But from those mistakes came some valuable lessons i can pass on to those of you who are about to publish your book on amazon. Since then, selfpublishing has become a lot more popular, especially with outlets like amazon making it so easy. There is no doubt piracy of your work should be a consideration before publishing it. Oct 05, 2010 i want to publish my book, but dont know whether to go the traditional route or selfpublishing route. But because amazon is the dominant player in the ebook marketplace, many authors wrongly assume they should publish exclusively for kindle.
Get ahead of the game by learning from my mistakes. I made the point that, for my purposes and those of the series, an ebook was an epub file what i called a website in a box. May 14, 2019 surely, if i want to maximize my sales, i should make my ebook available to as many retailers as possible, right. Amazon kdp help pages will explain mechanics of publishing, and there is a forum there frequented by fellow budding authors. Jun 07, 20 according to publishers weekly, 55% of ebook buyers in 2012 owned one of amazons popular kindle reading devices. Feb 10, 2020 to publish an ebook, start by deciding whether you want to self publish, which will be a lot of work, but will give you more control over the process. When you publish your ebook, well automatically add the cover image you provide during title setup. Hence, ebook theft is a constant concern for writers and other content producers eg, graphic designers. This post is for everyone unable to form a more specific question than. What you should know before publishing your first ebook.
I knew what i wanted to publish, i knew who my audience was, and i knew that the market was hungry for more diverse characters so instead of searching for someone else to publish me, i published. To date, ive written almost 100 fiction and nonfiction. Dec 10, 2014 angela hoy is the publisher of, the author of 19 books, and the coowner of one of the original pod publishers that still gets books to market in less than a month, print and ebook design for authors who truly want to self publish, and abuzz press the publishing coop that charges no setup. Here, i regularly update best resources i know of related to learning to publish an ebook, finding the right epublishing distributors and services, and staying on top of changes in the industry. Jul 01, 2019 ive been writing and selling ebooks online since 2002. Why you should publish your print and ebook editions at the. Today, only six months after publishing my second book, im publishing my fourth book ive self published three books in the past six months. So should you sell your ebook on amazon or your blog.
Linking these formats in the amazon catalog provides the ideal browsing experience for customers. As i get ready to selfpublish my own material both as printondemand pod and ebooks, i have found myself confused about a number of things i thought i knew a lot about. On various ebook websites youll often see 10 or 15 book categories and nonfiction is just one. Angela hoy is the publisher of, the author of 19 books, and the coowner of one of the original pod publishers that still gets books to market in less than a month, print and ebook design for authors who truly want to selfpublish, and abuzz press the publishing coop that charges no setup. Its no wonder that amazons kdp remains the most popular platform for authors to sell ebooks on here you can convert and sell your book to millions of potential readers pricing. In sum to be clear, there are other ways to go about selfpublishing your e book. Self publish ebooks and paperbacks for free with kindle direct publishing, and reach millions of readers on amazon.
You must be willing to do what it takes for your story, not create a story because you have an easy means to publish. If you publish in ebook format alone, you miss out on part of the reading audience. Mar 02, 2016 why a pdf isnt an ebook when i started my series on ebook conversion, the first post was what is an ebook. Should you enrol your kindle ebooks in amazon kdp select. Apr 15, 20 traditional publishers automatically publish in both print and ebook, and in many ebook formats to boot.
Having the control of my own platform, marketing and payment system was a big plus. Relatively speaking, nonfiction or self improvement ebooks like mine are just a tiny piece of the selfpublishing ecosystem. Thanks so much for sharing the things you learned after publishing your first ebook. When i began working in the publishing industry in the mid1990s, a stigma surrounded both selfpublished books and selfpublished authors. Mar 15, 2017 about the only thing that remains constant in ebook publishing is that it changeseverything from the services to marketing strategies. Should i selfpublish a paperback version of my ebook. Unless youve spent most of your professional life in book sales and you have a large sales team working for you, a traditional publisher is going to be more effective getting book buyers to purchase your book especially in large quantities. I am preparing to publish my first ebook on december 1, 2014 entitled. I dont think the publishing order matters now, so long as the versions are released at approximately the same time. Looking back on my experience, i definitely made some mistakes.
