Self publishing has no longer been an insular activity earning a few bucks, now it is a top-notch business that makes billions of dollars. At the frontier of all this revolution is the Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) by Amazon, which has brought about the revolution in book publishing in a way like never before.
Amazon KDP provides an accessible, fast and free way to publish books by the author to millions of readers on a global scale. As a first-time or even an experienced writer, it is important to understand how to tackle the KDP publishing experience to ensure that your book does not remain in one corner and you can find your audience.
This in-depth guide will take you through all you need to know on how to use Amazon KDP, as far as how to establish the account to how to maximize your book to get the best mileage and get those sales.
What is Amazon KDP?
Amazon KDP is a free self publishing site in which authors can publish and distribute their books in a digital (Kindle) and print form. KDP was launched in 2007 and since then it has become a platform of choice among independent authors publishing; nearly 2 million books are published through the platform annually.
The publisher is based on a print-on-demand system, which implies that the production of your books will be carried out only when a customer orders. This avoids the high initial investment requirements to inventory as well as providing you with access to Amazon large customer base of over 300 million active users.
Key Features of Amazon KDP
Global Distribution: You books will be made available in Amazon marketplaces worldwide including the US, UK, Canada, Australia and Europe.
Numerous Formats: Publish eBooks, paperbacks, and hardcover books with the same platform.
Royalty Options: Sign up with three royalty levels; 35 percent, 50 percent and 70 percent of your price.
Promotional Resources: Ability to publicize through promotional resources such as Kindle Countdown Deals and Free Book Promotions.
Real-Time Reporting: Monitor your sales, royalties and reader activity in in-depth analytics.
Getting Started with KDP Publishing
Setting Up Your KDP Account
Creating Amazon KDP account is easy You’ll need:
A legit AWS account
Tax details (W-9 of US residents, W -8 of international authors)
Banking information royalty payment
Author bio (required but not photo (unless you want to be famous)).
When you have an account created, it is possible to begin uploading.ading your first book. The platform guides you through each step, but preparation is key to a smooth publishing process.
Preparing Your Manuscript
Once you are set to upload to Amazon KDP, make sure that your manuscript is in the right format. One of the reasons why books are given bad reviews is poor formatting.
In eBooks: use normal fonts such as Times New Roman or Arial. Hyphens, indentations and other extensive formatting is to be avoided since eReaders can not handle this well. The best results are provided when you save your file in the form of a Word document (.doc or .docx).
In Print Books: Beware of margins, header and pages numbers. Amazon gives complementary formatting templates that will help your book fit their printing requirements.
Creating Your Book Cover
The cover design really influences success of your book a great deal. The aesthetic covers boost the selling rates and clicks. Not a designer? Pick one up or use the Cover Creator tool offered by KDP that features free templates.
Key covers design principles The layout of the key covers comprises the following principles: 1. The cover does not rise higher than the upper end of the key. 2. The cover end must be rounded. 3. The cover tip must be rounded. The end of the cover and cover tip must present the same rounded contour to the direction of the key.
Understandable clear title name and the author name
The colors and images that are used are genre specific
Images of at least 300 DPI resolution
Thumbnail visibility of how it will appear when small
Optimizing Your Book for Success
Writing an Effective Book Description
Your description of the book will be your sales pitch It must attract the readers in the opening paragraphs and convey what your book provides.
Frame your account with:
A catchy first sentence
The summary of the key content or story is made brief
The main fringe benefits that will be received by the readers
a very strong call-to-action
Use formatting such as bullet points and bold text to help your description to be scannable. Take into consideration that a substantial number of the readers will be reading your description on a mobile device, so use short paragraphs.
Choosing the Right Categories and Keywords
Amazon KDP gives you the option of selecting two categories to fit your book and also enter seven keywords or phrases. Such selections will place your book on search indices and category listings.
Do your homework on your genre The bestselling books in your category will help you get a clue on the keywords that they may be targeting. Word-machines such as Amazon own search recommendations could offer useful keyword suggestion
Refer to general and specific groups. It may be tempting to rank in a general category such as “Business”, but you will have more competition. Niche categories provide a greater chance to new writers to be noticed.
Pricing Strategy
The prices you set have an impact on your royalty rate and market competitiveness of your book. Books in the price range of 2.99 to 9.99 have an option of applying the 70 percent royalty. The books whose prices fall out of this range are automatically be charged at 35 percent rate.
Find books of a similar genre to compare. Pricing your book is competitive, and you should give some extra points as to what factors should be given a consideration.
The perceived value of your book in terms of the number of words/pages
Your writer platform and present readership
Existence of market demand in your topic or genre
Your strategy and budgeting on marketing
Understanding KDP Royalties and Payments
Royalty Calculation
Amazon KDP royalties are computed at the rate you insert plus the cost of delivery (in case of eBooks), or printing (in case of paperbacks).
eBook Royalties:
A 70 percent royalty rate: It is possible to use it when selling books priced between two dollars, nine and nine dollars
The royalty rate: It can be assigned all types of price ranges
Paperback Royalties:
60% of the list price less the costs of printing
The prices are also dependent on the amount of pages used, the type of paper used and the marketplace.
