Publish Your Kindle Book

Once you have your KDP account, your book as a Word document and your cover, publishing on the Kindle platform is really easy.

Log in to your Amazon KDP account and, under the Create a New Title heading, click on + Kindle eBook.

You will see 3 tabs, labeled Kindle eBook Details, Kindle eBook Content and Kindle eBook Pricing, with the first tab already selected. Here's how you fill them in:

Kindle eBook Details

These are mostly self-explanatory. You will enter

• Language
• Book Title and optional Sub-Title
• Series details if the book is part of a series
• Edition Number (leave blank)
• Author (this can be your real name or a pen name, but should correspond to the author name on your book's cover)
• Contributors. If others have co-authored or otherwise contributed to the book, list them here.
• Description. This is a brief description of what your book is about. I suggest you write this as a separate document and then use it both here and as your book's blurb.
• Publishing Rights. As you have written this book or had it written for you, you own the publishing rights. Select the first radio button "I own the copyright and I hold the necessary publishing rights."
• Keywords. Think of these in terms of what someone might be searching for on Amazon and would be delighted to find your book. You can enter up to 7 of them.
• Categories. You can select up to 2 categories. These can help browsers find your book in a particular category. Hint: If you select one of the categories with a smaller number of books, it can help your book get the desired Best Seller label as there is less competition. This can increase sales.
• Age and Grade Range. Unless you have written a children's book, leave this blank.
• Pre-Order. The first radio button "I am ready to release my book now" is selected by default.

Click on the Save and continue button to move to the next tab:

Kindle eBook Content

In this section, you will enter:

• Digital Rights Management (DRM). Read the guide next to this section "How is my Kindle eBook affected by DRM?" and make up your own mind. Personally, I select No as it avoids an extra complication.
• Upload eBook Manuscript. Here you will upload the Word version of your book. Amazon will tell you when it has uploaded successfully and warn you of any issues, such as suspected spelling errors.
• Kindle eBook Cover. Select the option "Upload a cover you already have (JPG/TIFF only" and then the button Upload Your Cover File. Select the cover file previously created and stored as a .jpg. Wait until you see the message Cover uploaded successfully!
• Kindle eBook Preview. This is really useful, as it allows you to check your book as it will be seen on a device such as a Kindle Reader. Click the Launch Previewer button and scroll through your book.
• Kindle eBook ISBN. The International Standard Book Number is not required on Kindle books. Leave blank.

Click on the Save and continue button to move to the next tab:

Kindle eBook Pricing

• KDP Select Enrollment. It says "Maximize My Royalties with KDP Select (Optional)" and that sounds attractive. Use it if you have no intention of publishing anywhere but on Amazon. However, at some point of time, I intend to cover publishing on other platforms. Amazon doesn't allow this if you are enrolled in KDP Select. However, you can change this at any time, but the change is not immediate.
• Territories. It sets you up for a bit more work further on, but I like to select All territories (world wide rights). This allows you to sell all over the world in local currency but to get paid in your home currency.
• Primary Marketplace. Select your primary marketplace from the dropdown, such as amazon.com.
• Pricing, Royalty and Distribution. This can have a big impact on your profitability, so it's worthwhile spending some time on it and there are a few factors involved. First up, however, set your royalty plan to 70%. This means you will get 70% of all sales of your Kindle book. Amazon will keep 30%. This compares favorably with royalty payments from traditional publishers.
  
  Enter your amazon.com price ($2.99 to $9.99 but if you are just starting, do for the lower end such as $3.99) and select Base all marketplaces on this price. This will show the equivalent price in local currency for each of your marketplaces.
  
  Now update the price in each marketplace to something that looks better. For example, if USD3.99 converts to AUD5.55, change the Australian price to $5.99.
• Book Lending. Locked. Nothing to enter.
• Terms & Conditions. Information only. Nothing to enter.

All done. Click on the Publish Your Kindle eBook button.