Kindle Direct Publishing

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About

NOTE: This page is a daughter page of: Amazon and Publishing


Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) is Amazon.com's e-book publishing unit launched in November 2007, concurrently with the first Amazon Kindle device. KDP is used by publishers, to independently self publish their books directly to the Kindle Store. It's completely free to publish with Amazon, so it's almost always the best choice for first time authors.

How to Publish on KDP - The Steps

(1) Finishing Writing it Already!

If you idea for a book is just black and white with no pictures you can write it in anything - Google docs will do (and not a bad option to easily share with a friend to proof-read)! You probably want to chose the common paperback 6" by 9" KDP book size, so set your document at around that (try A5) so you can estimate pages. For font, use size 11 font and 1.25 line spacing and Arial or Helvetica (you can change it later). For a first book I recommend you keep it short and "done is better than perfect". You'll feel a bit lousy if you start something and don't finish.... so commit to just finishing it! You can update a book at any time on Amazon (via KDP) so get it done.

If you need extra motivation I recommend reading: Published.: The Proven Path From Blank Page to Published by Chandler Bolt and get yourself accountable to finish writing by a particular date. One hour of writing a day and you'll be done in no time. This book is largely focussed on non-fiction for "tell-your-story" and/or "write-a-book-that-generates-you-business", but it will help motivate you for a fiction book also and has many specific tips on KDP and getting yourself an audience and accountability ahead of publishing. It also has some great exercises to help you mind-map your book to get your structure ahead of writing. The author is a huge fan of self-publishing and explains the many ways KDP ("just-upload-it-yourself") is superior over the antiquated "this-is-gonna-take-years-to-get-onto-shelves-and-you-lose-creative-control-and-we-will-not-actually-even-promote-it" situation with traditional publishers. Let's be honest..... if you're not already famous your book probably won't make lots of money... so don't do it for that reason. Do it because you want the rush of being an author, introducing yourself to new peers as an author, and giving copies of your book (at print price - just a few dollars a book often) to everyone you meet. You won't get a better "business card" then giving someone a copy of your book. Even if they don't read it, it will be on their shelf to remember you!


(2) Design your Cover

KPD has a page size guide to help estimate your cover size, and also when you go to publish it will tell you the expected size. I think Adobe InDesign is a fantastic choice to design your cover and export it to a PDF, so I have a guide: How To: Make a Book Cover for KDP in InDesign.

If your no good at graphic design (and don't want to pay anyone), the fantastic news is that Amazon has a cover designer where you can upload a fun image (make sure you have licensing/or use a free use images) and it will generate some pretty good possible cover designs for you to pick.. something like this:


Free KDP Cover Designer - some of the options are actually pretty good


(3) Upload Your Book and Order an Author Proof

Assuming you've written your book, log into https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/ and create a new book. There are three main steps (main tabs):

Main Steps
  1. Paperback Details. The important thing here is that you can't change the Book Title and Subtitle, so get it right the first time. Stuff like "description" you can change afterwards.
  2. Paperback Content. This is where you chose the paper type (which will affect printing cost) and upload your book. You will upload the cover as a PDF, and the book itself... well there are a few options supported (.pdf for best results, but can also be a .doc, .docx, .html, or .rtf). Here's some recommendations:
    1. For a color book: I used Adobe InDesign for a 2 page spread exported to PDF with bleed area, since my book is a color coffee table book. Here you have a chance to use the "Launch Preview" which is very helpful and might tell you that your text is too close to the margins (so you have to upload again).
      Launch preview
      .
    2. For a black-and-white book (no pictures): It's great to write this in Google Docs so you don't lose it, but for publishing you'll want to put it into Microsoft Word or the free LibreOffice where you can set different inner and outer margins and see the book in a book view mode so you get all the chapter and sections on the start of new right pages. I have specific instructions for doing just that in LibreOffice for 6x9 inch book. Formatting can be a pain, but if you went to the trouble of writing it, you want it to look nice!
  3. Paperback Rights & Pricing. Here you chose a price... I believe "expanded distribution" is the best way to go. Importantly, don't hit "Publish" yet... you'll want to hit the "Request printed proofs of this book" button and Amazon can pretty pretty ship you a hard copy of your book with "Not for Resale" printed over your cover design... and shows you the quality. It's cheap and I recommend you do this in case you think: "oh wow, this page doesn't look right". You can then go back and upload new PDFs over the top until you are confident your published book will look as intended.


(4) Submit Your Book

One you click submit, it says it can take up to 72 hours to "review" (although probably it will be much less). For me only ~8 hours, and even though my paperback passed the initial review, my cover, some of my text came within 10 mm of the edge, so I had to submit again. To my shock, once it's published it's published!

