Julie BroadYour Non-Fiction Sidekick for Writing, Publishing & Marketing a Book That Builds Your Brand and Grows Your Biz

The Risks of Being Exclusive with Amazon for Your Book Sales

6 Apr 2026 · 1 min

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1:10

In this monologue, Julie Broad explains why self‑published authors should avoid relying solely on Amazon for distribution and sales. She acknowledges Amazon’s pivotal role in opening the market for indie writers but warns that dependence on a single platform exposes authors to sudden account shutdowns, fee increases, or policy changes. Julie illustrates the danger with a personal story: a visa‑related paperwork error forced her out of business for three months, during which her team had to operate without her. This experience reinforced her belief that authors need broader infrastructure—multiple distribution channels and greater control over how and where their books reach readers—to mitigate risk and maintain financial stability.

Chapters

For me, this is one thing, if anybody's followed any of my videos, I'm always talking about not being exclusive with Amazon. Amazon has made our life as authors, you know, possible really. As self-published authors, Amazon opened the doorway for us in a lot of ways. So I'm grateful to them and they are a beast to deal with, right? And if they decide they wanna turn your account off, they will. If they decide they want to charge you more for the privilege of doing business with them, they will. And if you depend on one channel such as Amazon, you are at the mercy of that one channel. And I've always believed I always knew that, but moving to the States, it really, really made me believe that, that I do not wanna be dependent on any one system. The visa expired at one point, the lawyers filed the wrong paperwork. I couldn't even run my business. Thank goodness I have a phenomenal team. For 3 months, my team had to run the business without communicating with me. Being dependent on any one organization puts you at risk. And so for me, infrastructure is not just about the book. It is about where you're distributing and selling the book, where you're reaching people. And the more you can control, the better position you are in. Because again, if Amazon Amazon or any other retailer is your primary or only source of income and reaching your readers, you are at risk.