To Build a Book | Part Four - Publishing your book

A Step-by-step guide to publishing on Amazon KDP

We’ve been hard at work on drafting, formatting, and covering our manuscript, but how do we publish it? In this post, I’ll cover some of the most popular platforms for self-publishing, some important considerations, and a step-by-step walkthrough (with pictures) to publishing your book on Amazon KDP.

Intro to publishing the book

I decided to self-publish for many reasons. For starters, my book was a collection of short stories, and I wasn’t confident that it’d be picked up by a publisher. Plus, I needed to test the entire indie process from start to finish to see if I could do it.

I once had aspirations and dreams of making it “traditionally.” But times have changed. If we have the necessary tools, the lines between trad and indie publishing have blurred. True, there’s no advance money in self-publishing, and yet the flip side is that indies are their own boss. Authors on Substack get to engage with their audience in a way that hadn’t been possible before and get supported simultaneously. It’s the best of both worlds.

This post won’t have all the answers, but I hope that by going through the process first-hand, I can extend that knowledge to other writers seeking to get their work into print for the first time.

Overview of popular platforms

Here are some top examples of publishing platforms that enable writers to get their books published in print or on digital marketplaces:

Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) - A self-publishing platform where authors create a free account, upload their formatted manuscripts for eBooks and print books, set book details like keywords and descriptions, design book covers, determine pricing, and publish their works. Authors can enroll in optional programs like KDP Select for promotional benefits. After publishing, authors market their books, track sales and royalties through the KDP dashboard, and receive monthly payments. KDP offers a vast global reach, but success depends on effective marketing in a competitive market.

IngramSpark - A self-publishing platform that empowers independent authors to publish and distribute their books in print and digital formats. Authors create IngramSpark accounts, upload professionally-formatted manuscripts, set book details, and establish pricing. Unlike some platforms, IngramSpark provides expanded distribution options, enabling authors to reach a vast network of bookstores and libraries. IngramSpark is a versatile platform that offers global distribution, making it a valuable option for authors seeking broader exposure to their works.

Draft2Digital - A user-friendly self-publishing platform designed to assist independent authors in publishing and distributing their books to various retailers like Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, and more. Authors have control over pricing and can easily make changes to their books. The platform also provides access to marketing tools, simplifying the promotion of their work. With its user-friendly interface and broad distribution reach, Draft2Digital is a valuable resource for indie authors looking to expand their eBook readership.

Barnes & Noble Press - A self-publishing platform that enables authors to independently publish and distribute their books in both eBook and print formats to the Barnes & Noble online bookstore, providing access to a broad audience of potential readers. Authors have control over pricing, royalties, and book details. The platform also offers marketing and promotional tools, allowing authors to showcase their works and engage with readers. Barnes & Noble Press is an excellent choice for authors looking to reach a substantial readership through one of the largest book retailers in the United States.

Keep in mind there are other options, too. They range from tailored experiences to outright scams. Caution yourself when working with lesser-known entities, and exercise due diligence. This goes for publishers in general, not just print-on-demand companies.

It’s worth noting that you don’t have to choose one. You can publish through multiple providers. Just be aware of the implications and potential crossover effects. You want to avoid having multiple versions of your book on sale to reduce confusion for yourself and the buyer. Also, your book may become ineligible for exclusive perks with specific platforms like KDP. Make this determination based on your goals and how you want your book available to the public.

Things to ask when choosing a platform

Reach: Does the platform provide access to my book in the way that I desire? Is it a local company or a global distributor? Is it print-on-demand, or will I order and ship copies? Will my book be in bookstores, or will it be available online? Are there benefits to going exclusively with one company, or can a shotgun approach broaden my reach? What is the company’s reputation like when dealing with other writers?

Print Options: Does the company offer multiple printing options, such as paperback and hardcover? Can I upload a digital version to publish as an ebook? What is the printing quality like? Are there options to set up pre-orders and author copies? How much does it cost to print each book?

Ease of Use: How intuitive is the website and book settings adjustment? Are there guides to publishing on their website? How is their customer service with you as the author and the customer purchasing the product? Do they offer templates?

Distribution Options: What sort of ecosystem is your work being published? Is there expanded distribution? Is it geared towards digital or print?

