2Digital with an existing and previously used ISBN, you would need to change the Vendor of Record attached to that ISBN. For more information on how to change your Vendor of Record, read our Print Masterclass on the topic.
Of course, you can always use D2D Print for a new book release and let your current distributors handle your back catalog. Find the balance that works for you!
That’s all for this week, but be sure to visit our blog next week. We will be sharing five more commonly asked questions authors have about D2D Print.