For Authors

your ebook deserves the right shelf

and the readers who are ready for it

The Slow Burn Reader is a curated book marketplace for indie authors who write for readers who take their reading seriously. Free to list. Fair commission. Zero logistics on your end.

Apply to list your ebook

Why The Slow Burn Reader

readers here are already looking for what you wrote.

The Slow Burn Reader was built for one kind of reader. The kind who finishes a book and goes quiet for three days. The kind who doesn't trust a star rating and wants to know if the payoff actually lands. They come here specifically for romance that meets a real standard. Your book just needs to meet it too.

a shelf that's actually curated

Every book here passed The Criteria. That means fewer titles, less noise, and a real chance your book gets found. You're not competing with a million listings. You're on a shelf readers already trust.

paid weekly. not monthly. not "eventually."

Most platforms make you wait 30 to 60 days for your money. We don't. Earnings from your sales are paid out weekly so your income moves at the same pace you do.

upload it once. we handle the rest.

File delivery, customer service, download issues — none of that lands on you. Once your book is live, your only job is writing the next one. Everything else is ours.

70%

goes to you

a commission split that respects your work

You earn 70% of every sale at the price you set. We take 30% to cover the platform, curation, file delivery, and keeping the lights on. No per-book fees. No upload charges. No monthly account costs.

Payouts are processed weekly. We'll send your earnings every Monday for the prior week's sales, directly to your PayPal.

How It Works

four steps from application to sale

01

apply. it takes about 2 mins

Fill out a short application: your name, your ebook title (the one you want to start with), a link to your manuscript or published ebook, and confirmation that you hold full digital rights. That's it!

02

we read it. every single one.

This is the part that takes time on our end. Every ebook submission goes through our editorial review — The Criteria. We're checking writing quality, character depth, pacing, and payoff. We review within 5 to 7 business days and we'll tell you directly either way.

03

your ebook goes live!

Once approved, your ebook is listed on the shelf. You don't touch the storefront. You don't manage checkout. You don't send files to readers. We handle all of that. Your only job was getting approved and uploading your epub.

We vet every book before it goes live. Not because we don't trust you, but because the readers who come here trust us.

What You Keep

your book. your terms.

Non-exclusive

List on The Slow Burn Reader and anywhere else you sell. We don't ask for exclusivity. Your book is yours.

You set the price

Pricing decisions are yours. We'll let you know if a price seems out of step with the shelf, but the call is yours to make.

Full digital rights

You hold your rights. The only requirement is that you legally own and can distribute the digital version of your book.

Update anytime

Need to update your file or change your cover? You can submit updates through your author dashboard whenever you need to.

Good To Know

answers before you even had to ask

  • No. Applying is free. Creating an author account is free. Uploading a book for review is free. We don't charge per submission or per title. The only time money moves is when a reader buys your book, at which point you receive 70% and we retain 30%.

  • We accept epub and mobi. If you only have a PDF version, reach out before applying and we can talk through options. For best reader experience across devices, epub is our preferred format.

  • No publishing deal required. No follower count. No minimum reviews. This is a platform for indie authors. What matters is the book, not the platform you came from or the audience you already have. The only requirements are that you own full digital distribution rights and that the book meets The Criteria.

  • Not at all. We manage the storefront, checkout, digital delivery, and any customer questions or issues that come up. If there's something specific about your book that a customer asks us about, we may reach out to you, but the logistics side of selling is entirely on us.

  • The Slow Burn Reader is currently focused on romance (romantasy, sci-fi romance, paranormal romance, contemporary romance, etc.). If your book sits at that intersection — built world, genuine romance arc, earned ending — you're in the right place. We may expand genre scope over time. If you're unsure whether your book fits, apply anyway and describe it. We'll tell you honestly.

  • Nothing changes for you! The Slow Burn Reader acquires physical books separately through Ingram and other distributors at wholesale price, and that happens on our end — not yours. If we carry a physical edition of your title and you have distribution rights for the ebook version, that's a good thing! If it's in our shop, it's already passed The Criteria, meaning you're almost guaranteed to be accepted.

  • No. Physical books on The Slow Burn Reader are purchased at wholesale price through Ingram and other distributors. The 70/30 commission structure applies to ebook sales only, because those are the sales you're directly facilitating by listing through our platform. If that ever changes, we'll communicate it clearly before it does.

Ready When You Are

put your ebook in front of readers who are actually looking

Applications take five minutes. We review within a week. If it's a match, your ebook will be on the shelf and selling to the readers who've been waiting for exactly what you wrote.

Start Your Application

Before You Apply

  • You hold full digital distribution rights to your book
  • Your book is in the romance genre (romantasy, sci-fi romance, paranormal romance, etc.)
  • You have an epub or mobi file ready
  • You have a cover image (minimum 1600px on the short side)
  • You have a PayPal account for receiving royalties