Whether you are a budding entrepreneur or just looking to make some extra cash to pay the bills, there are a number of ways to utilize the internet to do this.

So where do you start? Commonly people sell their old belongings, take online surveys or affiliate marketing. 

The trouble with these pursuits is the constant work and updating of sites. For example, to be successful in affiliate marketing one must update their blog regularly to attract potential followers that click on their links.

Those looking for something a little simpler with less homework involved might consider a drop-shipping venture instead. It’s completely free to set up and can be managed right from your phone. 

In this article, learn how to sell journals through Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (see also ‘Are Low Content Books Profitable?. 

What Is Amazon KDP?

‘KDP’ stands for Kindle Direct Publishing and refers to the self-publishing tool available from retail giant Amazon. This tool allows anyone to publish eBooks, paperbacks, and hardcovers for free on their site. 

Just as you would with any other Amazon product, a product detail page can be set up for the book or eBook detailing all the features and content. 

Choosing Your Product

Firstly, consider what kind of book or journal you would like to publish. There are many different routes to consider, it doesn’t have to be a plain journal.

Planners, positivity guides, and memory books are books that will be beneficial to potential readers. 

Take a look at the other kinds of journals available on Amazon and see where the competition lies, you don’t want to be publishing something that there is no market for.

Start by creating an extensive list of ideas and trim them down as you go. 

Who Is The Journal For?

Once you’ve decided on the type of journal you want to create, it’s time to choose who it’s intended for. To do this you need to think about an audience that you understand.

What do they like? What would be beneficial for them? Do they like plain or colorful designs?

To make a successful journal, you’ll need to do some research into the niche you’ve picked. Identifying keywords will really help you when it comes to writing the product description.

Make a note of trends, pop culture references, and various hobbies that are popular. 

Designing The Journal

The entire book must be 120 pages in length and submitted in PDF format. The journal pages will depend on the chosen purpose, if it’s a sketchbook or ideas book the pages might be left blank. 

Pages with writing lines are easy to make with Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, or Google Docs/Slides. There is plenty of useful information on how to do this on the internet, such as in this article. 

Now you’ve figured out the basics, it’s time to get to the fun part! Designing your front cover is a super fun process that really tests your creativity.

Programs such as Adobe Photoshop, Canva, and Procreate can be used to design your front cover and inside page. 

Design Tips

• Less is more! A front cover that is too busy will put people off.
• Choose the right fonts – they must be clear, reflect the subject matter, and look neat on the page.
• Choose the right image –  the image on the cover should reflect the subject matter to give readers a clear idea of what you’re selling. 
• Make sure everything is high quality – no one wants to look at a poorly pixelated image or tiny words on a page they can barely read. This won’t make your book stand out from others.
• Ensure the layout makes sense – from the front cover to the rest of the book, getting the layout and typography right is important to draw the reader’s eyes around the page.  
• Getting the page size right – ensure that your design properly reflects the size of the page by altering the page size on the program you’re using. If it’s an A5 journal, then the image must reflect this or there will be printing errors.

Practicalities

To ensure the journal is of the highest quality, there are a few things to remember during the design process. A standard notebook (see also ‘How To Sell Notebooks On Amazon KDP‘) is typically A5 in size, this measures around 148 x 210 mm (5.83 x 8.26 inches). 

When making your lined paper in Word, go to the page set-up options to make this alteration. A standard Word document will open with an A4 size page.

For best results, we suggest making it larger at 6 x 9 inches to cover yourself. 

Resolution is also an important aspect to consider, 200 – 300 ppi works well. Technically, you can make the resolution as large as you like because Amazon will recreate the image to suit their own printing purposes. 

Uploading Your Book To Amazon

Setting up a KDP account is the first step, this will only take a few minutes and it’s free to do. When you’ve done this then it’s time to upload your book pages to the site. 

Be sure to double-check your manuscript and cover to stay within Amazon guidelines. More information about how to format a paperback book can be found here. 

It’s important to note that some of the details cannot be changed after the book is uploaded to the site, so take care when filling in the information. 

Here are the basic steps you must follow to publish your journal through Amazon: 

1. Go to the ‘Bookshelf’ area of the KDP page
2. Click the ‘Create’ button 
3. Choose the type of book you want to create
4. Enter the details such as the title, author, description, etc. 
5. Upload a preview of the book
6. Set the rights and pricing 
7. Publish

Pricing Your Book 

Individuals can choose the price of their products, but there is a lot of useful information available on how to correctly price your journal. KDP sets a range of minimum and maximum list prices on their site that must be complied with. 

Prices can be changed depending on the specific marketplace, there are options that will allow Amazon to automatically convert the prices into different currencies if you desire. 

All the relevant information about printing paperback and hardback books and their printing costs can be found here. Remember, you need to make a profit to make the venture worthwhile, so make sure you understand the royalties to be paid too. 

Getting A Proof Copy

When publishing a paper or hardback journal, it’s important to see that the product is of good quality.

We suggest ordering a proof copy for yourself to see if there are any printing errors or issues with the book before publishing it online for people to buy.

This isn’t required by publishers, but it will ensure that your customers are getting the product as described and avoid any negative feedback on your account. 

Conclusion

If you’re looking for a way to make some extra money on the side of your usual job, selling a journal or low-content book via Amazon KDP is a great way to do it (see also ‘Why Is My Updated Book Cover Not Showing On Amazon KDP?‘)! It’s simple to do and free to sell, all you need is some creativity!