【Geek-free】Decentralized Publishing: How to Distribute and Profit 

Over the past two years, I’ve often discussed decentralized publishing. This time, I'm continuing the conversation, but steering clear of the technical aspects and content preservation. Instead, I’m focusing on the most practical commercial issue: how to sell books and make money.

In traditional publishing, bookstores typically purchase books at a 30% discount off the retail price. For example, if a book is priced at $100, the bookstore buys it for $70, leaving a gross margin of 30%. From another perspective, if you’re a publisher — or like me, an independent author — you need to reserve 30% of the book's price for distribution channels.

When it comes to traditional e-books (doesn't that term feel a bit odd?), the market for Traditional Chinese books is dominated by platforms like Readmoo and Kobo, with smaller players like Google Play Books, Apple Books and Kindle also in the mix. These platforms, analogous to traditional bookstores, take a cut of the sales — typically 30%, as seen with Readmoo and Kobo.

While e-books excel in portability and low distribution costs, their business model hasn’t evolved much. In contrast to traditional bookstores, where even in markets dominated by chains like Eslite in Taiwan or Joint Publishing in Hong Kong, there’s still some room for independent bookstores, the e-book market has regressed into an oligopoly. Traditional bookstores don’t even have a foot in the door when it comes to e-books.

That said, it’s not entirely bleak. Every e-book platform offers affiliate programs. For example, Kobo gives 5% of the sale to affiliates who bring in customers, while Readmoo offers 3%. However, because the commissions are so low, bookstores naturally prefer to promote physical books, which offer six to ten times the profit margin, rather than "cutting off their own supply" by pushing e-books.

The "decentralized" aspect of decentralized publishing isn't just about spreading content across multiple storage points for perpetual preservation. It also involves creating a distribution model where profits are more equitably shared, fostering a thriving publishing industry. With this in mind, Liker Land, an e-book platform, offers a promotion scheme that mirrors physical books: 30% of the book price goes directly to the promoter, with only 5% retained to cover platform costs.

This model benefits the publishing industry as a whole and is especially crucial for independent authors. Imagine you're an indie author who publishes on Kindle. Unless your book makes it to the top charts, every sale you make is either through your own hard work or by cashing in favors from friends to help promote it. Meanwhile, Amazon takes a 30% cut of every sale without lifting a finger to help you. In contrast, with decentralized publishing, once an author registers as a promoter, they can earn 95% of the book’s price (after deducting credit card fees) by selling their own work — a true win-win.

Let’s take a closer look at the numbers using two recent books available on Liker Land as examples.

Two weeks ago, I posted the foreword for Corrupt the Youth's new book, The Philosophy of Future, along with a purchase link. In this case, I played the role of an affiliate partner, earning 30% of the book’s sale price of USD 17.93 — equivalent to USD 5.38 per book (Liker Land’s calculation is surprisingly generous, not even deducting credit card fees. They simply multiply the sale price by 0.3 to calculate my commission. Quietly now, or they might fix this — I suspect it’s a bug).

Within two days of the post, I sold 16 copies of The Philosophy of Future, earning USD 86.08 in commissions (USD 5.38 x 16). Let me emphasize, though, that the article was written sincerely — no sponsored content here.

I'm just a small fry. The real traffic comes from the author themselves, and through social media, Corrupt the Youth’s sales far exceeded my 16 copies. This is where decentralized publishing shines — ensuring fair distribution. Hence, for every book sold, the author earns the full amount after deducting credit card fees (USD 0.3 + 4.4%) and Liker Land’s 5% platform fee.

As for last week’s official release of the 2024 edition of The Sociology of Blockchain: Reimagining Money, Media, and Democracy, I’m both the author and an affiliate. Take the “Paperback + eBook Bundle” priced at USD 19.99, for example. For each sale, I receive dual commissions — USD 6 as the affiliate:

And USD 11.81 as the author:

The remaining USD 2.18 covers USD 1.18 in credit card fees, and Liker Land takes only USD 1 for technical support. I have to say, their generosity almost makes me feel guilty.

One more thing ——  

Selling books through Liker Land not only provides real-time sales updates but also clearly lists every income detail. Payments are automatically transferred to my bank account via Stripe, or even sent directly to my wallet in USDC. Payment intervals can be set to monthly, weekly, or even daily—perfect for someone like me who’s reluctant to invoice and absolutely dreads chasing payments. It’s a godsend.

Support the Publishing Industry  

When you purchase The Philosophy of Future, The Sociology of Blockchain: Reimagining Money, Media, and Democracy bundle, or Dung Kai Cheung’s new book Bodhisattva 18 Collector’s Edition through the following links, each sale generates USD 5.38, 6, or 9 for the corresponding bookstore:

- Nowhere Bookstore: Philosophy, Sociology, Bodhisattva

- Have a Nice Stay Bookstore: Philosophy, Sociology, Bodhisattva

- Samkeei Bookstore: Philosophy, Sociology, Bodhisattva

- Hunter Bookstore: Philosophy, Sociology, Bodhisattva

- Hong Kong Reader Bookstore: Philosophy, Sociology, Bodhisattva

- Breakthrough Publishing: Philosophy, Sociology, Bodhisattva

- One Punch Bookstore: Philosophy, Sociology, Bodhisattva

- Boundary Bookstore: Philosophy, Sociology, Bodhisattva

- Hong Kong House of Literature: Philosophy, Sociology, Bodhisattva

If you’re interested in becoming a Liker Land affiliate and contributing to the prosperity of the publishing industry, feel free to skip me and contact the team directly.

p.s. To my knowledge, the first edition of The Sociology of Blockchain had three typos. With the opportunity to reissue the book, I not only updated the content but also seized the chance to correct those errors, aiming for a flawless new edition. But despite two editors and myself reading it over countless times, a mistake still slipped through in plain sight. I’m baffled but resigned to leaving a touch of imperfection, hoping for another reprint to make the corrections.