Barnes & Noble Press: How to Publish Print and Ebooks on B&N

A complete guide to Barnes & Noble Press for indie authors: how to publish ebooks and print books on B&N, royalty rates, Nook features, differences from Amazon KDP, and how B&N fits into a wide distribution strategy.

Barnes & Noble Press is B&N's self-publishing platform, offering ebook distribution to the Nook platform and print-on-demand books available through BN.com and in B&N physical stores. For indie authors going wide, B&N is one of the major US-market platforms alongside Kobo and Apple Books.

B&N's importance to indie authors has shifted over the years. At its peak, Nook was a significant competitor to Amazon Kindle; market share has contracted since then, but B&N remains a meaningful ebook retail channel in the US market, and its print distribution to B&N physical stores is a distinctive feature.

This guide covers how B&N Press works for both ebooks and print, royalty rates, and how B&N fits into a wide publishing strategy.

B&N Press: ebooks and print

Barnes & Noble Press operates at barnesandnoblepress.com and handles two distinct products:

Nook ebooks: digital books sold through the Nook platform on BN.com and through the Nook app (available on iOS and Android). Nook readers tend to be US-based and often prefer B&N for brand loyalty reasons (B&N's loyalty program, shopping at B&N stores, existing Nook accounts).

Print books (B&N Print): print-on-demand paperbacks and hardcovers. Books published through B&N Print are listed on BN.com. The distinctive feature: eligible B&N Print titles can be ordered by B&N physical stores and made available for in-store purchase, which is not a feature available through KDP Print.

Setting up a B&N Press account

Creating a B&N Press account is free at barnesandnoblepress.com. You'll need:

A Barnes & Noble account (create one free if you don't have one)
Payment setup (checking account for ACH payments)
Tax information (W-9 or equivalent)

The account setup is straightforward. Once your account is active, you can add ebook or print titles from the dashboard.

Publishing an ebook on B&N Press

Book details: title, author name, description, and BISAC categories (up to two). B&N's description field is relatively plain; well-formatted text matters, but HTML formatting options are more limited than Amazon's.

File upload: B&N Press accepts EPUB and DOCX. EPUB is the recommended format for the best result across Nook device types. Your EPUB from LiberScript or other formatting tools is appropriate to upload directly.

Cover: JPEG or PNG cover image. The standard 2,560 × 1,600 pixel specification (same as Kindle and Kobo) works fine.

Pricing: set your price. B&N's pricing flexibility is similar to Kobo; there's no minimum price floor equivalent to Amazon's to hit the 70% royalty rate. See the royalty section below.

Territories: B&N distributes to US readers primarily. Their international presence is much smaller than Amazon or Kobo; most non-US ebook sales for wide authors come from Kobo and Apple Books rather than B&N.

B&N Press ebook royalty rates

Price range	Royalty
$0.99 to $2.98	40%
$2.99 to $9.99	65%
$10.00 and above	40%

Compared to Amazon and Kobo, B&N's 65% in the middle tier is slightly lower than the 70% offered by both competitors. On a $4.99 book:

B&N royalty: $4.99 × 65% = $3.24 (vs $3.49 on Kobo or Amazon at 70%)

If you're distributing through Draft2Digital to reach B&N, D2D takes 10% of B&N's royalty, leaving you approximately $2.92.

Direct B&N Press publishing is more profitable per copy on B&N's platform than D2D distribution. Whether the incremental royalty difference justifies the additional account management depends on your B&N sales volume.

Publishing a print book on B&N Press

B&N Press offers print-on-demand through their print service. The technical requirements are similar to KDP Print: a print-ready interior PDF and a full-wrap cover PDF at 300 DPI minimum.

The distinctive B&N Print advantage: books published through B&N Print that meet B&N's quality standards can be submitted for in-store availability consideration at B&N physical stores. This is handled through B&N's Title Discovery program, which evaluates print titles for potential in-store stocking based on quality, subject matter, and local market fit.

Getting actually stocked in a B&N physical store as an indie author is competitive; most indie authors who publish through B&N Print are available for in-store ordering rather than shelf stocking. But the pathway exists, which it doesn't through KDP Print.

B&N Print royalty: similar structure to KDP Print: list price minus printing cost, with B&N taking a retail percentage. Exact royalty percentages are available in your B&N Press account; the structure is comparable to other POD services.

