February is Library Lovers Month, and in case you weren’t aware, we absolutely love libraries. Not only for borrowing the books on our never-ending TBR lists, but also as an opportunity for our authors to get their books into the hands of more readers! By taking advantage of our partnership with OverDrive, authors can easily make their eBooks available for libraries worldwide.
What is OverDrive?
OverDrive is a digital book distributor that provides download fulfillment for libraries. Or, in less technical terms, they host a huge catalogue of digital books that libraries can add to their catalogue to be lent out to readers.
How do I opt in my titles?
Opting your books into OverDrive is really easy! Go to your eBook library on your KWL dashboard, and select the book you want to opt into OverDrive. Navigate to the “Rights and Distribution” tab and scroll down to where it says “Available for Libraries in OverDrive.”
Once you select the toggle, the USD library price field will open up.
Set the library price for your book, keeping in mind that they will not accept a price lower than $0.99, and that it’s recommended you set your library price a few dollars higher than your usual eBook price.
Click “Save and Continue” and you’re all set!
How Does OverDrive Work?
There are two different distribution models available for libraries when purchasing an eBook for their catalogue: One Copy/One User (OCOU) and Cost Per Circulation (CPC).
OCOU works like a print copy would in a library. The library purchases a digital copy of your eBook at your library price, and they can then lend it out to one user at a time.
CPC allows libraries to purchase your eBook with the purpose of lending it out once — they pay each time they lend it out (cost-per-circulation). The CPC price is 10 percent of the OCOU eBook price, with a minimum price of $0.99 USD. If you want to learn more about CPC, you can read the press release here.
What will my OverDrive Earnings be?
Thanks to our close partnership with OverDrive, our authors get paid as though they are working directly with OverDrive rather than through a third party or aggregator. This means you will earn 50% of your library price, and you don’t have to pay an aggregator fee.
You’ll be able to see your OverDrive sales in your monthly sales report –– just expand the “Title” cell to see them.
Opting your eBooks into OverDrive is a great way to reach new readers, and with multiple ways for librarians to add your books to their catalogue, it’s easier for them to take a chance on a new author. And keep in mind: a quarter of all OverDrive sales are driven by reader requests, so be sure to let your readers know your books are available on OverDrive so they can request them from their local libraries!
Happy writing!
