IngramSpark or BooksOasis for Print and Ebooks

Bottom Line

IngramSpark is the strongest route into physical bookstores and libraries, because it lists your print book in a wholesale catalog that tens of thousands of retailers order from. BooksOasis is a single online bookstore where you sell directly, pay a flat plan and earn more per copy. If shelf space and library orders matter to you, use IngramSpark. If you want a direct storefront with a simple, predictable print payout and full-price ebook sales, add BooksOasis. Many authors use both.

What Each Platform Does

IngramSpark is the self-publishing arm of Ingram, one of the largest book wholesalers. When you publish through it, your book becomes available to more than 45,000 retailers, libraries and schools, which order copies that are printed on demand. Since February 2026, setting up and revising titles is free, and a 1.875% market access fee applies to sales. You choose the wholesale discount retailers receive and whether they can return unsold copies.

BooksOasis is a bookstore for independent authors and small presses. Readers shop it directly, buy ebooks, paperbacks and hardcovers, and read ebooks in its app. Authors list books under a flat monthly or yearly plan, with no commission. Ebooks pay the whole price; print pays the price minus the printing cost and a fee of 30% of that printing cost, while readers pay shipping.

Comparison Grid

How Wholesale Pricing Shapes Your Earnings

Bookstores buy books at a discount from the list price and keep the difference as their margin. On IngramSpark, you choose that discount. A lower discount leaves more for you, but stores are far less likely to stock the book. Discounts of around 53 to 55%, combined with allowing returns, are what most bookstores expect before they will consider shelving an independent title.

Here is how that plays out on a 300-page paperback with a $16.99 list price and a printing cost of about $5:

The printing cost here is an illustration; IngramSpark's calculator gives the exact figure for your specifications. The pattern is what matters. Bookstore-friendly terms cut your earnings per copy sharply, which is the price of shelf access.

How Direct Selling Changes the Math

When a reader buys a print book on BooksOasis, there is no wholesale discount, because there is no middleman retailer. You set the price, the printing cost and a handling fee of 30% of that printing cost are deducted, and the rest is yours. The reader pays shipping separately.

Using the same $16.99 paperback with a $5 printing cost, the handling fee would be $1.50, leaving you about $10.49 per copy. Because the fee is tied to printing rather than price, each extra dollar you charge goes to you.

Before you set a price, you can size your cover with the BooksOasis cover calculator, which works out the full cover dimensions and spine width for your trim and page count.

Bookstores and Libraries

This is IngramSpark's defining advantage. Its catalog is what independent bookstores, chains and libraries use to order books. A bookstore cannot easily stock a title that is not in a wholesale catalog, and libraries usually order through the same channels. If you plan local signings, school visits or library outreach, IngramSpark is close to essential.

Being listed does not guarantee stocking. Stores still decide what to order, usually based on local interest, reviews and the author's own efforts. But without wholesale availability, the door stays closed.

BooksOasis does not supply other retailers. Its value is the store itself: a place where readers browse independent books by genre and series, and where you keep far more of each sale. Think of it as your own bookshop rather than a route into other people's.

Formats, Trims and Files

IngramSpark offers a wide range of trim sizes, paper types, color options and bindings, including hardcovers with dust jackets and case laminate covers. If your book needs an unusual size, premium color or a specific hardcover style, it gives you more choice.

BooksOasis offers ebook, paperback and hardcover editions on a single book page, in five popular trims: 5 x 8, 5.5 x 8.5, 6 x 9, 7 x 10 and 8.5 x 11 inches. Paperbacks run from 32 to 800 pages. Its dashboard checks print files automatically and shows the exact cover size and spine width once your interior is uploaded. An ISBN is optional.

Each platform has its own margin and cover template rules, so build each cover from that platform's template even when the trim size is the same.

Ebooks

IngramSpark can also distribute ebooks to major retailers, though many authors find other distributors or direct accounts more convenient for ebooks and use IngramSpark mainly for print.

On BooksOasis, ebooks are the default format on most book pages, and each sale pays you 100% of the price. Readers download them to the store's reading app, which works offline and syncs their place, highlights and notes across devices.

What It Costs to Get Started

With setup now free, IngramSpark's main upfront cost for US authors is usually the ISBN. IngramSpark needs one for each print format, and Bowker sells them at $125 for one or $295 for ten, so authors with a paperback and a hardcover usually buy the ten-pack. You will also want a printed proof copy before you approve the book, which you pay for at cost plus shipping.

BooksOasis asks for a plan instead: $29.99 a year or $9.99 a month for up to 10 books on Starter, $179 a year for 100 and $599 a year for 500, or a pay-as-you-go top-up for a single title. No ISBN is required, so a first-time author can list ebook and print editions without buying identifiers. The plan keeps working for every book you add up to its limit, which spreads the cost across your catalog.

If you plan to use both, buy your own ISBNs. The same identifier can then be used for an edition wherever it is sold, which keeps your listings and records consistent.

A Combined Setup

1. Publish print on IngramSpark if you want bookstore and library availability, choosing your discount and returns policy deliberately.
2. List the same book on BooksOasis with ebook, paperback and hardcover editions for direct sales.
3. Send your own readers to the direct store, where each copy earns several times more than a wholesale sale.
4. Use IngramSpark for events and outreach, so bookstores and libraries can order copies easily.
5. Keep list prices aligned across channels to avoid confusing readers.

Most authors also publish on Amazon. Our guide to KDP and IngramSpark explains how to run both without ISBN or distribution clashes.

Which Fits You

Frequently Asked Questions