Fees and Costs: Are there upfront fees? What are the royalty rates? Are there charges for revising your work and republishing?

Marketing and Promotion: What are the tools being offered? How will marketing be handled? Can the resources be used effectively? Do they accommodate their authors? What type of support network is established?

Creating your book on KDP

For this guide, I will use Amazon KDP. I tried IngramSpark simultaneously to “go wide,” as it’s called. However, IngramSpark was slightly more complex with its 24-hour turnaround customer service requirements, and by the end, I threw up my hands and decided to go with KDP.

After you set up your free account, the main KDP page should look like this:

You’ll hit + Create, which brings you to the following page:

For The Weight of the World, I chose Paperback and ebook. It’s worth noting that each version will be uploaded like a separate book. Granted, it’ll be organized in one segment on the Bookshelf, as seen above, but each of these categories (ebook, paperback, hardcover) will need to be updated separately with their own ISBNs, keywords, details, dimensions, prices, files, and so on.

It’s tedious, so I recommend having a blank document for copying and pasting your book descriptions, dimensions, and keywords.

Once you select a category to start with, in this example, Paperback, it will take you to the following screen:

The process is divided into Details, Content, and Rights & Pricing. It saves as you go, and you can close the window and return to finish the details at your convenience.

Details

• Select your language - Choose your paperback’s primary language (the language in which the book was written). Learn more about languages supported for paperbacks.

• Input your book title - Enter your title as it appears on the book cover. This field cannot be changed after your book is published. Learn more about book titles.

  • Optional subtitle

• Series - If your book is part of a series, add series details so readers can easily find the titles on a single detail page. (Optional)

• Edition - You can provide an edition number if this title is a new edition of an existing book.

• Author - Enter the primary author or contributor. Pen names are allowed. Additional authors can be added in the Contributors field. This field cannot be changed after your book is published. Learn more about authorship.

• Contributors - If others contributed to your book, you can add them, and they’ll be listed on the Amazon product detail page. For multiple authors, they’ll appear in the same sequence as you add them below. Great for anthologies or co-authoring a novel.

• Description - Summarize your book. This will be your product description on Amazon so customers can learn more about your book. Look up some of your favorite books on Amazon and see how they structured their descriptions.

• Publishing Rights - Select whether or not you own the rights to publish the property or if it is in the public domain.

• Primary Audience - Does the book’s cover or interior contain sexually explicit images, or does the book’s title contain sexually explicit language? Learn more. You can also select an optional age range for your preferred audience.

• Primary Marketplace - Depending on your country, you’ll select the appropriate Amazon market. For the USA, it is Amazon.com.

• Categories - Choose up to three categories that describe your book. Note: You must select your primary marketplace and audience first.

  • Categories are where your book appears in the Amazon store. They’re made up of a category, subcategory, and placement. For example, History > US History > 19th Century

• Keywords - Choose up to 7 keywords that describe your book.

  • Search keywords help readers find your book when they browse the Amazon site. You can enter keywords or short phrases that describe your book and are relevant to its content. The best keywords are those that do not repeat words in the title, category, or description, as these are already used to help readers find your book. Some keywords are prohibited and may result in content being removed from sale. Learn more about KDP’s keyword rules.

Content

Once you hit Save & Continue, it’ll take you to the Content section. This section will likely take the longest, or rather, it’ll be the page you come back to most often since you need to upload the manuscript and book cover on this page. I was repeatedly re-uploading and resizing my cover throughout this process to correct the page count and dimensions.

The first thing it’ll prompt you with is the ISBN. You’ll need to choose whether to use the free one from Amazon or your own. Deciding to go with a KDP ISBN will restrict your book to Amazon and Kindle. It will fill in “Independently Published,” where the publishing company’s information would typically go on the front matter page. This is best if you haven’t incorporated yourself into a limited liability company (LLC).

If incorporated, you can publish with your own ISBN on Amazon and list your book with most other distributors to maintain a singular listing on their respective sites. You want to avoid having multiple book listings to reduce confusion and preserve your sanity.