Really I would have like to figure out how to get pre-order copies (you can order 1-5 at a time at print cost - for me ~$8 for my 112 page color book) before it was published out there, but at least you can change the PDF at any time... pretty much only the title and author name are locked in forever, which is good, because I saw grammar errors in my description.

Other things like the "Look Inside" feature can take longer. More information lives under the KDP Timelines page.



Upload pieces


(5) Create an Author Page

To create an author page is a separate website from KDP: authorcentral.amazon.com.

I'm not certain if you can create an author page profile ahead of launching your first book, but you can use this site to "add" your books (linked to the same email address), and you should link them very soon after you have launched each book. :)


(6) Create an Audio Book (optional)

To make an audio version of your book you must use Amazon's Audio Creation Exchange as per the KDP instructions.




Videos


My Books

My books are listed under amazon.com/author/andrewnoske:

Click here to see on Amazon Title:

Ice Cream = Sex: What your flavor says about your fantasy, and how to make it happen

Length: ................... 112 pages
Amazon URL: ......... Amazon Paperback + Kindle Version + Audio Version
Book Website: ........ www.icecreamequalssex.com

Publication date: .... Apr 29, 2020
Description:
Imagine two scoops of laugh-out-loud comedy mixed with one scoop of delicious sexiness and drizzled with thoughtfulness in a coffee table book choc-chip full of beautiful, glossy color photography. Relatively few people are good at expressing their secret sexual fantasies, but *nobody* has trouble talking about ice cream! Just like great sex, the book has wonderful attention to detail, with color-coded pages, playful sections on tantric sex and BDSM, and a practical section at the end about having a safe sex conversation. This probably isn't what you'd expect from a book that claims to know your sexual desires based on what ice cream you like. Superficially, 'Ice Cream = Sex' is a comedy, with wildly suggestive comparisons between your choice of toppings and what you might enjoy in the bedroom. It's the perfect gift for a friend to make them blush, or to whip out at a dinner party to make everyone laugh. With its sensual photography of mouth-watering ice cream and tantalizing people, it will leave you hungry...


Click here to see on Amazon Title:

The Ice Cream Flavors and Sexual Fantasy Guidebook: What flavor are you?

Length: ................... 32 pages
Amazon URL: ......... Amazon Paperback
Book Website: ........ www.icecreamequalssex.com

Publication date: .... Aug 5, 2020
Description:
This book thoughtfully asks the question 'what's your favorite ice cream flavor' and then delves into two of the sweetest parts of life. Sex and ice cream. Imagine two scoops of comedy mixed with one scoop of sexy and drizzled with thoughtfulness. It's a book with a purpose that needs to be read to be understood. With its beautiful photography of mouth-watering ice cream and sexy people, it will leave you hungry for the next page. It even starts with a safe sex conversation. This version has been adapted from the 6x6 inch 'Ice Cream = Sex: What your flavor says about your fantasy', to include just the best bits. If 6 inches isn't enough, this book is 8.5x8.5 inches and includes just the best bits from the original, in a form that allows wider distribution.


Click here to see on Amazon Title:

Funny Team Names: The Comprehensive Guide to Winning Best Team Name and Being Memorable In Your Pointless Team Event or Alcoholic Trivia Club

Length: ................... 65 pages
Amazon URL: ......... Amazon Paperback + Kindle Version
Book Website: ........ Funny Team Names

Publication date: .... May 28, 2020
Description:
Wouldn't it be nice, to just once, win the funniest team name prize at trivia? This book is a comprehensive list of 800 funny team names - everything from 'Southern Discomfort', to 'Fat Married People', 'Industrial Fuzz Bunnies', 'Unsolicited Penis Photos', 'Your Local Prostitutes', 'Eric’s Little Swimmers' and then the names too rude to put on the back cover. Yeah, that gets you wondering. This book covers everything from sports teams to fitness groups, social clubs, planning committees, game nights, trivia teams, book-reading clubs, or even that team-building exercise that your boss is forcing you to do. Yet this book is more than just a list of laugh-out-loud inappropriate group names. It also trains you to always be kick ass at naming a team. To learn the techniques to create something unique and funny. Even if you suck at the game, you’ll be memorable and make all your lousy teammates smile, and that’s the next best thing to winning. Enjoy the read!


