BY REVIEWS

What BY REVIEWS does

Books.by is a direct-to-reader self-publishing platform founded in 2014 by Ash Davies and headquartered in Cremorne, Melbourne, Australia. Operating under the legal entity For Authors, Inc., the company enables self-published authors to create personalized online bookstores and sell print-on-demand books directly to readers, bypassing marketplace commissions charged by Amazon KDP and IngramSpark. The platform serves over 20,000 authors across 120+ countries, ranging from first-time storytellers to New York Times Bestsellers, and has paid out more than $4M in cumulative author royalties.

The platform's core technology is a storefront-as-a-service built on third-party infrastructure: Lulu's global print network (10+ countries across 4 continents) for manufacturing and fulfillment, Stripe Connect for payment processing and daily royalty payouts, and proprietary storefront customization tooling including a Cover Builder, Earnings Calculator, and theme-based store designer. Technical differentiators include daily rather than 60-90 day royalty payouts, full customer data transparency (buyer name, email, shipping address) on every sale, and global print-on-demand with 3-5 business day local delivery. The platform is PCI DSS Level 1 compliant via Stripe, and holds GDPR, CCPA, and Australian Privacy Principles certifications.

Books.by operates a flat-fee subscription model with two tiers: Core at $99/year (paperback publishing, branded storefront, free Bowker ISBNs, 100% royalty retention) and Pro at $299/year (adding eBook, hardcover, Facebook Pixel, Google Books integration, live analytics, pre-order campaigns, and multi-currency selling). The company captures no per-sale commission, generating revenue purely through annual subscriptions. The go-to-market is product-led and content-led: 32+ SEO-optimized self-publishing guides, platform comparison pages, interactive calculators, and community-driven social proof via 1,000+ verified author reviews. Books.by positions itself as complementary to Amazon and IngramSpark rather than competitive, allowing authors to use existing KDP/IngramSpark files without rework and operate multi-channel publishing strategies.

Name

BY REVIEWS

Legal name

For Authors, Inc

Website

https://books.by

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Books.by is a Melbourne-based direct-to-reader self-publishing platform that enables self-published authors to create branded storefronts, sell print-on-demand books globally, retain 100% of royalties, and receive daily payouts via Stripe.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Self-Publishing Platform

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132), Book Publishers (51313)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Self-Publishing Platforms (KDP-style Marketplaces & Portals) (MPAJAJAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Author Business Tools & Analytics (Royalty Tracking, Pricing, Keyword/Market Research) (MPAJAJAO), Cover Design, Illustration & Book Interior Design Services (MPAJAJAH), Author Marketing, PR & Launch Services (Ads, Book Tours, Influencers) (MPAJAJAL)

Keywords

• Self-publishing platform
• Print-on-demand publishing
• Direct-to-reader selling
• Author storefront hosting
• Royalty management

Headquarters

HQ city

Cremorne

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Annual Subscription - Core Plan: Authors pay an annual subscription fee for access to the platform. The Core plan ($199/year, currently discounted to $99/year) includes print-on-demand publishing (paperback), custom storefront, free ISBNs, daily royalty payouts, and 100% of sales proceeds minus print/shipping/payment processing costs. This is a flat fee model with no per-sale commissions.
2. Annual Subscription - Pro Plan: Pro plan at $299/year adds eBook and hardcover publishing, Facebook Pixel integration, Google Books integration, live sales analytics, custom discount codes, pre-order campaigns, and multi-currency selling options. Same royalty structure applies.
3. Print Cost Recovery: Printing costs are deducted from retail price at point of sale. Black & white printing: $1.26 base + $0.016 per page. Color printing: $1.379 base + $0.036 per page. These cover the cost of goods but do not represent margin as authors keep 100% above print cost.
4. Payment Processing Recovery: Standard credit card processing fees (~2.9% + $0.30 per transaction) are deducted from sales proceeds, not retained as platform revenue. This is standard cost recovery for payment processing.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Books.by is a direct-to-reader self-publishing SaaS platform that lets authors create branded online bookstores, upload book files, and sell print-on-demand paperbacks, hardcovers, and eBooks directly to readers worldwide. Authors retain 100% of sales proceeds above printing, shipping, and payment-processing costs, with daily Stripe Connect payouts, complete customer-data transparency on every sale, and access to a global print network spanning 10+ countries.