To buy an ISBN, you can go to a trusted site like Bowker and purchase one or more in a discounted bundle. I chose a bundle of 10 ISBNs for $295 + tax, significantly cheaper than buying them individually at $125. It’ll then ask for your publishing imprint—your company's name—to sync with Bowker’s records and prove it’s a legitimate ISBN.

• Publication Date - Enter the date on which your book was first published. Leave this blank if you are publishing your book for the first time.

• Print Options - KDP books can be printed in black and white, standard or premium colors. Standard Color offers a good balance of price and quality but is unavailable in Japanese and Australia marketplaces. Premium color provides a more vibrant, crisp color.

  • Ink and Paper - I used a black & white interior with cream paper

    • Typical for fiction and memoirs

    • Paper weight: 50-61 pounds, 74-90 grams per square meter

  • Trim Size - Trim size refers to your book’s dimensions as it will be printed.

    • I chose 5x8 in or 12.7 x 20.32 cm, but this is entirely up to you and your preferences

  • Bleed Settings - Setting your interior to “bleed” allows printing at or off the edge of a page. It is used to support images and illustrations. Most books use “no bleed” unless there is a specific reason to apply “bleed.” Changing the bleed settings will not change the manufacturing cost.

    • I chose “No bleed”

  • Paperback Cover Finish - KDP supports glossy as well as matte covers.

    • I chose “Matte” (your preference)

• Manuscript - Upload a manuscript of your book’s interior content. For best results, we recommend using a formatted PDF file to create your book. You can also upload a DOC (.doc), DOCX (.docx), HTML (.html), or RTF (.rtf). Hebrew, Japanese, Latin, and Yiddish only support PDF manuscripts. Learn more about manuscripts or download a KDP template for your preferred trim size.

  • I used Atticus to format my book for publication

• Book Cover - We recommend a book cover for a good reader experience. You can create a cover using our Cover Creator tool or upload your own book cover. Learn more about book covers or download a KDP template to create your own cover.

• AI-generated Content - Amazon is collecting information about the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools in creating content. It’s a “Yes” or “No” question.

• Book Preview - Preview your file to check for formatting and print quality issues. Learn more about formatting and print quality on KDP.

  • This was handy after re-uploading the manuscript and book cover to ensure everything looked like I wanted. Expect to use this feature a lot.

• Summary - It then summarizes your above responses and overall printing costs for each book copy. Knowing your print cost helps you choose your pricing, which is our next section.

Rights & Pricing

This is the last page before you publish your book to the world! And it’s arguably the most exciting because you can decide your royalties. Who doesn’t like that?!

• Territories - Select the territories for which you hold distribution rights. Learn more about distribution rights.

I chose “All territories. Worldwide rights.” The other option is “Individual territories,” reserved for if you request specific geographical restrictions for your book.

• Pricing, royalties, and distribution - Enter the list price you’d like to sell your book for. Your book will be distributed in the marketplaces listed. You also have the option to make your book available to bookstores and other distributors, reaching readers beyond Amazon. How do pricing and royalties work?

The royalty rate is 60%, so price your book accordingly to make a slight profit based on your printing costs. Since my printing cost was $3.64, I went with a list price of $12 to receive a royalty of $3.56 from each sale. Not bad!

Of course, with an ebook, you can set a lower price and still make more royalties due to no printing costs. Follow the link if you’d like to learn more about Expanded Distribution.

• Terms & Conditions - It can take up to 72 hours for your book to be available on Amazon.

• Request a proof copy - Get a printed preview of your book before it goes live. Check for printing errors and if everything looks correct. You can order author copies once your book is available on Amazon. Learn more about proof and author copies.

Once you’ve checked and rechecked your manuscript and cover and requested an author proof to see it firsthand in all its glory, you’re ready to hit the final button, “Publish Your Paperback Book.”

After about three days, your book will show up on Amazon. You’ll be able to request author copies at print cost + shipping. I purchased 50 author copies because I noticed the printing costs were increasing. I haven’t sold any physical copies in person, though, as I tend to hand them out to friends and family. Hopefully, you’ll have stronger entrepreneurial fortitude!

---

Thank you so much for reading! Let me know if I missed anything or something that needs fixing.

In part five of To Build a Book, I’ll cover marketing your book online, in person, and with Bookfunnel.

---

---