Click here to see on Amazon Title:

Limitless Questions: The Ultimate Guide to Authentic Connection with Friends, Family and Dates Through Deep Question and Answer

Length: ................... 103 pages
Amazon URL: ......... Amazon Paperback
Book Website: ........ Limitless Questions

Publication date: .... Oct 12, 2021
Description:
Ever run out of questions on dates, or even with workmates at lunch? Ouchie. Worry no more! Keep this little booklet in your pocket and you'll never run out of things to talk about. Pretty soon you won't need to carry the booklet, you'll have the best material memorized. This book has over 600 questions, but more importantly, explains how to become an incredible conversationalist. You'll be the most fun person you know, not because of any material status... but because you'll quickly learn how to deeply relate, appreciate others, and evoke interest in people, through humor, vulnerability, trust, and.... limitless questions!


Click here to see on Amazon Title:

Consent to Kiss: Reducing victims of sexual violation via the CTK campaign and changing the social norms for kissing

Length: ................... 122 pages
Amazon URL: ......... Amazon Paperback + Kindle Version
Book Website: ........ Consent to Kiss

Publication date: .... Jul 20, 2022
Description:
Imagine a world where women all over the world felt safe going on dates with men. That may feel like a pipedream, but the Consent to Kiss (CTK) campaign aims to reduce sexual violations from forced kisses and worse by hundreds of millions. We can do this by changing social norms and starting the start of consent dialog one step earlier than the bedroom. Let's let women state on their online dating profiles that they expect to be asked for consent with the letters 'CTK'. Let's show our children and the world sexy examples of men respecting asking for consent so that we might end this idea that any man can grab a woman's head for a kiss without any warning consent or repercussions. This book challenges the social norms put in place by film, TV, and other media and shows there is another way. Inside this book you will find new research on unwanted kisses and so much more. ...


Click here to see on Amazon Title:

An Honest Politician: School for Future World Leaders

Length: ................... 103 pages
Amazon URL: ......... Amazon Paperback
Book Website: ........ An Honest Politician: School for Future World Leaders

Publication date: .... Aug 18, 2022
Description:
John Miller is the world’s most recognizable movie star, and Ethan Miles, a political science graduate, has convinced him to join a revolutionary new 'School for World Leaders' and run for president of the United States. Together, their ideas and friendship might just change the world before growing corruption and a looming war with Russia threatens to take away all the people they love. This book represents a 110-minute movie screenplay with a purpose. This work was motivated by the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, which deeply affected the author. The author wished that the United States and other countries would more actively help a country in need against a tyrannical dictator. For the US to help another country without any motive of revenge or resource gain. To do the right thing. This is a movie that could help inspire a generation of the youngest and brightest minds to get politically involved and make a difference. ...


Click here to see on Amazon Title:

Homeless on Haight: Beautiful stories of falling down, of poverty, of feeling invisible, and tales of hope on one of San Francisco's most iconic streets

Length: ................... 92 pages
Amazon URL: ......... Amazon Paperback + Kindle Version
Book Website: ........ Without a Home > Books

Publication date: .... Jun 14, 2023
Description:
Haight-Ashbury is the lively neighborhood in San Francisco made famous in the 1960s as the epicenter of the hippie movement and home to influential revolutionaries, musicians, and cult leaders. Today, Haight Street epitomizes San Francisco in a different way. It bustles with tourists and wealthy residents who drink coffee, buy expensive vintage clothes, and frown as they ignore or step over people who sleep in the street in the cold. There are thousands of people in San Francisco and this book tells the stories of nine homeless people on Haight Street. All the photos in this book were taken on or near Haight-Ashbury and the stories range between uplifting and heartbreaking. By telling these stories this book hopes to humanize the homeless. The invisible people. It encourages us all to be kinder and more aware of the fact that homelessness can happen to anyone. Most United States citizens are just one or two unfortunate accidents or events away from being on the streets.


Click here to see on Amazon Title:

The Little Book of Dance Inspiration: Unlocking freedom in movement & authenticity in dance

Length: ................... 150 pages
Amazon URL: ......... Amazon Paperback + Kindle Version pending
Book Website: ........ DanceInspiration.net > Books

Publication date: .... Jul 2, 2023
Description:
This book won’t tell you how to dance. It will inspire you how to feel. How to unleash your creative dance genius. To grow. Never again will you feel stagnant or stuck on the dance floor. Never again will you run out of moves. Unlock your inner child, roar, roll on the floor, leap, pause, spin, change your perspective and learn how to dance with others in a way that will touch your heart. Each page has stunning and inspiring images and ideas for dance. 'The Little Book of Dance Inspiration' is a juicy book of ideas that will bring joy to anyone who enjoys free dancing in their living room, in an ecstatic dance church, or in modern dance. Some people dance to perform for others... some people just dance to bring themselves joy.




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