8 Steps To Amazon Book Publishing

I started my publishing journey a couple of decades ago by typing up some of my poems and some info about myself, printing the pages out, folding them into 1/2 pages, adding a folded piece of card stock for the cover, stapling them together at the spine and I had a 5 1/2 by 8 1/2" chapbook of my poetry. I gave some away and became a publisher. After years of learning and procrastination, I became a published author at Amazon KDP. It takes time and dedicated learning but you can publish at Amazon too.

 

The Amazon self-publishing platform is called KDP, which stands for Kindle Direct Publishing. It used to be called CreateSpace. You can now publish hardback books at KDP, in addition to paperbacks and ebooks. Opening an author's account is free. If you already have an Amazon account you can sign in at KDP. There is no fee to publish a book but KDP provides a list of publishing service providers and resources if you need help with your book editing and/or design.

Here are the 8 steps that will help you publish your book. I elaborate on them below the list.

1. Create an account at Amazon KDP.
   
2. Decide what word processing or publishing software you will use to create your manuscripts. 
3. Start studying the KDP instructions on how to format your manuscript or document. 
4. Set up your blank document according to KDP's requirements and save it before beginning to type your book.
5. Decide if you will design your book cover or hire a designer.
6. Learn how to convert your saved manuscript into a print-ready PDF for uploading to KDP.
7. Learn how to review and process necessary edits to your document in KDP's manuscript previewer. 
8. Write your book listing description and approve your manuscript for publishing on Amazon.

Create an account at Amazon KDP.

If you already have an Amazon account you can sign in to KDP. Follow the instructions to set up payment for your royalties and other info. 

Decide what word processing software you will use to create your manuscripts. 

KDP examples and downloadable templates are for Microsoft Word. From KDP: Note: To set your trim size, you typically need to adjust the page or paper size setting in your chosen software (for example, Microsoft Word). You can download a Microsoft Word template in the trim size you need with or without sample content.

Most computers used to come with Microsoft Office installed. If yours did not, you'll have to buy a version of Word. OfficeSuite is a free word processing software that claims to be compatible with Word. You would have to try it to see if it can format documents using KDP's instructions. You can use other word processors or publishing software, but you'll have to learn to adjust your software settings to the KDP instructions. 

Start studying the KDP instructions on how to format your manuscript or document. 

Depending on the trim size (book dimensions) that you choose, you'll need to carefully set up the format in your word processor. Set up your blank document according to KDP's requirements and save it before beginning to type your book. You'll save your manuscript as you type it. From KDP: If your book does not contain bleed, you can upload your manuscript as a PDF, DOC, DOCX, RTF, HTML, or TXT file. KDP will automatically convert these file types to PDF prior to publishing/printing. If your book contains bleed, you will need to convert it to PDF format before uploading. The help pages explain about bleed.

You can also choose to format your book onsite using KDP's downloadable Kindle Create tool. From KDP: Kindle Create is a free interior formatting tool that works well with most books you want to publish on Amazon, but there are requirements and supported features we want you to know about before you download. Professionally designed themes with chapter titles, drop caps and image placement options....

Decide if you will design your book cover or hire a designer.

KDP offers a free cover creator tool. You could also hire a book cover designer for an affordable price through creative service sites like Fiverr, UpWork and Freelancer. 

Learn how to convert your saved manuscript into a print-ready PDF for uploading to KDP, if needed.

WikiHow: How To Convert A Microsoft Word Document To PDF Format 

 Microsoft Support: Save Or Convert To PDF Or XPS In Office Desktop Apps

Learn how to review and process necessary edits to your document in KDP's manuscript previewer. 

Fix Paperback and Hardcover Formatting Issues

Write your book listing description and approve your manuscript for publishing on Amazon.

Write A Book Description

Previewing And Publishing Your Book

Additional Tips

You also will need to learn how to upload changes and corrections to your book and/or book listing description.

