ABOUT US

it is extremely difficult and costly for indie authors and new authors on a small scale to sell their ebooks/books through mainstream channels due to high distribution costs. They also miss out on the economies of scale that typically accompany the traditional publishing model, and very often cannot cover their publishing costs when selling through these channels. So, without platforms such as redcompass.co.za, many of the titles featured in this store would struggle to find their way into your hands.

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We are one of the few online stores that provide a robust sales platform for authors and companies publishing ebooks independently.

What Red Compass offers you, the author or small publisher

  • The option to sell ebooks (no DRM)
  • Easy registration
  • Get paid in ZAR directly into your bank account, with no minimum payment thresholds (South African bank account holders only)
  • Sales statements when books are sold
  • The option to include book launch details or special event news in our blog free of charge
  • Personal, friendly service when you liaise with us – you get real people and old-fashioned service backed by new technology

What you will make when selling through our store

Ebook sales: 70% for the author and 30% for Red Compass Fee. A once off R180 fee is payable per ebook upload.

The minimum price for an ebook is R 50 for a minimum of 25 pages and R75 For 50 pages or more. There is no maximum price.

A download link is provided on successful payment using a Credit/Debit Card and Instant EFT. If payment is made using standard EFT or Direct Deposit, a download link will be emailed to you upon receipt of your proof of payment.

We pay you on the 25 of every month following the sale happens, if the 25th falls on the weekend, you will get paid on the Friday, for example, if it is Saturday the 25th, you get paid on the Friday the 24th. There is also NO minimum earnings threshold for South African bank account holders. If you’ve made a sale, you get paid. (If you do not have a South African bank account, kindly inquire about our payment frequency).

We email you a statement when books have been sold. Statements are not issued if no sales have been made. However, you are always welcome to email us to request a sales update at any time. Sales summaries are usually supplied within 1–3 working days of your request.

Note: Sales made after the 15th of December of each year are only paid mid-January the following year due to our offices being closed for the holidays.

How to list your ebook on redcompass.co.za

  1. Register on our site as a Vendor (https://redcompass.co.za/my-account/)
  2. You will be prompted to supply a full-size front cover image of your ebook, and preferably some sample pages of your book inner in PDF format to help readers make an informed buying decision. The more information you can provide, the better. If your book is a full-colour coffee table book, feel free to send us images of pages or photos used in the book, in jpg format. It’s best to have these items ready before you complete the form so that everything can be submitted in one go (if you can’t, don’t stress – these items can also be emailed to us after your form submission).
  3. We will review your ebook, and if your ebook is approved, you will be charged R180 once off.
  4. You will be notified when your listing is live. Your listing goes live usually within 1–3 working days.

We accept Word doc/docx with the font Times New Roman, pdf, or epub.

ePub: The ePub format can be read using most ebook readers. Simply download an e-reading app, load the book into the app library, and enjoy! Adobe Digital Editions is a free app that reads both ePub and PDF and offers other handy functionality.

PDF: Just double-clicking the file will usually open a browser or PDF-compatible app within which to view the file. However, you may want to make bookmarks or notes or keep all your ebooks in one place, in which case it is recommended that you load the PDF into your e-reading app of choice. Most e-reading apps that read ePub also read PDF. Adobe Digital Editions is a free app that reads both ePub and PDF and offers other handy functionality.

Your ebook must have a main cover, introduction page, page numbers, chapter numbers, and the ISBN code on the bottom right-hand corner of the back cover, (you can get ISBN code for free from the South African National Library).

Ebooks on our site are sold in good faith by authors who do not believe in policing others on how their books are read. This means that ebooks are not locked to any particular device or e-reading app, leaving you free to transfer the downloaded ebook to the devices or e-reader apps of your choice. In return, the authors ask you to value their hard work and goodwill by not sharing files and by encouraging others to purchase their own copy of the book from this store.

When you sell through our store, a robust description, links to your website. We also have a separate tab for your author information, such as biography, social media links and credentials

Red Compass does not market or advertise authors

As a self-publishing author you take on the role of the publisher and, as such, marketing and promoting your book remains your responsibility. Many excellent online resources offer great marketing and promotional ideas. What you must do is direct potential buyers to this online store. When you list with us, we will provide you with our logo (on request) for use on your marketing material, social media pages such as Facebook and Instagram, and your email banner – along with your book URL, which you will use to direct customers straight to your book page.
We do publicize new additions to the store on our social media pages, and if your book aligns with a marketing and publicity campaign that we are running, we will include it in the campaign.