How to Self-Publish on Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP)
Jumpstart your author journey today!
I believe in you and I want to hear your story. If you don’t have a lot of money and want to maintain the rights to your work self-publishing is a great way to go. There are other places to self-publish besides Amazon, like Ingram Spark, Barnes and Nobles, etc., but Amazon’s world-wide brand and notability for reaching customers is hard to beat.
*Also make sure you are using Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing https://kdp.amazon.com/. There are a lot of copycat sites trying to redirect you and get you to pay them to help you self-publish, but it is free to create a KDP account and publish through Amazon KDP.*
Write Your Manuscript.
Write about something you know and that matters to you.
Keep your key audience in mind. For example, if you are writing a children’s book use simple words.
Start writing.
Edit Your Manuscript.
If you spend any money on your work, I recommend Reedsy.com to find competitive quotes for professional editors. It is good to have someone outside of your circle give you real constructive feedback. My editor is Ms. Glenys Nellist and if you are writing children’s books, I highly recommend her. There are different types of editing available for where you are in the process, here is an explanation of the different types:
Developmental Editing - Focuses on the overall structure, content, and flow of your manuscript.
Copy Editing - Refines the text at a sentence level, ensuring clarity, coherence, and consistency in grammar, syntax, punctuation, and style.
Editorial Assessment - A broad evaluation of your manuscript that provides feedback on its strengths and weaknesses.
Proofreading - The final polish, ensuring the manuscript is free from surface-level errors.
Query Letter Review - Focuses on reviewing and improving the letter you’ll use to pitch your manuscript to literary agents or publishers.
Indexing - Creates an index for your book to make it easy for readers to locate specific topics, terms, or ideas.
Book Coaching - Offers ongoing, personalized guidance throughout the writing process.
In my experience in working with an editor, they typically want the document in Microsoft Word, so be flexible if you’ve written your manuscript in a different program. (I am a Mac user and this is a pain every time).
Format Your Manuscript.
I recommend Canva.com for formatting. Amazon also has free templates and Adobe In-Design is also a good resource. Here is the link to understand the Amazon KDP formatting rules: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G201834230.
Youtube has great resources on the custom sizes in Canva to format your children’s book based on the size you choose. Here is my favorite YouTuber for formatting, Heather Cash Art:
I use an 8x8 square children’s book and it correlates to a custom Canva size of 8.675 in. by 8.75 in. for the interior pages.
Design a Cover.
You can also import or generate your cover page in Canva. You will download this as a separate document from your interior pages.
If you want to digitize your hard drawings, like I am for “Puppy Musical Birthday Bash”, I use my iPad and Apple Pencil with a one-time purchased app called “Procreate.” Also great resources on YouTube for beginners.
Copyright Your Work.
Create an account at https://copyright.gov/registration/. Follow the instructions, pay ~$65 and upload your work. If they have questions, they will email you. Otherwise, you will get a physical copy of your copyright in the mail with 2-3 weeks. [More on this in a later post]
Get an ISBN number.
Use Bowker Publishing Services: https://www.myidentifiers.com/isbn_dashboard?lid=2361385. There are so many scam websites, so double check you are using the right website.
You can buy an individual ISBN for ~$25 or I bought 10 for ~$100 because each version (print, hardback, digital) require a separate ISBN number.
Pay attention to the name you want to publish under. They will ask for your imprint name which needs to stay consistent to properly register your copyrighted works. For Example, my imprint name is my full name Britney Westerfield Reed.
If you have a generic name, think about using a full name to make it easily searchable and prevent confusion.
Generate a Barcode.
Use Bookow for a free barcode generator: https://bookow.com. It will ask for a donation, but it is not required. Once you input your ISBN, follow the instructions to have it emailed to you as a PNG (image). You can save this to your photos and then upload it to Canva to your cover design.
Decide on a Price.
Prices for soft cover books around the 32 page requirement on Amazon are about ~$4.20 per book for author copies. Look at similar book prices and set a price margin you are comfortable with. My books are sold for $12.99 based on Amazon’s distribution costs. This is where Amazon makes their money. I get around $2.00 for every book through Amazon vs. around $8.00 if I sell my Author copies. Author copies, I have to physically sell myself and if I mail them to someone, I charge a standard $5 shipping using media mail. Any expedited shipping or expensive packaging, I lose money.
Create an Amazon KDP Account.
Log into here: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/bookshelf and create an account.
Upload Your Work.
You will upload your interior pages and cover separately.
I place my barcode with a set price and my ISBN number on the back cover page, so at this time I select that I don’t need a barcode.
Upload.
Check the margins to make sure nothing is cut off.
Preview your work.
Approve.
Plan Your Launch.
When you upload your work, you can choose to publish immediately, but it takes at least 24 hours for them to approve your work.
I recommend you pick a date that means something to you and post to your social media, text/email your fan-base and call your Mama to drive excitement.
Pat yourself on the back, published author.
Tell your favorite pal, Britney about your success.