Books are a big job. If you’re a planner, you plot out what’s going to happen on the pages before you actually start drafting. Then there’s writing, editing, formatting, finding/making a good cover, etc.… and after you’ve done all of that, there’s actually publishing your book and getting it out there.
Just recently I indie published my debut novel, Healer, first book in the Orythian Journeys series. The publishing process was a long, slow one for me, because I’m not at all a techy person. I figure the same is true for a lot of writers, and even if it’s not, indie publishing has a lot to throw at you. Here I’ll cover some of the things to know specifically if you’re indie publishing with KDP - the publishing world beyond that is foreign to me, so I won’t go over that here.
For those who are unaware, indie publishing is synonymous with self-publishing. In other words, if you’re going for a do-it-yourself method rather than going through traditional publishers, you’re “going indie.” The outstanding difference is that with traditional, marketing and essentially everything after writing and initial edits is left to your publisher. With indie publishing, though there’s a steeper learning curve and many different aspects you must cover yourself, you have more control. A few of many reasons to go indie will be listed at the end.
KDP stands for Kindle Direct Publishing. It’s Amazon’s indie publishing platform, allowing authors to publish their books directly to the Amazon store. Right now, it’s one of the most popular choices for indie authors looking to reach a wide audience with minimal upfront costs or fees.
The following is some of what I’ve learned from the process, from payment to printing. While I use fiction for examples, most of this applies to nonfiction as well. I hope it’s helpful to you, and enjoy!
The Pros:
As almost everyone uses Amazon, it is easily available to book buyers
You receive a free ISBN
Their platform is simple to use, and service is fast
Books are good quality
Payment
Payment is going to be broken into three sections: the money it costs to print, the money you get, and the money Amazon gets. Cost to print can depend on factors like page count, trim size, ink type (black or color), marketplace (AKA, the region the book is ordered from), and base costs that remain the same regardless of the page count. Keep in mind that the printing prices will go up every once in a while as inflation rises, but it is still the cheapest printing option that I’ve seen across platforms.
Publishing under 18
With KDP, you are allowed to publish before adulthood, however your guardian must be the account holder until you are 18. Still, as a minor, you’re permitted to attach your own bank account for payments. This can be tricky at first, but once everything’s set up, it makes things much easier.
Ads
For anyone interested in doing ads on Amazon, it’s a fairly easy process. You’ve got three avenues - sponsored product ads, lockscreen ads, and sponsored brand ads. Sponsored product ads, from what I’ve witnessed, are most helpful starting out. Both sponsored product and sponsored brand ads show up on the Amazon site, but sponsored product focuses on an individual book, and sponsored brand is better for larger works like a series, etc.
Below is an example of a sponsored product ad:
Experiences may vary, but lockscreen ads overall are generally less successful for a couple reasons. One, they only appear on the lockscreen of kindle readers (hence the name). Two, with sponsored product and sponsored brand ads, they appear when a reader is already searching for their next book. However, with lockscreen ads, they appear on a kindle reader that is probably used less for browsing books and more for searching for specific reads. Because of that, kindle readers will be less likely to bring in buyers, and therefore so will lockscreen ads themselves.
Once you launch a campaign (your ad/ads), moderation may take up to 72 hours, meaning it could take up to three days for your ad to actually be out there in front of buyers.
Formatting
This part depends on you finding other resources. You can’t format directly within KDP, however, it is very easy to find other places to format and then simply transfer the formatted content over to KDP. The software I used was Atticus, but I know authors who have had good experiences with Vellum and Adobe InDesign. Once you have your software, there are a number of things to focus on. Make sure your margins and spacing are consistent, and choose your font and sizes. For your font, try to choose standard, readable fonts. Some people use Times New Roman. I prefer Garamond, which is what I’m using here. As for size of body text, the typical range is around 11-12 pt. Headings and page breaks vary.
There’s more to formatting that you can find in various videos (and on some of the softwares themselves), so make sure to look into it - and of course, get yourself some proof copies to check quality once you’re finished.
Cover Design
Your cover, as with your formatting, is up to you researching, reaching out, and making it happen. KDP will have guidelines you can follow to help you understand trim size and other aspects of your cover once you think you have it ready.
Keywords
There’s a lot to be said about keywords. For now, I’ll just mention a few things. Keywords help your book show up in search results on Amazon (and despite the name, they can also be phrases, by the way), so the ones you choose are important. Make sure to pick keywords that are true to your story - if your story is about pirates, don’t put “knights” as one of your keywords just because it’s searched often (unless, of course, you have a pirate knight - there, a free story idea for you).
Also, say you were to put “pirates and knights” as one of your keywords. Your story would also then pop up somewhere in the list for “pirates” and “knights” separately, not just if someone were to search the entire phrase. However, I have heard that you’re more likely to show up in your more specific areas if you put the word on its own (as in “pirates” instead of the whole phrase). So you may consider separating your knights and your pirates until you get into the story itself.