B&N's Nook Press promotions

B&N occasionally runs promotional programs for B&N Press authors, though the program has been less structured than Kobo's promotional system. Promotions and featured deals for indie authors at B&N have included:

Price promotion visibility in specific genre categories
Homepage feature placement opportunities
B&N community reads program (for books selected by B&N's editorial team)

For most indie authors, B&N doesn't offer the same promotional infrastructure as Amazon (KDP Select deals, Amazon Ads) or Kobo (their promotions portal). B&N is typically included in a wide strategy for its reader base rather than for promotional opportunities.

The B&N physical store opportunity

For authors who want to pursue in-store placement at B&N locations, the path through B&N Press is:

Publish your print book through B&N Press and ensure it meets their quality guidelines
Request consideration for local store placement through B&N's Title Discovery program
If appropriate, approach local B&N stores directly as an author (many B&N stores are interested in local author events)

B&N stores have author event programs; inquiring directly with the store manager about hosting a reading or signing is a separate process from your distribution setup. In-person author events at B&N can generate both immediate sales and awareness with readers who visit that store.

B&N and library distribution

B&N Press books are distributed to library networks through B&N's library partnerships. Libraries that use B&N as a supplier can access B&N Press titles. This is separate from OverDrive and other library platforms that distribute B&N-originated books through their systems.

For comprehensive library ebook distribution, most indie authors use Draft2Digital (which reaches OverDrive, Bibliotheca, and others) in combination with direct platform accounts.

B&N's Nook reader community

The Nook platform has a dedicated reader community in the US. Readers who own Nook tablets or use the Nook app have invested in B&N's ecosystem and often prefer to purchase ebooks through B&N. This base is smaller than Amazon's Kindle community but meaningfully sized for US-market wide authors.

Nook readers tend to include a mix of:

Readers who bought Nook tablets when they were more heavily marketed (they remain loyal to the ecosystem they've built)
Library card holders who use Nook for digital checkout from their library's B&N partnership
Readers who prefer supporting B&N over Amazon as part of their buying habits

This community responds to books available on their preferred platform. For a book in B&N-friendly genres (romance, thrillers, women's fiction), having a Nook presence captures readers who simply won't be buying on a competing platform.

B&N Author Pages and marketing

B&N doesn't have an author page program as developed as Amazon Author Central. Your "author page" on BN.com is essentially an automatically generated page showing books you've published through B&N Press, with your author bio from your book listing.

For marketing your books on B&N:

BN.com listing optimization: like Amazon, your BN.com listing's cover, description, and categories affect how readers find and convert on your book. Invest the same care in your B&N description as your Amazon one; they're different audiences reading the same marketing copy.

B&N community forums: B&N has had reader community forums at various times. These have changed in prominence over the years. Check BN.com for current community features relevant to your genre.

Cross-promotion from Amazon reviews: some readers browse Amazon for book discovery, then purchase on B&N. Strong Amazon metadata and reviews indirectly support B&N discovery. There's no direct connection, but reader communities often discuss books across multiple retail sites.

Print books in B&N stores: the reality

The in-store opportunity for B&N Print titles is real but competitive. Understanding the B&N store buying process is useful before pursuing it.

B&N's Title Discovery program: B&N Press titles can be submitted for consideration for in-store placement through B&N's Title Discovery program. B&N evaluates submissions for quality, genre fit, and potential appeal to B&N customers.

How B&N stores make buying decisions: each B&N store has some local buying authority, particularly for local author titles. Larger "B&N Select" stores have more discretion for niche or regional titles. National chain-wide placement is managed by B&N's central buyer team and is more competitive.

What helps with in-store consideration:

Professional cover and interior that meets trade publishing quality standards
Local author angle (books by authors from the store's region are more likely to be stocked by regional stores)
Strong BN.com sales and reviews (stores can see sales performance on the platform)
Author events: offer to do a reading or signing at the store; events generate sales and relationship

Realistic expectation: most indie authors with B&N Print books won't achieve broad chain-wide stocking. However, local store placement and event-driven shelf space are attainable for authors willing to do direct outreach to their local B&N store managers.

B&N's changing landscape

Barnes & Noble has gone through significant corporate changes over the past decade, including financial difficulties, a private equity acquisition, and new leadership that has shifted the company's direction back toward bookshop culture and local bookselling.

The current B&N leadership under James Daunt (who also leads Waterstones in the UK) has emphasized store- level curation, which potentially improves opportunities for small publishers and indie authors with books that appeal to their communities.

