The Direct-to-Consumer Tech Stack Every Author Needs

distribution & sales
Written By Julie Trelstad

If you're ready to sell books directly to your audience but overwhelmed by the logistics, this guide is for you. After a decade in direct-to-consumer publishing and testing dozens of platforms, I've identified the exact tools that make direct sales simple, profitable, and scalable.

Why Direct Sales Matter More Than Ever: The math is compelling. Selling through traditional channels means giving away 40-70% of your revenue to middlemen. Direct sales let you keep 70-95% while building relationships with your readers.

But the real advantage isn't just money—it's control. You decide your pricing, your bundles, your timing. You own the customer data. You're building an asset, not renting space in someone else's business.

Authors can make more money and keep in touch with buyers when they sell direct.

The Core Tech Stack That Makes It Work

Printing & Fulfillment: Choose Your Volume Strategy

Under 1,000 books/year: Use print-on-demand through IngramSpark, Lulu, or BookVault. They print and ship each order as it comes in. Yes, it costs $3-5 per book, but there's zero inventory risk.

Over 1,000 books/year: Switch to a digital printer who prints 6-month inventory runs and handles fulfillment. You'll cut your per-book cost significantly while they manage shipping. This is the sweet spot between POD pricing and full offset runs.

Storefront & The Tax Miracle: Fourthwall

This is the secret weapon. Fourthwall isn't just another e-commerce platform—it's built for creators. It handles payments, integrates with fulfillment, and here's the game-changer: it automatically calculates and remits sales tax across all jurisdictions. If you are only selling digital books, consider Gumroad and Lemon Squeezy.

This means you don’t have to incorporate or register with your state to collect sales tax. If you've never dealt with nexus laws and quarterly filings, trust me—this feature alone is worth its weight in gold.

Digital Delivery: BookFunnel

When someone buys your ebook or digital bundle, BookFunnel handles everything. No corrupted files, no "I can't open this on my Kindle" emails. Just smooth, professional delivery for $20/month.

Email Marketing: ANY PRovider

Your email list is your real business asset. Just make sure you own the names. Popular choices are Kit, Omnisend, and Mailerlite—just depending on how much commerce you do. The key to building an audience is staying in touch.

How the Pieces Connect

Here's where the magic happens. A reader discovers you on TikTok, clicks to your Fourthwall store, buys your book bundle. Fourthwall processes payment and handles taxes, triggers the fulfillment service to print and ship the physical book, while BookFunnel instantly delivers the ebook. And your email software automatically adds them to your welcome sequence.

You? You're writing your next book, not managing logistics.

Common Objections (And Why They're Wrong)

"But I need bookstore presence!"
Your readers aren't browsing bookstores hoping to find you. They already know you from your content. Send them where you make real money.

"This sounds complicated!"
Setting up this entire system takes a weekend. Running it takes maybe an hour a week. Compare that to traditional publishing timelines.

"What about returns and customer service?"
Fourthwall handles payment issues. BookFunnel has legendary customer support. Print-on-demand means no inventory to manage. The system handles the headaches.

Who This Works For

This stack is perfect if you:

  • Have any size audience (even just 100 true fans)

  • Want to keep most of your profits

  • Value your time over saving pennies

  • See books as part of a bigger business model

Skip this if you:

  • Dream of traditional bookstore placement

  • Aren't ready to think like a business owner

  • Want someone else to handle everything (get an agent)

I've watched billion-dollar companies built on direct-to-consumer models. They all understood one thing: the shortest path between creator and customer is a straight line.

Your books deserve the same approach. Your readers want to support you directly. This tech stack makes it possible without the traditional headaches. It gets even more powerful if you add other author’s books.

Stop giving away most of your profits for the privilege of complexity. Start keeping what you've earned.

Resources & Links

Core Platforms

Printing & Fulfillment

  • IngramSpark: ingramspark.com - Quality print-on-demand

  • Lulu: lulu.com - POD with direct fulfillment options

  • BookVault: bookvault.app - UK-based printing option

  • Print Bind Ship: Print Bind Ship - US based POD, Digital printer, and Fulfillment service

  • Digital Printers: Research local digital printers who offer inventory and fulfillment services (for 1,000+ books/year)

Marketing Tools

Additional Resources

Julie Trelstad

Julie, an author, publisher and book marketer is the founder and creative director of Julie Ink. 

https://paperbacksandpixels.com
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