How to publish a Kindle eBook
So, you’ve written a book? Congratulations. Whether it’s the work of years or simply your latest NaNoWriMo entry, it was almost certainly a difficult and demanding project that it would be great to get some recognition for. Sure, you can go through the traditional routes and send out your manuscript to the publishing houses in hopes that you get a bite, but should you be looking for another route, whether due to rejection, disinterest, or simple distaste for involving yourself with those companies, Amazon’s DTP(Digital Publishing Platform) for the Kindle might be right for you. Here’s how it works:
Step 1: Create an Account
One of the advantages to going with the Kindle for your digital platform is that any Amazon.com account should basically be good for this already. Simply head to the DTP Log-in screen and enter your usual information. If this is your first time playing with the DTP service, you’ll be asked for some basic publishing-specific settings such as tax information and preferred payment method. It’s pretty straightforward and you should have little trouble.
Step 2: Format your eBook
Presumably you’ve already taken the time to do any sort of content editing you’d like to do. Dwelling on the details of that would turn this post into a book of its own, as I’m sure you’re aware. What is important, however, is making sure you’re setting things up properly to be accessible on the Kindle platform. The supported file formats at the moment are:
Unencrypted Mobipocket(.mobi and .prc)
This is pretty much the ideal, if you can do it, since it is the format that the Kindle-specific file format is derived from.
Unzipped EPUB
These should actually make the conversion very cleanly in most cases. It is basically the current generation of the old Mobipocket format(yes, I know I’m oversimplifying) and can be brought back to that earlier iteration in eBook formatting pretty easily. If you’re hoping to get your book set up for more than just the Kindle, you’ll likely be using this format anyway, at some point.
Plain Text
Obviously not much you can do wrong in this one, though it is a bit limiting.
Microsoft Word .doc File
Definitely usable, but with some complications. Avoid anything like headers or footers. No page numbers(remember that the Kindle reflows the text to respond to size adjustments and such). For the same reason, don’t bother playing with Margins or anything. Also, for whatever reason, Amazon recommends you add in images using the “Insert” command rather than copy/paste for best results. Something to keep in mind.
*IMPORTANT* Don’t mistake this for the new .docx file format. That is a different and wholly incompatible thing.
Adobe PDF
This is the poorest option, by all accounts, but it will still work after a fashion. There is simply too little formatting information in your average PDF to hope to get much of anything besides the bare text and most minimal formatting out of Amazon’s conversion process. You might actually be better off finding a third party utility to break down your PDF into something that can be played with in MS Word or a similar program that can be converted into a more useful format.
Zipped HTML
There are a number of specific things to be aware of in using an HTML document for your Kindle book. While this is the most finely controllable method for formatting your book, by most accounts, it is also complicated and requires great attention to detail. In most cases, until and unless you have extensive experience using this sort of an eBook format, you might be better off using something else.
To be honest, speaking from personal experience, the best thing you can do to get something ready for publication is to take what you have finished, convert it to either .mobi or HTML, and send it to your Kindle to see how it works. Flipping through on the device itself will save you a world of trouble in case something goes wrong.
Step 3: Upload Your Book
They’ve made this part really simple. Assuming you are still logged into the DTP system, you will see a button that says “Add a New Title”. Click on it and enter all the information it asks for. You’ll need to provide not only your book file and a description of the work to sell it with, but also any important publication data, an assurance that you have a right to publish the book, a decision about whether or not to enable DRM, and a cover/product image. The product image is important, since it is what will appear on the product page in the Kindle store.
You will then be prompted for information on countries where you hold the rights to your work, and to select a pricing/royalty option. You can choose from either 35% royalties, in which case you get to set your price in stone, or 70% royalties, which means that Amazon has a lot more say over how much your book is going to be costing if they decide they need to price match or anything like that and that they deduct a small delivery fee based on file size for each sale. Either way, you set your price(s) in the little box below that area and you’re done.
Step 4: Promote it
Let’s face it, getting the book on the Kindle marketplace is the easiest part of things. The hard part, aside from the writing itself, comes next! Now you’ve got to spread the word. Many recent authors have had luck with creating a public presence for themselves through creative use of blogging, web promotion, and plain old word of mouth. Whichever method you choose, you’ve got a good start going already. Good luck!
Excellent information! Amazon/Kindle has been the best for customer service. My company uploads ebooks for corporate accounts and individual authors and Amazon has been the easiest to work with. Thanks for the info, I will send out to all our authors.
This looks very engaging. Is there any way to publish under a pseudonym doing this? I have two different lines of work I would consider publishing, but they would not play well together from a marketing standpoint…I would not want the two both associated with the same author name.
I’m completely certain that there is a way to publish under a pseudonym, but I’m equally sure I have no idea what the best way would be. Alternate Amazon account, maybe? Sorry, just hadn’t occurred to me!
