As the saying goes, everyone has a book in them. But how do you get that work to the public, develop an audience, build a literary brand and sustain a writing career? 

                By                    Thomas Streissguth
  • Register for an Account
  • Format the Book
  • Create a Cover
  • List a New Title
  • Upload Your Book
  • Consider the Costs
  • KDP Select
  • Kindle Vella

The online retail giant’s global market is massive compared to the scope of traditional publishers. It also allows authors more creative freedom — KDP authors have control over editing, design, marketing and pricing. They also keep much more of the profits their works earn.

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Below the sign-in buttons, links will bring you to pages on various popular book genres. If your work fits one of these categories, click through and have a quick read on authors who have published in the genre through KDP. 

Format the Book

Review the Kindle Publishing Guidelines. For e-books, this handy page links to another page that compares the different formats that will convert to a usable Kindle file.

The guidelines include helpful information on:

  • Cover images
  • Navigation through the book
  • External links
  • Interior photos
  • Tables of contents
  • Indexes
  • Other details that go into book production

The most common formats for e-books are Microsoft Word, Kindle Package Format, EPUB and MOBI. Each of these formats handles text and images differently. It’s vital to research these formats to understand how they set up images, text frames, bookmarking and related information. It’s also important to know how these different aspects of your book will work once the whole thing is uploaded to the KDP platform.

Create a Cover

Contrary to wishful thinking among authors and publishers, people judge a book by its cover — and do so critically. Even in text-heavy media such as physical books or e-books, images win the contest for reader attention.

A good cover does more than hint at the story and style of a book. It grabs attention immediately and inspires curiosity in the prospective buyer. Without reading any text, the cover and the title are the only means for someone to evaluate the book and make a decision on buying it.   

Many professional book designers can create a dynamic, intriguing cover for your book. Unless you have graphic design experience, hiring someone for this step is a good idea. Browse freelance sites such as Fiverr for cover artists, check the genres they work in and look at their past work. If a particular design strikes your interest or seems to work well in your genre, contact the designer and ask for a quote. 

List a New Title

Enter the Book Details

Click on “Bookshelf” from your account page, then hit the “Create” button. This is where you enter all the public details of each edition of the book.

Create a Book Description

The next step is to create a full book description. Explain what your book is about and why readers will find it useful or entertaining. Intrigue the public with hints about the content, snippets of text or interesting quotes. Make the description as fun and readable as possible by using short paragraphs, bulleted lists and bold or italic highlights. 

Choose and Enter Keywords

Select Categories for the Book

After entering keywords, it’s time to select categories for the book. These will show up on the details page, and it’s a good idea to search for more popular categories before selecting them. On the details page, the categories appear along with the book’s sales rank within that particular category. The lower the number, the more popular the book.  

Upload Your Book

With a book in a supported format, it’s time to upload it to the platform.

Consider the Costs and Set the Book’s Price

Royalties

Royalties vary by format and run from 35% to 70%.

Note that KDP is a print-on-demand service. The printing costs are charged against your royalties when a book is sold and applies only to that book. It’s not necessary to order a minimum number of copies in advance or keep any physical inventory. This simplifies the economics of publishing and makes it easier to earn a profit from your writing. 

Printing Costs for Paperbacks

Printing costs for paperbacks using black ink are as follows:

  • 24-108 pages: $2.15 per book, no additional cost per page
  • 110-828 pages: $0.85 per book plus $0.012 per page

For paperbacks using color ink, printing costs are priced slightly higher:

  • 24-40 pages printed with premium ink: $3.65 per book, no additional cost per page
  • 42-828 pages printed with premium ink: $0.85 per book plus $0.07 per page
  • 72-600 pages printed with standard ink: $0.85 per book plus $0.036 per page

Printing Costs for Hardcover Books

Printing costs for hardcover books using black ink are as follows:

  • 75-108 pages: $6.80 per book, no additional cost per page
  • 110-550 pages: $5.50 per book plus $0.012 per page

For hardcover books that are 75-550 pages long and are printed in color ink, printing costs are priced slightly higher at $5.50 per book plus a per-page cost of $0.070.

Maximum List Price

The maximum list price you can set for a paperback or hardcover book is $250.

Enroll in KDP Select

KDP Select offers authors a choice of two promotional tools: Kindle Countdown Deals (offering limited-time discounts) and Free Book Promotion (offering a limited-time free download).

Publish Stories on Kindle Vella

If you’re working on short stories or novels in serial form, consider posting your work on Kindle Vella. This new self-publishing platform offers Kindle users short-form works that appear in regular installments. The first three episodes of the work are free, while subsequent chapters are paid for with tokens. 

Limitations

Information is accurate as of May 5, 2022.

Good To Know

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