Draft2Digital review: How does this ebook distribution platform work?

Looking for an easier way to sell your ebook without dealing with a dozen platforms? Draft2Digital might be the answer.

This ebook distribution platform helps self-published authors upload once and publish across 17+ major retailers (including Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and more).

It even handles print and audiobook distribution through Findaway Voices.

If you’re tired of juggling multiple dashboards or missing out on potential readers because your book isn’t listed everywhere, Draft2Digital makes that process seamless.

In this review, we’ll break down exactly how Draft2Digital works, how much it costs, its pros and cons, and how to set up your account step by step.

We'll also cover a few alternatives if Draft2Digital doesn't suit your needs.

What is Draft2Digital?

Since launching in 2012, Draft2Digital has become a go-to ebook aggregator for indie authors who want to publish “wide”, and not just on Amazon.

The platform gives self-published authors three core advantages:

• Wide distribution to 17+ major ebook retailers, including Amazon, Apple Books, Kobo, and Barnes & Noble.
• Print-on-demand publishing through Amazon with zero upfront costs.
• Comprehensive sales tracking from a single dashboard that consolidates all your platforms.

Instead of uploading your manuscript separately to every store, you can publish once through Draft2Digital and have it automatically distributed across multiple retailers.

Over time, Draft2Digital has expanded beyond simple distribution – it now offers time-saving tools for formatting, promotion, and analytics.

In 2018, the platform added a print-on-demand feature, allowing authors to publish physical copies without relying on third-party printers.

And in 2024, its acquisition of rival Smashwords opened even more global distribution opportunities.

Next, let’s look at how Draft2Digital actually works — from uploading your first manuscript to tracking your ebook sales.

How does Draft2Digital work?

Draft2Digital is a free ebook aggregator: you upload your manuscript once, select from 17 major retailers, and they handle distribution to all platforms while taking a 10% commission on sales.

With the help of Draft2Digital, you can sell ebooks to every major retailer with zero hassle, rather than opening individual accounts on Amazon, Apple Books, Kobo, and other platforms.

Draft2Digital publishing: A complete review of the process

Publishing on Draft2Digital takes five steps:

• Sign up for a free Draft2Digital account
• Set up payment information
• Upload your manuscript files to Draft2Digital
• Choose which one of the 17 retailers you want to publish your ebook to
• Use the dashboard to track your sales and royalties from the retailers

Let’s walk through the steps together.

Creating an account:

• Click the sign-up button at the far right corner of the screen, and you will be taken to the sign-up page.
• After filling in basic information like your name, pen name, and email address and choosing a password, you will have to verify your email to access your account.
• Finally, complete your tax documentation.

Uploading a book to Draft2Digital:

• Click the "Add New Book" button.
• You will then be asked if you want to create a new ebook or a print book.
• Add the title of your book, the cover art, whether it's part of a series or not, the name of the publisher, the name of the author, and the target audience of your book.

Draft2Digital will be using this information in all the retail shops.

• You also have the option to choose what tags best identify your book. Carefully select these, as they will help your book reach your target audience.

• Finally, click the "Start Ebook" button to proceed to the next step.

Adding your ebook's details:

In the details page, you'll have to upload your final manuscript. You'll also have to put your ebook description here.

You can also choose a free ISBN from Draft2Digital or choose to use one of your own.

Once you're done, click Save & Continue to proceed.

Formatting and finalizing:

In the layout page, you can add additional pages for dedication, copyright information, promotional pages, etc. You can check your chapter layout from here as well.

To check how your final products will look, you can (and should) download various versions of the ebook.

After you've reviewed the finished work and are satisfied, click Save & Continue to proceed again.

Set a price, choose your distributors, and publish:

On the final setup page, you’ll set your ebook price and select which major distributors to publish through.

Draft2Digital automatically displays projected royalties for each retailer so you can see what you’ll earn per sale.

You can also opt to distribute your book to library services like OverDrive, Odilo, and cloudLibrary, expanding your reach even further.

Once everything looks right, hit Submit.

Draft2Digital will upload your book to all selected stores and email you once it’s live. Timing can vary by retailer, but that’s it — your ebook is officially published, with no upfront cost and global distribution.

Distributors, PoD, and sales tracking: Draft2Digital's best features

Draft2Digital provides six key features: distribution to 17+ retailers, universal book links (UBLs), comprehensive sales tracking, automated reader notifications, easy metadata updates, and print-on-demand services.

Now that you know how to upload an ebook, let's learn in detail what features you can get from Draft2Digital.

Draft2Digital's distribution partners

Draft2Digital distributes to 17+ major platforms across digital stores, subscription services, and library networks. Their current major distributing partners include:

Digital stores

• Amazon
• Apple Books
• Barnes & Noble
• Kobo
• Smashwords
• Tolino
• Gardners
• Vivlio
• Fable

Subscription services

• Everand

Library services

• OverDrive
• cloudLibrary
• Baker & Taylor
• BorrowBox
• Hoopla
• Palace Marketplace
• Odilo

You can choose to list your book in any (or all) of these options.