This shifting landscape means the specific mechanics of B&N's indie author programs, their promotional tools, and their store policies may change. Check the B&N Press help center and author community resources for current program details.

Practical B&N strategy for wide authors

In a typical wide publishing setup:

Direct B&N Press: worth setting up for US-market Nook ebook readers and for access to B&N Print's in-store consideration
D2D as alternative: if managing multiple accounts is too complex, using D2D to distribute to B&N is simpler but slightly less profitable
Combine with Kobo direct, Apple Books direct, and Amazon KDP: covers the major ebook markets without any critical gaps

B&N is rarely the highest-earning platform for non-US authors; Kobo typically generates more international earnings. But for US-market wide authors, B&N's Nook reader base is worth reaching.

B&N's Nook app and device ecosystem

Barnes & Noble sells Nook tablets and the Nook e-reader, and provides the Nook app for iOS and Android. The Nook e-reader uses a custom Android-based interface; the Nook app on iOS and Android allows any smartphone or tablet reader to access the Nook library.

B&N ebooks are in an industry-standard EPUB or the EPUB-based NOOK format. Books published through B&N Press are compatible with both Nook devices and the Nook app. Your EPUB doesn't need special formatting for Nook; the same EPUB file used for Kobo and Apple Books is appropriate.

Nook device rendering: like most e-readers, Nook devices display ebooks in grayscale e-ink. Font embedding works but is subject to the device's rendering engine. The Nook app on color devices (iPad, Android tablet) displays color images and may render embedded fonts more accurately.

For most text-focused books, the Nook rendering environment is comparable to Kindle and Kobo rendering environments. The same EPUB quality considerations apply.

B&N sales data and reporting

B&N Press provides sales reporting through your account dashboard. Reports show:

Units sold per title
Gross revenue and net royalty per title
Breakdown by ebook vs. print sales
Territory breakdown (US primary; some international)

B&N's reporting is less granular than Amazon's or Kobo's in some respects. Sales data updates on a schedule (not real-time), and reports can be downloaded for external analysis.

Payment timing: B&N pays monthly with a 30-60 day lag similar to other platforms. Payments are through ACH (US) or other methods for international publishers.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take for a B&N Press book to go live?

After submitting your book, B&N Press typically reviews and publishes ebooks within 24-72 hours. Print books may take slightly longer for their first review. Books updated (with revised files) also go through a review process; allow 24-48 hours.

Can I use the same EPUB on B&N that I use for Kobo and Amazon?

Yes. The same EPUB file works across all platforms. EPUB is the standard format; each platform converts or renders it in their own way, but a well-formatted EPUB produces good results on all major platforms.

Does B&N have a subscription service like Kindle Unlimited?

B&N had a subscription service (B&N Premium) that was discontinued. As of 2026, B&N does not have an active subscription reading program comparable to Kindle Unlimited or Kobo Plus.

Is it worth publishing separately on B&N if my D2D already distributes there?

If your B&N earnings are modest (under $50/month), the convenience of D2D may outweigh the 10% difference. If your B&N earnings are significant, direct publishing saves that 10% and gives you access to B&N Press's promotional tools. Evaluate the tradeoff based on your actual earnings volume on the platform.

Does B&N Press have geographic restrictions on who can publish?

B&N Press is primarily set up for US-based publishers, with a US bank account required for ACH payments. International authors can sometimes publish through B&N Press with international payment options, but the process is more complex. Many international authors use Draft2Digital's B&N distribution instead, which handles international payments through D2D's established system.

B&N for international authors

Barnes & Noble is primarily a US market. Its international footprint for ebooks is small; Kobo and Apple Books serve international readers more effectively. For most non-US authors, B&N represents a small share of total wide distribution earnings. Including it in your wide strategy is still worthwhile if you're using D2D (since it requires no additional setup), but direct B&N Press account management may not be worth the complexity for authors whose primary readership is outside the US.

The bottom line

Barnes & Noble Press reaches the Nook reader community and offers the distinctive option of in-store consideration at B&N physical locations. For US-market wide authors, it's a worthwhile platform to include. Compared to Kobo and Apple Books, B&N is a smaller volume contributor for most authors, but the in-store print opportunity distinguishes it from other platforms in the wide distribution mix.

See our guide on how to publish on Draft2Digital for an aggregator approach to reaching B&N and other platforms simultaneously. For formatting your ebook, get started in LiberScript.