Every book we publish is available on Amazon. We do not pretend otherwise. If you find one of our books faster on Amazon, that is a win for us either way. A reader is a reader.
But there are three reasons to consider buying direct from Thrive Collective Publishing, and I want to be honest about what each one means.
1. You get extras Amazon does not carry
This is the cleanest reason. When you buy direct from ThriveCollectiveHQ.com, you get things that physically cannot exist on Amazon's storefront.
- Signed copies. We sign books here, in Santa Fe, before we ship them. K.B. Cordova signs every Casita Series direct buy. Kimberly signs her leadership and business titles. The signature is on the title page in actual ink.
- The Reader's Companion. For the Casita Series, direct buyers get a printed Reader's Companion pamphlet shipped with the book. It includes a Q&A with the author, a glossary of Spanish-American and GenÃzara terms used in the novel, a map of Abiquiú and Santa Fe locations, and book club discussion questions.
- Founders Pack. For The Mother I Did Not Know specifically, the first 100 direct buyers can order a Founders Pack tier that includes a signed first-edition, the Reader's Companion, an artist-print of the casita door cover image, and a handwritten thank you note. This pack will never be available again after launch.
- Bonus content for our journal titles. Buy the Heirloom Series journal direct and you get the bonus printable PDF pack with extra prompts. Buy on Amazon and you get the journal itself, which is great, but not the pack.
2. More of your money goes to the people who made the book
Amazon takes a percentage. We do not begrudge them this. They earn it through their reach and their warehouse. But the percentage is significant, and at our scale it matters.
When you buy direct, more of the cover price ends up with us. We use it to:
- Pay our editors better
- Pay our designers better
- Print smaller runs more often instead of cheaper bulk
- Invest in the next book before we know if the current one will earn out
- Send physical thank-you notes
- Keep our author advances real
I am not going to give you a percentage breakdown that pretends Amazon is a villain. They are not. But buying direct is, in a small way, voting with your dollar for the future you want this industry to have.
3. A real relationship, not an algorithmic one
When you buy on Amazon, Amazon owns the relationship with you. They know what you bought, when, and what you are likely to want next. We know almost nothing.
When you buy direct, we know who you are. We have your email if you opt in. We can tell you when the next book in the series ships. We can answer your email when you write. I personally respond to direct-buyer emails, usually within one business day.
This is the part of publishing that has gone missing in the algorithmic era. The relationship between a small house and its readers is supposed to be a real thing. Not a CRM segment. Not a recommended-for-you carousel. An actual conversation.
We are building that back.
When buying on Amazon makes more sense
I want to be honest about this part too. Amazon makes sense when:
- You want the book faster than we can ship it. Direct ships in 3-5 business days. Amazon Prime is faster, especially for ePub or Kindle eBook formats.
- You want a Kindle eBook. Our ePub is sold via Shopify Digital Downloads, which is a great format if you read on iPhone, iPad, Kobo, or a generic ePub reader. If you live in the Kindle ecosystem, the Kindle edition on Amazon is the better fit.
- You are outside the US. International direct shipping is slow and expensive. Amazon is the better global option until we expand fulfillment.
- You want Audible. Audiobooks for our titles live on Audible exclusively for now.
Buy whichever works for you. We are grateful either way.
The bottom line
Direct buying is not for everyone, and we are not going to tell you it is. It is for the reader who wants the signed copy, the bonus content, and the actual conversation with the people who made the book. If you are that reader, ThriveCollectiveHQ.com is where you want to be.
If you are not that reader, find us on Amazon. We are equally glad you are there.
Either way, thank you for being here.
Kimberly Burk Cordova
Founder and Publisher
Thrive Collective Publishing