Photo by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash
Hi,
I won’t be writing a review today, as I am still in testing phase, and very satisfied by the overall workflow and customer experience with PublishDrive.com. It is a great startup and I will gladly be using it for self publishing purposes, especially because of their 100% royalty policy, and their AI tools for helping you in the publishing process are very cutting-edge.
Here is the prompt I gave ChatGPT, you can dowload it as pdf here: PublishDrive Overview History by BigUpNews
I also generated an image using the prompt: “ok, thank you, please generate an image only using BigUpNews.com”, but as usually, the image generation with ChatGPT is crap (GPT-4o).
Anyways, for research purposes, it is ok to use ChatGPT, however, I might switch soon, especially if/because they are partnering with certain profit oriented companies, which aren’t cool (not mentioning names here, but I think it is obvious), so, yeah, you can be fly as a company (e.g. Discord.com), or you can be somewhat cringe, which isn’t exactly OpenSource.
I’m not saying that you are not allowed to earn money, as a company, if the quality is ok, and you do it in a transparent way. But if the outcome is dissatisfying, and it is unclear, which image generator was used, for example, then the UX (User Experience) has not been acknowledged enough, and this is simply bad marketing or unprofessional product development.
So, I, as stated, am not writing a review, neither about AI, ChatGPT or Google Gemini or any other company, etc., just saying: “using ChatGPT for research is ok, but the image generation … Holy guacamole! Ya, need to improve that s***!”
Use case: using ChatGPT for research purposes
Prompt: “please give an overview of PublishDrive including history”
Answer:
“Here’s a clear overview of PublishDrive, with its history, mission, business model, and how it works as of early 2026:
📚 What is PublishDrive?
PublishDrive is a global self-publishing and distribution platform that helps authors and publishers get their books (ebooks, print-on-demand, and audiobooks) into hundreds of online stores and libraries around the world — from big names like Amazon, Apple Books, Google Play Books, Kobo, Barnes & Noble and beyond.
Instead of handling each store separately, users upload their book once into PublishDrive’s dashboard and manage distribution, royalties, metadata, marketing tools, and sales analytics all from one place.
🧠 Origins & Founding
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Started: PublishDrive’s roots go back to 2014, but the platform launched publicly in 2015.
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Founder & CEO: Kinga Jentetics, who began the project because she saw no easy way for authors to publish internationally. She assembled a team to build the platform to simplify global self-publishing.
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The company is now a global operation, serving creators in 190+ countries.
🧱 Key Milestones in PublishDrive’s History
Here’s a snapshot of the major events and developments:
✅ Early Growth (2015–2017)
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2015: PublishDrive opens to the public after early development and testing.
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2016: Became an Apple Approved Aggregator, meaning it was authorized to distribute content directly to Apple Books.
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Expanded into the Chinese market early on, signing retail agreements with major players like Dangdang.
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2017: Participated in Google’s Launchpad Accelerator and received seed funding from Credo Ventures.
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CEO Kinga was named in Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe for media/tech entrepreneurship.
📈 Platform Evolution (2018–2022)
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2018: PublishDrive introduced one of its signature features — a subscription pricing model where authors pay flat fees and keep 100 % of royalties (after store fees) instead of royalty shares.
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2019: Launched PublishDrive Abacus, a tool for managing and splitting royalties among co-authors or teams.
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2020: Added audiobook and print-on-demand distribution, letting authors offer multiple formats from the same dashboard.
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2020: Surpassed 100 000 books in its catalog.
🔧 Recent Developments (2023–2025)
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Continued enhancements to metadata, sales tools, and AI-powered features aimed at discoverability and marketing.
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2025 saw updates focused on accessibility compliance, ensuring books distributed through PublishDrive automatically meet international accessibility standards.
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Ongoing expansion of global reach, including niche channels and library networks.
🧩 Core Features & Services
PublishDrive combines several tools authors/publishers often need into one platform:
📦 Distribution
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Upload once and distribute ebooks, audiobooks, and print formats to 50+ storefronts and 240 000+ libraries worldwide.
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Reach major global markets plus hard-to-access regional stores.
💸 Pricing & Royalties
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Subscription model: Flat-fee plans (monthly/annual) with 0 % commission — you keep 100 % of net royalties.
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Built-in royalty management and splitting with Abacus.
🧠 Tools to Boost Sales
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Sales analytics: Real-time tracking across platforms.
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AI publishing assistant: Helps optimize metadata, categories, keywords, and descriptions.
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Free ebook converter: Turns DOCX manuscripts into industry formats like EPUB/MOBI.
📊 Support for Growth
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Marketing tools, metadata management, and dashboards tailored for both new and experienced authors.
🌍 Business Model & Philosophy
PublishDrive’s approach differs from many traditional aggregators:
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Subscription-based pricing: Instead of a revenue share (e.g., 10–30 %), PublishDrive charges flat fees so authors retain royalty income. This is especially valuable for mid- to high-earning authors.
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Global emphasis: It pushes harder into diverse markets and libraries compared with many competitors, especially in Asia and emerging regions.
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Author empowerment: The platform emphasizes transparency, ease of use, and giving creators control over their work and earnings.
🧾 How It Works (Short Version)
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Sign up and upload your manuscript.
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Use PublishDrive’s tools to convert, format, and optimize content.
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Choose distribution channels and publish.
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Track sales and manage royalties via the dashboard.
Authors keep their copyrights — PublishDrive only holds distribution rights while your subscription is active.
🧠 Pros & Community Feedback
Positive aspects:
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Wide global reach and simplified publishing.
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Favorable for authors who want to retain royalties.
Critiques from users (e.g., forums & reviews):
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Costs may outweigh benefits for low-sales authors.
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Some report occasional delays or support issues.
📌 Summary
🎯 PublishDrive is a comprehensive self-publishing platform founded in 2015 with roots in simplifying global digital publishing. It has grown from a regional startup into a global distribution network boasting hundreds of store and library outlets, advanced analytics, AI tools, and a flat subscription model that helps authors keep more of their earnings.
If you want, I can compare PublishDrive with other self-publishing platforms (like Draft2Digital, StreetLib, or Smashwords) to help you figure out which might suit you best!”