Amazon Publish Your Own Book: DIY Author Guide

Okay so here’s what you actually need to do to publish on Amazon

I literally just walked a client through this last Tuesday while my cat was knocking over my coffee, so it’s fresh in my mind. First thing – forget everything you think you know about traditional publishing because KDP is completely different and honestly way simpler once you get past the initial “wait what am I doing” phase.

Setting up your KDP account

Go to kdp.amazon.com and create an account. You’ll need your tax information ready – either a W-9 if you’re in the US or a W-8 if you’re international. This part takes like 10 minutes but Amazon needs it for tax reporting since you’re gonna be making money. They ask for your banking info too so they can actually pay you, which happens about 60 days after the end of each month you make sales.

The tax interview trips people up but just answer honestly. If you’re a US person, you’ll likely check “individual” unless you’ve set up an LLC or something. I did mine as an individual for the first two years before I bothered with the LLC stuff.

Formatting your manuscript (this is where people mess up)

So your book needs to be in either DOC, DOCX, or PDF format. I always use DOCX because it converts better. Here’s the thing nobody tells you – Amazon‘s converter is actually pretty good now, but you gotta set up your Word document correctly first.

Use styles for everything. Heading 1 for chapter titles, Normal for body text. Don’t just make text bigger and bold for chapter headings because the converter won’t recognize that structure. Go to the Styles panel in Word and actually apply proper styles.

Margins should be 1 inch all around. Font doesn’t matter as much as people think because readers can change it on their Kindles anyway, but I usually go with Times New Roman 12pt or Garamond 11pt. Looks professional in the preview.

Oh and another thing – page breaks between chapters are crucial. Don’t just hit Enter a bunch of times. Use Insert > Page Break so each chapter starts on a new page. The converter respects actual page breaks.

Your cover situation

You need a cover that’s at least 1000 pixels on the shortest side, but I always do 2560 x 1600 pixels because that looks crisp on all devices. Amazon recommends this size and honestly they’re right about it.

If you can’t afford a designer (they usually run $50-$300), use Canva. I know everyone says this but it works. They have KDP book cover templates already sized correctly. Just search “kindle cover” in their template library.

Wait I forgot to mention – your cover needs to look good as a tiny thumbnail because that’s how most people will see it first. Pull up Amazon on your phone and look at how small those thumbnails are. If your cover has too much text or detail, it’ll be unreadable. Keep it simple – bold title, clear imagery, high contrast.

The actual upload process

Click “Create New Title” and you’ll see three main sections: Kindle eBook Details, Kindle eBook Content, and Kindle eBook Pricing.

In the Details section you’ll enter your title, subtitle if you have one, author name, description, keywords, and categories. The description is HTML-enabled which means you can bold text and add line breaks. I usually write mine in Word first, then use a free HTML generator online to convert it.

Keywords are huge. You get seven keyword phrases, and each phrase can be multiple words. Don’t waste them on obvious stuff that’s already in your title. Think about what readers actually search for. If you wrote a cookbook about quick dinners, don’t use “cookbook” as a keyword – use “30 minute meals” or “easy weeknight dinners” instead.

Categories – you only get to choose two during upload but you can email KDP support after publishing to get added to up to 10 total categories. I do this for every single book. Just email them with your book title and ASIN (you’ll get this after publishing) and list the categories you want using the full browse path.

Content upload part

This is gonna sound weird but preview your book like three times before you publish. Upload your manuscript file, wait for it to convert (takes maybe 2 minutes), then use the online previewer. Check the table of contents, make sure chapters start on new pages, look for weird formatting glitches.

I caught a client’s book last month where all the quotes had turned into weird symbols because they’d used fancy curly quotes from a different program. Had to fix it before we published.

Enable DRM if you want – it’s the digital rights management that prevents people from easily sharing your file. I enable it on my higher-priced books but honestly it doesn’t matter that much because pirates gonna pirate regardless.

Pricing strategy that actually works

You can enroll in KDP Select which makes your book exclusive to Amazon for 90 days, or you can distribute wide (to other platforms too). I test both depending on the book but for your first one, honestly just do KDP Select. You get access to Kindle Unlimited readers who are voracious consumers, plus you can run free promotions and Countdown Deals.

Royalty options are either 35% or 70%. The 70% option requires your price to be between $2.99 and $9.99, and Amazon charges a small delivery fee based on file size. For most ebooks this fee is like $0.15 or less so it’s worth it. Price your book at $2.99 minimum to get the 70% royalty.

My sweet spot for pricing depends on length – short books under 100 pages I do $2.99 to $3.99, full-length novels $4.99 to $6.99. Nonfiction can go higher if it’s specialized knowledge. I’ve got a tech guide priced at $12.99 that still sells because the information is valuable.

Pre-orders (optional but useful)

You can set up a pre-order up to 90 days in advance. This lets you start building buzz and collecting sales before launch day. All those pre-order sales count toward your ranking on release day which can push you up the charts.

The catch – you MUST upload your final manuscript at least 10 days before release or Amazon will put you in pre-order jail where you can’t do pre-orders for a year. I learned this the hard way when I was watching Stranger Things and lost track of my deadline. Don’t be like me.

After you hit publish

It takes up to 72 hours for your book to go live but usually it’s more like 12-24 hours. You’ll get an email when it’s live with your book’s ASIN and link.

