How do you coordinate a launch with retailers?
- Five core retailers for indies: KDP, IngramSpark, Apple Books, Kobo, B&N Press.
- Each retailer requires different metadata field formats.
- Pre-orders typically open at all retailers in the same week.
- KDP allows free books; Apple and Kobo prefer paid.
- Retailer setup takes 1-2 weeks for a first-time author across all five.
You coordinate a launch with retailers by setting up accounts at each retailer (KDP, IngramSpark, Apple Books, Kobo, Barnes & Noble Press) by T-60, uploading manuscript files and metadata, opening pre-orders by T-30, and confirming all five are live with consistent pricing by T-7. Each retailer requires different metadata field formats; consistency starts at the source.
Chapter i·Why it matters
Authors who only publish on Amazon leave 20-40% of potential sales on the table. Coordinating across the five core retailers takes 1-2 weeks of setup work once and provides ongoing distribution to readers who don’t buy on Amazon (Apple, Kobo are large markets internationally; B&N is the main alternative US ebook retailer).
Chapter ii·What to include
- KDP (Amazon): both ebook and print.
- IngramSpark: expanded print distribution to bookstores and libraries.
- Apple Books: ebook only.
- Kobo Writing Life: ebook only.
- Barnes & Noble Press: ebook and limited print.
- A canonical metadata sheet copy-pasted into each retailer.
Chapter iii·Example
A self-publishing author sets up all five retailers in week T-60 — two days for KDP and IngramSpark (where she has accounts from book one), two days for Apple, Kobo, and B&N. She uploads ebook files, opens pre-orders at $2.99, and confirms by T-30 that all five show pre-order pages. Launch day all five process orders simultaneously.
Chapter iv·Related questions
WriteLoom’s Sell studio holds the canonical metadata sheet and tracks retailer setup status across all five channels.
See the Sell studio