It is a big problem in the creative arts always has been, whether it be art, music, film or books. It is free to self publish on the most popular ebook platforms. Writing and publishing a book successfully by itself is a challenge but with kindle direct publishing, amazon publishing, and other forms of selfpublishing at your disposal, publishing an ebook can even be easywith our help. I heard this question asked more than a dozen times by independent writers at bookexpo. If you want to simplify even more, you can publish through smashwords, which will convert and distribute your ebook across those online retailers. How to publish an ebook on amazon kindle in 10 simple. Nov 15, 20 if you want to simplify even more, you can publish through smashwords, which will convert and distribute your ebook across those online retailers.
If you selfpublish on amazon kdp only, youd be silly not to be enrolled in select, as your royalties will double in some kindle stores, and what have you got to lose with kdp select. If youre based outside the us, but would like to publish on amazon us read this. Listen to an authorread version of this article after i published my first book, it took six years before i published my second book. Publishing a book might seem even more daunting than writing one. Amazon is the biggest retailer online and with the world of bookbuying migrating and settling on the internet, amazon is the place to publish. Heres how you can publish an ebook on amazon with kindle direct publishing. Create a print version on createspace estore some people want their books in digital format and others want the physical printed book. Amazon will offer you a lot of promotional advantages to entice you to publish your book exclusively on their stores. Should i publish my book in print, ebook or audiobook. Once submitted to lulu, your ebook will be available for purchase almost immediately.
Knowing how to publish an ebook on amazon will be meaningless without a solid book title that attracts readers. Apr 15, 2020 one of my clients wrote a short chapter every week, without fail, and finished her ebook within a few months. There is a big question out there authors are asking themselves every day, should i selfpublish my book. So i have published my book blogging the smart way on amazon, apple and my own blog and experienced the trials and tribulations of all three. If you outsource this task, you will need to pay for these updates and it wont be as fast. The real answer to the question ebook or print book is both. I heard this question asked more than a dozen times by independent writers at bookexpo america last week. When my book launches in two weeks, ill be distributing the book as an e book through amazon kindle direct publishing to start with, and later on ibooks and nook. In the beginning of 20, i went through the exciting process of writing, publishing, and selling my first ebook on amazon kindle. I recently published a short book on amazon using their kindle direct publishing platform kdp. Ive created a stepbystep comprehensive selfpublishing guide that will walk you through the beginning steps of how to write your book all. To publish your book, you have to make sure its in the best possible shape before you take it to agents or publishers. Why publishing for kindle is not enough bookbaby blog. May 28, 2019 learning how to publish an ebook can be pretty painful without the right process.
Then, edit and proofread your book, or hire a professional editor to do these tasks. The tradeoff with selfpublishing is that my book wont be in retail bookstores across the country at least not immediately. Depending on your ebook, some steps may be unnecessary e. Obviously, you have to pay upfront for editing and cover design but the actual publishing is free and the stores take a small percentage of sales. A printed book is also a tangible item that you can sell at the back of the room during speaking engagements, send to media, distribute to clients, and. Fill out the form, including book title, description, and keywords you want people to search to find your book. Jun 01, 2012 alas, i should have made my cover larger so it didnt have a white border, but so it goes. Mar 10, 2011 as i get ready to self publish my own material both as printondemand pod and ebooks, i have found myself confused about a number of things i thought i knew a lot about. Heres a video tutorial that will walk you through the entire process of uploading an ebook to kindle.
And dont assume that a particular option is right for your ebook just because its what youve seen other bloggers doing. Enrolling in kindle kdp select and giving amazon kdps ebook exclusivity is always a difficult decision. They just write that sucker, convert it to e book format, upload it to a publication platform, and go. Yet, i now believe it was a mistake to release it only as an ebook. What steps should i follow to publish my ebook on kindle.
