One of the biggest misconceptions in self-publishing is that every book you sell has to be sitting in a box in your house waiting for you to ship it.
It doesn’t.
In fact, one of the smartest things you can do as an independent author is build a storefront that allows you to continue selling books—even when you’re away from home, on vacation, or simply focused on writing your next manuscript.
The goal isn’t just to publish books. The goal is to build a business around them.
Option 1: Canva + PayPal
If you’re just starting out and don’t want to invest in an ecommerce platform, Canva is a great budget-friendly option.
You can build a beautiful website inside Canva and connect each product to a PayPal payment link. Since Canva doesn’t offer a traditional shopping cart, each book will need its own checkout link. Depending on how your site is structured, readers may need to purchase books individually rather than adding multiple books to one cart.
One important thing to understand: because this setup relies on Canva and PayPal, you are still responsible for fulfilling every physical book order yourself. That means keeping inventory on hand, packaging each order, purchasing postage, and shipping every book to your readers.
For many new authors, that’s perfectly fine. It’s an inexpensive way to begin selling directly from your own website while keeping startup costs low.
But as your sales grow, you may find yourself looking for a system that takes fulfillment off your plate.
Option 2: IngramSpark + Tertulia
If your books are printed through IngramSpark, you can create an author storefront through Tertulia.
Tertulia connects directly to your IngramSpark catalog, allowing readers to purchase your books while IngramSpark handles the printing and shipping. Instead of keeping inventory in your home, a third-party fulfillment partner prints and ships the books directly to your customers.
For authors who want to move away from packing boxes and standing in line at the post office, this is a great next step toward automating their business.
Option 3: Payhip + BookVault
If you’re looking for another storefront with automated fulfillment, Payhip is an excellent option.
Payhip integrates with BookVault, allowing physical book orders placed through your Payhip store to be automatically printed and fulfilled through BookVault’s print-on-demand service.
One thing to note: BookVault is headquartered in the United Kingdom, so if you’re based in the U.S., you may notice pricing displayed in British pounds or have the option to switch your account to U.S. dollars. While the company is UK-based, BookVault also works with printing partners in the United States, Canada, and Australia to help fulfill many orders closer to your customers. That means your readers aren’t necessarily receiving books shipped all the way from the UK.
Payhip is also a great solution for authors selling ebooks, digital products, and physical books all from the same storefront, making it a flexible platform as your business grows.
Option 4: Shopify + Lulu Direct (My Preferred Stack)
This is the system I personally use, and honestly, it’s been one of the best business decisions I’ve made.
My storefront is built on Shopify, while Lulu Direct handles my printing and fulfillment.
Here’s why I love it:
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Orders flow directly from Shopify to Lulu.
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I receive every order and can approve it before it’s printed.
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If I have signed copies available, I can fulfill the order myself.
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If I don’t, I simply approve the order, and Lulu prints and ships it directly to my reader.
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Packing slips and invoices can be branded with my business, so the experience still feels like it came directly from me.
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I can keep inventory on my shelf for book signings, vendor events, and readers who specifically want signed copies without depending on having books in stock every time an order comes in.
The biggest advantage?
My bookstore never has to close.
Whether I’m working, traveling, or knee deep in writing my next novel, readers can still place an order and receive their books without waiting for me to package and ship them.
That’s the kind of system every author should strive to build.
Signed Copies vs. Standard Copies
Here’s something that surprised me when I started selling directly to readers:
Most readers don’t actually require a signed copy.
If they simply want the book, let your fulfillment partner do the work.
If they do want your signature, create a separate product specifically labeled Signed Copy and clearly communicate that those orders will take a little longer to ship because they’ll be fulfilled directly by you.
This keeps expectations clear while allowing your standard orders to continue flowing automatically.
Honorable Mention
Not every author needs to build a storefront immediately.
If your goal is simply to make your books available without worrying about fulfillment, retailers like Amazon and Barnes & Noble can also handle printing, shipping, and customer delivery for you. Readers purchase through their platforms, and those retailers manage the fulfillment process.
The trade-off is that you’re selling through someone else’s storefront instead of your own. While it’s incredibly convenient, you have less control over your customer experience, branding, and direct relationship with your readers.
Every Author Needs a Storefront—or at Least a Landing Page
Every author should have a storefront or, at minimum, a dedicated landing page for their books.
Try to move away from relying only on a basic link-in-bio page. A link-in-bio tool may be useful for social media, but it should not be the only place readers can go to learn about you, browse your books, or decide what to purchase.
Create a full landing page that feels connected to your author brand. It can include your books, purchasing options, newsletter signup, upcoming releases, social media links, and anything else you want readers to find.
You do not need an expensive website to get started. Canva can also be used to build a professional-looking landing page. From there, you can link each button to the appropriate destination, including:
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Your Shopify, Payhip, or other online store
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Amazon or Barnes & Noble
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Individual book purchase pages
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Your newsletter
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Your social media platforms
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Event registration pages
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Signed-copy order forms
The goal is to create one central location that introduces readers to your brand and directs them exactly where they need to go.
Your social media page is rented space. Your landing page or storefront is your home.
Even if readers ultimately purchase through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or another retailer, they should still be able to visit a professional page that belongs to you first.
The Business Behind the Book
Writing the book is only half the job.
Building systems that allow your books to sell while you focus on writing the next one—that’s the business behind the book.
At SPI Management, that’s exactly what we’re helping authors do. From publishing workflows to storefronts, launch strategy, and business systems, our goal is to help independent authors build sustainable publishing businesses that don’t rely on burnout.
If you’d like to learn more about SPI Management and how we can help you build the business behind your books, send me a DM. We’d love to show you how to build the business behind your books—not just write them.
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