Glossary
Wide
Also called going wide, wide distribution
Going wide means selling your ebooks through many stores, such as Apple, Kobo, Google Play, libraries and your own store, instead of keeping them exclusive to Amazon.
What it means
An author is “wide” when their ebooks are not in KDP Select, so they can sell them anywhere. They publish to Amazon, and also to Apple Books, Kobo, Google Play, Barnes & Noble, library services, and their own store. Some upload to each store; others use a distributor to reach the smaller ones.
A mystery author might go wide to reach readers in Canada and Australia through Kobo and Apple. A nonfiction author might go wide because libraries and schools buy their books. A romance author might keep the first series in Kindle Unlimited and take a newer series wide.
The trade-off is income from page reads. Wide authors give up Kindle Unlimited income for those ebooks and build sales across many stores, which usually takes time.
Why it matters when you sell direct
Your own store is part of going wide. KDP Select terms say an enrolled ebook cannot be sold on your own website, so selling ebooks direct means the ebook is wide.
Wide authors often find their own store does well for bundles, box sets and audiobooks, because they can price them freely and keep the reader’s email.
How Lanternbee handles it
Lanternbee is your own store, next to the retailers. It does not send your books to Apple, Kobo or other stores. Readers who buy from you can send ebooks to their Kindle or open them on Kobo, so they can read on the device they already own.