If you are an independent author, and you need to find a way for your work to see the light of day, you’ve come to the right article.
We’ll show you how to publish a book on Amazon in no time, and without spending a single penny.
If you don’t know what Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing is, there is no better place to start, since this platform (also known as Amazon KDP, for its acronym) is a self-publishing platform available to all interested authors.
Kindle ebooks are becoming more and more popular among authors who are aiming to self-publish on Amazon.com and its worldwide sites.
We should clarify that it is nothing recent, since it was launched in the early 2000s, starting from the intention of giving an opportunity to publish their books to those who did not have the support of a publisher, who mostly handled the physical sector.
In itself, what was achieved with Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing was that a large number of independent authors had the opportunity to discover what is the self-publishing of books online, which in turn meant a new opportunity to sell their volumes and make themselves known.
It is now known that the market in the United States is controlled in a little more than 80% by Amazon, so nowadays independent authors should count on this platform as a main sales channel, and it can be noted that this is the case thanks to the volume of texts in its catalog.
To explain a little more about how Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing works, it should be noted that it is considered a tool that, in a fast and intuitive way, will guide you through everything involved in publishing a book and placing it for public sale.
Now, keep in mind that the requirements to publish a book on Amazon are as follows:
The advantages of publishing a book on Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing are numerous, but we can briefly highlight the most common ones:
As you may have noticed, the advantages of publishing a book on Amazon are many, so it really is a viable option for independent authors to make their works known and start making a name for themselves in the medium.
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If you think your budget is a limiting factor, and you constantly ask yourself how much it costs to publish a book on Amazon KDP, perhaps the best news we can give you right now is that it is a completely free action, available to everyone.
You should know that this platform will not charge you a single penny for uploading your book for sale in its catalog, but it will establish its royalties on the sales it generates. Among the options offered to authors who rely on their shelves are the royalty of 35% and 70%.
This is the option that Amazon generally applies to sales of e-books to customers anywhere in the world.
In this case the percentage is multiplied by the list price of the book excluding VAT.
The formula would then be: 35% x (list price – applicable VAT) = royalties.
This case is applicable to the sale of e-books to customers located in a specific list of territories, the same that we mentioned earlier in this article.
Here we multiply the percentage by the list price of the book excluding VAT, and subtract the digital shipping costs (as long as the customers are in the territories we have already mentioned).
The formula would then be: 70% x (list price – applicable VAT – shipping costs) = royalties.
With everything we have mentioned so far you are ready for our step by step guide to publish a book on Amazon, we will guide you from registration to publication, so pay close attention:
The first thing you have to do is to create your access to the platform. In case you already have an Amazon account it will be enough to use those credentials to log in, in case you are completely new you will need to create an Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing account.
The vital requirements to do this are your full name, an email address that you use often, and a password that only you know so that all your interaction with the platform is protected.
Once you have successfully completed the registration process, and also with what will have been the two-step verification, the next thing you should do to publish a book on Amazon is to start with the configuration of your Kindle account.
When we talk especially about data configuration we are referring to the action of offering your residence data to the platform so that the platform allows you to add the collection methods and tax charges that will be applied according to where you reside.
Among the relevant data that you will be asked for in this section is all your information as an author, which you should not worry about. We know that many of these data are very specific, but they will be stored securely on the platform, and no one else will have access to them.
On the other hand, you will also be asked for your bank details in order to fulfill your billing and payment process. It should be noted that customers who buy your book through Kindle will be paying Amazon, and this will then be responsible for giving the profits to you.
At no time, and under no circumstances, your bank details will be left to the freedom of the people who are buying your book. And, no matter how hard they investigate, there is no way they will be able to get them.
Unless, of course, you have published them somewhere else.
As another important section of this step you will also be asked for information regarding tax units.
From there the process, in this case, will be completed and the system will give you a preview of the tax questionnaire you have filled out so that you can validate the data you provided.
Now we will answer the question of how to publish a book on Amazon, since we are in that part of the tutorial. The first thing we will ask you to do is, if necessary, take a step back and go back to the creative phase.
On a platform like Amazon the most important thing will always be to create a highly competitive product so that users can become your customers. Keep in mind that the more units the better, and the first impression will be the cover and the title, and then the content must also have value.
Now, if you feel ready to let the world know about your work then read on to find our tutorial on how to publish a book on Amazon that will guide you through everything you need to do from the platform to become a published author.
Now that we have clarified all the above points we can move on to the step by step to publish a book on Amazon. In this case you should know that you have two formats to upload your work, and these are the electronic version of the eBook and the paperback book.
In the same way that we have explained above you will log in to Amazon KDP, once inside the system you will notice that the first screen you will see will be the one indicated to start the upload process.
At this point is where you will have to decide whether you want to create an eBook on Amazon Kindle or a paperback book. The process is pretty much the same, so this will be the only step where you will have to make the decision on your own.
This is the point where Amazon KDP will ask you to fill out a form with the following information:
This refers to the content of your book, where you must upload the manuscript, indicate if you have digital rights management, upload the cover and a preview of the book, among other aspects.
Among the great advantages of uploading a book to Amazon is the fact that you will be the one to set the starting price.
But you will have to mark other things such as the registration in KDP Select, the territories where it will be available, royalties and prices, among others.
At this point you just have to wait for the platform to accept your work and make it available for purchase.
It may take 72 hours for this to happen, and when it does, you will receive an email.
It is free to publis a book on Amazon.
Amazon is one of the biggest sellers of books worldwide, so definitely it is a goog place to publish a book.
Self-Publishing worth it if you are aiming to have control of your book edition.
As well, it is cheaper to go by your own, than working with a publisher.