First thing I do – order a copy myself on my Kindle to see exactly what readers will see. Read through it on the actual device. You’ll spot stuff you missed in the previewer.

If you find typos or formatting issues after publishing, don’t panic. Just upload a corrected version. Go to your Bookshelf, click the three dots next to your book, select “Edit eBook content,” upload the new file. Amazon reviews it and updates usually within 24 hours. Readers who already bought it will get notified they can download the updated version.

The paperback version (if you want one)

Same KDP account, different process. You can link your paperback to your ebook so they show up on the same Amazon page. The formatting is more complex because you need to account for physical page size, margins, and bleed.

Amazon has templates you can download – pick your trim size (6×9 is most common for nonfiction, 5×8 for fiction), download the template, format your book in it. The cover is trickier because you need a full wraparound cover including spine width which depends on your page count and paper type.

I use Amazon’s Cover Creator for simple paperbacks or hire a designer for anything I’m serious about marketing. The cover creator is free and has decent templates, but your book will look kinda generic.

Paperback royalties are lower – usually 60% of list price minus printing costs. A 200-page paperback costs about $2-$3 to print, so if you price it at $12.99 you make roughly $5-$6 per sale. Still decent.

Common mistakes I see all the time

Not having a table of contents – readers expect this for ebooks. Word can generate one automatically if you used heading styles properly.

Skipping the Look Inside feature setup – the first 10% of your book shows in the Amazon preview. Make sure those pages are compelling and properly formatted. I’ve seen books with copyright pages and dedications taking up the entire preview which is just wasted opportunity.

Ignoring your book description – this is your sales page. Use short paragraphs, bullet points if appropriate, and compelling language. Study descriptions of bestselling books in your genre and model that structure.

Not validating your categories and keywords – after you publish, search for your own book using the keywords you chose. Does it show up? Are you in categories that make sense? If not, adjust.

What happens with sales and payments

You can track sales in real-time on your KDP dashboard, though there’s usually a few hours delay. The reports show units sold, pages read (for KU), and estimated royalties.

Payment threshold is $10 for direct deposit, $100 for check. Once you hit the threshold, Amazon processes payment about 60 days after month-end. So sales from January get paid end of March. It’s slow but reliable.

My client canceled yesterday so I spent a few hours comparing the sales reports between my fiction and nonfiction books – nonfiction is way more consistent but fiction has higher spikes when you nail the marketing.

ISBN situation

Amazon gives you a free ASIN for ebooks – you don’t need to buy an ISBN. For paperbacks, they provide a free ISBN too, but it’ll say “Independently published” as the publisher name. If you want your own publishing imprint name, you gotta buy your own ISBN from Bowker ($125 for one, $295 for 10).

I used Amazon’s free ISBNs for my first 50 books and nobody cared. Eventually bought my own when I wanted to look more professional for certain nonfiction titles.

Marketing basics you gotta know

Amazon ads are built into KDP – you can run sponsored product ads right from your bookshelf. Start with automatic targeting and a budget of like $5/day to test. The ads learn over time what works.

Reviews matter more than almost anything for visibility. Amazon’s algorithm loves books with reviews. Don’t buy fake reviews (you’ll get banned), but do join reader groups on Facebook where people exchange honest reviews. Make sure you follow Amazon’s terms about this – no quid pro quo agreements.

The also-boughts section on your Amazon page is crucial – Amazon shows “customers who bought this also bought” which drives huge traffic. You influence this by doing cross-promotions with authors in your genre, running promos that attract your target readers, and pricing strategically.

Oh wait, another thing about launch strategy – your first 30 days are important for Amazon’s algorithm. Try to get as many sales and reviews as possible in that window. Tell everyone you know, post on social media, maybe run a small ad campaign. The momentum you build early helps long-term visibility.

If you’re doing a series, price the first book lower (even free sometimes) to hook readers, then make money on books 2-5. This works incredibly well for fiction. I’ve got a client doing this with cozy mysteries – book 1 is permafree and she makes $3k/month from the rest of the series.

Technical stuff that’s annoying but necessary

Your ebook file size matters for delivery fees on the 70% royalty option. If you have lots of images, compress them before adding to your manuscript. I use TinyPNG online – it’s free and reduces file size by like 70% without noticeable quality loss.

Amazon’s style guide is actually worth reading – it’s in your KDP help section. Tells you exactly how they want things formatted. I reference it whenever I’m doing something new or complex.

If your book has special formatting needs like poetry, textbooks, or complex layouts, consider using Kindle Create which is Amazon’s free formatting software. It handles tricky stuff better than just uploading a Word doc.

For print books, watch your margins – Amazon requires minimums based on page count. More pages means wider interior margins so text doesn’t get lost in the binding. The templates handle this automatically but if you’re formatting from scratch, check the specs.

The copyright page should include your copyright notice, edition info, and disclaimer if needed. Something like “Copyright © 2024 by Your Name. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced…” You can find templates online. It’s not legally required but looks professional and protects you.

Okay that’s basically the whole process. I’ve walked through this probably 200+ times between my own books and clients. The first one takes a few hours to set up and publish, but once you’ve done it, subsequent books take maybe 30-45 minutes if your files are ready. It’s really not as complicated as it seems from the outside, just gotta do it once to demystify the whole thing.