For all you writers out there looking to monetize your verbal skills Kindle Publishing should be high up on your list. Gone are the days of a story coming to life on paper only to be squashed by the distribution gods and a publishing house; leaving authors frustrated with nothing to show for their hard work. The dawn of e-readers and content marketing ushered in a new era of content proliferation. Authors are able to publish their own books faster and more affordable. This gives consumers access to more affordable books. It’s free, fast, easy and if you’re an above average writer there is a niche audience waiting for your content.
Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) by Amazon offers 3 self publishing options:
– Dot it Yourself Option
– Print & Digital Option
– Using a Conversion Service (Professional Conversion Services)
For more details on how to get started.
KDP provides an extensive number of resources to authors looking to self publish. They provide a step by step guide to getting your book prepared, published, and promoted. You will also be able to print reports on sales, and follow guidelines to ensure legal policies are complied with.
Below is a deeper dive into some key points without getting too lost in the process.
KDP allows for a number of formats:
– Word (DOC or DOCX)
– HTML (ZIP, HTM, OR HTML)
– Mobipocket (MOBI)
– ePub (EPUB)
– Plain Text (TXT)
– Rich Text Format (RTF)
– Adobe PDF (PDF)
KDP’s Kindle Previewer is a free program offered to allow you to preview how your file/book layout will look on a number of applications and Kindle devices. You will be able to preview how your text layout and font will look. This tool is available to Mac OS X as well as Windows platforms.
As mentioned previously KDP provides reports based on Sales to help you keep track and manage your earnings:
-Month-to-Date Unit Sales – View your unit and sales transactions for the current and prior month
-Prior Six Weeks’ Royallties – View your royalties for past six weeks
-Prior Months’ Royalties – View your royalties for the past 12 months
Benefits of KDP versus going with traditional publishing house
– Cuts out middle man allowing author to earn more. The offering is free. You are able to dictate what your books list price will be as well as royalties.
– Author does not have to wait and hope a publishing house will pick up their book.
– KDP allows you to promote and manage your own sales.
– KDP provides flexibility in promoting your book through websites you choose and allows you to include a direct link to your Kindle book through those chosen websites.
– Kindle Book Lending features allows users to lend books through the Kindle Store to another reader.
– Any changes or updates you make to your book after you have published it: Your customers will get notified of these updates.
Another great resource to check out is KDP Translation services. If you decide to go with a translation service some things you may want to consider asking the following:
– How long will the translation take?
– How much will the translation cost?
– Are they a native speaker of the desired language?
– Will they need specialized knowledge to translate my book.
– What other books have they translated? Can they provide a resume?
– Do they work with an editor as part of the translation?
– What are the payment terms?
– Who will hold copyright of the translated?
Kindle Publishing allows you to choose your royalty options of either 35% or 70% based on what you dollar amount you list your book at. Both royalty and pricing are dictated by the author. The following link provides breakdown of royalty and pricing guidelines: Example is listed below for USD currency.
| USD List Price Requirements for Amazon.com | Minimum | Maximum |
| 35 % Royalty Option | List Price | List Price |
| • Less than or equal to 3 megabytes | $ 0.99 | $ 200.00 |
| • Greater than 3 megabytes and less than 10 megabytes | $ 1.99 | $ 200.00 |
| • 10 megabytes or greater | $ 2.99 | $ 200.00 |
| 70 % Royalty Option | $ 2.99 | $ 9.99 |
Lastly Kindle Direct Publishing offers a Forum to users where you can receive and give feedback on your experiences and processes, get updates on any any current issues the Kindle Publishing is working on, as well as be part of a community of publishers where your questions can be addressed. The community questions range from General questions, formatting, account questions etc…So how do you get paid? For starters The Kindle Store is invoice-free. You are paid automatically by Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) to a US, UK, IN, EU, or JP bank account. Another option you can choose is having a check mailed to you sixty (60) days following the end of the calendar month; given applicable sales have occurred during that month. You can expect payments issued when your account as a positive balance of $10/£10/€10/Rs 500/¥1000 or more for EFT, or Your balance reaches $100/£100/€100 or more for check payments.
When researching Kindle Publishing and it’s offerings I was quite impressed with how they have simplified the self publishing process. The support they offer is extensive and provided in many languages. KDP knows its’ authors and consumers well and provides everything you need in order to successfully publish your book. So consider carving out your 15-minutes of fame with Kindle Publishing and make a little money in the process.
