Kader Gómez

Kader Gómez

Co-Founder of Alavante, Specialist in Editorial Marketing and Senior Developer.

Published on 10 de agosto de 2025

The Modern Author's Strategic Decision: Amazon Exclusivity or Wide Distribution?

KDP Exclusivity vs. Wide Distribution

Self-publishing has empowered writers in an unprecedented way, opening doors for millions of voices that once depended on the approval of traditional publishers. However, this freedom has also brought a crucial crossroads for every independent author: should they bet everything on the dominant platform of Amazon KDP or diversify their work's presence across multiple channels?

This choice goes beyond a simple logistical decision about where to upload your book; it defines the fundamental philosophy and long-term business strategy of an author who sees themselves as an entrepreneurial publisher.

The Bet on Exclusivity: Amazon KDP Select

Amazon's KDP Select program offers a powerful incentive that attracts many authors: the inclusion of your ebook in Kindle Unlimited (KU) in exchange for 90 days of digital exclusivity 1 2. For genres with a high volume of reading, such as romance, thriller, fantasy, or science fiction, this can translate into significant income through page-read royalties.

In these niches, where readers consume books at a breakneck pace, being part of KU means gaining access to a massive audience that is constantly looking for new reads at no extra cost. This strategy leverages Amazon's huge user base and the platform's inherent promotional tools (like Free Book Promotions or Kindle Countdown Deals) to gain initial visibility quickly and without a significant external advertising investment.

However, this exclusivity comes with a considerable cost that is often underestimated: for the 90-day period, your ebook cannot be available on any other digital store, not even on your own website. This strictly ties you to a single sales channel, leaving your business at the mercy of one company's algorithm changes, royalty policies, and market fluctuations.

In the long run, this dependency can limit your ability to adapt and grow, as you are building your business on a foundation you do not fully control. By fostering this exclusivity, Amazon reinforces its dominance and accustoms readers to seek content exclusively within its ecosystem, creating a "walled garden" where external competition is minimized.

The Pursuit of Resilience: Wide Distribution

On the other end of the spectrum is the "wide distribution" strategy, a model that seeks long-term sustainability and resilience by publishing your book on as many retail and library platforms as possible: Amazon (without KDP Select), Google Play, Apple Books, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, and aggregators like Draft2Digital 3. This approach mitigates the risks of depending on a single market and gives you greater control over your work.

Within this diversified strategy, Google Play Books emerges as a key and strategically differentiated player. It offers a remarkably simpler and more transparent royalty structure, with a fixed 70% rate regardless of the book's price 4. Unlike KDP, which reduces royalties to 35% if the price is not within a specific range ($2.99-$9.99 USD) and deducts "delivery costs" based on the file size, Google does not apply these deductions. This means the net royalty is often higher and always more predictable, allowing you greater flexibility to set prices and experiment with offers.

But the biggest and most unique strategic advantage of Google Play is its deep integration with the Google search engine. When you publish on this platform, your book's content is indexed and can appear directly in Google search results 5. This turns your book into a long-term content marketing asset: a user searching for information on a specific topic may find snippets of your book, generating invaluable organic discovery. It's not just a book buyer; it's someone seeking a solution or knowledge, and your book can be the answer. This passive and highly relevant visibility is something no other platform can replicate on the same scale, especially valuable for non-fiction or niche authors who benefit greatly from informational searches.

A hybrid strategy: KDP Select, then Wide

A third option, often the most attractive and balanced, is a hybrid strategy that combines the best of both worlds. This approach is ideal for authors who want to leverage the powerful initial momentum that the Amazon ecosystem offers, but without sacrificing long-term independence and global reach. The strategy consists of following these steps:

Take advantage of the first 90 days: Publish your book and enroll it in KDP Select for the first 90-day cycle. During this period, focus on maximizing initial momentum. Use Free Book Promotions or Kindle Countdown Deals to generate downloads, boost your ranking, and get reviews. Access to Kindle Unlimited readers will give you a constant stream of reads that can catapult your book onto bestseller lists.

Leave the program after the first cycle: Just before the 90 days of exclusivity end and the program automatically renews, withdraw your book from KDP Select. This will allow you to keep the momentum of reviews and visibility gained on Amazon, but now with the freedom to publish your ebook on other platforms.

Go 'Wide' with momentum: Once your book is out of KDP Select, publish it on Google Play Books, Apple Books, Kobo, and other stores through an aggregator like Draft2Digital. You are no longer starting from scratch; you are launching a book that already has a reader base, reviews, and a proof of concept in the largest market. This initial momentum will give you a significant advantage across the other channels.

This strategy is particularly effective for authors who have a book series, as they can use the first volume as a reader "magnet" on KDP Select, and once readers are hooked on the story, they can offer the rest of the books on all platforms.

The image shows an author facing their final decision: what to choose when publishing?

Which is the best strategy for you?

The decision between Amazon KDP Select exclusivity and the wide distribution strategy, as well as this hybrid approach, has no single correct answer. The optimal choice must be strategic and conscious, aligned with your short- and long-term goals, your literary genre, your marketing budget, and your vision as an author:

Self-publishing is, in essence, a business. Balancing short-term income opportunities with building a solid brand, diversifying channels, and controlling your work is the key to long-term success. Your decision today will shape the future of your publishing career.

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