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Self-Publishing

Young, amateur author looking for a platform for your writings? Try Kindle Direct Publishing (which also let's you publish in paperback)!

By Kristen BarenthalerPublished 5 years ago 3 min read
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KDP

If you're like me, you have more than one writing platform that you like to use to get your work out into the world. But what if you have a longer work, like a novel or collection of poetry? That's where Kindle Direct Publishing comes in! Kindle Direct Publishing lets you publish your longer works as Kindle books and paperback books (if longer than 45 pages) on Amazon.

Once published, your books can be bought using Amazon's full-service sites, so it's available for anyone. You can also set up promotions to attract customers, sales, pre-sales, etc...

But how do you get this done?

1. Write!

Open University

The first step is pretty obvious; write! In order to have a book, you first have to write it. How ever you're most comfortable doing it; longhand, typing, outlining, just write it!

However, to upload your work to KDP, you'll eventually need to type out your work into an upload-able Word format, so if that's easier for you, start there and save yourself a few steps.

Also, remember if you want your book to be available in paperback, it needs to be at least 45 pages (to be worth the cost of printing and shipping).

Finally, when designing your Word document make sure it is in a good format for a book. Chapters each start on a new page. Poems are separated with a title on separate pages. Your dedication is on its own page first. All those little things that will set your self-published book apart from others.

The first step when you go to KDP is to sign up for an Amazon account (or sign-in to your existing one).

Secondly, you decide which format you want to design your book in. You can do both eventually and link them together, so I usually start with my Kindle ebook edition.

After you've decided on that, click under "Create a New Title" whichever you picked and the directions on each screen will lead you from there.

You'll need to pick a language, title, description (for the Amazon page, so make sure it'll draw in customers), what kind of publishing rights you have, search keywords, age range, whether you want to offer a pre-order sale or publish book immediately, price, etc.

The first time you try it can be a little overwhelming, but the Amazon review team will read through your book and send it back if you need any major changes, so you do have a second line of defense. However, you know best what you want your book to look and sound like, so always double and triple check your work before sending it in for publications.

3. Publish

Self-Publishing School

Once you've finished filling out all of your KDP information for your book, it will be sent to Amazon's review team, where they will go through your work and make sure it meets all the criteria for publication. If it does, your book will go live on Amazon within a few days. Congrats! You're now a published author.

4. Promotions

Digital Bard

Even though your book is on Amazon, you still need to promote your own work as well. Amazon will offer a few promotion options, such as a free Kindle book edition or other small discounts. However, you should also promote your work on all your own platforms. Make yourself a Facebook page for promoting all your writings, or an Instagram business profile to showcase your work, put your writings onto your resume for prospective employers to see your work ethic and creativity. Promote in any way you can to bring the most amount of views to your work. The more views you have, the better the chance someone will purchase your work.

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About the Creator

Kristen Barenthaler

Curious adventurer. Crazed reader. Archery fanatic. Amateur author. Librarian.

Instagram: @kristenbarenthaler

Facebook: @kbarenthaler

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15101108.Kristen_Barenthaler

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