How to Self Publish a Book on Amazon [2022]

In this article, I am going to teach you How to self publish a book on Amazon. This is a guide to self-publishing with Amazon Kindle.

The Kindle has changed the way people read books. It’s only one of many e-readers on the market, but it is most likely the widest selling e-reader. Unlike some of the Kindle’s competitors, Amazon’s bookstore sells books on every subject matter under the sun. From how to tune your car’s engine to historical romance, you can sell it in Amazon’s store.

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How to publish book in Amazon?

Amazon has made Kindle publishing easy for everyone. If you have a book already published and available on other readers or on your own website, there are conversion tools you can use to convert that existing book into an ebook.

If you are starting from scratch and have yet to write a book, then see the tips in the section below. Also, if you’ve yet to publish your book, you can publish it exclusively via Kindle and earn some extra advantages.

What Exactly is Kindle And What Are The Benefits And Purposes Of Publishing In This Way?

Kindle is an e-reader. That means it allows you to read content that is published in a digital format. More specifically it reads content published in a specific proprietary format that only the Kindle e-reading device can display. There are, to be sure, other e-readers and other formats. However, as a Self Publish author, the Amazon store is where you will likely make most of your money.

That’s where the majority of your potential readers hang out, and Amazon’s easy-to-use shopping cart and delivery service make the process of buying a book quick and easy. In some cases all prospective readers have to do is push one button on the site and the book is instantly available on their device.

In addition to Kindle being the most popular digital bookstore online, it provides a number of other benefits to authors and aspiring book publishers.

What Are The Benefits And Purposes Of Publishing In This Way?

1. Royalties

Amazon pays up to 70% of your sales to you as royalty. Any New York publisher that paid a 70% royalty would go out of business (they usually pay between 4% and 15% depending on your history of success).

So, if you charge $2.99 for your ebook, you can earn up to $2.09 per sale. That may not sound like much, and you can certainly charge more for your book. However, the power of becoming an Amazon Kindle publisher is that you have the opportunity to reach thousands of people: we’re talking serious volume here.

Note that if you charge less than $2.99, Amazon only offers 35% royalty payments.

2. Cost to self publish on Amazon

How much does it cost to self publish an ebook on Amazon? It costs very little to produce a digital ebook.

To publish an ebook in Amazon’s store you need to:

1. Write it
2. Edit it
3. Format the book for publication
4. Create a cover image
5. List it in the store

Every single one of those steps is something you can take on and manage on your own. That means it may cost you absolutely zero cash to publish your book.

The result is that you earn 100% profit: the first copy you sell can generate a profit.

You can, of course, outsource some of the tasks as well: you may wish to hire an editor to make sure your book is perfect. You may also hire someone to ghostwrite your book, format your book for the device, and create an ebook cover. Even if you outsource the entire ebook creation process you still save money publishing digitally because you don’t have to pay for the cost of printing and distribution.

3. Ease Of Use

Publishing is easy, and there are several ways that you can publish. The most straightforward is to upload your document into their step-by-step system. You’ll answer a few questions and upload your file, after which you can preview your book to make sure it looks the way you want it to.

4. Availability

In addition, ebooks are widely available. That means you can sell to people who live around the globe and use a variety of devices to read. Books are available for purchase on Amazon devices, Kindle Cloud Reader, and on Kindle apps for iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, PC, Mac, BlackBerry, Android-based devices, and Windows Phone 7. Your book can be published in a number of languages and be made available around the world.

When it comes to publishing a book the question isn’t why become a Kindle publisher but rather, why not?

Ebook Publishing Options

KDP or Kindle Direct Publishing Select

KDP is the most common type of publishing. However, if you’re interested in earning some benefits of exclusivity then the KDP Select program may be of interest.

KDP Select is a program that offers you the ability to let other owners borrow your ebook for free. You sign up for an exclusive 90 day program during which time you cannot publish your ebook with any other publisher or website, and you agree that people can borrow your book for free. In exchange, you earn a percentage of the KDP Select fund, which is currently set at six million dollars.

The more your book is borrowed, the more money you earn from the fund. KDP Select also offers publishers more tools and resources to promote your ebook: it’s a nice way to generate awareness for your book. Once the 90 days are over and your agreement has expired you can then publish your ebook anywhere you choose.

What If My eBook is Already Published?

If your ebook has already been published either with another self-publishing company or on your own you can use one or more of Kindle’s applications to convert it to Kindle format and make it available on Amazon’s store.

Here are the available tools in a nutshell:

Digital Text Uploader

The Digital Text Uploader is the step-by-step system you use when you sign up. By following the simple process you can upload your book into KDP in the following formats.

Word (.doc or .docx)
ePub (.epub)
Plain Text (.txt)
Mobipocket (.mobi or .prc)
HTML (.zip, .htm, or .html)
Adobe PDF (.pdf)
Rich Text Format (.rtf)

Kindle Direct Publishing text uploader

Direct Publishing text uploader converts your digital text so readers using the Amazon devices or Kindle for PC or mobile devices can display it. During this process, you’ll also enter basic information about your content including a content description, a cover image, and your list price. This tool does the work for you.

However, if you have a lot of special formatting, it’s recommended that you understand HTML and use their formatting guide for reference. Don’t get stressed if you have a lot of formatting and you don’t know HTML, you can hire someone to help. Publishing is a big business and there are many book formatting specialists available. Or simply stick to very basic design elements (such as bold) in a simple Word document.

You can also use one of the following tools to format and/or preview your ebook before you publish it.

Tools to format and preview your ebook before publishing

1. KindleGen v2.3

Already know a bit about HTML? Then this is the tool for you. It converts HTML, XHTML, XML (OPF/IDPF format), or ePub source into a Kindle-ready ebook.

2. Kindle Previewer v2.3

Regardless of the tool you use to format your ebook the Previewer will help you make sure your book’s layout meets your expectations.

3. Kindle Plugin for Adobe InDesign® v0.96 (Beta)

Did you use Adobe InDesign to create your ebook? Great! Simply download this program onto your computer and use it to convert your Adobe InDesign ebook into a Kindle formatted ebook.

How do you self publish a book on Amazon? Conclusion

Direct Publishing has made book publishing something that anyone can accomplish. So, embrace this great way to realize your dreams. Whether you write as a hobby or for making money, non-fiction or fiction books, Kindle is the key to a new life as a published author. Here is the link on Amazon.com to self publishing.

How to self publish a book on Amazon?