Self-Publish your Book on Amazon

An example of the neat and professional 
formatting work done by 100 Covers

By Linda Wilson   bit.ly/44Dx1t9

Amazon offers a relatively easy—and free—way to publish your book. All five of my books have been published this way. As I write, my second chapter book, my sixth book, is in the process of being published by Amazon. This article focuses on how I upload my chapter books. Uploading picture books or other books is accomplished by a similar process.

Self-Publishing the KDP Way

Uploading your book onto Kindle Direct Publishing, KDP, https://kdp.amazon.com, Amazon’s publishing branch, gives you “control over your book’s content, design, price, audience, and advertising, in two formats, paperback and eBook; and can publish your book in more than 10 countries, in over 45 languages.” Fit your content into a genre, such as Business & Investing, Children’s Books, Romance, etc., and you’re on your way.

 Steps to Follow:

• Create a KDP account

• Go to “Bookshelf” to get started

• Fill in Language; Book title, Author and Contributors

• Description—Book summary: I use the blurb on the back cover of the book

• Publishing rights: Either you own the copyright or it’s public domain (my books are the former)

• Sexually Explicit Images or Title: No

• Reading age

• Primary marketplace: Amazon.com

• Categories: Choose from a drop-down menu

• Keywords: I look up comp books—books similar to mine—and use such keywords as “Children’s Mystery, Detectives, and Spy” and “Children’s Chapter Books.”

• Publication date: Publication date and Release date are the same (for me)

• Either release book now or schedule release date: mine is the former

• Save & continue

• Next page: ISBN: Amazon offers a free ISBN, which is tempting, but Amazon’s ISBN is accepted only accepted on Amazon. I buy my own ISBN’s on Bowker.com, in bundles to save.

• Publisher: Linda Wilson (yourself or the name of your self-pub company)

• Print options: My choices:

Black and white interior with cream paper

Trim size: 5x8 (12.7x20.32 cm)

Bleed settings: Bleed (PDF only)

Paperback cover finish: Matte or Glossy—I choose Glossy

Manuscript: Upload the PDF

Book cover: Upload the PDF or you can create your own on Amazon Creator.

• AI-generated content: yes or no

• Book Preview: a good idea to check it out.

• Save & continue

• Territories: All territories or Individual territories (I choose the former)

• Primary marketplace: Amazon.com

• Pricing, royalties, and distribution: Choose 60% or 40% expanded royalty. A list of where the book will be sold and amount of royalty will show you what each will pay.

• Terms and Conditions: Agree

• Request a book proof: You can request a printed preview of your book. I skip this step in order to publish ASAP.

• Save as Draft or Publish your book: I choose the latter. KDP then takes up to 72 hours to review your book. If it can’t be published for any reason, explanations are given. You need to correct them. Finally, you will be informed when your book is ready to publish.

• You can then order author copies from a drop-down menu on your Bookshelf. You can upload the eBook information and publish it right away upon acceptance. Uploading your eBook is similar to the steps for uploading your paperback. An ISBN is not required for eBooks. Amazon will assign your eBook an ASIN number, which is their own number. And then you can look into how to advertise on Amazon.

Other Ways to Publish your Book

Publishing “wide” can be done in addition to publishing your book on Amazon. I have not gone this route because I sell my books locally at holiday fairs and local events and don’t feel the need to—yet. But I think it’s a good idea. Two companies I’m most familiar with are Draft2Digital and IngramSpark.

Personally, I work with 100 Covers, https://100covers.com, a company that has formatted my books, which includes uploading illustrations by illustrators I work with; loaded my book covers created by my illustrator, though they will create a cover for you; and help me in the process of uploading my books onto KDP. Editing is also offered. Their charge is affordable. The 100 Covers reps I’ve worked with have helped me every step of the way. My picture books have been illustrated, edited, formatted, and helped in uploading by their sister company, 1000 Storybooks, https://1000storybooks.com.

Whatever way you choose to publish your book, rest assured there is help out there for you to make your book, and quite possibly your dreams, become a reality. 

Source: https://kdp.amazon.com 

Ranae Wischmann and moi at a
high school craft fair this 
Christmas

Linda's two new releases are Botas Altas, the Spanish version of Tall Boots, translated by Graciela Moreno and Adriana Botero, and Cuna en la Naturaleza, the Spanish version of Cradle in the Wild, translated by Adriana Botero. Both books have won awards. Visit Linda at https://bit.ly/3AOM98L.

Amazon: A Self-Published Author's Dream

Media Graphic created by 100 Covers

Your manuscript is complete, polished . . . fini . . . ready to hit the big time—and you’ve decided to self-publish your book. Getting ready for publication means your manuscript has been vetted over time with your critique partner(s), a professional editor, and has stood the test of time, meaning during revision you’ve let it sit a few days between revision sessions. Now what?

