Wide for the Win

Wide for the Win (WFTW) is the definitive community for indie and hybrid authors who distribute across multiple retailers rather than going exclusive with Amazon/Kindle Unlimited. Founded in 2019 by USA TODAY bestselling romance novelist Erin Wright and co-founder Suzie O'Connell, the group grew from a handful of frustrated KU authors into the largest wide-publishing community in existence — now spanning a Facebook group of approximately 18,000 members plus a self-hosted "campus" community, for a combined audience of 20,000+ authors.

Philosophy: Bank Before Rank#

The community's guiding mantra cuts to the heart of the wide vs. exclusive debate: prioritize actual sustainable income (the "bank") over chasing ephemeral bestseller rankings (the "rank"). Rather than spending heavily on Amazon promotions for short-term visibility spikes, WFTW members build revenue across Apple Books, Kobo, Google Play, Barnes & Noble, OverDrive/libraries, and direct sales — income that compounds over time and doesn't collapse when an algorithm changes.

This is an explicit counterpoint to the Amazon-first, KU-centric model prevalent in communities like 20BooksTo50K. The two communities represent the dominant poles of indie publishing strategy; many authors belong to both.

Community Platforms#

Wide for the Win operates across several spaces:

• Facebook Group (facebook.com/groups/wideforthewin) — the founding home and largest hub (~18,000 members). Kept open as a discovery pipeline for new members.
• Campus Community (wideforthewin.com/campus) — the off-Facebook home for ongoing discussion and structured course content. Originally launched on Circle.so in Spring 2023 as an algorithm-free alternative, it migrated in 2025 to a self-hosted platform that the team owns outright — an "own your platform, non-rented" stance that mirrors the community's wide-publishing ethos. The old learn.wideforthewin.com (Circle) address now redirects to the new campus. Free to join.
• Website (wideforthewin.com) — resource hub, blog, courses, newsletter, and community entry point.
• Podcast — "Wide for the Win," produced by Bradley Charbonneau with Mark Leslie Lefebvre as primary host. Launched late 2024; ran 19 episodes through September 16, 2025 (Episode 19 covered Author Nation 2025), with no new episodes since — effectively dormant as of mid-2026. Back catalog available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Audible, and Castos.

Resources#

• Wide 101 — A pinned newcomer guide covering what wide publishing means, which platforms exist (Apple Books, Kobo, Google Play, B&N, Tolino, OverDrive libraries), how to distribute via aggregators like Draft2Digital, and how to transition out of KU
• Tree of Knowledge — An evergreen content library in the campus community covering wide publishing topics in depth
• Sub-groups — Dedicated spaces for Direct Sales and Marketing discussions
• Monthly live Q&As — Regular sessions where leadership answers member questions on current strategy
• Celebration Threads — Members share milestones — from a first Apple Books sale to $100K in non-Amazon revenue — with personalized follow-up from Erin Wright and the admin team

Leadership#

• Erin Wright (president) — USA TODAY bestselling western romance author; primary administrator. Also offers one-on-one publishing consulting ($199/hour) at erinwright.net/consulting, covering KU-to-wide transitions, library placement, and direct sales strategy.
• Suzie O'Connell (co-founder) — handles community design and graphics; active through at least early 2025.
• Mark Leslie Lefebvre (communications and outreach director) — former Director of Self-Publishing at Rakuten Kobo; current Director of Business Development at Draft2Digital; hosts the WFTW podcast; author of the companion book Wide for the Win (2021, foreword by Erin Wright), available on all major retailers.
• Bradley Charbonneau — podcast producer and extended leadership team.
• DeAnna Hart — author and extended volunteer leadership team.

Who It's For#

• Authors who have left or are considering leaving Kindle Unlimited — WFTW provides structured guidance on exit strategy, permafree tactics, and platform diversification
• Authors building long-term income diversity — wide publishing takes longer to ramp up but creates platform-resilient income streams
• Authors interested in library placement — OverDrive/Libby distribution is impossible under KU exclusivity; WFTW has dedicated resources on this
• Authors pursuing direct sales — the community tracks Shopify, Payhip, and BookFunnel developments closely

Limitations#

• Narrow focus — if you're primarily KU-focused and Amazon-first, the community culture actively discourages that approach
• Slower ramp-up — wide publishing takes longer to build revenue than KU volume strategies; WFTW is transparent about this, but it requires long-term patience
• Facebook dependency — despite the self-hosted campus, the majority of new member discovery still runs through Facebook's ecosystem
• Campus size — the off-Facebook campus has slower discussion threads than the Facebook group's ~18,000-member hub
• Podcast dormant — the WFTW podcast has not released a new episode since September 2025; the back catalog remains useful but the show is no longer an active resource

Recent Developments#

The community has been actively tracking major 2025–2026 industry changes: KDP's print royalty cut (60% → 50% for books under $9.99, June 2025), Kobo Plus expansion to the US and UK, Spotify's move into AI-narrated audiobooks, the Feb 2026 industry-wide POD print-cost hike, and evolving direct sales platforms. Two structural shifts mark this period: the campus community migrated off Circle.so to a fully self-hosted platform in 2025 (reinforcing the "own your platform" philosophy), and the companion podcast — which launched late 2024 and ran roughly bi-weekly through 19 episodes — went quiet after September 2025.