E-book: how to write, publish and sell one

An e-book is the simplest digital product: you can write it alone, publish it without a printing house and sell it both on your own website and on global platforms. “Elektroninė knyga” (e-book) is searched for several hundred times a month in Lithuania, but most people are looking for where to download a book, not how to publish one – so there is little practical information in Lithuanian.

This part of the guide covers the whole route: from manuscript to sale. Which format to choose, how to get an ISBN in Lithuania, what royalties Amazon KDP pays and why this platform is not suitable for a book in Lithuanian, and which VAT rate applies to e-books.

From idea to manuscript

E-books are most often bought to solve a specific problem: to teach, to help make a decision, to save time. So start not with the title but with the reader.

1. Define the reader and the result. In one sentence: who will read it and what they will be able to do or know after reading it.
2. Draw up the contents. 8–15 chapters, each answering one question. If you cannot describe a chapter in one sentence, it needs to be split.
3. Write to a schedule. A fixed number of words per day works better than waiting for inspiration. Do not revise the first draft until you have finished it.
4. Edit in separate passes. First structure and logic, then language, finally proofreading. Entrust the proofreading to another person – an author does not see their own mistakes.
5. Give it to 3–5 people from the target audience to read and ask where it was unclear or boring.

EPUB or PDF: which format to choose

Many authors prepare both formats. Keep in mind that the ISBN agency treats each separately available format as a separate publication.

ISBN in Lithuania: who assigns it and how much it costs

The ISBN is the international standard book number by which bookshops, libraries and platforms identify a book. In Lithuania it has been assigned since 1992 by the Lithuanian ISBN and ISMN Agency, which operates at the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania.

• What it is assigned to. Besides printed books – also online electronic publications, audiobooks, digital copies of printed publications.
• A separate one for each format. The agency states that an ISBN is assigned “to each published and separately available different format of an electronic publication (pdf, epub, html, pdb)”. A separate number is also needed for a revised or expanded edition and for an edition in another language.
• Who can apply. Both legal entities and natural persons – an author can be their own publisher.
• How. Online through the ibiblioteka.lt portal (section “El. paslaugos” → “Leidėjams”) or by email to isbnltu@lnb.lt, after filling in the application form.
• Time frame. Within 5 working days after payment, or within 1 working day under the urgent procedure.

In an online publication the ISBN is shown on the first screen or on the screen that carries the copyright notice. The number is assigned once and is not reused for another publication.

An ISBN is not assigned to advertising publications, calendars without text, or colouring books without text. Whether an ISBN is needed depends on where you sell: on Amazon KDP it is optional for e-books, while bookshops and libraries mostly rely on it.

Amazon KDP: royalties and conditions

Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) is Amazon's self-publishing platform. Publishing is free, and Amazon takes a share of every sale.

A few conditions that are easy to overlook:

• The 70% royalty is paid only for sales to buyers from the so-called 70% territories (among them the USA, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands). Lithuania is not on this list, so 35% is paid on purchases by buyers from Lithuania.
• The author does not have to live in one of these countries – it is the buyer's location that matters, not the author's.
• If you choose 70%, the price of the e-book must be at least 20% lower than the price of the print edition of the same book on Amazon.
• Only the 35% royalty applies to books that consist mostly of public domain works.
• File size reduces earnings: a book with many illustrations may earn less at the 70% rate than you expected.

KDP accepts manuscripts in EPUB, Word (.doc), HTML, RTF and TXT formats.

Selling on your own website and in Lithuanian bookshops

For a book in Lithuanian the main routes are your own website and Lithuanian e-book shops. The bookshops apply their own conditions and commissions, so ask them directly. To sell on your own website you will need:

• a way to accept payments – by bank transfer, card or through a payment intermediary;
• automatic file delivery – a download link immediately after payment;
• clear information for the buyer – format, number of pages, which devices it can be read on, an excerpt of the content;
• consent regarding the right of withdrawal – a 14-day right of withdrawal applies to digital content, unless the buyer expressly agrees before downloading that they lose it (more in the part of the guide on online courses).

On your own website the whole price is left, minus the payment processing fee, but you have to bring the buyers yourself. Advertising is not the only thing that helps: the book can be recommended by affiliates who receive a commission only for a completed sale.

VAT on e-books

The State Tax Inspectorate (VMI) states that from 1 January 2026 the reduced 5% VAT rate applies to “printed and electronic books and printed and electronic non-periodical informational publications”. Exceptions:

• publications in which advertising makes up more than 4/5 of the whole publication;
• publications consisting wholly or mainly of music or video content;
• calendars, notebooks and similar printed matter.

The rate is relevant only to VAT payers. Registering as a VAT payer is mandatory when income in Lithuania exceeds 45 000 € per year. If e-books are also bought by residents of other EU countries, a separate annual threshold of 10 000 € applies: once it is exceeded, VAT is paid at the rate of the buyer's country through the OSS system. When selling through Amazon, the royalty is calculated on the price excluding VAT.

Royalties and income from book sales are taxable income. Which form of activity suits you is explained in the ACS.lt article “Self-employment: registration certificate or business certificate”.

Checklist before publishing

Frequently asked questions