Publishing on Amazon is the Likely First Choice
Put your mind at ease. My book, a children’s book for 7-11-year-olds, was published on Amazon less than a month ago, and my experience uploading the manuscript and book covers for both the eBook and paperback, was a positive one. Here’s why:

• Google the question,“Can I have my book formatted and cover created at Amazon?” and you will see several companies offering these services. Or you can go to kdp.amazon.com/prepare your book, and see that your eBook manuscript can be formatted with Kindle Create, and cover designed by Cover Creator. Free tools are also available for your paperback.

• Since I already had illustrations for the book’s cover and interior, I chose to go to professionals to format the book and create the cover, and I’m glad I did. I’ve received compliments on how professional my book looks. I purchased a combination deal with Formatted Books and 100 Covers to do the work. I sent both companies the documents for the manuscript, interior illustrations, and for the covers for the eBook, the paperback, and now a square cover for the audiobook, which is in the making. For formatting, I sent my manuscript in a Word file. All for one low, reasonable price.

Time to Start the Amazon Learning Curve
I went to Amazon KDP and looked over the material—lots and lots of material—and tried not to be overwhelmed. I decided to print the explanations and put them in a 3-ring binder so I could study them at my leisure. That cut down on screen fatigue and actually gave me reassurance, something to hold in my hand, I suppose.

• First order of business: obtaining an ISBN number. Amazon offers ISBN numbers for free. “Amazon will auto-generate an ISBN number for your print book and an ASIN number for your digital book, register it with Bowker and www.booksinprint.com and even generate the appropriate EAN barcode for the back of your printed book.” (Google, May 28, 2019) 
• I chose to purchase my own ISBN numbers so that I own them, and went to the source: Bowker.com. I purchased ten ISBN numbers for the rest of this series, including the audiobook, and for future books. Note: Ebooks don’t need ISBN numbers. Bowker offers other services which are worth checking out, including getting on their mailing list for self-published authors. Lots of helpful information there.

A few hiccups

• You need to decide how much royalty you would like to receive, 35% or 70%. I couldn’t find an explanation to help me decide, so I went for it. I chose 70%!

• Obtain an RSS URL. For a thorough explanation, go to https://zapier.com/blog/how-to-find-rss-feed-url/.

• Be careful how you price your book: I had the bar code made, also from Bowker, with a nice, low price on it. Then when it came time to price the book while filling out the Amazon questionnaire, my price was lower than the minimum Amazon requires. So, I had to ask 100 Covers to change the book price on the bar code located on the paperback back cover to a higher price.

• Insert the correct imprint (trade name) for your book. My attempts weren’t accepted, so I called Bowker, a gentleman answered right away, and he told me to go to Bookwire.com and plug in the ISBN number. Voilà! There was my imprint!

What Next?
Once your information is accepted into the system, Amazon says your sales page will appear in 72 hours. Mine appeared in 24 hours. Then it’s time to take advantage of all Amazon has to offer.

• Apply to Author Central to create your Author page.

• Apply for “Look inside,” a feature that Amazon creates and displays in about five days.

• Order author copies right away. I ordered ten, which took about two weeks to arrive as books are Print on Demand. I’ve used five of my copies to send to reviewers (with a gift, or swag, that I created as a thank you--more on swag in a future post), and have kept five to give away or sell. I included a note to the reviewers to ask them if they would pass the book on once they’re done with it, and have gotten a positive response on the desire to do that. I reminded them about leaving a review on Amazon (that’s the only place my book is sold right now). Also, I’m taking Carolyn Howard-Johnson’s advice in her terrific book, How to Get Great Book Reviews, and am sending thank you cards and thank you emails to my reviewers.

• Karen Cioffi, award-winning author and creator and owner of Writers on the Move, posted her review of my book on Carolyn Howard-Johnson’s very helpful website, https://thenewbookreview.com/. Check it out!

• My first newsletter was emailed to my email list that I’ve been cultivating.

• Swag (author gifts) was made, which I’ll cover in a future post. Hint: recipients have liked my swag because I have made it useful.

• An audiobook is on the way from Findaway Voices. If you think you had fun writing your book, wait until you hear a professional narrator read it!

• For my final hurrah, I have purchased Bryan Cohen’s Amazon Ad School to take the next step in selling my book. And when I find time (uh huh!) I plan to register for the free program to distribute my paperback at IngramSpark. My eBook doesn’t qualify because I signed up with KDP Select, which I think authors need to consider. Try this terrific SPF Community on Facebook for help with deciding whether to go with KDP Select or go wide, meaning you can sell your book in any market. KDP Select is a 90-day commitment to sell only on Amazon (with lots of benefits), and is renewable.
• A note about Amazon Prime: Having your book included in Amazon Prime is by invitation only.

• A note about KDP and Author Central's Help Desk: It is great! My questions--and there were many--were answered politely and quickly. Knowing this gave me reassurance.
• Check out my May post "Help for Self-Published Authors" for more tips on getting started on your self-publishing journey: http://www.writersonthemove.com/2020/05/
  

I’ve enjoyed every step of the way, from writing the book to arriving at this juncture. The next step is cutting out time each day, or on a schedule, to keep track of my ads on Amazon, continue to expand my email list, continue to look for reviewers, and so much more!

