Book distribution for self-published authors
Book distribution explained: distributors, wholesalers and aggregators, the discount chain, print on demand and KDP Expanded Distribution.
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Print on demand explained
Print on demand vs. a publisher: what is the difference?
Print on demand describes how a book is printed: one copy at a time, when someone orders it. A publisher is who stands behind the book: the ISBN, the imprint, the listing in the trade. The two do not exclude each other.
In one sentence: A print-on-demand service prints and lists your book while you stay the self-publisher; a publisher publishes it under its own name and ISBN. ShelfPublisher combines both: Orbita Media GmbH publishes your paperback, and every copy is printed on demand, with no print run, no stock and no printing costs for you.
Invitation only · Our publishing team reviews every request personally
What is print on demand?
Print on demand (POD) is a way of printing books: the printer produces a copy only after a reader, a bookstore or an online store has ordered it. There is no print run to pay for in advance, no warehouse and no unsold stock. Digital printing makes a single paperback affordable, and the book can stay available for years without anyone keeping copies.
Print on demand says nothing about who publishes the book. The same printing method is used by self-publishing platforms, by small presses and by large publishing houses for their backlist.
Three ways to publish a printed book
Print-on-demand service, traditional publisher, ShelfPublisher
| Print-on-demand service | Traditional publisher | ShelfPublisher | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Publisher of the book | You, as a self-publisher, or the platform's imprint | The publishing house | Orbita Media GmbH, an international publishing house |
| Who decides whether it appears | You | The publisher selects; most manuscripts are declined | You, after our check of the files against the terms |
| What you pay | Usually nothing up front; printing comes out of each sale | Nothing; the publisher carries the costs | €20 to €35 per book, no printing costs |
| What you earn | Your share of each sale after the retailer and printing | Typically 5% to 7% of the cover price for a paperback | 30% of the net revenue per copy |
| ISBN and metadata | Yours to buy or the platform's free ISBN; you enter the metadata | From the publisher | From the publisher's own block, reported by us |
| Bookstores | Usually listed as a self-published title | Ordered from the publisher and the wholesaler | Listed in the wholesale catalogs that more than 50,000 bookstores in 18 countries order from |
| Printing | On demand | Print run, often with stock and returns | On demand, no print run, no stock |
| Rights | Stay with you | Licensed to the publisher, often for the full term of copyright | Stay with you; the licence ends with the contract |
General comparison as of November 2026; individual services and contracts differ. Typical paperback royalty of traditional publishers: 5% to 7% of the cover price. ShelfPublisher prices include VAT, see pricing.
Why the publisher matters
Why bookstores care who the publisher is
Bookstores order from wholesalers and from publishers they know, through the catalogs of the trade. A self-published print-on-demand title can be listed there too, but it reaches the bookseller with the imprint of a platform or of the author, and booksellers rarely order it.
A publisher's title arrives with the publisher's ISBN, complete metadata and a name the trade recognises. With ShelfPublisher, your paperback is published by Orbita Media, a publishing house with more than 1,000 titles and 2 million books sold, and printed on demand whenever a store orders it.
- How the ordering works: Get your book into bookstores
- Platforms side by side: Self-publishing platforms compared
- Every term explained: Publishing glossary
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A publisher, printed on demand, in four steps
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Published with an ISBN
Orbita Media publishes the paperback and lists it in the wholesale catalogs; every copy is printed on demand.
Questions
Print on demand and publishers
Is a publisher the same as a distributor?
No. The publisher decides to publish the book, gives it its ISBN and imprint, pays for production and carries the risk. A distributor or wholesaler makes the finished book available to retailers and libraries and ships it when they order. At ShelfPublisher, Orbita Media is the publisher; the distribution runs through the wholesale channels. More in Amazon KDP vs a traditional publisher.
How is this different from self-publishing on Amazon KDP or another self-publishing platform?
On KDP or a comparable self-publishing platform you are the publisher of record and you run the account, the metadata and the distribution settings yourself. With ShelfPublisher a real publishing house is the publisher of record: we issue the ISBN, file the metadata and set the title up with the wholesale channels, and your book is not tied to a retail account of yours.
On a platform, your book is a self-published title that depends on one account, and on Amazon, sales and ratings decide how far it gets. With us it is a publisher's title in the catalogs that more than 50,000 bookstores in 18 countries order from, and no star rating decides whether a store can order it. The page KDP alternative puts both side by side.
Who is the publisher of my book?
The publisher is Orbita Media GmbH, Ericusspitze 4, 20457 Hamburg, Germany. That is the name that appears as publisher in the book's bibliographic record and in the catalogs booksellers search, and the ISBN comes from Orbita's publisher prefixes (978-3-69104 and 978-3-69296).
You remain the author, and the copyright stays with you. More about the company on the page About the publisher.
Who owns the ISBN?
The ISBN comes from the block registered to Orbita Media as publisher, and it stays with Orbita Media. Under the ISBN standard an ISBN identifies the publisher of an edition, so it cannot move with the book.
It costs you nothing. If you publish the book elsewhere after the contract ends, the new edition needs a new ISBN. The article ISBN for self-published books explains why.
Where can my book be ordered?
The book is listed in the wholesale catalogs that more than 50,000 bookstores order from: about 27,000 in the United States, 9,500 in the United Kingdom, 6,800 in Germany, 4,200 in France, 3,100 in Spain and 1,400 in Canada, plus 12 more countries through print on demand: 18 countries in all. In Italy, bookstores such as laFeltrinelli and IBS.it can order it through our global wholesale distribution. Online stores that order from the same catalogs list it too, Amazon included.
Listed everywhere, orderable everywhere. Every bookstore and online shop that uses these catalogs can order your book the moment a reader asks for it, printed on demand. Whether a store also keeps a copy on its own shelf is up to the store.
Read on
Guides on distribution
How to get your book into bookstores
How to get your book into bookstores: how stores order through wholesalers, what booksellers need, why POD books rarely sit on shelves, and Barnes & Noble.
Read the articleHow to sell your book in Italy: Italian bookstores, distribution and the law
How Italian bookstores order books: distributors, wholesalers, the 5% discount cap, consignment and returns, and how a self-published book gets orderable.
Read the articleGet a publisher without a print run.
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