Book Retailers Changing Policies. Is This Only The Beginning?

Policy changes by major players continue to raise questions about where indie author profit margins will be in the future.

In an article posted by Nicole Schroeder of The Indie Author Magazine about changes to two major indie author publishing platforms, it was noted that Barnes and Noble and Draft2Digital have announced policy changes that will take away from your bottom line.

In a letter posted Tuesday to the Draft2Digital website and sent via email to the platform’s users, Draft2Digital CEO Kris Austin announced the platform would implement two new fees starting next month: a $20 account setup fee for new accounts to the platform and a $12 annual maintenance fee for users earning less than $100 that year from book sales through the site. Previously, the site did not charge users any fees to create an account or use the platform, though it collects a percentage of every sale as a commission. 

The same day, Barnes & Noble Press announced several updates to the site’s policies: a new minimum price for printed books published via the platform, a limit to the number of books an account may list for sale, and a change in the policy regarding publishing public domain works. 

The magazine quotes Draft2Digital’s CEO, Kris Austin, stating that the change was made to protect indie authors’ reputation. He states that “Bad Actors” are scamming these authors and harming their reputations.

“What we're starting to see is pushback against indies as a whole, and we think that's unfair … so the fees are primarily targeted around slowing down and deterring these bad actors so that our community of authors can be seen as high integrity.”

According to the article, Draft2Digital's $12 fee will go into effect on May 14 and will apply to all accounts on the site, though it is waived for those authors who earn $100 or more from their book’s sales in the previous twelve-month period. Fees will be due on each account’s anniversary date, and sales data is calculated from the same dates. 

According to Schroeder, Draft2Digital’s annual maintenance fee applies only to authors distributing their books through the platform; Austin notes that the site’s other features, such as formatting tools, royalty-splitting tools, and Books2Read universal book links, remain free to use.

Barnes and Noble policy updates are, as stated in a post, “designed to protect independent authors as well as maintain the quality of the content on our platform.” 

“In some cases, very large volumes of low-quality listings from aggregators or publishers have made it more difficult for readers to find relevant, quality content,”   —Julie Braunschweiger, B&N Press eCommerce Senior Manager

Schroeder states that starting April 22, Barnes & Noble Press will not allow the creation of new print listings for less than $14.99. Starting May 14, authors with printed books published via the platform must set prices to $14.99 or higher; any titles that do not meet this requirement will be removed from sale. Additionally, starting May 14, authors will not be allowed to list more than one hundred titles for sale through the Barnes & Noble Press site; authors must remove titles from sale, or Barnes & Noble Press will remove titles at the company’s discretion to bring accounts in line with the new policy. Finally, Barnes & Noble Press will no longer allow the sale of public domain works on the platform.

Braunschweiger writes that the print price minimum was set in response to increased shipping and freight costs, which have impacted overall business economics for Barnes & Noble. However, she writes, authors may be granted exceptions to the pricing limitations on a case-by-case basis.

A separate post on Barnes & Noble Press’s FAQ page suggests authors with more than one hundred titles reach out to the platform’s e-book merchant team via email at eBookSales@bn.com to be considered for an exception.

The growing use of AI and the rise of bad actors in the book industry are cited as the driving force behind these changes. The increase in these nefarious activities, and I would add a substantial uptick in the cost of doing business, leads me to one question: Is this only the beginning?

This blog takes excerpts from an article posted by Nicole Schroeder of The Indie Author Magazine. Visit The Indie Author Magazine to read all of Schroeder's article.  

As always, I would love to read your comments.