By Logan Stoves
Recently, I just published my first book with Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) and I couldn’t be prouder of myself. After my experiences, I believe KDP is one of the easiest ways to publish your book if you’re looking to self-publish. However, I would recommend you do your research on Amazon while looking at other self-publishing companies. Of course, there are pros and cons to everything, so here are my observations about publishing your book through KDP.
Pros:
- An easy way of publishing: All you need to do is upload your book cover and manuscript, enter your book details, and press publish.
When it comes to publishing, Amazon has one of the easier ways to publish your book. When you visit their page for the first time, it will ask you to log into or create an Amazon account. Amazon also gives you information about publishing with them. After this, you will be directed to your “Bookshelf” page, where you can begin the process of publishing your book. At the top of the page, you will see “create new title”. There are two options, one to create an e-book and the other to create a paperback. You simply click on one of the options and it will take you to the pages to fill in the necessities for your book. There are three sections named book details, book content, and book pricing; this is where you will work on your book before publishing. Once everything is filled in for the book, you can either save your book as a draft or submit it to KDP for publishing.
Your e-book can be pre-ordered.
One important thing in releasing a book is the pre-order. With KDP, you can have your e-book pre-ordered for up to 90 days.
You can easily track your book sales.
After publishing your book and uploading it on to the Amazon Market, you can track book sales by going to the “Reports” tab on your KDP page. Once the tab is clicked, a “Sales Dashboard” tab along with a few other tabs which include “Pre-Order Sales,” “Promotions,” and “Prior Month’s Royalties.” On your “Sales Dashboard” tab, you can track how many e-books were sold and how many of your paperback books were shipped out each day. At the bottom of the “Sales Dashboard” page, there is an option to generate reports to show how much profit you have from your books.
You can keep most of the royalties from your book.
Whether your book is a paperback or e-book, Amazon allows you to choose the pricing of your books and keep most of your royalties. When choosing the price for your e-book, you have the choice between keeping 35 percent or 70 percent of your royalties. For paperbacks, you can choose between keeping 40 percent or 60 percent. If you choose to keep 40 percent, you have the option to sign up for expanded distribution, where more people will be able to see your book. If you choose to keep 60 percent, you choose to keep the standard distribution for your books.
You’re uploading your book onto one of the largest online markets for books.
Uploading to Amazon means your book is a part of a large market for millions of people in the world. More exposure means potential sales.
Cons:
Your book is only available to the Amazon market.
Although your book is on Amazon, it won’t be in any bookstores unless they order your book through a catalog.
You cannot have a paperback pre-order.
There is not an option to put a pre-order for your paperback book, even if it is linked your e-book.
Because so many people self publish on KDP, it can be hard for people to find or stumble upon your book.
Nowadays, a lot of self-publish authors publish their book or books on to Amazon Direct Publishing. It can be very hard for readers to find your book without you telling anyone about it or promoting it. It’s up to you to get your book all out to everyone.
Amazon has a lot to offer and has one of the easier ways to publish your book. I recommend KDP to aspiring authors who are looking to publish their book quickly.
Author Bio: Born in Hampton, Virginia and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, Logan Stoves is an African American writer who specializes in Young Adult Fiction. Logan loves to write and watch sports, specifically Football, Basketball, Racing, Track and Field, and MMA. His First Book The Homecoming Racer is available on KDP.