Linda Wilson, a former elementary teacher and ICL graduate, has published over 150 articles for adults and children, and several short stories for children. She has recently become editor of the New Mexico SCBWI chapter newsletter, and is working on several projects for children. Secret in the Stars: An Abi Wunder Mystery, Linda's first book, is available on Amazon, https://www.amazon.com/author/lindawilsonchildrensauthor. The next book in the Abi Wunder series, Secret in the Mist, will be available soon. Follow Linda on https://www.lindawilsonauthor.com.

Self Publishing Your Poetry – A Brief Primer

Self-publishing is an option open to everyone and it’s becoming easier and more powerful with different software and online options becoming available all the time. Why would you want to self-publish? Here are a few reasons:

• There are no entry barriers. You don’t need a list of publications or any kind of awards to be considered, and your work can be on any topic.


• You retain complete control over the look, quality, and promotion of your work.


• You retain a far greater profit for your book. Most traditional publishers offer 10%, which isn’t a lot!


• You learn a lot and it can be quite fun if you enjoy playing around with your computer and trying out new things.
 

But self-publishing isn’t all roses.You’ve got to do everything yourself and it’s hard work and often involves its own learning curve. You’ll have to learn about formatting, about graphics, about designing a cover, about ‘bleeds’, about document conversions,about distribution channels, about Amazon and other online stores and the list goes on and on. If all you want to do is write, then self-publishing is probably not for you (and believe me, it will take time that you would otherwise have been spent writing).

In addition, traditional publishing provides an important curation and editing function which you aren't advised to skip if you're going to self-publish. Instead, you'll need to curate yourself. That's not easy but it can be done.  You can hire a well-respected editor, and manuscript assessor to ensure that your work is up to scratch, or you can work with a mentor - something that is particularly useful for poets in need of objective and valuable input. How do you self-publish? The easiest way is to just add a cover and copyright information to your book and save as a .pdf file. Lo’ and behold you’ve now got an ebook which you can sell from a website or blog. When you do this, 100% of your sales are profits, but you may not get many sales!

Or you can send your digital book to one of the big copy houses like Snap printing, Qwikcopy, or take a file into your local Espresso Printer and have them print out what you need when you need it. The print copy is very nice indeed for the Espresso machine, with quality comparable to any high street book. You can hand print and staple your work too, although it won’t be very professional looking. You can also go with one of the print on demand companies, who will produce a professional looking product for nothing or very little, but take a cut of each sale and may also charge you for expanded distribution. Many of them will also provide you with a barcode and ISBN and make the book available for sale at a range of online shops. You probably won’t make much through direct sales, but the book will be attractive, and often you can buy copies inexpensively and hand sell, which is probably the best way to sell poetry. Some of the more well known ones include:  

CreateSpace: this is Amazon’s own publishing house and to my mind, it’s one of the best. It will take you a while to learn their particular formatting requirements, but everything is .pdf based, fairly straightforward, and they’ll give you all the templates you need. The cover maker is excellent and will give you a very nice lookng cover, with custom images. The one key advantage this one has over the others is that your book will be sold on Amazon once it’s complete for no extra (most of the other self-publishers offer Amazon only with a paid distribution package). Also their prices are pretty reasonably, especially if you want your own copies to hand sell.

Lulu: Self publishing / print on demand publisher. Lulu is very popular. You can sell your book directly from their website and they offer a pretty wide range of options including spiral bound, landscape, hardcover with dustjacket etc. 

Cafe Press: Self publishing / print on demand publisher.

Smashwords: ebook only, but they do have allow you to distribute your book free and do all of the format conversions for you with their "meatgrinder". They also have some excellent promotional tools and get exceptional traffic.  Note that, for poetry, conversions are not perfect and need to be fully checked on every device or you may end up selling something that is substandard (This happened to me. However, Smashwords is very responsive and will often help sort out any problems quickly.).

There are plenty of others out there and new opportunities/distributors appearing all the time. For a self-publisher, the intense competition has been a very positive thing.  However, and this is very important, bear in mind that none of them will edit your work (some offer editing packages, but I highly recommend hiring a professional) or go through the rigorous and often difficult process of telling you what works best and what doesn't - something that is important with a poetry collection, and of course, none of these places will promote your work for you.  All of that will need to be done by you, with help and support from clued up professionals, something that is mostly par for the course in traditional publishing. That said, you'll retain control over the finished product - with formatting, images, and the overall package completely in your hands.  If any errors or problems should creep in, you can usually fix them easily - something that's not the case with traditional publishing.  Also the speed to market can often be significantly faster. In any case, regardless of who you use, make sure you follow their instructions to the letter, and your book will end up looking as great as the poetry within it deserves.


Magdalena Ball runs The Compulsive Reader. She is the author of  traditionally published books Repulsion Thrust, Quark Soup, Black Cow and Sleep Before Evening, and the self-published books The Art of Assessment, and, in collaboration with Carolyn Howard-Johnson,Deeper Into the Pond, Blooming Red,Cherished Pulse, She Wore Emerald Then, and Imagining the Future. Find out more about Magdalena at http://www.magdalenaball.com