So we ’ ve donned our khaki, loaded the riverboat, and we ’ re fix to guide you through the hobo camp — starting with how to publish a book on Amazon, in the most actual sense. audacious authors, get cook to hit that ‘ publish ’ clitoris with confidence .
1. Set up a KDP account
Before boarding this Amazon express cruise, you will need to get a ticket. And by that we mean, set up a KDP account. fortunately, it ’ s easy, immediate, and free ! Hop over to Kindle Direct Publishing and get started by signing in to your Amazon report — or signing up for a new one.
then you ’ ll need to complete your KDP account data, which includes :
- Author/Publisher information: As scary as this sounds, it’s just your full legal name (not a pen name), address, and phone number.
- Payment information: The details for receiving your sweet, sweet royalties — i.e. your bank account name and number.
- Tax information: Just a quick tax interview that guides you through the process of gathering the information required to establish your tax identity.
once that ’ s all ship-shape and good to go, climb aboard. This is where the fun begins !
2. Create a new title
On your KDP dashboard, you ’ ll see right away that there ’ s a section called “ Create a new title, ” with two options underneath : Kindle eBook, or Paperback. For the purposes of this tutorial, we ’ re only going to cover setting up an ebook, though the serve for paperbacks is reasonably alike. ( We besides have a unharmed station on publishing your books through print-on-demand services if you want to check that out. )
once you select what type of book you ’ re creating, you ’ ll be brought to a page with three break tabs for all of your book ’ south details. We ’ ll get into those soon, but for now, stay in the first yellow journalism and put your book ’ s title and language in the foremost two fields, then you ’ re on your way !
3. Enter your book description
The rest of this first tab key is where you fill in all the information about your bible. This will include, among early details :
- if it’s part of a series;
- the recommended age range of your readers, and
- any additional contributors who worked on your book, such as a book illustrator.
But the most significant thing you ’ ll need to add is your description .
Amazon book descriptions are pretty much what you ’ d find if you flipped over a paperback — i.e. the endorsement. I won ’ triiodothyronine get into the art of crafting a script description here ( just check out that post ! ), but once you know what you want to say, take a here and now to dress it up : Amazon allows you to use boldface and italics to make your description visually appealing, so accept advantage of that .
A bold headline statement, overcharge, or social establishment is a common approach used by bestselling traditionally published books — there ’ s no reason not to imitate them .
The statement “#1 New York Times bestseller” is made bold to hook readers.
4. Select your keywords and categories
Choosing your categories and keywords can often feel like a crocodile-infested swamp you ’ ra forced to pass through on your way to Amazon self-publishing success. But with a fiddling bit of time, and the right inquiry methods, these nine-or-so words can be a simple and effective room to boost your chances of success .
basically, a draw of the research has to be done by handwriting. Clicking through the Kindle shop and digging up the data on successful books similar to yours is the best way to find the keywords and categories that feel like a perfect paroxysm .
however, our very own Reedsy Learning course on understanding Amazon ’ s algorithm — along with the posts in this usher on keywords and categories specifically — have made the process a smooth cruise for countless authors. sol don ’ triiodothyronine scram left behind struggling through the swamp !
Free course: Amazon Algorithms
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once you ’ ve found your keywords and categories, actually entering them when you publish a book on Amazon is elementary. KDP lets you select two categories for your book, and up to seven keywords. Select the ones that you ’ ve decided best embrace your record — and remember, you can change and add to these by and by, so wear ’ t be afraid to experiment with a copulate .
5. Upload an epub file of your book
The following pill you reach is where you ’ ll need to actually upload your reserve onto your KDP account .
To get started, simply click the friendly, yellow “ Upload ebook manuscript ” button. Select the final examination transcript of your epub file and click “ OK. ”
Amazon will accept a range of file formats, but we powerfully recommend having your file formatted as an epub. Slapping a Word text file in and trusting Amazon to do the rest never works out well. Readers can tell who ’ s professionally formatted their ledger, and who hasn ’ t — and cutting corners will come back to bite you. Hiring a professional formatter will decidedly pay for itself over time, but if you ’ re an writer on a close budget, you can use a free cock like the Reedsy Book Editor to export a beautifully formatted ebook .
once you ’ ve selected your manuscript, you ’ ll see a message pop up saying that it ’ s processing your book. Do not refresh or click off of this page ! It can take a few minutes for Amazon to upload your book and verify it.
soon, if you ’ ve formatted your book to Amazon ’ south satisfaction, you ’ ll see a little green message saying that your manuscript has uploaded successfully. Take a moment to celebrate, but don ’ triiodothyronine get besides distract — there ’ south even a few very significant steps to go .
