Salt
Road:
Road:
Salt Road: Chapter One
Free · EPUB and PDF to your inbox
Sell your writing from the link in your bio
Readers who follow a writer online already like how you think. Give them somewhere to read more: a novel in EPUB, a collection of short stories, a workbook on the craft you post about. A stall.bio store sells your writing directly from your bio, so a reader who finishes your thread or your video can be reading chapter one a minute later, and you keep the sale.
Updated
What can writers sell directly to readers?
Ebooks of your novels and novellas, short story collections, poetry chapbooks, serialised chapters, and practical guides for other writers such as plotting workbooks, query letter templates and editing checklists. Selling direct suits writers with an engaged audience: you set the price, readers get the file at once, and you learn who your readers are through the email addresses they give.
Typical prices for writers selling to their own readers:
- First chapter or a short story: free, as a lead magnet
- Short story or novelette: £1.99 to £3.99
- Full-length novel ebook: £3.99 to £8.99
- Poetry chapbook: £3 to £7
- Novel planning or plotting workbook: £7 to £15
- Signed-edition bonus pack (author's notes, deleted scenes): £3 to £6
Ebook prices sold direct often sit a little below the big stores, since you are not paying a retailer's share, and readers like supporting the author directly.
An example store: Hannah Brook
Hannah is a fictional author of folk-horror novellas who writes about the craft for 12,000 followers on Instagram and Threads. Half of them read her fiction; the other half are writing their own books.
- The first chapter of Salt Road, her newest novella, is free in exchange for an email address. Readers who finish it are the warmest buyers she will ever have.
- Salt Road at £4.99 is the main product, in EPUB and PDF in one ZIP, with a "was" price of £6.99 in launch week.
- Lantern Hours, a collection of nine short stories at £3.99, is offered as an add-on at checkout for anyone buying the novella.
- The Novel Planning Workbook at £9 sits under a "For writers" heading, with prompts from her own drafting process.
- A link to the paperback on a print-on-demand shop closes the page for readers who want it on a shelf.
With the add-on, a reader pays £8.98 and Hannah keeps £8.65 after Stripe's UK card fee.
H
Hannah Brook
Folk-horror novellas and notes on writing them
Books
Salt
Road
Road
Salt Road
A folk-horror novella · EPUB + PDF
£4.99was £6.994.7 out of 5 from 19 reviewsNew release
Lantern
Hours
Hours
Lantern Hours
9 short stories · EPUB + PDF
£3.99
For writers
Order the paperbackAn example store. Hannah Brook and these products are made up.
What to put in your bio as a writer
Writers often fill the bio with credits. Readers decide faster on genre and a hook.
- Name your genre plainly: "Folk-horror novellas" or "Cosy fantasy, coming soon".
- Add one hook line about your newest book, not your whole backlist.
- Make your stall.bio address the link, with the free first chapter at the top.
- Mention awards or publications only if they would mean something to a reader.
- Pin a post that reads like your book: an excerpt, a mood board or the opening line.
- Keep your author name the same on your store, your handle and your book covers.
Preparing an ebook file readers can open
EPUB is the format most e-readers and reading apps open, including Kindle apps through Amazon's Send to Kindle, Apple Books and Kobo. Export an EPUB from your writing tool, then open it on a phone and an e-reader before you sell it, checking chapter breaks, italics and the table of contents.
Add a PDF too for readers who prefer reading on a laptop or printing pages. Put both in one ZIP with a short "How to read this book" note explaining how to add the EPUB to each type of reader.
Give the file your book's title, not "final-v7", since the name shows in buyers' downloads. Each stall.bio product holds one file up to 500 MB, so a novel with a cover and a few illustrations fits with plenty of room. Buyers download it straight after paying and can come back to their access page for it later.
Questions, answered
Can I sell an ebook here and on the big ebook stores?
Usually, unless you have enrolled the book in a programme that requires exclusivity, which some ebook subscription services do. Check the terms for each book. Selling direct alongside the big stores is common: your followers buy from you, and strangers find you through store search.
Do I need an ISBN to sell an ebook myself?
No. An ISBN is needed for some retailers and libraries, but not for selling an ebook file directly to your readers. If you later publish the same book through retailers, they will tell you whether they need one, and some provide a free identifier for their own store.
How do I stop people pirating my ebook?
You cannot stop every copy, and strict copy protection annoys honest readers. stall.bio keeps your file in private storage with download links that expire after 10 minutes. A friendly note on the copyright page asking readers to recommend rather than share does more than most technical locks.
Can I sell chapters one at a time as I write them?
Yes. Publish each chapter or part as its own low-priced download, or collect several parts into one product and replace the file as new chapters are ready. Buyers can download the latest version from their access page, so early readers receive new parts as you add them.
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