You should also market your book in any way that you can think of. Don't only rely on Amazon, where millions of books are competing for attention.

Competition is very stiff and you should take part in getting your book in the public eye and keeping it there.

Read around at the KDP Community forums for valuable info from book publishing veterans and newbies too.

Visit the KDP Help Center Home for detailed guidance on everything that you need to know to publish and manage your book listings. 

Subscribe to Amazon KDP at Youtube. The videos help make the Help Center instructions much clearer. KDP also shares some videos within the Help Center guidelines.

Start your publishing journey today! Put those book ideas on paper and get to writing!

 

 

Book Funnel Definition Sales Funnel Stages

A book or sales funnel is a marketing method designed to lead visitors and potential customers to a purchasing decision. It is composed of several processes that may include a landing page. While a landing/sales page and a book funnel can work together, they are also different. 

Some book funnel landing pages can be annoying with their in-your-face graphics, popups and extensive length. They lose the potential customer long before the visitor reaches the end. Landing pages, however, are only as good as the writer of the book funnel.

Potential customers often need to be led on what to think and how to think it. Sometimes they seek but do not follow through when they find what they desire. Sales funnels can lead them through the steps to obtain what they are seeking, which are the published products that you and I are offering. Learn how to skillfully create effective book/sales funnels for your written products here:

Book Funnel Optimization: Essential Tips to Convert Leads into Paying Readers

 

Self-Publish Or Submit To Publisher?

If you've ever wished you could publish a book but always feel discouraged, it's not beyond you to realize your dream. Self-publishing today is easier than ever. Years ago, I feebly tried pursuing the submitting manuscripts for review. My heart was never in the process of begging agents or publishers to accept my manuscripts.

I discovered self-publishing decades ago simply by brainstorming what I wanted to do that I didn't want anyone else to do for me. I did not want to have my content chopped and edited into something that did not reflect me.

I did not want to be employed through giving over my content into partial ownership with publishing houses. I did not want to be told what to do and how to think about my own publications.

Yes, there's a price to pay for choosing not to pursue publishing houses. If we can write a blockbuster, a bestseller, we could become wealthy through the payouts from a major publishing house. If, however, we are not seeking that, then there is not a price to pay for choosing the self-publishing route. There is a price to pay for not self-publishing.

When I condensed what I wanted to do as a writer, I realized that publishing wasn't the rigid process that I thought it had to be. I understood that publishing was open to me to do it however I wanted to, in a way that suited me. I perceived that I would not break any laws by finding ways to publish and market my own ebooks, paperback books and hardback books.

James Dillehay shares the many positives of publishing your own books in his article,

Self-Publishing vs Submitting Manuscript to a Publisher

 

Read about James remarkable journey here:

About James Dillehay

 

If you are a crafter/maker, learn how to increase your links, traffic and sales through James' website:

Craftmarketer 

 

James' author page at:

Amazon

Blogger Email Follow Replacement Svcs

In seeking a replacement for the discontinued Feedburner email follow widget, I've been seeking a free-to-start, easy to use email mktg platform. I've seen ConvertKit recommended often, along with MailChimp. MailChimp has been moving away from being known primarily for email marketing, so I'm not sure how simple they have remained.

I took a peek at Mailchimp and saw plans titled Marketing Platform and Transactional Email. Just that quick look-around made me feel tired. ConvertKit's pricing page is straight-to-the-point, easily understood, at least to me, and shows many features for the free tier.

I subscribed to Peggy K's weekly newsletter to see how she does it, although I'm not sure I want to take on the extra work of newsletter production. I just want an easy way for my readers to follow by email.

Peggy K writes about a variety of tips and tricks for creators on many platforms. She chose to use Revue, a newsletter platform acquired by Twitter, to replace Feedburner's terminated RSS to email svc.

If you are interested in exploring newsletter sharing, you can read about Peggy K's overview of svcs here: Alternatives To Feedburner's RSS To Email SVC She overviews not only newsletter svcs but also RSS to email svcs.