6. Upload a jpeg or tiff version of your cover
A book won ’ thymine betray without an attractive report. Your cover architect should have provided you with a jpeg or bicker version of your blanket, sized appropriately 1,000 ten 625. To add it to Amazon, simply select the option to use a preexistent cover, and click the “ Upload your cover file ” release. Select your screen file, making sure to upload the ebook version .
Like when you uploaded the book itself, this summons can take a moment. When it ’ randomness done, you ’ ll get another green presentment .
The sweet green tick of a successful upload
After you ’ ve uploaded your ebook and cover, you can use the “ Ebook Preview ” tool to see how it will look. Take a moment to ensure that everything is adjust : that the whole cover shows up, that the inside looks the way it does when you open the file on your computer, etc. If anything is wrong, go back and double-check your files, then upload again .
After that, it ’ randomness on to the concluding tab key .
7. Set a price between $2.99 and $9.99
The first thing to know when deciding what price to sell your koran is that Amazon offers a 70 % royalty rate on ebooks priced between $ 2.99 and $ 9.99, and 35 % on anything outside that range .
There will be times when you want to sell a koran outside this price range. possibly you will sell the first in a series at a lower price to drive sales for the remainder of the books. But as a general rule, it ’ second best to stick to something that will get you that sweet 70 % .
As you set your price, Amazon calculates your estimate royalties. It deducts a belittled “ rescue rate ” based on the file size of your koran and then shows you how much you ’ ll make per sale .
Choosing a list price that ends in a 99 is always good practice.
You can besides expand the price department to set different prices for each country you want to sell in. If you authentically do n’t care about external sales, you can just set it to car, but you ‘ll get much better results if you do it manually .
Selling internationally can actually help boost your sales, so we recommend keeping an eye on your international sales trends and nurturing those that develop. Our dislodge course will tell you all you need to know about how to do that .
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8. Enroll in KDP Select (or don’t)
now that all the information for your reserve is in put, it ’ sulfur prison term to consider a few important programs that may help your book reach an even wider audience .
KDP Select
We have a wholly post on KDP Select, so we ’ ll try on not to repeat ourselves excessively much. But basically, the broadcast offers two main benefits to authors looking to market their ebook :
- Inclusion in Kindle Unlimited; and
- The ability to run free book promotions and Kindle Countdown deals to help market your ebook.
Whether you choose to enroll will depend on your goals as an writer and what kind of business plan you have for your work. For example, is selling box sets through Apple Books or Google Play a big separate of your marketing strategy ? Or do you want to take advantage of regular price promotions ( and even the episodic “ release ” weekend for your book ) ? The KDP Select post linked above, and the quiz precisely below, will help you weigh your options. From there, it ’ south good a matter of checking or ignoring the “ Enroll my ledger in KDP Select ” box .
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Wondering whether you should give all your ebook distribution rights to Amazon?
Answer these 5 questions to find out !
9. Hit that Publish Button
This is the here and now you ’ ve been waiting for ! But before rushing in, take a moment to click back through the previous yellow journalism and make indisputable everything is set up precisely the manner you want it. Although you can correct a error after you ’ ve published, it ’ second better to ensure the data is right before you hit that button.
Read more: 13 Author Websites That Get It Right
If you ’ re not quite cook, there ’ s a “ Save as Draft ” push button that will allow you to come back and ending subsequently. If, however, everything looks good, there ’ s nothing left to do but hit “ Publish your Kindle ebook ” !
Congratulations, you did it ! Hopefully, you ’ ve seen that publishing a book on Amazon international relations and security network ’ metric ton closely american samoa chilling as you may have feared .
And if you’d like to follow our guide deeper into the jungle, we’ll explore those areas of Amazon self-publishing where usually only the most intrepid authors feel safe — including Amazon’s algorithms, keywords, and categories. Hold on to your safari hat!
