By my own decision, my books are not available on Amazon (if you would like to know why, please read the related article, Why You Won’t Find My Books on Amazon). Unfortunately, this means that most people looking for books won’t find mine, and those who do might pass them up because they’ve only ever bought ebooks on Amazon for Kindle.
If you wish to buy my books, but are frustrated or hesitant because you can’t find them on Amazon, don’t worry. They are available on all other major ebook retailers, including Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and Apple Books, as well as Scribd and Smashwords. If you already have an account with one of these, then you’re probably familiar with how they work and should have no trouble finding and downloading books to their respective ebook apps.
If not, however, I’ve created this handy little guide to help you out.
Barns & Noble
Barnes and Noble is perhaps the next most well-known book retailer beyond Amazon. Barnes and Noble makes it just as easy as Amazon to buy ebooks and get them to their own ebook devices and app. Their answer to Kindle is the Nook, and it exists both as a physical ebook reader and also as an app for Android and iOS devices. If you have any hesitation about stepping outside Amazon for your ebooks, hesitate no longer.
You can check out their Nook devices here, but they also have free Nook app for Android and iOS which you can find by searching for ‘Nook’ in the respective app stores. Once you log into your B&N account on the Nook device or app, you should have access to your full B&N ebook library.
Unfortunately, you cannot buy ebooks directly from B&N in the Android or iOS app because both Google and Apple want to charge for in-app purchases, and the margin on ebooks is so tight that B&N would lose money. You can’t buy ebooks on the Kindle Android or iOS app either, for the same reason. Instead, just make your ebook purchases on the B&N online store and they will automatically show up in the app.
B&N also lacks anything like Kindle Unlimited, but if you are interested in something similar, you can read about Scribd farther down.
All (or very nearly all) of my books are available on B&N, so if you’ve decided to go that route, be sure to check them out.
Kobo Books
Kobo Books, also known as Rakuten Kobo (because a company called Rakuten bought them in 2016), is another great place to find ebooks. Like B&N, they also have a huge selection of ebooks, and their catalog is fairly well organized. Like B&N, they too have their own ebook device, all with various different names.
However, unless you are just a die-hard Kobo fan who buys all their ebooks from Kobo, you might be better off just getting their free Android or iOS Kobo reader. You can find the app by searching for ‘Kobo’ in the app store for your device. Once you log into your Kobo account in the app, you should have access to your full Kobo ebook library.
As with the Nook and Kindle apps, you cannot buy books through the Kobo app. Once again, this is because Google and Apple want to charge for in-app purchases.
Kobo has something called Kobo Plus which is a bit like Kindle Unlimited, but I haven’t been able to unearth much about it. It seems that it might only be available in Canada, and I have no idea if my books are even part of Kobo Plus. Regardless, if you are interested in something more like Kindle Unlimited, you can read about Scribd farther down.
All (or very nearly all) of my books are available on Kobo, so if you’ve decided to go that route, be sure to check them out.
Apple Books
Apple Books is a great alternative to Amazon if and only if you use iOS devices such as the iPhone and iPad. If you don’t, then forget about it.
I use Android myself, so my familiarity with the Apple ecosystem is a bit shaky. However, you should be able to search for books within the Apple Book store, and searching for my name, J.D. Masterly, should turn up my books as well. If not, perhaps this web link will turn them up for you.
Apple Books also lacks anything like Kindle Unlimited, but if you are interested in something similar, you can read about Scribd farther down.
Smashwords
Smashwords isn’t too well known, but it is the place to go if you’re searching for erotica. The reason being, all the other retailers have various murky restrictions on what is allowed in erotica books, while Smashwords is significantly more liberal (you can read more about that in my aforementioned article, Why You Won’t Find My Books on Amazon).
Admittedly, the Smashwords website is a bit dated and hard to navigate. Neither do they have a dedicated ebook reader like Kindle, Nook, or Kobo’s devices, nor do they even have an app for Android or iOS. I think they should at least have an app, but Smashwords is a pretty small operation.
What Smashwords does allow you to do is download the ebook itself as an ePub file or PDF (they also have an online web reader, but it kind of sucks). No other retailer lets you do this, or if they do, it’s not obvious to me. By allowing you to download the ePub file, you have the freedom to put the ebook on your Kindle, Nook, or some other ebook app on your Android or iPad. You can even import the ePub book from Smashwords to your Kindle library.
Getting the ePub file onto your device or into your ebook library can be a bit tricky, however. Check out How to Add an EPUB book to your eBook Library to learn how.
As you can imagine, Smashwords also lacks anything like Kindle Unlimited. But if you are interested in something similar, you can read about Scribd just below.
All of my books are available on Smashwords, so dive in and check them out.
Scribd
Think of Scribd as Kindle Unlimited. If you are looking for an alternative to Amazon KU, then Scribd is what you’re looking for. Having a monthly subscription to Scribd allows you to read as many ebooks as you like, just as KU does.
Scribd does not have a physical ebook reader like the Kindle or Nook. However, you can read the books online and they also have an app for Android and iOS. You can find the app by searching for ‘Scribd’ in the app store for your device. Once you log into your Scribd account in the app, you should have access to the full Scribd library of ebooks and audiobooks.
At the time of this writing a Scribd subscription is $11.99, which is more than Kindle Unlimited at $9.99. However, while not all Kindle books are enrolled in KU, all Scribd books are accessible through the Scribd subscription. A Scribd subscription also gives you access to audiobooks, which KU does not. That means a Scribd subscription is a bit like having both a KU subscription and an Audible subscription wrapped up in one.
If you decide to pick up a Scribd subscription, be sure to check out my books.
Conclusion
That about wraps it up for my guide to book retailers beyond Amazon. I realize Amazon is the go-to place to find books, ebooks, audiobooks, and everything else under the sun, but if you’re an avid reader, you should consider giving these other retailers such as Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Smashwords, Scribd, and Apple Books a try. You will find books on those other retailers that you won’t find on Amazon, and that’s especially true if you’re searching for erotica or other ‘forbidden’ content.
Be sure to check out How to Add an EPUB book to your eBook Library to learn how to add EPUB ebooks to your favorite reading device or app. And if you’re looking for something hot and spicy to add to your reading list, check out my latest erotica books.
Happy reading!
