OLD POST ALERT! This is an older post and although you might find some useful tips, any technical or publishing information is likely to be out of date. Please click on Start Here on the menu bar above to find links to my most useful articles, videos and podcast. Thanks and happy writing! – Joanna Penn
Traditional publishers have always made box-sets for print books, and over the last few years, they have become popular for ebook bundling, rising high in the bestseller lists as customers snap up the deals, boosted by BookBub and other promotions.
Box-sets can be a great opportunity for authors to collaborate with other authors to reach a different audience, or maximize point of sale revenue from one customer with their own series or themed box-set.
Ebook box-sets are a real advantage for indie authors, but many authors are still hesitating, so here's why box-sets are so great and how you can create them yourself.
What are ebook box-sets or bundles?
The ebook box-set or bundle is one file containing multiple books, so there is only one purchase and download for the customer. 
There are a few different types of ebook box-set/bundle scenarios:
- Single author box-set containing multiple books in one series, priced at a discount to buying the individual books but still a good income for the author. Example: My ARKANE 8 book boxset at iBooks, or my London Crime Thriller trilogy on Amazon. These can also be reduced for easier merchandising.
- Single author box-set containing starter books from multiple series as an introduction to the author's work. Many authors give these away in exchange for an email list signup.
Multi-author box-set sold at a massive discount in order to hit the New York Times or USA Today lists. Example: The Deadly Dozen which I was part of, a 12 book boxset for 99c which hit both lists in March 2014.
Multi-author box-set sold at a massive discount in order to hit the New York Times or USA Today lists. Example: The Deadly Dozen which I was part of, a - Multi-author box-set sold at a good price for income purposes e.g. StoryBundle.com where I was just part of a 10 author premium writing bundle that completely bypassed the usual online bookstores and made us all some good extra money.
It's also not to be confused with an anthology, which is usually a curated set of short stories or novellas on a specific topic, most of which will not have been published before.
Why create an ebook box-set?
Box-sets represent amazing value for customers, as they get multiple books for a lower price, which is why they are so popular.
- Binge consumption has become more common, with Netflix customers wanting whole series of TV shows, and book buyers wanting enough content to last more than a few hours. A box-set satisfies binge readers and they also end up remembering you because they've spent so much time with your words. As indie superstar Kristine Kathryn Rusch says, “The best way to get noticed is by publishing enough that readers can binge for a weekend.”
- Boxsets are easier to merchandise than single books because of discounting, and also a higher retail price means more income for the author and retailer. You can also sell them on Kobo, iBooks and other stores that don't have a $9.99 cap on prices, so I have a 7 book box-set on Kobo and an 8-book boxset on iBooks.
You get better return on paid advertising like BookBub Ads or Facebook Ads. You get higher income than from a single book so you need fewer conversions. The ad on the left is one of my top performers on BookBub ads for the Kobo 7 book box-set.
- You can sell boxsets for higher prices so you get a higher income per customer per transaction, even though overall the books are sold for less. You get more money up front rather than expecting the customer to buy all the books individually, which they might not do.
- You already have the books available, so why not add another stream of income? Readers who buy boxsets are often a different sub-set to those who buy single books, so why not appeal to both? You're leaving money on the table if you're not doing box-sets, especially if you're selling wide on Kobo and iBooks.
Pricing decisions
Pricing for box-sets will depend on your aim:
- If you want to make income for the longer term, then you'll want to price at a discount to buying the books separately but still at a high enough price to make it worthwhile for you. For example, my 7 book box-set at Kobo is $14.99
- If you want to boost ranking and have a massive number of downloads, or you're aiming for the NY Times or USA Today lists, then put as many books in as possible and price as low as possible e.g. 99c. Or start at the high price and then do a limited time sale.
How to make your own single author box-set
As a single author, it’s pretty easy.
- Use Vellum to compile the books together into one file. It's super easy to drag and drop book files in and then compile into one file. There are many other book formatting options, but Vellum makes everything much easier!
- Hire a graphic designer/cover designer to make a box-set cover. Get a 3D and a flat version, since iBooks only accepts the flat version and Kobo recommends the flat version for better sales, so it's good to have both.
- Decide on the price and then publish as usual.
How to make a multi-author box-set
If you want to do a boxset as multiple authors, you need to make things a bit more formal. Consider the following aspects first:
- Do you share a similar audience? Genre box-sets do well, and they are used less often in non-fiction and literary markets, so that might be an opportunity for you. Regardless of what you’re writing, consider which authors your books crossover with and work with them.
- Rights and money. Whose publishing account will the box-set be loaded onto, who will get the royalty income and who will be in charge of all the money? You’ll need to pay for promotions and potentially other marketing, so make sure everyone knows what’s involved. These are the same issues faced with co-writing – more on practical collaboration issues in this interview with J. Thorn. The book used in a box-set could also be banned from other types of promos at the same time e.g. KDP Select, Nook First or BookBub, so be careful with which books are used.
- How will you split promotion fairly? You need to divide the work between the group and keep communication simple and easy. Stay in touch and make sure everyone knows what is happening on what days, especially if your aim is to hit any lists, since a highly coordinated promotional campaign will be needed for this. A central Google Doc is a good start.
Clearly, a multi-author box-set is more complicated, but why not get started on a single author box-set if you have 3 books in a series or that are linked in some way.
Have you tried box-sets as an author? or as a reader? What are your opinions and lessons learned? Please share your comments below.
So Can you Used KDP select for Book Bundle?
Only if the books are exclusive and in KDP Select as well.
Super post on this topic. I’d been wondering what the best strategies were for box sets and you explained them beautifully. Trying to wrap my head around box sets for nonfiction books. I’m wondering if you’ve done the box sets for your nonfiction writing as well as your fiction. You’re right in that box sets create a real value for our readers.
