Barnes & Noble Press vs. BooksOasis: Where Should Your Books Be Sold?

Barnes & Noble Press is the self-publishing arm of America's largest bookstore chain, offering ebooks on NOOK and print books sold through Barnes & Noble. BooksOasis is an online bookstore made for independent authors. B&N Press pays royalties on each sale, with its own rules for print. BooksOasis charges a flat yearly plan and pays you the whole price of every ebook, with paperbacks and hardcovers on the same listing.

They reach different readers and suit different parts of a publishing plan. This guide compares how each pays, what limits each sets, who they reach, and how many authors use both. Figures come from each platform's own pages.

Both need clean files. LiberScript exports an EPUB and a print-ready PDF at your chosen trim size, so one formatting pass serves NOOK, B&N print and BooksOasis alike.

At a glance: B&N Press vs. BooksOasis

How B&N Press pays

Barnes & Noble Press pays 70% of the list price on ebooks priced at $0.99 and above, a simple and generous structure without Amazon-style price bands. For print books, it pays 55% of the list price minus the printing cost.

In May 2026, B&N Press introduced changes that matter for planning: a $14.99 minimum list price for print books, a cap of 100 titles per account, and no public-domain works. The print minimum is the biggest change for authors of slim paperbacks, which might otherwise be priced lower. Barnes & Noble also announced improved payment terms for authors. Check B&N Press's current terms before you publish, as its rules have changed recently.

How BooksOasis pays

BooksOasis is an online bookstore for independent authors and small presses. You pay a flat yearly plan and it takes no percentage of your price. Every ebook sale pays you 100% of the price. Paperbacks and hardcovers pay the price minus the printing cost and a handling fee of 30% of that printing cost, and the reader pays shipping at checkout. Your dashboard shows each print format's printing cost and minimum price, so you can price freely above it.

Ebooks: what you earn

Per-sale figures before taxes. BooksOasis has a yearly plan fee; B&N Press has none.

Print: minimums and margins

B&N Press's $14.99 print minimum means every B&N paperback is priced at least that high. For a long novel, that's often in line with the market; for a short book, a poetry collection or a slim guide, it may feel expensive to readers. At $14.99, B&N's 55% leaves you $8.24 minus printing.

BooksOasis sets no fixed minimum across all books. Each print format's minimum is its own printing cost plus the 30% handling fee, so a slim book can be priced lower, and a longer book priced where you like. Printing costs differ between platforms, so compare each platform's quote for your book.

Title limits and large catalogues

B&N Press's 100-title cap won't touch most authors, but prolific writers, series authors with many spin-offs and small presses may reach it. BooksOasis plans are sized by number of books: 10 for $29.99 a year, 100 for $179, and 500 for $599. B&N Press also no longer accepts public-domain works, so classics editions need another home.

Reach

Barnes & Noble brings the reach of a major American bookseller: NOOK readers, and print buyers who shop on Barnes & Noble's website. For authors with US readers, being there is valuable. BooksOasis is a younger store devoted to independent authors, with genre shelves, series pages, new releases, a Coming Soon shelf and books on sale, and readers who read in the Oasis Reader app on any device. It won't match B&N's brand reach, but it adds a store where the whole ebook price reaches you.

Reading experience

NOOK readers read on NOOK devices and apps. BooksOasis readers use Oasis Reader in any modern browser, installable like an app, with books kept on the device for offline reading, synced place, highlights and notes, light, sepia and dark themes, adjustable text including pinch to resize, and page-flip or continuous-scroll reading.

Formats

B&N Press offers ebooks and print editions, including hardcovers. BooksOasis offers ebook, paperback and hardcover on one listing, in five common trim sizes (5 x 8, 5.5 x 8.5, 6 x 9, 7 x 10 and 8.5 x 11 inches), paperbacks from 32 to 800 pages and hardcovers from 24 to 800, with an automatic print-readiness check and a cover template sized to your page count.

