Greetings from the Black Forest!

Today I want to talk about something hardly anyone talks about: what it means for an indie author when you buy her book directly from her.

There’s no big publisher behind my books. It’s just me. Me, all on my own. I write, edit, format, sort out the covers, upload the books to the shops and wrestle with the ten thousand other things that need doing. Indie authors are the jacks-of-all-trades of our own little businesses. And when you buy directly from us, you support us on several fronts at once. Let me tell you how.

But first, I want to say thank you. And let me be clear from the start: I don’t mind where you buy my books. Thank you, thank you, thank you for reading me and for being part of this journey. 💜

What happens when you buy my book on Amazon?

Buying on Amazon is super convenient (I buy loads of things there too). But for each ebook, the author gets at most 70% of the price before VAT, minus a fee for delivering the file, and in some cases only 35%. Amazon explains it in the KDP royalty terms.

And that’s just the money side. The real difference between buying on Amazon and buying directly from me is something else: when you buy from Amazon or another big shop, I don’t know who you are. I don’t know your name and I can’t thank you. All I get is numbers in a spreadsheet.

What happens when you buy it from me?

My shop runs on Payhip. Payhip keeps 5%, and the payment provider (card or PayPal) charges its usual fee, like any online shop (Payhip pricing). Everything else comes to me.

An example: El Jardín Humano costs €2.99 everywhere. If you buy it on Amazon, I get about €1.90; if you buy it from me, about €2.40. Doesn’t sound like much, but it’s 25% more, and for an indie author that’s the difference between one coffee a month and one a week. ☕

And then there’s the rest: the money arrives straight away, not two months later. But above all, as I was saying, I know who bought the book, because I have your email address. So I can write to say thank you and, if you like, let you know when the next book comes out. And if one day you’ve had enough of me, you unsubscribe and that’s that.

And if anything goes wrong with your purchase, you write to me and we sort it out, no middlemen.

Why does this matter now more than ever?

We’re living in the age of artificial intelligence: anyone can create a book with one click these days, and Amazon is full of them. I’m convinced the future lies elsewhere: in connection. A closer relationship between authors and readers. That’s what I want with you.

And I’m not the only one who thinks so. Joanna Penn, an independent author and one of the best-known voices in the industry, says plenty of readers buy directly from authors’ shops on purpose, to support the people who make the books. Selling direct, she keeps 80 to 90%, even after fees (The Creative Penn, 2021).

And it’s growing: according to a Written Word Media survey that Joanna quotes, 30% of authors already sell direct and another 30% plan to start this year (The Creative Penn, 2026).

In another article, Joanna says authors should tell readers why buying direct helps, because many would happily do it if they knew (The Creative Penn, 2023). So that’s exactly what I’m doing. 😅

Do you pay more to buy directly from me? Of course NOT.

You pay the same. In Spain and Germany, the law says the publisher sets the book’s price (in this case, the indie author: we’re like little publishers) and that it has to be the same everywhere, ebooks included (Spanish law, German law). The difference is where the money goes.

And there’s more: you read it first, with gifts

Many indie authors release their books in their own shop first, before anywhere else. That’s what I’m doing right now with Silvana: from 20 to 31 October, the only place you can read it is my shop. Eleven days before Amazon, Apple Books, Kobo and the rest. And at the same price.

And here’s another difference: the gifts I can give you for buying the book in my shop. For Silvana, right now: printable bookmarks, exclusive Rondel phone wallpapers (the laboratory, Rötlich the robin, the vial and the Wild Hunt) and maybe a few other bits. Here it is: Silvana in Spanish · Silvana in German.

By law I can’t give you a discount, but nobody can stop me giving you little gifts in my own shop. So, since this I can do, I do it. And I can only offer it in my shop: not on Amazon, not anywhere else. It’s one of my ways of thanking you for buying directly from me: you get it all first.

How do you buy from my shop? It’s easy

1. Go to my Payhip shop.

2. Choose the book and pay by card or PayPal.

3. The ebook arrives by email through BookFunnel, which walks you through getting it onto your Kindle, Kobo or phone. Your gifts are in the Payhip download.

Oh, and by the way, although it’s a bit embarrassing to admit, I have to tell you: the first time I saw a direct sale in my Payhip shop, I loved it. I thought: “Wow, this actually works.” It was the first time I felt this could really work out, and that I was a “proper grown-up author”.

And if you prefer Amazon or another big shop, that’s fine too 😊 Forever grateful.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for reading my books, wherever they come from. But if you don’t mind where, you know where you’ll make me happiest.

Other shops: El Jardín Humano · Der Menschengarten

A big hug,

Angela