Australian and international authors can now sell print books into Australia directly via Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing.
Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) is Amazon’s book publishing service: we’re sure you’ve heard of it. KDP enables authors to self-publish their books online and sell them on Amazon in print and digital forms. But while readers can purchase titles in paperback and hardcover forms, the most bought format is an Amazon Kindle is eBook.
This is largely due to KDP’s print on demand (POD) service not yet being available in most countries. That means for many self-published authors, selling their book in print formats in these markets means looking elsewhere for print on demand suppliers, such as IngramSpark.
That will no longer be the case in Australia. On May 7, 2021, KDP announced that paperback printing will be launching in Australia on May 19, 2021. This will allow faster delivery of books to readers in Australia.
How KDP printing in Australia benefits self-published authors
It’s important to note that KDP offering printing in Australia doesn’t just benefit Australian readers and authors. It benefits every self-published author who sells their books to an Australian audience. Which is likely all of you, given Amazon is a global platform.
It also offers:
- Faster delivery for customers with Amazon Prime. Just two days instead of 10 days (on average) through IngramSpark.
- Potentially better quality POD colour printing, although we’ll test to see whether KDP delivers different printers to IngramSpark.
- A free option for authors to upload and sell their books into Australia as KDP has no listing costs.
- Increased visibility for self-published authors as Amazon actively positions KDP books ahead of any IngramSpark option.
- It’s now easier for authors who want to focus on Amazon as there’s no need at all to use IngramSpark. They can just run on one system to sell their books.
To date, there haven’t been many options for independent authors looking to sell their books in print in Australia. IngramSpark is currently the largest and most used provider of print on demand in this region. However, IngramSpark has its drawbacks. High title setup costs and distribution issues on Amazon are an unfortunate necessity when using their service. This is all set to change now with Amazon announcing that KDP print on demand will become available in Australia.
To find out how to publish your book in paperback on KDP and IngramSpark, we’ve written a useful guide How to publish on both KDP and IngramSpark that outlines all the steps.
Check your listing price on Amazon KDP Australia
If you already have your book available on Amazon in Australia, then you need to monitor your listing price. As Amazon put it:
Printing costs are distinct in every marketplace which may affect your royalties. For Australia, the printing costs are higher than other marketplaces. So, we recommend you review your book’s current list price for any books with distribution rights in Australia.
As a result, once converted to AU dollars, if your book costs more to print than your listing price then Amazon will raise the price to match, and your royalties will be $0. Starting from May 12, 2021, you can update the listing price in Australia for your books based on the estimated printing fees. To update the listing price, log in to KDP and click on each of your books. You don’t have to reupload the manuscript.
Want to get published?
Old Mate Media is an independent book publisher that helps self-publishing authors create, complete and upload world-class books. Our services are tailor made to suit your individual needs and we have decades of experience covering each step of the publishing process. Our fixed rates include all source files, so you have 100% ownership of your book and there are no royalty payments. You have complete control over your book.
We’re currently accepting clients so book in a free call to see how we can get your book published.
I was able to order an author copy of my book which is lovely at $9.20 compared to the previous pricing options for author copies to get shipped here and the price of my book on amazon.com.au wen't down by $5 🙂