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Author’s Guide to Kindle Book Publishing

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Guest Post by Heather Erdmann

In today’s digital age, self-publishing has revolutionized how authors share their stories with the world. Often referred to as KDP (or Kindle Direct Publishing), Kindle book publishing is one of the most effective ways for aspiring writers to become published authors quicker and easier than ever before. With KDP you can turn your literary dreams into reality on one of the world’s largest ebook marketplaces. 

Here is a short author’s guide to Kindle Book Publishing:

Pros and Cons of Kindle Book Publishing

While Kindle self-publishing can be an excellent way to get your words into print, it’s important to consider some of the pros and cons of Kindle publishing before you get started.

Pros of Kindle Book Publishing:

  1. One of the biggest advantages of Kindle book publishing is the amount of control you have over the process. From writing to editing, formatting, cover design, pricing, and sales–you completely control these aspects of your book.
  2. You can also change the above options anytime by simply uploading a new manuscript or cover file or making price changes in the KDP dashboard.
  3. Another advantage is that your book can be made available to a global audience through Amazon’s marketplace and distribution options.
  4. You can also create a print book of the same title if you choose to do so.
  5. Marketing options are available through the Kindle Select program such as Countdown Deals and free book promotions to increase your book’s visibility.
  6. Amazon paid ads are a great way to boost sales (although there is a learning curve to setting them up.)

Cons of Kindle Book Publishing

  1. Without the support of a traditional publishing house, you are responsible for making sure your work is polished and professional. This may include hiring and paying for editorial services, formatters, or cover designers. 
  2. Competition is high for Kindle self-publishing because of the many authors using this platform. That can make it difficult to stand out among so many other available books.
  3. Although traditional publishers often require an author to do some aspects of marketing, Kindle book publishing leaves 100% of the marketing responsibility and cost up to you.
  4. If you only publish a digital copy of your book through Kindle self-publishing, you may be limiting your potential reader reach from those who prefer print books instead.
  5. Technical difficulties can also be a potential negative with Kindle book publishing if you are not computer-savvy. You may need to find additional help to ensure your book is formatted and files are uploaded correctly. It is your responsibility that every aspect of the publishing process is done accurately to achieve the best results.

Kindle Book Publishing Process

Once you have written your manuscript and it has been professionally edited, you will need to format it for KDP (see resources below). If you feel uncomfortable doing this yourself, you can hire someone to do it for you. The same applies to cover design. Thankfully, e-book covers are easier to design than paperback because you do not need to account for spine text or a back cover.

The book manuscript must be in a .DOC, .DOCX, or EPUB format. Alternatively, you can create a KPF (Kindle Package Format) using Amazon’s Kindle Create software.
You can design your own book cover using Amazon’s Cover Creator which uses JPG, PNG, or TIF/TIFF files.

After you upload your files, you will be given the option to preview your book and make any necessary changes before publishing. You will also be given several choices about pricing, distribution, size, page color, cover finish, and publication date if you wish to have the book available for pre-orders before you make it available.

Kindle Publishing Income

The amount of royalties you can make with Kindle book publishing varies greatly depending on your genre, the quality of your book and cover design, the book’s description, and the amount of time and money you can invest in marketing.

Currently, e-books priced between $2.99 and $9.99 earn a 70% royalty. Books priced higher or lower earn a 35% royalty. There is also a small processing fee charged to deliver the book to your customer’s device but it is usually only a few cents which is subtracted from your total earnings.

Do Authors Get Paid with Kindle Unlimited?

Kindle Unlimited is a subscription service offered by Amazon that allows readers to “borrow” e-books and audiobooks for free. This service can benefit authors looking to increase visibility by enrolling their books in Amazon’s KDP Select program. By doing so, readers who subscribe to Kindle Unlimited can access and “borrow” up to 10 books at a time and read them for free. Authors get paid a small percentage for the number of pages read each month through Amazon’s Global Fund. It is generally only around .0004-.0005 per page, but it can add up if you have a longer book or multiple books and several readers.

More about KDP Select

Making your book available to Kindle Unlimited readers is done by enrolling your e-book in KDP Select. It is an optional program but can help authors by giving them more exposure and gaining potential new readers. 

If you decide to try KDP Select, you enroll for 90 days at a time (which can be renewed indefinitely). During those 90 days, your e-book must be sold exclusively on Amazon. If you offer your book on any other platform, you are not eligible for KDP Select. 

One of the biggest advantages, besides the increased visibility for your book, is that you can run promotions including a Kindle Countdown Deal (where you start at a certain price and gradually increase it as the days count down to the end of the sale.) You can also offer your book for free for any 5 days of any 90-day enrollment period. By advertising your KDP Select sales, you can increase your reader base and number of book reviews. It can also help you reach an Amazon best-seller status in one or more of your book’s categories. This boosts your book’s impressions (the number of times your book is shown in search results) organically through Amazon’s algorithm when it sees it being purchased or downloaded more frequently.

Kindle Book Publishing Can Be Fun and Profitable

Maybe you’ve already written a book but weren’t sure how to get it into print without a traditional publisher. Perhaps you’ve looked into vanity publishers that promise publication but often charge thousands of dollars giving you less control and fewer royalties. Kindle self-publishing can be a fun and profitable alternative. 

With KDP you can publish novels, cookbooks, poetry books, children’s books, and more. If you have a book manuscript ready and formatted, and you have a cover design all set, you are ready to upload your files and soon become a published author!

Resources for Kindle Book Publishing

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