Direct or through an aggregator

You can reach Barnes & Noble directly through B&N Press or through an aggregator such as Draft2Digital, which takes a share of each sale. Going direct keeps the full royalty and gives you B&N's own tools; an aggregator saves managing another account. BooksOasis isn't reached through aggregators; you list there directly.

Pricing across both

If a book is in both stores, readers may compare prices. For ebooks, keep the same list price in both, and run promotions for set dates rather than leaving a lower price in one place. For print, B&N's $14.99 minimum sets a floor there; if your BooksOasis paperback costs less, readers who find both will notice. Some authors price print the same everywhere for simplicity; others use a lower BooksOasis price for a slim book and accept the difference. Either way, decide deliberately.

Series in both stores

Link every book to its series in both stores, and put a link to the next book at the start of each book's back matter. On BooksOasis, a series page lists the books in reading order; readers can hide books they already own and buy several ebooks in one checkout, with any books not yet released included as pre-orders. A low entry price on book one works well in both stores, and on BooksOasis that low price still pays you in full.

Payments

B&N Press pays royalties on its own schedule, and Barnes & Noble announced improved payment terms for authors in 2026; check your account for the current details. BooksOasis records every sale in an earnings ledger you can see at any time and pays by bank transfer or PayPal. International bank payouts go by wire once your balance passes a minimum, so a wire's fixed fee doesn't eat a small payment.

Three authors, three choices

A romance author with a strong US readership publishes every book on B&N Press for NOOK readers and lists the same series on BooksOasis, where newsletter readers buy the ebooks at full price to the author.

A poet with a 90-page collection finds B&N's $14.99 print minimum too high for the book, keeps the ebook on NOOK, and sells the paperback on BooksOasis at a lower price.

A small press with a catalogue approaching 100 titles plans for B&N's cap by keeping its backlist on BooksOasis's 500-book plan and choosing its strongest titles for B&N.

Using both

1. Format once in LiberScript, exporting an EPUB and a print PDF.
2. Publish on B&N Press for NOOK and Barnes & Noble print buyers, pricing print at $14.99 or more.
3. List on BooksOasis with ebook, paperback and hardcover, pricing the ebook the same as on NOOK.
4. Send your own readers to BooksOasis when you'd like the full price of the sale.

When B&N Press fits better

• Your readers are in the US and shop at Barnes & Noble.
• You want NOOK readers without any upfront cost.
• Your print book naturally sits at $14.99 or more.

When BooksOasis fits better

• You want 100% of every ebook sale.
• You have a slim book you'd like to price below $14.99 in print.
• You publish public-domain editions or a very large catalogue.
• You want series pages, pre-orders and dated promotions in a store for independent authors.

Frequently asked questions

What does B&N Press pay on ebooks? 70% of the list price for ebooks priced at $0.99 and above.

What does B&N Press pay on print? 55% of the list price minus printing, with a $14.99 minimum print price from May 2026.

Does B&N Press limit how many books I can publish? Since May 2026 there's a cap of 100 titles per account, and public-domain works aren't accepted.

What does BooksOasis cost? $29.99 a year for 10 books, $179 for 100 and $599 for 500. Every ebook sale pays 100% of the price.

Can I sell on both? Yes. Neither requires exclusivity.

Will LiberScript files work on both? Yes. Export an EPUB and a print-ready PDF, and build each cover from the platform's own template.

More reading: Barnes & Noble Press alternatives on the BooksOasis publisher site, and our Barnes & Noble Press guide.

The bottom line

Barnes & Noble Press offers the reach of a major US bookseller, 70% on ebooks from $0.99, and 55% minus printing on print books priced at $14.99 or more. BooksOasis offers the full ebook price, flexible print pricing and a store built for independent authors, for one flat plan. Use B&N for its readers, BooksOasis for the sales you steer yourself, and LiberScript for files that work in both.