Top 8 Publication Software for eBooks and Digital Publications

“Lovers of print are simply confusing the plate for the food,” said Douglas Adams. And he was right. The numbers show that.

The revenue in the eBook market is expected to touch a whopping USD 14.16 billion by the end of this year! And by 2027, the number of eBook readers will likely amount to 1.12 billion users! While some prefer the smell and feel of physical books, eBooks and digital publications offer a variety of advantages over them. Convenience, sustainability, portability, affordability, and interactive elements are just a few benefits.

So, if you want to publish your eBook or a digital publication, how do you go about it? Publishing a digital publication involves two major processes — creation and distribution. We have compiled a list of the best publication software for both.

Table of Contents

• Top 8 Publication Software

• • Creation and Distribution Tools
  • Pure Creation Tools
  • Pure Distribution Tools

• The Last Word

We’ve compiled a list of the top eight publication software, listing their key features to help you make an informed choice.

Formerly known as LucidPress, Marq is an intuitive drag-and-drop eBook builder where you can also distribute your eBook. One of the topmost publishing tools, it also allows for automation, making bulk-creation of eBooks a walk in the park. 

It has a free plan with a limit of three documents. The paid plans start at USD 3. 

Key Features:

• A wide variety of templates to pace up the workflow
• Collaboration is possible with personalized access to teams 
• Content analytics overview to make informed decisions
• Content embedding
• Direct publishing to social media
• Integration with popular business tools

With clients such as the American Red Cross, Oxford University Press, McGraw Hill, etc., KITABOO is a leading digital K12 publication software that allows for the creation, publication, and distribution of eBooks seamlessly. 

It offers customized pricing for your needs.

Key Features:

• Allows you to create multiple types of content like videos, PPTs, PDFs, apart from eBooks
• Offers powerful eBook analytics
• Protects your content with Digital Rights Management (DRM)
• Smoothly integrates with your existing Learning Management System (LMS)
• Provides offline access to download your content

Want to get the most out of your content? Use Designrr. It allows you to transform your blogs, videos, PDFs, etc., into eBooks and other multimedia formats. This repackaging of assets will enable you to save time and money. 

The standard monthly plan starts at USD 29, but they offer a 7-day free trial. 

Key Features:

• Repurposing ready content into eBooks without design or technical skills (you can also repurpose your FaceBook content as an eBook!)
• Complete customization of ready-to-use templates with a copyright-free image library, great for design
• Page numbers and table of contents are generated automatically

AI is being used for everything content, and Jasper AI has decided to offer content generation for eBooks. Multiple writers have trained the tool, formerly known as Jarvis (yes, like Marvel!).

For creators, their monthly plans start at USD 39. 

Key Features:

• Create eBooks from scratch using 50+ templates
• Leverage the power of AI to create long-form content in 25+ languages
• Identify trending topics, edit images, and do more for your digital publications in a matter of minutes. 

Preferred by authors, Scrivener’s strength lies in understanding a writer’s mind. You can use the tool to pen anything, from a poem to a novel. You can organize your chapters, scenes, ideas, etc., in one place. 

The pricing is a one-time payment, starting at USD 65.

Key Features:

• The best eBook and digital publication software for those who still prefer writing non-AI content
• Multiple organization tools like folders, sub-folders, corkboards, etc., for research, notes, and other material
• Progress tracking with highly customizable formatting options

Smashwords is the most popular eBook distribution platform because it makes your eBook available with major players like Apple, Barnes & Noble, etc. It was bought by another major platform, Draft2Digital, in 2022.

It takes a smaller percentage of sales compared to other distribution platforms (60% is yours), and you get more if you sell through their store directly (85% is yours).

Key Features:

• You get a free ISBN for your digital publication
• You can track the performance of your book on major platforms through daily reports
• It gives you a landing page for your book that works wonders for SEO
• Along with an author profile, it provides complete control to set prices in different global markets

Only third to Amazon and Apple, Kobo is available in 190 countries for eBook distribution. It has an increasing market share worldwide and already represents about 30% of the Canadian eBook market.

Kobo pays high royalties of about 70%, making it one of the best in the market. 

Key Features:

• It formats your text for you as ePub
• You are free to publish your works anywhere else, unlike the famous Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing
• Publishing directly with Kobo gives you access to in-depth reporting, interesting promotions, high flexibility to set discounted pricing, etc.

Barnes & Noble Press is the third-largest self-publishing platform in the world. Focused on distribution in the United States alone, it has dominated the market in the country quite well. 

They offer transparent pricing with a calculator on the homepage of their website. It provides a 70% royalty for eBook sales and 55% for print sales if you’re considering the latter. 

Key Features:

• There is no exclusivity clause, which means you are free to get listed in as many libraries as possible
• They help with basic design services like the book cover, along with formatting
• It has a new audiobook vertical for your eBooks, giving you a chance to enter that market too
• Access to already-present millions of readers on their website and Nook devices

Also Read: Digital Publishing Platform: Top 9 Advantages of Using One

Most of these paid publication software provide free trials, so if you are tied between two or more, don’t hesitate to try them both. One of the key aspects to consider while choosing the best tool for your digital publications is the ability to offer creation and distribution in one place. 

Before we go, here’s a quick fact! Did you know that the first eBook ever published was the U.S. Declaration of Independence in 1971? 

Since then, the world of eBooks has been expanding quickly. Today, about six decades later, publishing eBooks has become a breeze! However, with KITABOO’s digital publishing solutions, you can create and distribute your digital content and analyse its success with detailed metrics and data!

Contact our expert team now and get started!

To know more, please write to us at kitaboo@hurix.com

Suggested Reads:

• How to Convert PDF to ePUB
• 9 Best ePUB Readers for iOS Users
• How to Create Interactive Employee Training Modules
• 10 Most Important Features of The Best Online Education Platform
• Top 10 Corporate Training & Development Trends
• How eBook Subscription Services Are Revolutionizing Reading
• Best eBook Creation Softwares
• What is eBook DRM and Why Do Publishers Need it?
• Advantages of eBooks Over Printed Books
• Is Online Education Better than Traditional Education?