Should You Use Both KDP and IngramSpark?

After researching self-publishing platforms, most authors end up asking the same question: do I have to choose between Amazon KDP and IngramSpark, or can I use both? The answer that experienced indie publishers have largely settled on is yes, use both — but in a specific, deliberate way that captures the strengths of each while avoiding the conflicts that trip up beginners.

This guide explains the popular "use both" strategy in plain English: why it works, exactly how to set it up so the two platforms don't undercut each other, who shouldn't bother, and the mistakes that turn a smart dual setup into a tangled mess. By the end, you'll know whether the strategy fits your book and how to implement it step by step.

Quick answer: Yes — most serious indie authors use both. The standard setup is KDP for the Amazon paperback + Kindle ebook (best Amazon margin and reach) and

IngramSpark for hardcovers and wide distribution to bookstores and libraries. The key is to avoid letting both platforms feed Amazon: route Amazon through KDP, and disable the Amazon channel on IngramSpark. You'll need your own ISBN to do this cleanly.

KDP and IngramSpark each do one thing better than the other, and the gap is large enough that picking only one means leaving real value on the table.

KDP excels at Amazon. It pays the best per-copy margin on Amazon sales (60% of list minus print, at/above the price threshold), reaches the world's biggest book retailer, and offers Kindle and Kindle Unlimited. It's free and forgiving (unlimited free revisions).

IngramSpark excels at everywhere-else. It offers professional bookstore and library distribution through Ingram's wholesale network, the all-important returnable setting, and a far richer range of hardcover options (including jacketed editions).

Using only KDP means weak bookstore/library reach and limited hardcovers. Using only IngramSpark means a worse margin on your Amazon sales (because the wholesale

discount applies). Using both, configured correctly, gives you the best Amazon margin and genuine wide distribution. That's why it's the default.

Goal Best platform

Best Amazon paperback margin KDP

Kindle ebook + Kindle Unlimited KDP

Bookstore & library shelving IngramSpark (55% + returnable)

Hardcover (esp. jacketed) IngramSpark

Maximum total reach + income Both

Here's the one principle that makes or breaks the strategy. Both KDP and IngramSpark can supply Amazon — but you don't want them to.

If your KDP listing and your IngramSpark listing both feed Amazon, you create competing or duplicate listings, and Amazon may fulfill from the lower-margin source. You could end up earning the thin wholesale-discount compensation on a sale that should have earned you the full KDP margin.

The fix: Route Amazon through KDP (your best margin), and on IngramSpark,

disable/turn off Amazon as a sales channel. This way:

Amazon orders → fulfilled via KDP → best margin.

Bookstore, library, and other retailer orders → fulfilled via IngramSpark → wide reach.

Each platform does what it's best at, and they never compete for the same sale.

Here's the setup most pros use, format by format:

Format Platform Why

Kindle ebook KDP Best Kindle reach; optional Kindle Unlimited

Paperback (Amazon) KDP Best Amazon margin (60% − print)

Paperback (wide) IngramSpark Bookstore/library reach, 55% + returnable, Amazon channel OFF

Hardcover IngramSpark Best binding options, wide distribution

Ebook (wide, non- IngramSpark or an Apple, Kobo, Nook, libraries

Amazon) aggregator

A subtle but important point on the paperback: you can publish the paperback on both platforms using the same ISBN (which is why you need your own ISBN). KDP handles the Amazon sale; IngramSpark handles every other retailer with the Amazon channel disabled. Consistent ISBN, consistent price, no channel conflict.

If you enroll your Kindle ebook in KDP Select (Kindle Unlimited), it must be exclusive to Amazon — so you can't also distribute that ebook wide. Decide whether KU's benefits outweigh wide ebook reach for you.

Step 1 — Buy your own ISBNs. A 10-pack from Bowker ($295). Assign separate ISBNs to paperback, hardcover, and ebook. This is what makes a clean dual setup possible. (See the ISBN Guide.)

Step 2 — Finalize your files. Because IngramSpark charges revision fees after a grace window, lock your interior and cover before uploading anywhere. Professional formatting and proofreading first.

Step 3 — Publish on KDP: the Kindle ebook and the paperback, using your own paperback ISBN. Leave Expanded Distribution OFF (IngramSpark will handle wide distribution). This captures the best Amazon margin.

Step 4 — Publish on IngramSpark: the hardcover and the paperback (same ISBN as KDP's paperback). Set 55% wholesale discount + returnable for bookstore appeal. Turn OFF the Amazon sales channel so Amazon orders flow to your KDP listing.

Step 5 — Match your pricing. Keep the list price consistent across platforms so readers see one price everywhere. (Your earnings will differ by channel — that's expected.)

Step 6 — Order proofs from both platforms. Print can vary slightly between

manufacturers; verify each format looks right.

Step 7 — Verify your margins. Use the Book Royalty Calculator to confirm a healthy margin on KDP (Amazon) and a positive margin on IngramSpark (wide channels).

Jordan publishes a 320-page thriller. Here's his dual setup:

Own ISBNs: paperback (#1), hardcover (#2), ebook (#3) from a Bowker 10-pack. KDP: Kindle ebook at $4.99 (70% royalty) + paperback at $16.99. Expanded

Distribution off. On a direct Amazon paperback sale he earns ~$5.59.

