Mark Leslie Lefebvre has one of the most unusual and valuable résumés in indie publishing education. He has worked in the book industry since 1992 — as a bookseller, as President of the Canadian Booksellers Association, as the founder and Director of Kobo Writing Life (the platform that opened Kobo's self-publishing ecosystem to indie authors), and currently as Director of Business Development at Draft2Digital.

Lefebvre is also a prolific author himself — over thirty published books including fiction (A Canadian Werewolf in New York, Fright Nights Big City) and nonfiction for authors (the Stark Publishing Solutions series). He hosts the weekly Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing Podcast. His combination of platform insider knowledge, working author experience, and distribution expertise makes him the most authoritative voice on wide publishing available to indie authors.

He is also a personal friend and long-time supporter of ScribeCount — one of the most credible voices in the indie community recommending the platform to authors who want data-driven insight into their wide publishing results.

Killing It on Kobo

Killing It on Kobo is the foundational guide to the Kobo Writing Life platform — written by the person who built it. The book covers the mechanics of the KWL dashboard, how Kobo's promotional programs work and how to be selected for them, pricing strategy for Kobo's international markets, and the specific differences between Kobo's reader community and Amazon's that affect how you market and position books.

One of Kobo's most consistent strengths is its reach in markets where Amazon is not dominant — Canada, the Netherlands, Australia, and particularly European markets. Killing It on Kobo covers how to position books for these readers specifically, including cover design signals, price point considerations by market, and series naming conventions that resonate in non-US markets.

⚠️ UPDATE NOTE:  Kobo Plus — Kobo's subscription reading service — has expanded to multiple new countries since Killing It on Kobo was first published. Authors considering Kobo Plus enrollment should check the current KWL blog and help center for the most up-to-date eligibility and income information alongside the book.

Wide for the Win

Wide for the Win is the broader strategic companion to Killing It on Kobo — it addresses the full wide publishing ecosystem rather than Kobo specifically. Lefebvre makes the philosophical and practical case for wide publishing, covers the major platforms beyond Amazon (Kobo, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, Tolino, Scribd/Everand), and provides specific guidance on distribution options through Draft2Digital, PublishDrive, and direct platform publishing.

The book is particularly valuable for its treatment of the global English-language market. Most indie author education is implicitly US-centric — Lefebvre brings a genuinely international perspective shaped by his work with Kobo's global retailer partnerships. He covers European markets, the Canadian market, and the growing Australian and New Zealand ebook readership in ways that most other resources do not.

Wide for the Win also addresses the KU vs. wide decision honestly — not as a simple advocacy for one approach over the other, but as a genuine analysis of when each is appropriate for different authors at different career stages with different genres.

An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries and Bookstores

The third primary resource in Lefebvre's nonfiction library for authors is An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries and Bookstores — a practical guide to the distribution channels that most indie publishing education entirely ignores. Library distribution through OverDrive, Baker & Taylor, and IngramSpark; consignment strategies for local bookstores; the mechanics of getting indie books stocked and kept on shelves — these are covered in detail that is virtually unavailable elsewhere.

For authors who want to build a presence in physical retail and library lending alongside their digital sales, this book is indispensable.

The Stark Reflections Podcast

Lefebvre's weekly podcast, Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing, extends his book content into an ongoing resource — covering platform developments, author interviews, distribution strategy, and industry news. The podcast is particularly valuable for wide publishing authors because Lefebvre's platform relationships (D2D, formerly Kobo) give him access to information and perspective on non-Amazon platforms that most author education resources lack.

Tracking Your Results with ScribeCount

📊  Every course teaches strategies. ScribeCount shows you whether those strategies are working — in real numbers, across every platform you publish on.

Mark Leslie Lefebvre's books teach you to maximize revenue across wide publishing platforms. ScribeCount's Author OS shows you how those platforms are performing in aggregate and individually. When you implement Killing It on Kobo strategies and begin receiving promotional placement, watch your Kobo revenue percentage change in ScribeCount's Sales Dashboard and Sunburst Chart. When you follow Wide for the Win's global market guidance, ScribeCount's world map view shows which international markets are responding. The strategy comes from Lefebvre's books. The measurement comes from ScribeCount.

Final Verdict

Mark Leslie Lefebvre's books are the most authoritative resources on wide publishing for indie authors — written by someone who literally built one of the major wide platforms and now works at the leading wide distribution service. Killing It on Kobo and Wide for the Win together constitute the essential education for any author who publishes or is considering publishing beyond Amazon. The library and bookstore guide extends that education into physical retail channels that most indie education ignores entirely. At approximately $5–$8 each, they represent extraordinary value.

✅  Bottom Line: The most authoritative wide publishing guides available, written by the person who built Kobo Writing Life. Essential reading for any indie author who publishes beyond Amazon. Start with Wide for the Win, then Killing It on Kobo.

About the Author

Hello, I'm Randall Wood. When I'm not pounding the keyboard or entertaining my giant dog, I like to build tools for my fellow indie authors. In these articles, you'll find lessons learned over sixteen years spent in the indie author world. I share it all here to help you get one step closer to where you want to be.

More at randallwoodauthor.com