For independent authors, forging relationships with readers is everything, and selling directly to those readers matters now more than ever. BookBaby Bookshop is focused on helping creatives grow their business and brand and get noticed in a shifting publishing landscape. Founded in 2014 by BookBaby—a comprehensive self-publishing service that enables authors to print books and more—Bookshop bills itself as the internet’s author-friendly bookstore, a platform where indie authors can market and sell books, connect with readers through marketing initiatives, and grow their audiences. “With over 1.2 million new users visiting the BookBaby Bookshop in 2025, it’s a universe that independent authors shouldn’t ignore and one that invests in indies instead of minimizing them,” says James Foley, president of BookBaby.
In the last decade, Bookshop has emerged as a critical growth engine and revenue source for authors who want to keep more of their book profits, get paid faster, and develop their audience relationships instead of relying solely on retail marketplaces. The company takes a fair trade approach to retail. On the site, authors set their own price for a book and receive the lion’s share of royalties, earning 50% of every print book sale, 85% of e-book sales, and 75% of audiobook sales. In many cases, the company notes, authors have the potential to earn more revenue through Bookshop while selling fewer copies than they would through other marketplaces.
Built to help authors increase their profits, Bookshop provides robust, simple-to-use marketing tools, including the ability to create coupons and embed videos on the author page, point-of-sale email opt-in so readers can join an author’s mailing list, customization of author and book listing pages, stylish buy-button link generators, and powerful data analytics that allow authors to understand how their marketing is performing. Bookshop has a mission to create an enjoyable experience for authors and readers alike and offers its authors a unique level of transparency and care. The company pays royalties every Monday, offers user engagement analytics in real time, and ships books using premium-quality custom mailers.
The company believes that consolidation in the mainstream book marketplace doesn’t have to limit independent authors’ ability to thrive. “We are providing a robust solution for independent publishing to be as wildly creative and profitable as it wants to be,” Foley says.
Visit BookBaby.com for more information.
