What is Kindle Direct Publishing?
If you are interested in publishing on Kindle, you will need to become familiar with Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) platform. This is the platform where you register as a creator, set up your payment account, and upload work that will be delivered to Kindle devices all over the world.
Nuts and Bolts of Publishing on Kindle
Getting set up on the Kindle publishing platform is fairly simple. If fact, if you already have an Amazon account you can use it to log in. If not, simply create one and then you will be ready to start.
Creating a New Title
Once you log in, you will see the options to create a new title.
Select Kindle eBook to start publishing your title. There is an option to create a Paperback as well. That’s a topic for a future post.
Adding details
Next, you will enter the details of your eBook. These include publication language, title and subtitle, series name and number if applicable, edition number, author name, contributors, and description. You will also confirm that you own the rights for publishing on kindle or that it is a public domain work.
Additional details include keywords, categories, age and grade range, and finally, whether or not you are ready to release your work immediately or if you are taking pre-orders. With all of this information entered you are read to move on to adding the content for your work.
Adding Content
In this section, you will upload your manuscript for processing. The most common format to upload is a Word document but publishing on Kindle also supports the following formats:
Once you upload your manuscript Amazon will begin processing it. If there are any errors, Amazon will notify you so you can correct them before publishing on Kindle.
Adding a Cover
For your cover, you may either upload a JPG or TIFF file of your own or use Amazon’s cover creator to build your cover online. Your cover must adhere to Amazon’s eBook cover guidelines.
Preview Your eBook
Once your book has finished processing, you can use the preview tool to see how it will appear on Kindle e-readers. Click the Launch Previewer button and review your eBook to make sure there aren’t any issues.
Pricing for Publishing on Kindle
After you’ve added your content it’s time to price your eBook. Amazon offers two royalty tiers a 35% royalty and a 70% royalty. So it’s a no-brainer, right?
Not so fast. To be able to select the 70% royalty tier there’s a limit on the price you can set for your book. The highest list price available is $9.99 USD. So, if you have a more expensive eBook your royalty will be 35%.
That means there’s a gap where if your book is priced over $9.99 you will actually earn less than if you priced it at $9.99 and took advantage of the 70% tier. Here’s the math.
eBook priced at $9.99 in the 70% tier => you earn $6.99.
eBook priced at 14.99 in the 35% tier => you earn $5.25
It’s not until you reach a price of $19.98 in the 35% tier that you start earning the same as a $9.99 book in the 70% tier. Avoid the gap in pricing between $9.99 and $19.98 when publishing on Kindle.
Once it’s Live
Once you’ve finished creating your title and it is live now it’s time to market your eBook. The best advice is to start with your contacts. Reach out in email, on the phone, via text and direct messages on social. Let them know you’ve published your eBook and that they can purchase it on Amazon.
Ask them to let anyone they know that would be interested in your book about it. These connections will help get initial purchases moving.
Make sure to mention that reviews are appreciated and important to help move your book up the rankings on Amazon.
Successful Passive Income
Now that you’ve finished publishing on Kindle you’ve got a permanent passive income stream. This book will be ready to pay you whenever a new reader finds it and buys it on Amazon. If your book is evergreen you won’t ever have to touch it again.
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