Here are some ideas of what you could use as keywords:
Setting: where does your book take place? Hobbit holes, Narnia, Aerwiar?
Character types: what are your main characters? Prisoners, kings, pirate knights?
Plot themes: what is the main theme of your book? Sacrifice, loyalty, forgiveness?
Story tone: how does your book feel? Solemn, comedic, suspenseful?
Etc. There are surely other phrases/words you can use, but these are the ones I find most helpful.
Tracking and Analytics
KDP makes it incredibly easy to track your sales. You can see what type of book was ordered (for example, ebook or paperback), where it was ordered from, what royalties you received, and more. The same goes for promotions and pre-orders.
KU and KDP Select
In other words, Kindle Unlimited and Kindle Select.
Kindle Unlimited is focused on providing access to a broad audience of subscribers who enjoy reading a lot of books. It gives you increased exposure, potential for higher earnings, and a global reach, but your book must then be exclusive to Amazon, there’s a lot of competition, and your earnings are based on pages read rather than sales, which can be unpredictable as far as how much you’ll get out of it.
Kindle Select provides additional promotional tools and can increase your book’s visibility on Amazon. Again, increased discoverability and higher royalties. Select also requires your book be exclusive to Amazon, which can potentially limit your ability to reach readers who prefer other platforms or bookstores. Plus, success in promotion varies quite a bit.
I can’t say whether it’s good or bad to use these programs, because it depends on the author. If your dream is to sell across other platforms, I wouldn’t do it. Otherwise, check farther into them both and make a well-informed decision. They’ve both got their pros and their cons, so take them or leave them.
ISBN
An ISBN is an International Standard Book Number. It helps publishers, libraries, booksellers, and anyone else in the book supply chain identify the book efficiently - they’re used for listing, ordering, stock control, and sales records. If you have different editions or formats of a book (such as hardcover, paperback, ebook), each gets a unique ISBN. I’m no expert on ISBNs or the five components/numbers they’re made up of, but that’s the general idea. In simple terms, your book’s ISBN is the line of numbers above the barcode that separates it from other books in identification.
KDP gives you a free ISBN, which easily saves you a minimum of $100. There is one stumbling block - it’s a KDP ISBN. This basically means you can only sell your book using that ISBN on Amazon. If you want to sell elsewhere, you might want to look into other options - but so long as you’re either ordering books in and selling them yourself or using Amazon, that’s not a problem.
You have Options
Some other popular options are Lulu, Ingramsparks, and Barnes & Noble. Every option will have it’s pros and cons (and KDP has its own), but here are some of my reasons for choosing KDP:
Lulu's printing cost is higher than KDP and if you sold only through them, there would be a large shipping fee for shoppers: also, while it depends on the book, general quality is lower than KDP’s from what I’ve seen
Ingramsparks is more difficult to use and you'd need to buy an ISBN, etc.
B&N’s ISBN is one that can only be used on B&N: similar to KDP, but Amazon has more traffic than B&N
Printing
If you’re only looking to print your book (as opposed to publishing it for others to see), you can do that through KDP as well. Either get proof copies (these will have a “not for resale” band printed around the middle) or go ahead and publish just long enough to order your own copies. So long as you don’t advertise before the publishing date, you shouldn’t have to worry about others seeing it before you’re completely ready to share it with everyone.
A Path to Follow:
Write and edit your book
Have beta-readers read it if possible (editing and beta-reading overlaps in many cases)
Design your cover and format the content inside
Get a few proof copies through KDP or publish temporarily and order author copies
Research other options: KDP isn’t necessarily perfect for everyone depending on individual goals, and I’ve known many people to order print copies through Lulu since you don’t need to publish beforehand
Once that’s all done, you’re ready to publish! Congratulations!
Beyond publishing, you may look into things like promotions, ads, and all that other fun stuff.
Closing Thoughts
Amazon KDP is a great option for self-publishing at the lowest cost, and they have a 24-hour live chat for speedy customer service should you need it. But remember, by using their ISBN, you are now refined to only selling on Amazon rather than branching off to other platforms (don’t worry - farther down the line, if you wish, you can buy your own ISBN and branch off from Amazon, it’s just a bit of a process).
If you’ve worked hard to bring your best work to the table and are ready to indie publish, check into KDP and other platforms to make your decision. Indie publishing is thriving right now for several reasons:
Digital platforms: services like Amazon KDP and other platforms have made it easier than ever for independent authors to publish their work
Lower costs: cost for indie publishing has decreased significantly, erasing the need for large upfront investments
Creative control: authors can more easily retain full creative control over their work, from cover design to actual content
Higher royalties: often indie authors earn higher royalties compared to those earned in traditional publishing deals
Communities and resources: there are now a variety of online communities, tools, and resources available, ready to support indie authors from critiques on drafts to advice in marketing
Etc.!
The process can be long and hard. But rarely is anything worth it if there’s no effort involved, and that definitely applies to publishing. All the best on your journey, and keep seeking Him.
“Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.”
-James 1:12