Universal book links (UBLs)

Universal Book Links (UBLs) create a single landing page where readers can choose their preferred retailer, eliminating the need to list multiple ugly links in your promotions.

When you promote your book – in a Facebook post, in a blog post on your website, in a guest blog, etc. – it's a basic practice to include a link to the book so that an interested buyer can easily find it without having to look it up. However, you don't know which buyer prefers which website, one might prefer Amazon while another buyer might like Apple Books.

Listing so many ugly links at the end of your post doesn't look nice.

That's where the magic of Draft2Digital's Universal Book Links comes into play.

Just by clicking the "Make My Universal Link" button, Draft2Digital will give you a link that will lead to a landing page with all relevant stores. So, when a potential buyer clicks this universal link, they can easily choose their preferred distributor.

The best part is that you don't even need to be a Draft2Digital user to use it.

Sales tracking

Draft2Digital's unified dashboard lets you track all sales and royalties across every platform in one place, showing your "Verified Royalties Due" after Draft2Digital's 10% commission and distributor fees.

Any good aggregator will let you easily analyze your sales data because you need to know whether your self-published book is making a profit or not.

You can easily track your sales and royalties from Draft2Digital's dashboard.

Just clicking the "Reports" button will give you an overview of your sales and royalties. You'll get an aggregate of all the sales you've made from the different platforms – this is normal if you're publishing on so many platforms.

You'll also be shown your "Verified Royalties Due" amount. This is the amount you'll be receiving after Draft2Digital takes their 10% cut and the distributor takes their sale commission.

You can go even further into your sales data by checking your sales from individual sales channels as well.

Automated new-release notifications

Draft2Digital can also collect your readers' emails so that they will receive a notification whenever you release a new book.

Easy changes

Draft2Digital lets you update the metadata or pricing of your book as many times as you want, and they will automatically change it in the relevant places.

However, what if you notice you made a mistake in your ebook? Draft2Digital gives you one free change every 90 days (there are paid changes available as well). You can change anything you want, including the draft, cover, or interior of the book.

Print on demand

Draft2Digital's print-on-demand services (where books are printed only when ordered, eliminating the need for large upfront print runs) have been available since 2018. The service is still in beta, but don't let that bother you; it's fully functional, and you can use it without any issues.

Your printed books will be distributed through Amazon. You, as the author, are responsible for paying the printing costs for each book sold. These costs can vary depending on factors like book size, page count, and chosen paper type.

How much does Draft2Digital cost?

Draft2Digital doesn’t charge any upfront, monthly, or annual fees. Instead, it earns a small commission only when you make a sale.

The platform takes about 10% of your book’s list price from each sale, while the retailer (like Amazon or Apple Books) keeps around 30%. You keep the remaining 60% of the list price.

For example, if your ebook sells for $10 on Amazon:

• Amazon keeps $3 (30%)
• Draft2Digital keeps $1 (10%)
• You earn $6 (60%)

This pay-per-sale model means Draft2Digital only profits when you do — there are no hidden or ongoing costs if your book doesn’t sell.

For print-on-demand titles, you’ll typically keep about 45% of the list price, minus the printing cost.

As of mid-2025, Draft2Digital also applies a 2.5% processing fee for payments made via PayPal or check, but direct deposit payments remain free.

The pros and cons of Draft2Digital

Although we’ve only talked about the pros of Draft2Digital, let's have a quick rundown of the pros and cons you could face:

Pros

• Easy formatting: You can easily format your book just by uploading the manuscript and clicking some buttons.
• UBLs: UBLs are definitely a plus when you're selling on multiple storefronts.
• Print on demand: No need to break your bank to print a thousand copies before you have even received an order and just print as you receive the orders.
• A huge list of distributors: With such a big list of distributors you can be sure you won't be missing out on any major stores.
• Sales tracking tools: You can easily track every sale you make in all the different channels.
• Notifications: Send a notification email to all your fans every time you release a new book to guarantee some sales.
• Pricing: You can easily change the price from a central hub for all the stores.
• Free ISBNs: Draft2Digital will give you free ISBNs and you know these are expensive otherwise.

Cons

• Potential for more profit: Although this pricing model is good, if you’re selling a lot of books, you might want to look into other distributors who let you keep more of your royalties.
• POD fees: Their POD fees are pretty standard. But the fact you can only change your manuscript once every 90 days can be a hassle if you need to change it more than once. Amazon, on the other hand, lets you make as many changes as you want. But if you can get it right the first time, then this might not be a problem for you.
• Access to the mail list: It is always better for you to collect email addresses yourself. Because it is going to be tough trying to get your readers into your reading list and Draft2Digital’s new book list at the same time.

Draft2Digital reviews: What are customers saying?

