Did you know that you can publish your books on Amazon? The Kindle Direct Publishing Platform is where you need to be parading your work.
The platform is one of the premier self-publishing platforms on the Internet and is known for being a leader in publishing eBooks. Therefore, it’s a great way to get your ebooks in front of millions of avid readers.
But where to start? How do the ads work? How can you earn more money? What sort of books are popular? What makes a good book title? Do you need to spend any money on a cover design?
You may have thought about publishing your work through the platform or not with so many questions. This article will cover everything you need to know about launching books via Amazon KDP. To help you choose, you should know how the process works.
What is Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP)?
Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) is a tool used by self-published writers to make their books available for sale on Amazon. It’s the fastest, most reliable, and least expensive way for an author to get their ebook into the Kindle Store.
It also allows writers to upload their books and set the price and royalty rate.
The easiest way to think of KDP is as an online platform where you can sell your book or ebooks directly to readers. You don’t need to go through a publisher or third party to distribute your work—you can do it yourself.
In addition, it offers a wide range of features to help authors grow their business and build their audience of readers.
Why should authors use it?
Authors who use KDP have access to many tools and services that help them bring their books to market quickly and easily. Here are some of the features:
Kindle Direct Publishing allows authors to publish their work as quickly as possible. They don’t need to wait for approval from agents or publishers or spend months revising their manuscript before they can see it in print form. Instead, authors can publish their books within minutes using KDP.
Amazon provides its distribution network, making it easy for readers to access your book wherever they happen to be — at home or on their mobile devices while running errands or commuting to work.
You are paid royalties based on how many pages you sell each month rather than by how many copies you sell. Thus, you’ll never have to worry about unsold inventory.
Which books are eligible for advertising via KDP?
All books published in KDP Select will be eligible for advertising on Kindle e-readers, Kindle reading apps, and across a network of sites, including Zappos, IMDB, Audible, Goodreads, and Shelfari.
So if you want to advertise a book already available on Amazon, then this is easy – select the option to “Promote and Advertise” when setting up your book page.
However, if you want to promote a book that isn’t yet available on Amazon, you’ll need to publish it through KDP before trying to advertise it.
How does it work?
The process of publishing on KDP is simple.
All you need to do is sign up for an account and upload your manuscript in either Word or PDF format. From there, you can choose whether you want to publish the book immediately or use the KDP Select program.
Once your book goes live, it will be available on Amazon within 24 hours. You can also set up an opt-in page so that people can pre order your book before it launches.
Once your book goes live and you start selling copies, Amazon pays authors 45 per cent of all sales prices and keeps 35 percent as its commission fee.
If you enrol in KDP Select, however, Amazon will pay twice as much (70 percent) for any books borrowed through Kindle Unlimited or Prime Reading — but only if those reads come from subscribers who pay $10 per month for access to over 1 million titles.
For example, if someone borrows your book for free through Kindle Unlimited, Amazon will pay you $0.0065 per page read. But if that same person pays for their subscription and reads the entire book, you’ll get $0.0125 per page instead.
How much does it cost to advertise on the platform?
The cost of advertising on Kindle Direct Publishing varies depending on the type of campaign and the amount of money you want to spend.
Knowing exactly how much you should be paying can be challenging if you’re starting.
The good news is that several factors will help determine how much you’ll pay for an ad campaign. These include:
Your budget.
The more money you have available, the more options you’ll have when purchasing ads on Kindle Direct Publishing. You won’t be able to see everything, but you will be able to see a broader range of options than those with limited funds.
Your target audience.
Some ad types might work better for one kind of audience than another. For example, if your book is about politics, then political ads might be more effective than ads targeted at romance readers.
Your book’s category.
Ads tend to perform better when they’re targeted toward books in similar categories because they’re designed for people who have already shown interest in reading similar books.
If your book is about cooking, it may make sense for you to advertise with other cooking-related books rather than romance novels or science fiction stories.
Final Thoughts
Self-publishing your book online is an enriching experience. It’s a chance to connect with your audience, tell your own story, and share your knowledge.
But if you’re going self-publishing, be prepared for some hard work because the publishing industry is changing quickly. You’ve likely thought about what kind of publisher you want to go with.
But if you’re looking to spread the word about your book through a budget-friendly way of advertising, Amazon KDP can be a great option to self-publish.
So familiarize yourself with their guidelines and requirements, stay up-to-date on the current terms and conditions and ensure that your book meets or exceeds the essentials so you can maximise the platform to launch your book.