Payment Schedule
Depending on the royalty rate, royalties are paid on Amazon around 60 days after the month the sale occurred ends. As an example sales as of January will be paid after the end of March.
Depending on your location and preference, payment is through direct deposit or standard check. There can be a delay of some time and extra charges imposed on international authors.
Marketing Your KDP Book
Using Amazon’s Promotional Tools
KDP has a variety of promotional features
Kindle Countdown Deals: Run a short-term lower-priced promotion on your eBook and still be paid a royalty rate of 70 percent. The promotion is done with a sense of urgency and a timer.
Free Book Promotions: Free your eBook to up to 5 days anytime over 90 days period. This will increase downloads and reviews which can strengthen the position of your book.
Kindle Unlimited: Add your eBook to Kindle Unlimited so that it can be borrowed by subscribers of the service. The royalties will be earned on a per page read basis as opposed to sales.
Building Your Author Platform
Success in selling a book on Amazon KDP can be determined by how you market your book. Take into consideration these strategies
Social Media Marketing: Reach out to readers through social media platforms like the Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook to share your writing process.
Email Marketing: Create a list of subscribers on a specific email list. Offer an additional chapter or an extra content when the visitor will send their mails.
Blog and YouTube: Build a blog, or a YouTube channel on the same matter as the book. This makes you an expert and can generate a traffic to your book.
Networking: Relate to other authors around your genre. The collaborations and cross-promotion may broaden out your audience.
Common KDP Publishing Mistakes to Avoid
Poor Quality Control
Rushing to press without adequate editing and proofreading is a very big foolishness. Readers will demand professionalism, and any poor editing will end up leaving the book with negative reviews that have adverse effects on the performance of the book.
It goes without saying, always get your book properly edited or at least proofread by as many people as possible. Useful resources like Grammarly or ProWritingAid will help avoid simple mistakes.
Ignoring Book Marketing
Most authors believe that a mere publication on Amazon KDP will make them sell immediately. The site contains millions of books, and unless you do something to market your book, it is unlikely to come to the attention of most people.
Begin to market prior to your book publishing Build excitement with social media, email lists and pre-orders.
Inadequate Keyword Research
Choosing the keywords haphazardly or using overly competitive keywords make it hard to be found by readers. Spare some time to undertake keyword research to find phrases that the target audience actually uses.
You can use free tools such as the search bar on Amazon, Google Keyword Planner, or book marketing specific tools in order to help identify relevant keywords with good search volume and reasonable competition.
Neglecting Reviews
Reviews have a great influence on the visibility and sales of your book. Books with more optimistic reviews take a leading place in search results and seem to be more reliable to anticipated readers.
Promote reviews
At the end of your book incl. a polite request
Emails Follow up with Readers
Delivering the kind of value that automatically encourages review
Communicating with your audience on the social media
Advanced KDP Strategies
Series Publishing
Printing a series of books on a subject matter can also make you earn immensely. The people who have liked the first book will want to read further volumes.
Think out your series
Have a full closure at the end of each book, yet lay the foundations of the next book ahead
Have the same branding onbasima TM in all covers
Since it is your first book, price it at an attractive price to get new readers onboard
It might also be good practice to make the first book free in order to adopt a series
International Expansion
KDP by Amazon enables you to publish across several international locations. This can multiply potential audience and income at a very high rate.
With these in mind, intra-international expansion can be made to work to your advantage
Conduct local preferences research and competition research
Venture into other price differentiation in different markets
Translate your book synopsis and keywords in case they are required
Be aware of the tax implication of international sales
Data-Driven Optimization
Review your book performance by using Amazon KDP reporting tools. Again, watch metrics like
Sales market place wise
Top page reads in Kindle Unlimited
Advertising results (in the case of Amazon advertising)
These review patterns and feedback
These numbers are able to guide you in decision-making in regards to price, marketing, and subject matter of future books.
Your Path to KDP Publishing Success
Amazon KDP Raining Publishing is changing the nature as authors now have the chance to connect to readers across the globe. When marketing a book, there is more to it than simply uploading a book and leaving it at that. It takes strategic planning, quality management and constant sales and marketing initiatives that are well informed.
Start with good one, professionally formatted the book. Book description and cover design is worth the investment. Always research on your keywords and categories. Make sure that your book is priced competitively at a high royalty rate possible
Above all, consider the first book as the launching pad but not finishing line to the rest of your author career. Every book that you publish adds to your platform and your likelihood of long term success.
Ready to go on the path to publish as a KDP author? Register an account now and get started on getting your story out into the world.