In this post, we’ll finally realize our dreams: we’re publishing! There’s a light at the end of that self-publishing tunnel, and it’s not a freight train. That nasty exercise to create the eBook itself is far behind us and the final journey in the adventure of self-publishing is before us. Through all the blood, sweat, and tears, we’ve prepared ourselves for this moment. And it will be wondrous.
I see the light!
Prerequisites
- An Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) account.
- A CreateSpace account with a completed book.
- Your completed EPUB from the last post (or you can use the Interior File you created for the CreateSpace parts 1 and part 2).
- Electronic Book ISBN (must be different from the ISBN you used in CreateSpace).
So, are you ready to become a published author? Take a deep breath, cuz here we go!
Transfer from CreateSpace to Amazon KDP
- From your CreateSpace project, click on the Publish on Kindle option.
Publish on Kindle
- You will be taken to an “are you sure?” type of page. Click on I want to publish my book on Kindle.
I want to publish my book on Kindle
- If you want to upload your EPUB, choose to upload a separate file. If you’re using your CreateSpace file and not your EPUB file, choose the Transfer and Convert option. Click Continue.
the Upload EPUB option
- Choose the publishing rights and DRM that applies to you. In most cases, choose “This is not a public domain work” as you should be publishing your own works at this point in time. The only time you would choose a public domain work is if the original author is deceased and you have rights to publishing/republishing their work(s). Here you can also choose your DRM option – DRM helps protect your book from pirating and illegal distribution. After you have chosen your options, click Submit my files to KDP.
Establishing DRM rights
- You will be taken to Amazon’s KDP site. Sign in to your KDP account. In most cases, the KDP login information is the same as your Amazon login information.
Sign in to KDP
- If your files make it in, congratulations! You’re one of the lucky ones. This rarely works for me. So if you run into the the most uninformative of errors, just click “OK.” We’ll fix things up.
Thanks. Real informative there, Amazon.
Welcome to KDP!
Okily dokily! We’re ready to push the button! There’s just some final clean up and configuration we need to set up before we’re officially an author. Let’s get started!
- Once KDP loads, check that the book title and author info has come over, then click on “Continue setup”.
Continue Setup
- Dismiss the “What to do next” box to continue.
What to do next? Publish!
- Next comes the Kindle Select option. A word of warning about Kindle Select – yes, the royalty structure is awesome, but you’re locked in to KDP as your only distribution channel for 3 months. So choose carefully and read the fine print. You can opt in at anytime, but you’re locked in for 90 days once you do opt in. If you’re found selling your book anywhere else, KDP kicks you out of the Select program and may put a hold on your ability to offer your book on Amazon.
Read carefully!
- Scrolling down the page, check over your book details. The things I found I had to watch out for were:
- Line breaks on the Description field. Correct this if your text is not organized properly.
- Enter your ISBN number for the eBook (do not use the ISBN you used for CreateSpace as you must have a separate ISBN for the physical and the electronic versions of the book.
Double-check your book info
- Choose the two categories that best describe your book.Click “Save” to move on to the next step.
Book Categories
- Upload the EPUB we created in the previous post.
Upload EPUB
- Review any spelling mistakes and preview the book to make sure you’ve uploaded the correct EPUB. If all is good, return to your book home and click the Save and Continue button.
Save and Continue
- Verify Your Publishing Territory. If you own the ISBN (you purchased your number from an ISBN agency and not CreateSpace), your territory is Worldwide. Otherwise, you may have to do some research as to which countries and territories you’re allowed to publish in.
Publishing Territories
- Select your desired Royalty option and set the book’s base price. Leave all other territories checked to “Set price automatically”, that way your book stays priced appropriately as exchange rates vary.
Royalties and Pricing
- Keep in mind that some territories require you to enrol in Kindle Select to achieve the 70% Royalty. Make your own decision on this, but keep in mind if you enrol in Kindle Select, you can only sell your book on Amazon and CreateSpace, and no other outlet.
Kindle Select pricing
- Kindle MatchBook & Kindle Lending are neat options. If your reader buys the trade paperback, you have the option of giving them the eBook for a discount, or for free using Kindle MatchBook. Personally, I like the free option as the Trade Paperback is more expensive than the eBook to begin with, and they’ve already purchased a copy of the book. And Kindle Lending, as the name suggests, allows your reader to lend the eBook out to friends and family to widen your readership. I would suggest taking advantage of both.
Kindle MatchBook and Book Lending
- Scroll to the bottom of the page. Click the check box, then click Save and Publish!
Save and Publish! OMG!
- It takes a few hours to get the book to the masses. In the meantime, the book will appear under ‘In Review’ status.
In Review status
- After the files have gone through Amazon’s pre-processing stage, you will receive an email from Amazon asking you to verify your publishing rights. Just follow the steps in the email – you will have to re-declare your publishing rights, DRM and publishing territories.
Verify Your Publishing Rights.
- Once the publishing rights have been verified, within 24 hours you’ll receive confirmation from Amazon that your book has been published!
And You’re Published!
Paperback Temporarily Out Of Stock
Just a word of warning: Even though Amazon owns CreateSpace, the two platforms do not talk nicely to each other when you first publish. If after publishing, your paperback version shows up as Temporarily Out Of Stock, fear not. Once your readers order the book, it will be printed and delivered immediately, despite what Amazon says. In contacting both CreateSpace and KDP, representatives will give you excuses such as ‘high volume of demands’ or will use the nearest holiday as an excuse. All of us will experience this, so don’t worry too much. However, if you feel it’s a bother, feel free to contact KDP Support.
Temporarily out of stock
Go Forth, Published Author!
Now, go forth! Just because you’ve published, don’t think the hard work is done. No sir! Now you have to promote that gem of a novel you’ve just written, not to mention expand your novel into the other eBook and Print-On-Demand platforms.
High Five!
But that, my friends, is best left for another time.
And with that, I bid you adieu, new author. Congratulations!
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