Draft2Digital, one of the popular ebook distribution platforms for self-publishing authors, has just rolled out a new, free tool that may be useful not just for authors, but many others in the book community. They’re calling this tool the Universal Book Link (UBL).
Think of the UBL as “one link to rule them all”: it can be used anywhere to help readers find a specific book at their favorite online store. UBLs work as a redirect; the first time a reader clicks on a UBL, she’ll end up at a landing page that shows her all the online retailers where the book is available for sale. As soon as the reader chooses a store, she’s given the option to save that as her preferred store. After that, any time the reader clicks a UBL, she will be directed to the store of her choice, assuming one was chosen. Once you’ve set up the UBL, you’ll receive data about its use—insight into who is clicking through and the storefronts readers prefer.
If you don’t use Draft2Digital, you can still take advantage of UBLs; it’s not even necessary to sign up for an account. Authors who already distribute with Draft2Digital automatically have UBLs assigned and ready to use for all their books.
Some of the suggested uses for UBLs:
- Instead of maintaining a spreadsheet of book links to every retailer, use the UBL. UBLs automatically update with new stores or outlets carrying the book, and links never become old or broken.
- Use UBLs in social media posts, print materials, and other places where it’s not possible or desirable to list links to all retailers.
- Authors can offer freebies without having to list links to all the retailers where they’re available—one call to action and one UBL does the job.
If you’re wondering about affiliate income related to online sales: authors can embed their affiliate IDs in the links associated with the UBL. Furthermore, bloggers, publishers, and others who communicate about books to the public can create UBLs with embedded affiliate IDs, and they can post them for readers. However, if no affiliate link is included with the UBL, then Draft2Digital will use its own—so there is a potential payoff for Draft2Digital related to UBL use, but it doesn’t affect either author or reader.
Bottom line: We tried this tool ourselves, and it worked seamlessly. It took less than thirty seconds to generate the UBL that points to all online retailers where the book was available—and not just the major outlets, but also places such as 24symbols and Inktera. If you’re willing to create an account, then you can also customize the UBL. Our only nitpick is that the UBL landing page design isn’t yet perfect. We had to scroll to see the retailer icons, and if a reader doesn’t know where she’s landed, she may have no idea what to do next. However, the service was launched just last week, and we anticipate the tool will continue to be improved and optimized.
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.