We've said enough, now let's see what other users have to say about Draft2Digital in some popular reviews:

• Simon Smith (on Trustpilot about how helpful the customer service is): “I've had a very positive experience using Draft2Digital. I got into a bit of an issue with Neilsen, the ISBN company, and Amazon. Eda, the customer support person at Draft2Digital, went the extra mile to get things sorted. As for setting up books on the platform, I found it pretty straightforward. Before believing the bad reviews on here, it might be worth bearing in mind how many people use the platform happily.”
• Hugh Delis (on Trustpilot doesn't like the payment threshold): “Avoid using Draft2Digital for your book publishing needs. They do not pay out after your book makes sales. Before reaching the payout threshold, they block your book, keeping your earnings. Choose a more reliable and honest book publishing company instead.”
• Sarah (on Trustpilot about strict regulations for certain topics): “Do not distribute through Draft2Digital if you write romance or erotica. Their content moderators are even stricter than Amazon—to the point of absurdity. If you work with this company, you run the risk of getting banned + D2D withholding your royalties. Apparently, my books are too racy for them. They're more than happy to pocket that dirty money, though. A bunch of crooks.”
• Stephan Vogel (on Trustpilot is one of the many Smashwords migrants who are not happy with Draft2Digital): “Draft2Digital acquired the company Smashwords, and as a result, I had to migrate an account to Draft2Digital from Smashwords. I’ve never had a problem with Smashwords. Draft2Digital (D2D) sends me an email informing me that their third-party tax identity specialists will be sending me an email with instructions on how I can verify my tax identity. I did that, following instructions, and Draft2Digital continues to email me saying that I have only 15 (and then 7) days left to verify my tax identity before my account is closed without any royalties unpaid. Even though I submitted all the requested documents, Draft2Digital continues to close my account with a 'permanent probation' email.”

Alternative platforms for your ebook

Let's look at some other options to sell your ebooks.

Whop

Remember how we were talking about the potential for more profit?

Whop is a free, all-in-one platform that lets creators sell ebooks and digital products directly to their audience — no middlemen, no retail cuts.

It’s free to use, with a flat 2.7% transaction fee per sale.

Because Whop acts as your merchant of record and handles payment processing, you don’t need to worry about tax compliance or payout logistics.

Plus, you can sell far more than just ebooks: think bonus chapters, private community memberships, coaching sessions, templates, or early drafts for fans.

Whop is ideal if you want to skip distributors entirely and earn more from every sale while building a direct connection with your readers.

Amazon KDP

Amazon KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) is a self-publishing platform owned by Amazon, which is owned by one of the richest men in the world, Jeff Bezos.

It’s called self-publishing because, unlike traditional publishing, you can do it for free. That’s right – you don't have to pay Amazon anything to do it for you. Just set the price and upload your book, and Amazon will do the rest for you.

So, what's the catch? How is Amazon making a profit from this?

Well, to put it simply – Amazon will take a cut of 30% from every ebook they sell on their platform. And 40% of the paperback excluding the printing cost.

There is also KDP Select, which gives Amazon exclusive rights to sell the book only on Kindle. The author won't be able to self-publish the ebook on any other store. In exchange for this, Amazon gives the author incentives like certain promotional tools, such as Kindle Unlimited, and higher royalty rates.

Gumroad

Gumroad, which was founded in 2012 by Sahil Lavingia, was the answer to every issue that arose for anyone wishing to sell digital goods on their website. It provides a very straightforward method for converting any website or blog into a secure online store.

Gumroad is very simple to use. Just sign up for an account, customize your page, and you can start selling digital products like ebooks, music, courses, or any other form of digital content. The platform handles the sale and digital delivery so that all of it is completed seamlessly.

It doesn't have any monthly fees, but it charges 10% on every sale you make.

Why Whop is the best place to sell your ebooks

Whop is an all-in-one marketplace for selling digital products and services, including ebooks.

We give you the tools to bundle and sell everything from downloadable files to web apps, active communities, and bonus content, all from one platform.

Upload your ebook, create a fan community, and sell extra digital products directly to your audience. Your dashboard lets you track customers, sales, and analytics in real time.

And with a low 2.7% transaction fee, you keep more of your earnings compared to other platforms.

Join the Whop community today and start maximizing your profit from your ebooks.

FAQs

Here are some FAQs about Draft2Digital:

How do I remove a book from Draft2Digital?

If, for any reason, you want to remove one of your ebooks from Draft2Digital, the process is pretty simple.

1. Go to Draft2Digital and log in to your account.
2. Find and click the “My Books” button.
3. Find the ebook title you wish to delist and click on it.
4. At the bottom of the sales data, you will see two options: to edit the book and delist the book.
5. Click on delist and Draft2Digital will ask you if you want to delist this or not. Click yes and it's done.

Is Smashwords now Draft2Digital?

As of March 1, 2022, Smashwords is now part of Draft2Digital. Because of this acquisition, Draft2Digital now owns Smashwords. Even though the Smashwords brand still exists, its operations have been integrated into Draft2Digital. Authors who previously used Smashwords can continue to manage their books through their Draft2Digital accounts.

Before the acquisition, Smashwords had been operating for more than 15 years.

How much does Draft2Digital pay?

Draft2Digital takes 10% of the price of the book, and the distributor takes their commission.

Author earnings = Book price - 10% D2D Fees - Distributor fees.

So, as usual, you are left with around 60% royalties. But it mainly depends on the distributor's commission rate.

Draft2Digital provides detailed information about estimated royalties on their official website, so you can see how much you can expect to earn for each sale on different platforms.