IngramSpark: paperback at $16.99 (55% + returnable, Amazon channel off) earning ~$2.93 per wide sale, plus a case-laminate hardcover at $26.99 earning ~$2.65. Result: Amazon buyers get the best-margin paperback and Kindle edition; the local bookstore orders 15 paperbacks for his launch event; the library system adds the hardcover; international readers can order through Ingram. Every channel is covered, and no sale is fulfilled by the wrong (lower-margin) source.

Had Jordan used only KDP, he'd have missed the bookstore, library, and hardcover sales. Had he used only IngramSpark, every Amazon sale would have earned $2.93 instead of $5.59 — a big loss on his highest-volume channel.

The dual strategy isn't for everyone. You might stick with KDP only if:

You're a complete beginner publishing your first book and want to keep things simple while you learn. You can always add IngramSpark later.

Your book is Amazon-focused and you have no realistic bookstore/library ambitions (e.g., a niche Kindle-first genre).

You publish low-content or Amazon-centric books where wide distribution adds little.

You're enrolled in KDP Select for the ebook and don't need wide print distribution. You're not ready to manage revision fees — IngramSpark punishes unfinished files, so if yours aren't locked, wait.

There's no shame in KDP-only. The "use both" strategy is about maximizing reach for books that have wide-market potential; not every book does.

Where Ebooks Fit in the Dual Strategy

The "use both" conversation usually centers on print, but ebooks deserve their own thinking because they involve a strategic fork that print does not: exclusivity. KDP offers KDP Select, which enrolls your ebook in Kindle Unlimited and pays you per page read by subscribers — but it requires exclusivity, meaning your ebook cannot be sold anywhere else. This is a genuine trade-off, not a free add-on. For some authors, especially in voracious genres like romance, thriller, and litRPG where Kindle Unlimited readers binge, the page-read income outweighs what they would earn selling the ebook on other stores. For others — particularly nonfiction, literary, and authors with an international or direct- sales audience — going wide with the ebook (selling on Apple Books, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, and library platforms) earns more in aggregate and builds reader relationships Amazon doesn't let you own.

Crucially, your ebook exclusivity decision is separate from your print distribution. You can run a wide print strategy (KDP for the Amazon print edition, IngramSpark for everywhere else) while keeping your ebook in KDP Select, because Select only governs the ebook. Or you can go fully wide on both. The print "use both" setup does not force your hand on the ebook — decide each layer on its own merits.

A common, sensible pattern: enroll the ebook in KDP Select for the first 90-day term to capture the Kindle Unlimited launch momentum, evaluate the page-read income, then decide whether to renew or go wide once you have real data.

Audiobooks sit outside the KDP/IngramSpark print question entirely, but authors building a wide presence should know where they fit. Neither IngramSpark nor standard KDP produces audiobooks; that is a separate production and distribution decision through audiobook-specific platforms. The relevant point for your dual strategy is simply that an audiobook uses its own identifier and its own channels, and it is generally a later-stage investment — worth pursuing once a title has proven demand in print and ebook, rather than something to juggle during your first launch. Keep it on the roadmap, not the critical path.

You do not have to launch every format and channel at once. In fact, sequencing reduces stress and lets each step inform the next. Here is a realistic phased approach:

Phase Timing Action

1 Launch KDP Amazon paperback + Kindle ebook. Expanded Distribution off. Own ISBNs assigned.

2 Weeks 2– Confirm files are clean and selling, gather first reviews, fix any errors caught at 4 launch.

3 Month 2 Set up IngramSpark with the same ISBNs: wide paperback at 55% + returnable, Amazon channel off.

4 Month 2– Add a hardcover on IngramSpark for gift and library reach.

3

5 Ongoing Pitch local bookstores and libraries now that the book is returnable and wide.

This staged rollout means you debug your book on the simpler KDP setup first, then extend to wide distribution once you are confident the files are final — which sidesteps IngramSpark revision fees on a book that still has typos. For an author like a children's- book or journal publisher releasing a series, this rhythm also becomes a repeatable template: each new title follows the same five phases, and by the third or fourth book the process is muscle memory.

Letting both platforms feed Amazon. The cardinal error. Route Amazon through KDP and disable IngramSpark's Amazon channel, or you'll earn the wrong (lower) amount on Amazon sales.

Using a free KDP ISBN. It can't carry to IngramSpark, breaking the clean dual setup. Use your own ISBN.

Enrolling in KDP Expanded Distribution and using IngramSpark for wide distribution. Pick one wide path. Doing both causes channel and ISBN conflicts.

Mismatched prices across platforms. Confusing for readers and retailers. Keep the list price consistent.

Uploading unfinished files to IngramSpark. Revision fees after the grace window make "fix it later" expensive. Lock your files first.

Trying to be wide and exclusive at once. KDP Select (Kindle Unlimited) requires ebook exclusivity. You can't enroll that ebook in Select and also distribute it wide.

Start KDP-only, then layer in IngramSpark once your files are final and you're ready for wider reach. There's no penalty for adding it in month two or three.

Buy your own ISBNs from day one if there's any chance you'll go wide — it's painful to retrofit.

Disable Expanded Distribution on KDP when using IngramSpark for wide

distribution, so the two don't collide.

Use IngramSpark for hardcover even if you stay KDP-only for paperback — the binding options alone can justify it.

Track your sales by channel for a few months. If 95% of sales are Amazon, focus your energy there; if bookstore orders are growing, lean into IngramSpark.

Reconcile your strategy with the price thresholds. Keep your KDP paperback at $9.99+ (US) to stay in the 60% royalty tier while keeping the same list price on IngramSpark.