Books.by

Books.by is built for one workflow only — direct-to-reader sales from a branded author storefront — with a flat annual subscription instead of a per-sale commission, so authors keep 100% above print and shipping cost. POD fulfillment runs through Lulu's print network, with facilities in the USA, UK, Europe and Australia routing each order to the press nearest the reader. The company (parent company: For Authors, Inc) is based in Melbourne, Australia and claims 50,000+ authors.

• Best for: Authors with an established audience (newsletter, podcast, social following) ready to capture direct sales without losing 30–60% to retailers
• Key features: Branded storefront at books.by/yourname, zero per-sale commission, free Bowker ISBNs that are not tied to a Books.by imprint, daily payouts via Stripe (against the 60–90 day retailer cycle), full customer name/email/order data, a built-in cover builder, and 12 paperback trim sizes in B&W or colour on white or cream stock. Pro adds ebooks (EPUB/MOBI/PDF), premium themes, pre-order campaigns, multi-currency selling, discount codes, live analytics, and Facebook Pixel + Google Books integration
• Pricing: $99/year Core (paperback + storefront) or $299/year Pro; zero commission on top. Core's list price is $199 — the "50% off" has run continuously since at least April 2026 (billed as "launch pricing" then, as a 105-minute countdown timer now), so treat $99 as the standing rate. No free tier and no free trial, but there is a 100-day no-questions-asked refund and you can cancel before renewal
• Limitations: Paperback only — hardcover is roadmap, not shipping, and perfect binding is the sole option; no audiobooks. No Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or library distribution — direct sales only, so without an audience the storefront receives no traffic. Author accounts are limited to the USA, Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand and Europe
• Check the marketing against the math: The "$4.4M paid to authors" stat is a browser-side counter that starts from a hardcoded $4,413,287 and ticks up about $9.67 per second while the page is open, so it is not a reported total. Royalty claims also vary by page — the same $19.99 paperback is shown earning $9.60, $14.65, or $20.23 (81%) depending on where you look, and the calculator's highest figure counts the reader-paid shipping contribution as author revenue. The FAQ still answers that ebooks and hardcovers are "on our roadmap," which is stale copy for ebooks — Pro has sold them since at least April 2026
• Why authors love it: The cleanest "keep your royalties" pitch in POD — flat fee, zero commission, daily payouts, customer data you own, running in parallel with every other channel