Publishing your own book has never been easier thanks to Amazon. They offer services for either eBooks or paperback books with their print-on-demand service. Many people consider this to offer less hassle than what comes from the publishing industry, which is why it’s becoming a more viable option for authors.

KDP doesn’t cost anything upfront, although Amazon will deduct the cost of printing your book from your royalties. But how do you publish a book on Amazon KDP correctly (see also ‘What Is Amazon KDP?: Kindle Direct Publishing Explained‘)? Let’s find out.

How To Self-Publish On Amazon Through KDP?

Let’s jump right into how to self-publish your book on Amazon today (see also ‘Full Guide To Updating A Book On Your Amazon KDP Account‘)!

Step 1: Create Your Account

You’ll need a KDP account to publish your book, so head to kdp.amazon.com and press Sign Up. If you already have an Amazon account, you can use your existing login credentials to get into the KDP account. If you don’t have an Amazon account, you’ll need to create a new one.

The first time you use KDP you’ll be prompted to accept the terms and conditions. Once finished, you’ll be taken into your author’s dashboard.

Step 2: Add A New Title

On the dashboard, there will be a section for you to Create A New Title. Since this is your first book being published with Amazon KDP, you won’t have any existing titles. You have the option of either ‘+ Kindle eBook’ or ‘+ Paperback’.

Step 3: Set Book Details

The first thing you need to do when publishing a book on KDP is to set its details. Choose the primary language that the book is written in, and add the title and subtitle, the author, contributors, and the description. Remember that all of this information is selling your book to potential readers.

You need to create a great sales pitch that is going to make people want to read your book (see also ‘How To Make Your Book An International Bestseller‘). Amazon offers up to 4000 characters for your book description, so use them wisely! You’ll then need to confirm the publishing rights (see also ‘10 Skills You Need In The Publishing World‘).

If you are the author, you should tick the button declaring ‘I own the copyright and hold the necessary publishing rights’. Under US copyright law, you own the right to your work from the very first word written.

Step 4: Continue With Book Details

There are a lot of book details to fill in! Remember that you can always save your work and come back to it at a later date thanks to the Save Changes button at the bottom of the screen. Now time to choose your keywords (see also ‘How To Add Hidden Keywords To Your Amazon Listing‘). These are the words that your book will come up with when someone writes them into Amazon’s search bar.

They should relate to your genre, tropes, and anything else that will get readers wanting to read your book. Choose the categories your book falls into. For best results, choose two so that your book comes up for a wider span of Amazon searches. Determine the correct age range for your book if applicable.

If your book is for adults, you don’t have to fill this in. It is only for authors of books for children and teens! Finally, choose whether you want to set your book for pre-order or publish it immediately.

Step 5: Sorting Your Content

Now you move onto the second step of publishing your book through KDP – organizing your content. The first thing you need to do is set your Digital Rights Management (DRM). Enable this so that people cannot copy your book and send it to others for free. Tick Yes to ensure this doesn’t happen.

Step 6: Upload Your Book

You should turn your manuscript into an epub file before uploading it onto KDP. For the best results on every e-reader, we recommend using the current Kindle format to format your book. Formatting your book can be a long-winded and tedious process, but the results are well worth it if you want it to look professional.

If you already have an epub file and want to see if you need to format it further, you can upload it on KDP anyway and preview it before properly publishing it.

Step 7: Select Your Cover Art

Despite age-old advice, people do judge books by their covers (see also ‘How To Create A Book Cover On Amazon KDP In 10 Easy Steps‘). An unprofessional cover will fail to convert visitors into readers, and you’ll lose out on vital book sales. We do not recommend designing your own cover. Hire a professional and listen to their tips and tricks.

Step 8: Preview Your Book

Once the book cover and content have been uploaded onto Amazon’s KDP site, you can preview the book thanks to the Kindle Previewer. Don’t rush your look-through of your book. Read everything and test everything. Check the chapters, the navigation, and the cover art. Look over every single page. Leave nothing untouched!

We’re sure that you’ve reread your book over and over by now, but you won’t want to miss this step out just in case there is a glaringly obvious mistake. That’s the price of DIY publishing!

Step 9: Set Your Royalty And Pricing

You have the choice between 35% and 70% royalties. The latter will pay authors more, but choosing this option does come with some limitations. Choose Amazon as the primary marketplace.

You can add your book to other marketplaces, but the prices will be set differently. So stick to Amazon for now. If you want to choose the 70% royalties, you’ll need to enroll your book into Amazon’s book lending scheme.

Step 10: Publish Your Book When You’re Ready

You can either save changes or publish your book. However, don’t do the latter until you’re ready with a marketing plan – no matter how tempting it is!

Summary

Thanks for reading! Amazon KDP makes it very easy to publish your own book (see also ‘How To Create A Bundle For Your Book Series On Amazon KDP‘) – either as an eBook or a paperback. The step-by-step process that we looked at today might be easier than you were originally anticipating. Just remember not to rush through the process and check everything. Good luck!