Want to self-publish? Let’s get an e-version on Amazon today.

Per usual, Triumph received no financial compensation from the listed companies for writing this article. Straight from the heart, baby.

So, you wrote a book. First things first—congrats! This is no small feat. Millions of people set out to write their own book, and very few see the process through to completion. Take a moment and celebrate yourself. You’ve joined the ranks of similar accomplished authors:

Now, let’s get your instant-classic out to the world.

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, Amazon is far and away the largest book (and just about everything else) marketplace on the planet. So, if you’re self-publishing your book and looking to get it listed right away, Amazon is a great place to get some instant exposure.

It also helps that they have one of the easiest and most efficient self-publishing procedures in the industry. Most people can file the paperwork in less than 15 minutes and have their book available worldwide in about 72 hours. Seriously.

Publishing on Amazon begins with paying a quick trip to our good friends (just kidding—we’re not friends) over at Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). This Amazon subsidiary handles all of the direct-to-Amazon e-book products. Additionally, KDP allows users to list their books in Kindle Unlimited and earn additional royalties, a process that is outside the purview of today’s discussion, but that we will likely explore in an upcoming article. 

Forming and matting

First things first, you’ll need to make sure your book is correctly formatted before submitting it for Amazon e-publication. While you are allowed to just put it in a word doc and make it look as pretty as possible, we don’t recommend that strategy. It comes with too many unnecessary risks, and anyone who’s ever copy and pasted a long piece of writing knows that Microsoft Word gets it sick kicks from randomly breaking format in the middle (right where you’d never think to check).

However, there is another way. A beautiful way, actually. Amazon offer’s their own formatting software for free download, so you’ll be able to see exactly what your e-book will look like—and fine-tune accordingly. The name of this fun doohickey? Kindle Create (bonus dope name points).

By opting for Kindle Create, users can leave the worries of properly typesetting their book behind. Select from a wide array of themes to customize your book’s layout, and even create an interactive table of contents page, all while ensuring your work is perfectly formatted for Amazon’s e-book software.

Big fan of picture books? Us too, and Kindle Create also allows complex illustrations—and will help you format them—so your pictures don’t go from gorgeous to grotesque (unless Stephen King is the vibe you’re going for).

While this article’s focus is on using Kindle Create for Amazon e-books, the internet behemoth will also print and list physical versions of your book as well. While this option is great for some, Amazon is going to take a huge chunk of your profits, so we recommend clients weight the pros and cons before embarking on that business strategy. If you have the resources to do it, it can be substantially more profitable to print your own books locally and ship direct. That said, Amazon printing is still a great option to have in your back pocket.

ISBN

Once your eBook is formatted in Kindle create, you’ll just need to purchase a unique ISBN number. Purchasing ISBNs is fairly straightforward and can be done at the Bowker Identifier Services webpage. Offers are available for single ISBN’s, bulk orders, and small package deals. If you have any questions navigating these prices, feel free to Ask.Triumph. We’d be happy to help.

Time to build a bookshelf

Once you’ve acquired your ISBN and formatted your file through Kindle Create, it’s time to bring it home. Simply go over to Kindle Bookshelf, create an account, and follow the prompts on screen. Within 15 minutes, you should be all set. A full author, even. Wow.

Navigating the Amazon

Smile, you’re on Amazon. While we also counsel our clients to find additional ways of selling and marketing their books (hopefully with better revenue sharing agreements), Amazon is a great place to start and get generate awareness for your masterpiece. Just make sure you choose to retain your creative rights during the sign-up process (Amazon will allow you to select yes or no). If you opt to not sell exclusively with Amazon—and we recommend that you don’t give them exclusive rights—you’ll then be free to list your masterpiece as many places as your heart desires. Once you become an international bestseller, try and remember us. Maybe even send a copy of your book this way. We’d love to read it.

As always, feel free to Ask Triumph with any additional questions and consider Supporting the Team.

All views expressed in the article are opinions of the author and should not be misconstrued as professional consulting or legal advice. Users are responsible for verifying all information before taking action, and Triumph Group LLC is not responsible for any outcomes. Pursue subjects at your own risk. Seriously, man. It’s your life.