How to self-publish your first book?- Start-to-finish guide

Now when you have decided to write your first book, you should think about publishing options. Completing your manuscript, getting it ready to publish, designing the cover page, creating illustrations (if applicable), and then the final step publishing. But how? If you are a first-time author then all this sounds overwhelming. Publishing your book is a big project. It might be your dream (as it was mine) since you started to write. Now when you are just one step away from seeing your dream taking its shape, it’s natural to get nervous. Recently, I have published my first book and I have experienced all these emotions along with a feeling of satisfaction. Even before I started to work on the manuscript, I have decided of to take the self-publishing route. I think that’s the best possible option for the first-timers.

 

 

So, if you are about to start writing your manuscript or if you have already embarked on this journey, this post is for you. I am going to tell you step-by-step how you can self-publish your book from your own workspace. All you need is an Amazon account and internet. Amazon has forever changed the publishing landscape, removing many of the barriers to getting a book out into the world.

So, if you want to self-publish your first book then buckle-up for this amazing ride.

Let’s divide this whole project into parts.

What is KDP: This is an Amazon self-publishing platform that allows you to create and manage your Kindle eBook, paperback, and even audiobooks in a single place. Details, Content, Right & Pricing

 

STEP 1 :

• Kindle Direct Publishing Account: Go to https://kdp.amazon.comand register with your already amazon account or email. Most of us have an Amazon account.

Next, click “Update” in your account information and fill in your tax information. Once you are done, click “Finished” and return to the main page.

 

STEP 2: 

Book title: Fill in your book title/subtitle.

Book description: Fill in the description. This has to be catchy. This description is visible to your customers. It is the short narrative which describes what your book is all about.

Right keywords: Alike blog posts, in publishing your book, keywords play a major role. Keywords are specific words or phrases used to describe your book. Amazon allows up to seven keywords for your book. So, pick your keywords carefully that suits the best for your book.

Right category: Choose appropriate categories/sub-categories for your book.

 

STEP 3 :

MANUSCRIPT:

Content is the key. We all have heard about it several times. But once the script is ready. Other steps are equally important. For initial screening, you can send it to your friends and ask for their honest inputs. I sent my manuscript to my friends having kids of the age group my book is written for. This helped me in doing the required content edits before I sent it to the professional for further editing.

Editing, proofreading, and formatting: Make sure to get your manuscript edited from a professional before you upload it. I took help from the Fiverr team. If you are planning for both e-book and paperback and if you are getting it done by someone then make sure you get both the versions. See if s(he) can do both so that you don’t have to pay two people.

Uploading the manuscript:

In your KDP account, go to Your Bookshelf.

Click on “Kindle eBook Actions” next to the title of your book.

Click on “Edit eBook Content”

Click on “Upload eBook manuscript”.

Upload your manuscript file on your computer

Upload complete!

Once Amazon finishes uploading your file, a confirmation message will be sent and you can preview the uploaded file to check for any errors.

You can upload the manuscript as many times as you want and the new version will override the existing.

Don’t forget to check the “Look inside” feature

Same steps are applicable in uploading the paperback version.

COVER PAGE:

A cover page is the face of your book. Your cover page has to be  interesting and should tell about your book. It should match to your genre. For e.g. Children’s book requires simple, non-crowded cover. For an e-book, you need only the front but for the paperback, the book cover has to in a single file (front+trim+back).

CREATE AND UPLOAD:

You can either take professional help for creating your book cover page or create one on your own. I have used CANVA for creating my book cover. There are many other sources like pixabay.com, unsplash.com, fiverr.com,and google.com (use filters) for getting good images. I use these for my images. You can add your sources to this list. Just make sure they are royalty-free.

Tip: It won’t be a bad idea to send few samples of your cover page to your friends and ask for their inputs. Ask them about color combination, overall look, text size, images etc.

 

STEP 4:

PRICING:

Once you are done uploading your manuscript, the last step is pricing.

• Compare the price of your competitor in the same category.
• Determine your followers: Many first time authors start with a low price to gain more readers to buy your book.
• Determine the price based on the size of the book: Overly price book with less content will never attract readers.

You’ll be able to preview your book, including your manuscript and cover before you publish to ensure it looks as intended.

After you upload your book, it will go through KDP content and quality review. If it doesn’t pass their review, you’ll need to edit your file and resubmit it.

These are the main steps on how to self-publish with Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). I tried to explain the whole process in a simple language. If you have any question, I am just a comment away.

Happy writing!!

To know about designing cover page on canvas and my experience with Self-Publishing, check out the next two posts. You will get to read positives and negatives, things I learned, and the facts that surprised me.

 

I am taking my Alexa Rank to the next level with with Blogchatter…….Get ready for some great reading..#MothersGurukulwrites