By This is the decision every self-published author eventually has to make, and most guides oversimplify it. Here’s the actual comparison, based on what each platform is built for.
Amazon KDP: The Default for a Reason
Kindle Direct Publishing is where most independent authors should start, for a simple reason: distribution reach. Amazon is where the majority of book buyers already are, for both ebook and print-on-demand paperback/hardcover.
- Royalties: 35% or 70% on ebooks depending on price and territory; roughly 60% minus printing cost on paperback.
- Speed: your book can be live and purchasable within 72 hours of upload.
- Reach: Kindle Unlimited enrollment (if you go exclusive) adds page-read royalties on top of sales.
- Limitation: KDP print books are not well distributed to physical bookstores or libraries. Amazon’s ecosystem is built around Amazon.
IngramSpark: Built for Bookstores and Libraries
IngramSpark connects to Ingram’s distribution network, which is what most physical bookstores and libraries actually order from. If getting your paperback into an indie bookstore or a library catalog matters to you, this is the platform that makes it structurally possible. KDP alone generally doesn’t.
- Royalties: typically lower per-copy than KDP after printing costs, since Ingram’s wholesale discount is built in.
- Reach: genuine access to bookstore and library ordering systems, plus wider international print distribution.
- Cost: setup and revision fees exist (though periodically waived in promotions), unlike KDP’s free listing.
- Limitation: slower to set up, and less forgiving of formatting errors before publishing.
The Approach Most Experienced Indies Actually Use
Not either/or: ebook exclusively on KDP (to access Kindle Unlimited royalties), and paperback wide via IngramSpark (for bookstore/library reach), sometimes with a KDP paperback edition too for Amazon-specific buyers. This “print wide, ebook narrow” split gets you both platforms’ strengths without their individual limitations.
What AI Changes in This Decision
AI formatting tools (Atticus, Vellum) now handle the technical interior formatting for both platforms’ specifications in a fraction of the time manual formatting used to take, which removes what used to be the biggest practical barrier to publishing on both simultaneously.
Bottom Line
If you’re publishing your first book and want the fastest path to your first sale, start with KDP alone. Once you have a finished, edited manuscript and want a physical bookstore or library presence, add IngramSpark for print, you don’t have to choose only one, forever.
Related: How to Write, Publish, and Sell a Book in 2025
Written by Aashif Shaikh, SEO & Website Lead, Founder of bookpros.info
Need help with your author website? Contact me.