Earlier this year, IngramSpark launched shareable purchase links that allow self-published authors to use Ingram shipping and fulfillment to sell their book directly to readers. While the functionality is welcome, it basically replaces what Ingram took away in January 2023 when it shut down Aerio. If you sell to readers using IngramSpark’s direct purchase links, the reader pays the shipping cost, and you pay a $3.50 service fee on top of the book printing cost. Authors can decide if they want to offer readers a discount or sell at full price.
Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.
Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (The University of Chicago Press), is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. She reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs.