You can enter whatever you like as the author name. Amazon doesn’t enforce anything in this regard unless they receive a complaint. Just don’t choose Stephen King or Sarah Palin as your pseudonym and you are good ;)
i have published over 50 novels, numerous short stories and collections. i know you were selling THE HEREAFTER GANG and INTERSTATE DREAMS on Amazon. who do i talk to about making a deal to use my large backlog as e-books? i will furnish a bio, list of books and stories and awards. Last May I was named
Author Emeritus for “lifetime achievment” by the Science Fiction Writers of
America at our Nebula Awards convention in Coco Beach, Florida. looking forward to hearing from you.
regards,
neal
Signe, I was stunned to read your post. How did you even contact amazon / kindle customer service? My experience is the opposite of yours … we have 21 ebooks ready for upload and are blocked from doing so by minor tech issues that we are unable to contact anyone to resolve. Please share your secret!
Hello! Can you please tell me if you can also list ebooks on amazon that can be downloaded onto regular computers? Would it be a separate listing? Can you revise your ebook after it has been listed or do you have to do an entire new listing?
Much Thanks!
- Joe
Joe,
All Kindle books are automatically available on computers via Kindle for PC (which also runs on Linux via Wine) and Kindle for Mac. It would not be a separate listing.
You can make revisions and republish your book as often as you please.
Do you have to have an ISBN to list your Ebook for sale on Amazon? I had read that somewhere else, but see no mention of it here.
Kristin,
You don’t need to have an ISBN to publish for Amazon Kindle. I’ve verified that personally by publishing my books.
I have just had my book published in a hardback edition. Can I use the present pdf text plus photographs in an ebook format? If so, does that go into Amazon’s catalogue, and what proportion of the published book’s sale does the author get? Also, who determines the sale price through Amazon? And can the author have a say in how the book is presented?
Just about finished my first E-novel and am planning on using Amazon to sell it. Is it a good idea to sell it on other sites too?
Amazon is great for publishing ebooks. You may also want to check Lulu
and Smashworks to get a wider audience for your books.
Allie Peterson, Author of Oh, Middle School!
Creative Writing,
I would definitely recommend putting it out through other non-Kindle stores. While I have personally had the best results through Amazon, for the most part my sales have come at least 15-20% through Barnes & Noble and sometimes as much as 5% elsewhere. Since you retain the rights to your eBooks, don’t limit your options or your audience.
How i can publish my books to Kindle only to India, Srilanka and UAE? Is there any way?? I don’t want to publish my books to US, UK due to some violations.
Thanks for the info.Does this apply only to Kindle format? Can you sell to IPad through Amazon. Does it need re-formatting?
Burnsy,
All eBooks published for Kindle are automatically readable on Kindle App for iPad/Android/PC/etc. There is no need to format anything in a special way.
You may want to include color in your book pictures so that it looks good on color LCD screens. You wouldn’t have to worry about it if you were targeting only eInk Kindle.
Rajesh,
Two thumbs up for your sense of humor!
I wonder if Mr.A.Pushkin can help me with an answer to “How do I create a cover for my eBook?” Thank you!
Elena,
You can try to contract a graphical designer on elance.com or similar service.
Rajesh
Si no quieres que otros lo lean, publicalo en lenguaje : Indies, Srilankes y Arabes… así nadie de otro lado lo va a leer!!!
To Mathew or Andrei : My novel “The Scent Of Rain” published by Diadem Books is available on Amazon, B&N, etc. however my copy of the original is in PDF format. I have retained all rights to the MS. It is obvious that the eBook concept will make it easier for authors to publish and less expensive for readers. Could you please advise me where I would find all relevant info on cost of using eBooks. With thanks,
Gordon
Gordon,
Much of that would depend on what you mean by cost. Are we talking about production costs due to software, back end maintenance costs, industry-wide broader implications, etc.? I’m definitely open to discussion of the topic, if I can provide any useful info.
Do you have to copyright it through the Library of Congress in order to publish it throught Kindle?
Candace T,
Your work is copyrighted from the moment it is created, in the most technical sense. This is enough for the vast majority of situations. Should you wish to bring legal action against somebody in an instance of theft you’ll have to register the work, but having a publication date through Amazon should be sufficient to prove that you were the creator.
i want to publish a short story collection. can i just attach the *.doc files n send it 2 u? will u make the e-book cover for me? i’m from south east asia. how will i recieve the royalties?
What does Amazon do to confirm authors uploading e-books own copyright? Is it simply a matter of clicking “yes” on a disclaimer? Is there an editorial review during the 24-48 wait before publication?
I don’t believe there is any extensive checking done regarding copyright on Amazon’s part prior to publication. On the one occasion I have had to get a stolen work taken down, however, they were prompt and their representative was apologetic. It took less than 5 hours and was handled with 3 pages of faxed information. Admittedly a small sample pool, but it’s what I have to work from.
Thanks for the much needed answers. I do have a question. As far as Ebook Covers, if I use clip art from Microsoft Office 2010, how do I site that, and if I tweak it do I state so? It is not like I am “selling the cover”.
I had a very negative experience with a publisher and want to salvage my book by publishing it myself as an ebook. I can end my contract with my publisher as they have not fullfilled thier obligations, and they will discontinue printing the paper versions of the book. Would I need a seperate ISBN to publish this book, as it is already listed on Amazon.com under the title, which I’d like to keep. I need to let my publisher know by the end of this week, so any help from anyone would be fabulous!
Thanks,
Amy
Miriam,
Search for a page entitled “Use of Microsoft Copyrighted Content”. They lay out their terms of use there for everything from logos to clip art.
Will I need a different ISBN # for the eBook than an actual published book that has an ISBN?