It’s another sunny day on the island and I’m sitting at the dining table/my workstation. I’ve pulled up the KDP Reports Dashboard and I see I’ve sold a print book. This is not a common thing, so I go looking for more info on the sale to discover that it was made through the Amazon Japan store.
I had to take a moment.
What was the possibility of a book by a person on a tiny island in the Caribbean being purchased by someone on the other side of the planet?!? When I was growing up in the 80’s, 90’s, heck the 2000’s, this would have been impossible. But now, thanks to Amazon, I’ve not only sold books in Japan but Australia, Canada, and the UK. And every time this happens, I have to take a moment to grasp that this has happened.
Still, it doesn’t take away that Amazon is a problematic company. Between the way it treats its staff, unfair competition, impact on domestic economies, environmental degradation, and the list goes on, it has a lot of issues. But there is no getting around how it benefits me as a Caribbean writer and reader.
Although Amazon delivers a blow to local bookstores, it addresses issues with distribution, the numbers game, getting the word out, the cost of producing books, and ease of purchase. All of which makes it easy for me as a reader and a writer to engage with the global marketplace.
But could there be an alternative?
Let’s first look at why it works in the region.
Distribution
They were two different Caribbean publishers. The first was out of St. Martin, whom I met at Best of Books, where he was with an author promoting a book. The second was out of Dominica, and it was on a Zoom presentation. Both said the same thing: distribution in the Caribbean was difficult.
Although we are a tiny region, usually lumped in with Latin America, distributing books is not easy. Between engaging with bookstores, inspiring them to carry the book(s), then shipping them to each and every island. It’s not an easy undertaking, especially if you haven’t done the groundwork of inspiring the public to purchase.
Yet, Amazon has done the heavy lifting of creating systems on a global level that trickle down to our local level. Also, we, in the region, have developed our own systems, such as freight forwarders or friends and family who can bring the book(s) down or ship them down with other goods.
Through Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing, I have a publishing partner who is capable of distributing my book to anyone in the world. This is a fact that I can’t ignore.
It’s a Numbers Game
Speaking of a tiny region, according to Worldometer, the population of the Caribbean as of 2025 is 44,649,486, representing 0.54% of the total world population. Put that in comparison to the US at 347,557,119 and the UK at 69,614,201, both of which are English-speaking, which is not the same for our entire region. And our readers are a percentage of that 0.54%. With that said, there isn't an interest for Western publishers in focusing on us when there are bigger markets to go after.
The number of books catered to us specifically is limited. And from experience, the prevailing notion is that it's only in the schools that people read. And as there are only so many readers in the region, we as authors have to cater to a wider audience, which is what Amazon offers.
An example would be if I wrote a dark romance featuring a female domme, what is the percentage of readers in Antigua, in the English-speaking Caribbean, who would be interested in this book, and how would I be able to let them know the book exists and get it to them easily? And after I’ve exhausted those readers, who else could I sell that book to if not a global market? This allows me to tap into America’s almost 350 million and the UK’s almost 70 million, not to mention Canada and Australia, and those are just countries where English is the main language.
Getting the Word Out
Yes, there is social media. Yes, there is tapping into your community. Yes, the internet has limitless amounts of ways for an author to get the word out that their book is available. But Amazon has one baked right in.
There have been times when I’ve published a book without telling anyone, and it has sold. It is in Amazon’s best interest to sell your book, especially right after launch. So, not only does it promote it as a new book, Amazon will feature your book in emails to customers. There are also their ads where an author can promote right on the site.
Readers are already on the site, looking for books and Amazon, (if the author does the necessary work on the back end) will put your book in front of them. For instance, on a book’s sales page, there are carousels of “books that readers also purchased” or “books readers have viewed”. For the first 30 days, Amazon, without your input, will get the word out that your new book is out.
The Cost of Producing a Book
Back in November 2007, Amazon came out with the Kindle, and although there have been ways to read books digitally, it was the one that had made it accessible to a wider group of readers. Not only does one not have to worry about the cost of shipping a physical book from overseas, one gets the book immediately. And for an indie writer, this drastically cuts down the cost of publishing a book.
Although Print-On-Demand, which allows for printing as little as one book, has been around since the 90s, it has been made popular and accessible within the last 20 years. Amazon is not the only one that does this, but it is the only one that can have your book available in its marketplace within 3 days of upload, sometimes as little as just hours.
Unfortunately, this is not the case for local printers who may require a minimum order quantity to make printing the book affordable for sale. So, to print locally, then distribute directly to a customer or to a bookstore increases the cost of the book. Then, to compare that price to an ebook, it is an easier choice to go through Amazon.
Ease of Purchase
I’ve been using Amazon since 2002, having purchased more than books. From CDs to phones to a sewing machine, it has my payment information and my mailing address. Making a purchase takes a couple of clicks and adjusting the information. It’s even easier for an ebook with 1-Click buying.
This global juggernaut is constantly finding ways to make it easy for customers to purchase from them.
Sure, I can sell direct and with Bookfunnel, it is easy to get an ebook onto a reader’s Kindle, but a reader would sooner come across your book, then look for it on Amazon and purchase it through that website. It’s what they know, it’s who they trust, and it is what they have been trained to do. And it is made easy when the Amazon link is one of the first links in Google search results.
At the end of the day, it’s a question of would an author be willing to do the work to encourage a reader to buy from them directly or are they more interested in selling their books overall?
This brings us to the alternatives to Amazon.
Selling Direct
This could be through one’s website or through second-party sites such as PayHip and Gumroad. The earnings for the latter may equate to Amazon, but the former would have the author earning more.
The work of promoting one’s work is the same both for selling direct and through Amazon. It’s for the author to show why it’s better to buy direct. As well as showing how to buy direct. As mentioned before, readers have been trained to buy from Amazon, so concerted effort has to be made to train them to buy direct.
Building Community
This could be through FaceBook Groups, maintaining an email list, and engaging through social media. This is making a reader invested in you as a writer and willing to support your creative expression.
These are your supporters and they will be willing to buy direct or go one step forward and support you through Patreon, Buy Me A Coffee or any other creative support sites.
This works hand in hand with selling direct and goes beyond simply writing a book or books. This is nurturing a community and it takes effort, so it’s not for the faint of heart.
In spite of these alternatives, one can not exempt Amazon completely. It’s the proverbial “leaving cash on the table”. It has been said that a substantial amount of books are sold through Amazon and this is speaking of traditionally published books. Add to that, Amazon’s subscription programme, Kindle Unlimited, which makes it easier for whale readers (a person who reads 3-7 books a week, every week) to take a chance on new-to-them authors. Yes, the earnings through KU may be low, but the long-term earnings through new readers make up for it.
This brings me to another alternative…
Using Amazon Like a Drug Dealer
In this case, one can have the first book in a series as a freebie or in Kindle Unlimited and have the rest only available through one’s store. Or one can have special prices or boxsets through one’s store. The first book will be a sample that is accessible, bringing readers into the author’s catalog of books, and, if done right, it can build trust, resulting in them being willing to buy books directly from the author.
Still, this brings me back to the question: is an author willing to do the work of building out all these systems, hiring people to implement these systems, or do they just want to write books?
For me, I’m the latter. I want to write books and get better as a writer. I’m okay with having people from the other side of the planet buying a book from a person on a dot of an island on the edge of the Atlantic. Do I agree with everything Amazon does? No, but I recognize that it is a necessary evil in my life as an indie author.
Congratulations making a sale in Japan.