Waterstones do not offer a self-publishing platform for eBook authors and only accept ePUB submissions from publishers and aggregators who are VAT registered and have a number of titles.
We act as an aggregator for Waterstones (and other retailers) and can publish your eBook to waterstones.com. To distribute your eBook to Waterstones you will need a valid ePUB version of your eBook, and an ISBN registered with the UK ISBN agency Neilsen’s PubWeb system. (If you do not have either of these, we can help – please complete our Request a Quote form and we will get back to you with a cost and timescale.)
Our Waterstones eBook Distribution Service
Pricing, Royalties and Payment
- The recommended selling price of your eBook will be determined by the details of your Neilsen PubWeb ISBN listing.
- Waterstones pay royalties of 60% after VAT.
- We will pay your royalties on a monthly basis.
- We do not charge commission – you will receive 100% of the royalties earned.
- You will be given access to our online sales reporting system, which gives weekly updates of sales through Waterstones.
ISBN Guidelines
- Your eBook must have a unique ISBN (separate to the print version)
- The ISBN must be registered via Neilsen’s PubWeb system. View details (PDF) on how to register your ISBN with PubWeb.
- ISBN numbers that list Smashwords or Lulu as the publisher cannot be used.
- Waterstones will only display a synopsis for your book if it has an enhanced listing on PubWeb. See Neilsen for more details
View full details of our eBook Distribution Service »