Product overview

Books.by is a direct-to-reader self-publishing platform offering two subscription tiers (Core at $99/year and Pro at $299/year) that function as a unified publishing ecosystem. The Core plan provides paperback publishing, a branded storefront, free ISBNs, and 100% royalty retention on direct sales; the Pro plan extends this with eBook and hardcover publishing, Facebook Pixel and Google Books integrations, live analytics, and multi-currency support. The platform centers on the Books.by Storefront product—a personal online bookstore at books.by/[authorname]—complemented by Print-on-Demand fulfillment through Lulu's global print network, the Cover Builder tool, daily royalty payouts via Stripe Connect, and an Earnings Calculator for financial projections. Authors retain 100% of sales proceeds minus print costs and standard payment processing fees. The platform also provides 32+ free self-publishing guides as educational resources. Key differentiators include customer email capture with every sale, daily payouts, and zero commission on direct sales.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Books.by Self-Publishing Platform (Core & Pro Subscriptions)
• Books.by Branded Author Storefront
• Print-on-Demand Publishing Service
• eBook Publishing & Distribution (Pro)

Quantifiable outcome

• Authors earn 40%+ average royalty rate, approximately 5x the industry average
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration12 records

Feature9 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• StripecoreTechnology or IntegrationStripe processes all subscription payments, reader purchases, and author royalty payouts via Stripe Connect. Books.by does not store payment card details - Stripe handles PCI DSS Level 1 compliant payment processing.
• Lulu Print NetworkcoreTechnology or IntegrationBooks.by uses Lulu's global printing infrastructure for book manufacturing and fulfillment. Print facilities across 10+ countries on 4 continents enable local printing and fast delivery. Books.by and Lulu share the same print network output - same printers, paper stock, and binding equipment.
• Cloud Hosting ProviderscoreTechnology or IntegrationCloud infrastructure for platform hosting, data storage, and content delivery. Data encrypted at rest and in transit.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Shopify: General-purpose e-commerce platform many authors use to build direct-to-reader storefronts (often via POD apps). Books.by positions as a more focused, integrated alternative — POD built in, no plugins required, and dedicated author features like ISBNs and Cover Builder.

Direct peers

• Draft2Digital: eBook and POD aggregator distributing to major retailers. Comparable in serving indie authors and offering file-format compatibility with Books.by; differs in being distribution-led rather than direct-storefront-led.
• Lulu: Direct-to-author self-publishing platform offering POD printing, global distribution, and an author bookstore. Highly comparable — and notably serves as Books.by's underlying print network partner, making them both collaborator and competitor in the same category.
• BookBaby: Self-publishing services company offering POD printing, eBook conversion, distribution, and editing services to indie authors. Comparable POD product surface; Books.by competes primarily on its 100% royalty and daily-payout positioning.
• IngramSpark: Ingram's print-on-demand and book distribution platform serving indie authors and small publishers. Directly comparable to Books.by on POD manufacturing and global distribution; differentiated by bookstore/wholesale channel access and 90-day payout cycles vs Books.by's daily payouts.
• Amazon KDP: Amazon's print-on-demand and eBook self-publishing platform. Most directly comparable to Books.by — both enable POD paperback/hardcover publishing with global reach, but KDP takes 30-70% commission vs Books.by's 100% author royalty model. Books.by explicitly positions against KDP on its comparison pages.

Emerging players

• Gumroad: Creator commerce platform enabling direct sales of digital and physical products. Comparable in the direct-to-buyer, creator-storefront model Books.by champions, but broader in scope (courses, software, merch) and less specialized in POD book publishing.
• Payhip: Creator commerce platform for selling digital downloads, courses, and physical products directly to audiences. Adjacent peer — shares the direct-to-reader, no-marketplace philosophy but lacks the integrated POD book manufacturing that defines Books.by.
• Podia: Creator platform for selling courses, digital downloads, and memberships. Adjacent in serving independent creators with direct monetization tools, but focused on digital products rather than print book publishing.
• Stan Store: Creator storefront platform popularized by social-media-driven sellers, enabling direct product sales from a single link-in-bio page. Comparable in the direct-sales, audience-monetization model; less specialized for POD book fulfillment but competes for the same author/creator wallet.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about BY REVIEWS