this post was submitted on 29 Jul 2025
59 points (100.0% liked)

Books

8055 readers
114 users here now

A community for all things related to Books.

Rules

  1. Be Nice. No personal attacks or hate speech.
  2. No spam. All posts should be related to discussion or reviews related to books. (Please avoid posts that are just a link to the book and a generic summary)
  3. No self promotion.

Official Bingo Posts:

Related Communities

Community icon by IconsBox (from freepik.com)

founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
 

I want to buy my first ebooks and I have two goals: don't pay Amazon, and give the largest possible cut to the authors. Is there something like Bandcamp for ebooks?

all 41 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] leraje@piefed.blahaj.zone 21 points 10 months ago (1 children)
[–] clay_pidgin@sh.itjust.works 6 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (2 children)

I like the sound of that! Let's see...

No, not in any of the (first 30) stores. The author's website only lists amazon, audible, and apple books, so they may not have another channel for selling. I'll send them an email and see.

[–] RandomStickman@fedia.io 9 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Do they have a patreon or similar? Maybe your best bet is to pirate it and give them the money that way.

[–] clay_pidgin@sh.itjust.works 3 points 10 months ago

Oho, they do. Good idea.

[–] Fredselfish@lemmy.world 2 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

I'm a writer and have an ebook. Also accept support on Patreon. I wouldn't mind having more places to publish my ebooks other then Amazon. I do publish on Barnes and Noble, as well has Google books. I willing to offer DMI free.

[–] roofuskit@lemmy.world 4 points 10 months ago

Reach out to the author, unfortunately a lot of small publishers or self published are exclusive to Amazon.

[–] JaymesRS@piefed.world 10 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I’m personally a fan of Kobo as it’s pretty easy to strip the DRM with a calibre plugin. (I also really like my kobo ereader)

[–] clay_pidgin@sh.itjust.works 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Thanks, I don't have an e-reader yet but Christmas is coming.

[–] JaymesRS@piefed.world 2 points 10 months ago

I’ve used kobos, nooks, and kindles. And I’m happy to answer questions.

[–] aramis87@fedia.io 10 points 10 months ago (2 children)
[–] clay_pidgin@sh.itjust.works 4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

That was an interesting read, thank you!

Looks like amazon ebooks are commonly the best=paying way.

[–] aramis87@fedia.io 6 points 10 months ago (1 children)

You're welcome :) And for people who want to support local independent bookstores, I'll drop in a plug for bookshop.org .

[–] clay_pidgin@sh.itjust.works 3 points 10 months ago

Another great site.

[–] sxan@midwest.social 4 points 10 months ago

The biggest difference in book quality, IMHO, is a good editor. I honestly think I'd feel it would be fair if the editor and the author split the profit pretty evenly; maybe 60/40. I'm not an author, but I've read plenty of books which clearly did not have one (or had a terrible one), and they're painful. Editors are the unsung heroes of the publishing industry.

[–] bonzo22@lemmy.world 8 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Ebooks.com sells DRM free books when the publishers allow it and you can set filters for that as well. The selection is good but not perfect. I supplement with the kobo store as needed. And make sure you are using calibre to manage your library :)

[–] sxan@midwest.social 3 points 10 months ago

So does the Kobo bookstore, but it's entirely up the the publishers.

Kobo's now processing sales through Google, though, so I too need to find a new bookstore.

[–] clay_pidgin@sh.itjust.works 1 points 10 months ago

I looked there as it was on the list of resources that Leraje@piefed.blahaj.zone shared, but sadly they don't have the books I'm looking for.

[–] mesamunefire@piefed.social 7 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Older than amazon (I think?). DRM free as well and gives you all the options: https://www.baen.com/

Has a free library too: https://www.baen.com/allbooks/category/index/id/2012

[–] clay_pidgin@sh.itjust.works 2 points 10 months ago

I've got Baen books on my shelf going back decades! They aren't the publisher of the books I'm looking for, but it's a good tip! Thank you.

[–] Crackhappy@lemmy.world 6 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I use various sources, from Kobo to bookshop.org or even finding good books from authors who give their work away for free, but I always donate at least $10-$20 for their work, like I would if I bought a paperback. Regardless, I refuse to pay for anything with DRM on it.

[–] clay_pidgin@sh.itjust.works 1 points 10 months ago

Reasonable, thank you.

[–] grysbok@lemmy.sdf.org 4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I'd look and see if the publisher or author sells the book directly.

[–] clay_pidgin@sh.itjust.works 3 points 10 months ago

Good idea, but nope. Their website just links to amazon and apple books.

[–] backwater54301@infosec.pub 4 points 10 months ago

I use Bookshop.org for ebooks and Libro.fm for audiobooks

[–] ozoned@piefed.social 3 points 10 months ago (1 children)

https://www.betterworldbooks.com/

Better World Books is your online destination for books offering the widest selection of used and new books. We give booklovers across the world access to the power of knowledge at an affordable price and help them stay connected through reading. We better the world, one book at a time, by making a difference with every purchase made through donations and environmental programs. It's simple: Buy Books. Do Good.

[–] clay_pidgin@sh.itjust.works 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I like the sound of that, thank you.

[–] ozoned@piefed.social 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I get all of my books through Better World Books. I buy them used as much as possible and they're always in fine shape. I then donate the books on if I don't want to keep them. I seriously love BWB.

[–] clay_pidgin@sh.itjust.works 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I buy so many used books at local stores. I think I need to switch to ebooks just to limit the number of tons I'll eventually need to move!

[–] ozoned@piefed.social 2 points 10 months ago

I know friends love their ereaders. I'd need an open one, I refuse to get into the Amazon ecosystem. But I also LOVE physical copies. I think they'd probably be great for books I'm sure about and then buy a physical book later. But lots of ebooks are ridiculously priced compared to physical.

[–] swelter_spark@reddthat.com 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)
[–] clay_pidgin@sh.itjust.works 2 points 10 months ago