Allowed Use Or Stolen?

It's the influx of PLR websites and videos promoting private label rights hustling that are part of the proliferation of copyright offenders at selling sites. Most listing venues only allow works/content authored by the members. The question is are PLR ebooks, which are purchased or otherwise acquired by sellers who may consider them to be drafts or outlines and who add to or rewrite them, considered to be their own work?

The main attractions of using private label rights ebooks seem to be the increased volume that can be produced and the variety of subject matter to expand into. A person can also publish in an area or genre of which he/she has very little, if any, expertise. That is not an issue, however, the way that some are utilizing this concept is.

How would it be perceived that a published work began as a PLR document anyway? The point of utilizing PLR is to put your name as the author on the manuscripts. If the work is extensively rewritten, then he/she may very well be the author. How much needs to be rewritten? Well, the nature of PLR is that generally nothing of the product needs to be rewritten to claim it. It's up to the seller to decide what is fair for their target market. Editing or not seems to be an acceptable option with PLR.

Unfortunately, many aspiring writers and sellers are using the PLR concept, either unintentionally or on purpose, to steal the copyrighted works of others. They remove the authors names from the images that they use. Sometimes they even edit the book cover images, placing an obscuring banner, with their own name on it, to hide the rightful author's name.

I believe that there are those who really don't understand the private label rights meaning. However, if a person has not contributed to copyrighted, published works and has replaced authors names with their own, it is difficult to believe that they don't understand that they are stealing and attempting to profit illegally through the works of others.

What is the difference between PLR concept use and the use of stolen, copyrighted-works? Private label rights use is taking unbranded, open-use products, essentially blanks, and editing them, or not, for commercial use. Copyright stealing is the commercial use of products that are marked with names, authors, copyright symbols, copyright dates, statements and other info that shows that the products belong to someone else or to an entity.

Effective Ebook Cover Design

Need inspiration for your ebook cover? Payhip owner Abs Farah has written a blog post on effective ebook cover design. There are some excellent examples to motivate you to think more creatively about the first page that your potential customers will see. It's the cover but it is really the first page that helps lead readers to the other pages inside.

My favs are The Future of Data, for its simply-important design, The Burger Book, for strikingly-crisp photography, Pay Me Or Else, for its ransom note journaling design, which is a technique that I use in altered art, and Attention-Driven Design, for that smart graphic with the arrow pointing the eye in a persuasive direction.

Ebook cover design is no less important than paperback and hardback cover design. This post will help you to focus on how the design, whether simple or complex, should cleverly and effectively illustrate your manuscript.

10 Inspirational Ideas For Ebook Design by Abs Farah

How To Write Ebooks That Sell

If you want to begin writing and selling successful ebooks or improve the success rate of your current ones, you need to read this well-written article. It's from Abs Farah at Payhip and is an easily-readible length. Packed with essential info on how to choose ebook subjects, it will guide you on writing ebooks that are in demand and that will sell.

Top Ebook Topic Ideas in 2021: What do readers want?

Some key points are:

Successful ebooks have a narrow focus. For the reader there’s a clear promise about what they’ll learn or how they’ll benefit. 

If there’s something you know a lot about there are almost certainly people out there looking to learn.

Bloggers, it could be that you have a lot of existing material that you’ve published on your blog. Pull all of this together, organise and edit it so that it has a very specific focus, give it a snappy title

No matter what you learn and what you decide to publish, remember the most important tip that Farah shares:

If your ebook lives up to the promise you’ll get great reviews, recommendations from your readers and more sales.

Abs Farah is one of the owners of Payhip, an online venue where creatives can sell ebooks, memberships, software, design assets, music or any type of digital products. This can be done directly to customers via individual links or their store builder.

Read the article, improve your publishing skills and open your Payhip account. Start selling from the best digital platform for e-commerce.