5 Reasons You Should Be Self Publishing on Amazon KDP

About this video

(Summary based on the Arabic caption track.) Dale gives five reasons to self-publish on Amazon KDP. First, it is the path of least resistance: Amazon is the biggest player in self-publishing and takes the great majority of global online publishing revenue, and between his channel, other YouTube channels, podcasts and Amazon’s own site there is enough information to start right away if you have a manuscript and the willingness to learn the system. Second, print and ebook distribution: an ebook reaches about twelve different Amazon marketplaces, and slightly fewer for print, giving global reach. Third, a good royalty structure: ebooks earn about 70%, meaning 70 cents of every dollar, while print earns about 60% minus print fees, which sometimes works out to between 35% and 50%. The exception is the 35% ebook rate outside Amazon’s preferred price range — price outside $2.99 to $9.99 and the rate drops to 35%. Expanded distribution for print, reaching other channels through the Ingram Content Group such as Walmart.com and Target, pays 40% minus print fees, but it is optional and authors can instead go directly to IngramSpark. Fourth, native advertising: publishing elsewhere is fine, but only books on Amazon can use Amazon’s own advertising on the platform, which he presents as an advantage over authors who do not have or use it. Fifth, very high accessibility: KDP is available in almost any region, including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, and Amazon tends to work with authors in other situations, although setting up tax information and getting paid by check or bank transfer can be difficult at first outside the usual regions. He closes by pointing viewers to his full video playlist that walks through self-publishing step by step from the beginning to more advanced steps.

Key takeaways

• Amazon is described as the biggest player in self-publishing with the great majority of global online publishing revenue, making KDP the path of least resistance for beginners
• An ebook reaches about twelve Amazon marketplaces, with slightly fewer for print books
• Ebooks earn about 70% inside the $2.99 to $9.99 price range and 35% outside it; print earns about 60% minus print fees
• Expanded distribution through the Ingram Content Group (reaching retailers like Walmart.com and Target) pays 40% minus print fees and is optional — authors can go direct to IngramSpark instead
• Only books published on Amazon can use Amazon’s native advertising, and KDP is accessible in almost any region though tax setup and payment can be harder outside the main regions

Episode details: published November 19, 2020 · 4:12 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Dale L. Roberts’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

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