This is my step-by-step tutorial on how to self publish a book on Amazon with Kindle Direct Publishing.
For demonstration purposes, throughout this blog, I am going to refer to a book that I self-published on Amazon called 67 Morning Ritual Habits For Your Body, Mind, and Spirit.
This will help you better make sense of the self-publishing process. What is amazing about Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) is that anyone can self publish a book on Amazon, from anywhere in the world, for free.
You don't have to be an expert or a best-selling author. If you have a message that you want to share with the world, you can do so through Amazon's platform.
If you're ready to discover my step-by-step system for how you can become a successful self-publisher, keep reading!
Watch the video below:
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Are you ready to discover my proven, system-by-step system on how to make money from home by publishing books on Amazon? CLICK HERE to join my Mastering Book Publishing program!
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Self-publishing has become the new norm.
More and more people have been making the transition from shopping at traditional book stores to online stores. This has positioned Amazon as the go-to platform for all of their buying needs. It's fair to say that Amazon has rewritten the book industry, asserting an unparalleled customer base for the e-books, paperbacks, and audiobooks it publishes. Amazon has millions of customers on their platform.
On top of that, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced people around the world to quarantine and slow down, which has resulted in people buying and reading more books. There are countless self-publishers who have been able to quit their jobs and build successful book publishing businesses.
In my opinion, there has never been a better time to start an Amazon book publishing business and take advantage of the opportunities that Amazon provides. Here is my step-by-step tutorial on how to self publish a book on Amazon. Let's dive in!
1. Create a Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) Account
Kindle Direct Publishing is Amazon's self-publishing platform. It's free to sign up. All you need is an Amazon account. If you already have a personal Amazon account, I would recommend setting up a separate one for business and self-publishing purposes. Keep in mind that you need a different email address to do so.
You can earn up to a 70% royalty with every book you publish on Amazon. Once you upload your book on Amazon's platform, your book will be live, worldwide, and ready for purchase within 24-48 hours. It's a fairly easy and simple process. Amazon has some great tools for marketing your book so I suggest you browse their platform to learn more about what they have to offer.
Publishing a Kindle book is easier to publish than a paperback version. With a Kindle book, all you need is the book file, the specific format that is required, and a cover. With a paperback version, you will need a back cover and a spine. You can get this designed, inexpensively, by hiring a graphic designer via Fiverr.com.
2. Create Your Book Title
You want your book title to be catchy so that it grabs people's attention. When they see and hear your book title you want them to want to click on the Amazon listing to learn more. I recommend using Amazon Search as a way to optimize your book for different keywords.
This will help rank your book higher for those keywords and attract more potential customers. In terms of the author's name, you can use your name or a pseudonym. It's totally up to you. You can also add contributors to your book title. If you are the publisher and there's a secondary author who has the rights to the book, you can use his/her name.
3. Write Your Book Description
You are given 4,000 characters to write a book description. You don't have to use all of the characters. However, the more space you use, the more it can help with the ranking of your book. The primary purpose of the description is for people to learn more about your book before they buy it.
You can talk about what inspired you to write the book, what people will learn from reading it, and the benefits of buying the book. This will intrigue people to buy. Think of it as a sales pitch. I like to include a call-to-action at the end of any sales copy. This directs people to buy your book.
You want to determine if you own the rights to your book or if its public domain work. If you wrote the book, you own the rights. Conversely, if you decide to hire a ghostwriter to write it for you, make sure that you still own the rights to your book.
4. Choose The Right Keywords
Keywords help people find your book on Amazon Search. I recommend that you use seven keywords that are relevant to your book. Think about what keywords people would search for to find your book on Amazon. For my book, I would type in keywords like morning ritual, morning routine, habits, motivation, etc.
If you choose keywords and your book ranks for those, you can attract more customers to your book. Knowing which keywords to target, based on which ones are high in demand, is important. If you choose keywords that nobody is searching for, people won't be able to find your book.
If you want help doing Amazon keyword research, I highly recommend using the software Kindle Spy. This tool allows you to find the right category to get ranked and helps you identify the best keywords in that category.
5. Select The Right Categories
This is where your book is going to rank and be listed in a variety of different categories on Amazon. You can rank as the best seller in each of the different categories.
Some categories are easier to rank for than others are. If you want to rank in more than one category, I recommend that you research your competitors' keywords and choose categories that are lower in competition, Again, Kindle Spy is a great tool to do this.
6. Upload Your Manuscript To KDP
Review Amazon's content guidelines to make sure that your book is compatible with what KDP requires. Decide whether or not you want to go with digital rights management (DRM). This means that you will allow people to unauthorize the distribution of your book. I usually don't want to go this route but it's your choice.
In terms of the manuscript, Amazon accepts a doc.x, ePub, or KPF file. Choose which format you want to use to upload your book. KDP can help you format your book on its platform. However, I would recommend someone to help you with this via Fiverr.com.
Your book must look good on a Kindle e-reader device. Once you've uploaded your manuscript, you want to preview it to make sure that there are no errors or mistakes. That can lead to negative reviews.
7. Create Your Book Cover
For your book cover, you need a JPG or a PNG file. Again, you can find someone on Fiverr.com to design this for you. Another platform I recommend is 99 Designs. This platform allows you to put on a contest and have designers from all over the world compete to create a design for your book cover. It's a little more expensive but you get a lot of quality options.
Your cover is really important. People judge books by their cover. It is the first thing that people see when they are scrolling through book options. If it stands out, they will be inspired to click on it. If you want to turn your Kindle or paperback book into an audiobook that can be published on Amazon, Audible, and iTunes, I highly recommend using ACX.com.
When it comes to the writing of your book, if you decide that you want to hire a ghostwriter, I recommend going to Upwork.com. It's one of my go-to places to find editors, proof-readers, and editors to help build my business.
8. Decide To Enroll in KDP Select or Distribute Your Book Elsewhere
KDP Select is a program that you can enroll your book in with Amazon. This means that your book becomes exclusive on Amazon. In other words, it can't be sold anywhere else. This is a contract that you have to agree to for 90 days and can extend thereafter. In doing so, you get certain benefits through Amazon.
For example, you can get more royalties, do a free promotion, or do a Kindle countdown deal. If you plan to distribute your book on other platforms, you can't use this feature. However, if you're only going to stick with Amazon, I recommend enrolling in KDP Select.
9. Price Your Book
There are two different pricing structures for a Kindle book. There is a 35% royalty, meaning that your book has to be sold within a certain price range, from .99 cents to $200. However, if you want the 70% royalty, Amazon incentivizes you to sell it for $2.99 to $9.99. They've determined that this is how they want to price books on their platform.
10. Create A Book Marketing Plan
Before you launch your book, it is imperative that you have a marketing plan in place. Just because you write an amazing book doesn't necessarily mean that it's going to sell on Amazon. If you are interested in learning more about book marketing, I have a program called Mastering Book Marketing. Inside this program, I provide you with cutting-edge marketing tactics and techniques that will allow you to sell more of your books on Amazon and build your online business over the long term.
This is my step-by-step tutorial on how to self publish a book on Amazon.
Watch the video above where I share my computer screen and walk you through an in-depth process for publishing your book on Amazon!
If you want to go deeper with this content, I encourage you to check out my Amazon Book Publishing Mastery YouTube playlist. There you will find a lot of great videos that will give you strategies about how to make money on Amazon.
Are you ready to discover my proven, system-by-step system on how to make money from home by publishing books on Amazon? CLICK HERE to join my Mastering Book Publishing program!