Distributing Children's eBook and AudioBooks

Reading apps rule!

Children’s book authors concentrate on print books for good reasons. For most people, 80-90% of sales for children’s books are paperback, with a few hardcovers and a few ebooks or audiobooks thrown in.

So, what do we do with those digital files, ebooks and audiobooks?

I’ve had success in going to reading apps for kids. In this post, I’ll explain where and how you can distribute your eBooks and audiobooks.

UPDATE: In April, 2024, the landscape has changed again! I no longer recommend these apps because of their financial problems.

Why Reading Apps?

First, let’s talk about why reading apps are so important: customer behavior. Everyone who reads ebooks or listens to audiobooks has their favorite apps. Because the files are digital, readers/listeners need a place to store the files that also gives them handy access. For children’s books, this is especially important because kids need a simple interface. Yes, they are GenAlpha and are third-generation digital natives; but they are young and still need a relatively simple interface to consistently access their data.

There’s also the cost. Would you rather buy a kid one ebook at $5.99, or purchase a subscription for $9.99 that allows them access to unlimited reading of over 40,000 books. It’s a no-brainer.

When people say that kids don’t read ebooks, I laugh. In 2020, Forbes magazine reported that the EPIC! reading app had a billion reads! That is over one BILLION reads. Kids read ebooks; they just do it on apps. It’s easy, cost-effective, and gives kids a huge selection of books. It’s a digital library in a single app! When apps gamify the experience with badges, avatars, and interactive reading comprehension questions (Reading Dares), it’s even more likely that kids will spend time on the app.

One advantage of a reading app is the variety and range of choices. Kids are usually self-selecting books to read. I’d love to see studies that look at this – but most of the research on ebooks is focused on whether kids should read digitally. That ship has sailed. A billion reads.

As independent publishers, then, how can we reach this vast audience? Here’s one distributor and two apps that can help boost your sales.