Your title will then be available on the kobo ebookstore, which is a worldwide provider of ebooks. So many writers get overwhelmed with the abundance of information about the selfpublishing process, what itll cost, how to do it right, how to come up with a good book idea, and more. Or skip them altogether, and sell a pdf from your site through an ecommerce tool like ejunkie, ganxy, or gumroad. The same question is on the minds of many writers i meet, regardless of their career path or how established they are. How to publish an ebook on amazon kindle in 10 simple steps. Speaking tips journey from solopreneurship to entrepreneurship. My experience says that it is far better to openpublish as widely as possible, and not give your rights away to one publisher. Celebrated childrens book author, crystal swainbates, was fed up with the lack of black childrens books on the market, so she founded goldest karat publishing in order to address the lack of diversity in childrens literature. Ebooks themselves make up close to 40% of all books sold, and in 2018 they are set to outsell print books in the us. Printing on demand means your book will never be out of stock. Publishing your book will take a lot of research, perseverance, and patience, but it will be worth it to see your work in print. But if you publish a paperback version a couple of weeks ahead of your ebook version, this will have look inside activated. Jun 21, 2016 are you wondering if you should self publish or traditionally publish. Why a pdf isnt an ebook when i started my series on ebook conversion, the first post was what is an ebook.
While some stores let you publish without having a page, it is always better to have one. Your title should be crystal clear on what your readers will learn by reading your book. Independent authors can create and publish their books in mere months without ever having to cross all appendages and send out prayers for an acceptance letter. The information we give is specific to the 2016 version of word, but the steps are similar in most versions. While i am gone, i have asked some of my favorite bloggers to stand in for me. Owning a car on the cheap after 40 years in the automotive industry, i have seen and heard enough of people spending their hardearned money on fraudulent or incompetent automotive repair. You might like to try the pomodoro technique 25 minutes writing, 5minute break to use your time effectively during short writing sessions. Lets turn this around and study the reasons you should publish your ebook.
Jul 16, 2019 one of the major reasons i decided to selfpublish my own childrens books is because i wanted full creative control of my content and my characters. Sep 05, 2018 amazon kdp help pages will explain mechanics of publishing, and there is a forum there frequented by fellow budding authors. If most of my sales are going to be on kindle anyway, why should i worry about any other ebook. Self publishing is becoming more and more popular so i wanted to write this post to talk about the pros and cons of self publishing on amazonthe pleasant surprises, the frustrations, the things i didnt find out until it was too late, etc. Ive been writing and selling ebooks online since 2002. Just because you can selfpublish a book doesnt mean you can sell it. Why you should publish your print and ebook editions at. The information in here is still it is somewhat relevant. Traditional publishers automatically publish in both print and ebook, and in many ebook formats to boot. About the only thing that remains constant in ebook publishing is that it changeseverything from the services to marketing strategies. Find a consistent time each day, or several times a week, to work on your ebook. Here are a few tips for crafting the perfect book title.
How to self publish an ebook in this article, i ll go through why selfpublishing an ebook is a good idea, how to format an ebook for publication, exclusivity vs going wide on multiple platforms, the specific sites available for selfpublishing ebooks and what information you need, thoughts on pricing, and piracy. I want to publish my book, but dont know whether to go the traditional route or selfpublishing route. One of my clients wrote a short chapter every week, without fail, and finished her ebook within a few months. The amazon store accounts for 80% of ebook sales across englishlanguage countries. Publishing takes less than 5 minutes and your book appears on kindle stores worldwide within 2448 hours. Whether booktango should be called an e book generating app or self publishing platform is hard to say, but it basically provides a free and simple way to upload your manuscript, edit it for. Your titlesubtitle includes a solution to a problem. A couple of the commenters pointed out that a pdf was also an ebook. There has been a lot of debate recently about amazons new feature, kindle unlimited ku it is a service that is offered to authors who chose to enroll in kindle direct publishing kdp select as a longtime selfpublisher, i have to say that i am not a fan of ku. To publish your book, you have to make sure its in the best possible shape before you take it to agents. For a fun way to remember the recommended months to publish your book, download ingramsparks free 2020 monthly calendar, what to publish when available for print, desktop, tablet, and iphone.
Has a competent editor gone through it several times, helping you through your blind sp. If you have an ebook and a paperback of the same title, their detail pages should link automatically if the book details match. Publish your paperback for international sale in just a few days. This stepbystep guide shows you how to turn a manuscript written in microsoft word into a file ready to be uploaded to kdp. Top 10 selfpublishing companies for firsttime authors editage. Alas, i should have made my cover larger so it didnt have a white border, but so it goes. A really easy to use selfpublishing platform, kobo lets you publish your ebook in 5 simple steps. With over 100,000 books sold, her childrens books have been featured in forbes, cnn, essence, the huffington post, and used as props on television. At present, i have just one ebook available for sale via my blog.