I’m glad you found it useful, Frances. Yes, I’ve done non-fiction boxsets too – the principle is exactly the same 🙂
Thank you so much. You simplified a process I am soon to undertake, and made it not quite so daunting!
Joanna, I’d really like some more follow-up on the multi-author thing. As an Australian working with overseas authors and organising anthologies, I’ve really had no option but to find a publisher who would upload the book, take a percentage and then agree to pay us out, because Amazon won’t pay out individually. Smashwords won’t either, Draft2Digital said a couple of years ago that they were implementing it but nothing since, and Pronoun haven’t discussed it. Do you know of any other aggregators that might make this simpler for authors? The problem with using a publisher is not just losing the percentage that they take for doing not very much, but also transparency in terms of just how many sales we’ve actually made.
Check out https://bundlerabbit.com/ and there will be other collaboration options coming later in 2017. But otherwise, one of the authors usually does it and splits the money. Make sure you do good contracts and have an end date so you’re not paying out a few dollars years later costing you more in overheads.
Thanks for the great information, Joanna! One question – do you know if Amazon “forces” a higher price for a bundled set based on page count? Just curious. Thanks! Betsi
No, they don’t force higher prices – except for encouraging $2.99 – $9.99 price point for 70% royalties
I am trying to find a company that will bundle some classroom books I am writing to follow-up on my curriculum publications. Basically, I want to sell the stories in a set. What company do you recommend for printing and distribution in sets? I cannot seem to find one.
This is about ebook boxsets. In terms of printing, you can create one file with multiple books using the usual services like Ingram Spark and Createspace, but if you want an actual box, I wouldn’t know. All the best.
Great article, thank you!
I have a question about the KDP Select exclusivity, but from the other angle: can a box set go wide if the individual books are KDP Select Exclusive?
Cheers 🙂
No – if your books are KDP Select, the boxset also has to be KDP Select
Getting ready to put together a box set right when all three book of my trilogy come up for renewal in Select on Sept1. Ready to go wide (they will have been in Select a year by then). Do you like wide with all the vendors for a boxset or do you find they perform better in Select?
Thanks!
Tony
I’m wide with all my boxsets so I couldn’t compare to Select right now. It’s different to every author.
How do you go about getting included in a multi-author box-set?
You need to build up relationships with other authors in your genre. It just takes time 🙂
Great article, thanks Joanna!
A Q about imagery: It looks as though box set product images are larger than simple covers. Can you point me to any definitive source saying what size of product image KDP expects? Also, what’s best practice for the book file cover – is it best to use a flat version or the 3-D box image?
I’m not finding anything explicit out there, so thanks for any pointers you can give.
Dave
Very helpful, Joanna. I am planning a box set with the first three books in an on-going series. All books are in KDP Select. I assume there is no issue if the boxset also goes into KDP Select. If I later go wide with the individual books, am I right in assuming the boxset would also have to come out of KDP Select? So whatever the individual books do, the boxset has to do?
Yes, correct. Because the boxset is made of the same content as the books.
Hi Joanna
Good article. I have a couple of questions. If I publish a boxed set where the individual books are on KDP Select, as is the boxed set, do the individual prices have to match that of the boxed set? For instance, if the individual books are $6.99, does the boxed set also have to be $6.99 (or more)? Or can the boxed set be “on sale” for a lower price? (Say starting at 99 cents to gain sales ranking momentum, then climbing to $6.99 with a promotion for “Three For The Price Of One?”
Do you recommend taking the individual books down from KDP Select while publishing the boxed set? Will the boxed set help or hurt sales of the individual book? (Then there’s the potential issue above with KDP Select.)
One item not addressed in this article (realizing it’s a couple of years old) is the impact of KENP, getting paid for pages read. Does that effect the decision to sell at 99 cents just to get the book into readers’ hands and make up the income from pages read?
Any tips you’ve picked up on promoting boxed sets that might be different than promoting individual books?
Thanks in advance for your answers.
Prices don’t have to match, but the books in the boxset in KU also have to be in KU – so you can’t be wide with the individual books and in KU for the boxset or vice versa.
Leave the individual books up as well, it’s basically a different market.
I don’t use KU so you’d have to ask authors who do about this. There have certainly been a lot of scams in KU around boxsets and pages read, so just play by the rules and I’m sure you’ll be fine.
On promotions, try the usual price reduction sites e.g. BookBub, Bargainbooksy as well as direct promos through KWL etc if wide.
Can you create both a hard print and an ebook multiple book set if you have more than one self-publisher or do you need to make sure all the books are available through just one self-publisher? I ask because the first book in the series, The Adventures of Flapjack, is self-published through AuthorHouse and the last two are self-published through Dog Ear Publishing.
Self publishing means you own the rights, but those companies are author services companies which are different. You’ll need to look at your contract.
You do realize that this doesn’t explain your premise, about 3D and Flat. I assume Ibooks only accepts 3D:)
Hire a graphic designer/cover designer to make a box-set cover. Get a 3D and a flat version, since iBooks only accepts the flat version and Kobo recommends the flat version for better sales, so it’s good to have both.
Your article is exactly what I needed to determine how best to create a bundle for my series of ebooks for memoir writers! It’s great to find so much comprehensive information in one place. Thanks so much. Keep up the good work, Joanna!
I see paper books in bundles, as well as ebooks and audiobooks. Are bundles only of a single format. Meaning, do I need to create 3 bundles to combine my 2 books in all formats. Can our paper backs remain as 2 separate books when sold as a bundle or do we make a thicker book? Confused on this one.
You can bundle multiple formats if you want to, it’s just not so easy as each format usually has a different delivery option, but you can do it with tagging and email.