How to Self-Publish Your Book on Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) - Step-by-Step Walk Through

About this video

A step-by-step walkthrough of self-publishing a first book on Amazon KDP. Sean starts with the manuscript in Microsoft Word — write it yourself for almost nothing, or hire a ghostwriting company, recommending The Urban Writers. Next, format the Word file for Kindle, which he says you can do yourself or outsource on Fiverr for about $5 per 80-100 pages. Then get a cover designed, also cheaply on Fiverr (gigs from $5, with many in the $5-$20 range, asking for revisions or trying another designer if needed), delivered as a JPG. Convert both manuscript and cover to PDF for the paperback edition, again via Fiverr gigs for converting to KDP print. On KDP, create the Kindle eBook first: enter title, series and author/pen name, add a description (he shows generating HTML for it via a Kindlepreneur tool rather than coding it), confirm you own the copyright and publishing rights, enter keywords as search terms readers would use, choose two relevant categories, select ’no’ for digital rights management, upload the manuscript and cover, preview, then set the price and publish — Amazon review takes about 24 hours. Repeat the same process for the paperback, uploading the PDFs and choosing a trim size (6x9 is the standard he recommends). Finally, he explains turning it into an audiobook via ACX with the same login: add the title, hold auditions or upload your own narration, then wait through a review of about two weeks. He says the outsourced Fiverr route can total under $40, and suggests a book also builds authority and credibility.

Key takeaways

• You need four files ready before uploading: Kindle manuscript and cover, plus PDF manuscript and cover for the paperback
• Writing, formatting, cover design and PDF conversion can all be outsourced cheaply, e.g. via Fiverr and ghostwriting companies
• On KDP, publish the Kindle eBook first: title, HTML description, copyright confirmation, keywords, two categories, no DRM, upload, price, publish
• Repeat the same KDP process for the paperback, using 6x9 as the standard trim size Sean recommends
• An audiobook version can follow via ACX, either by hiring a narrator through auditions or uploading your own recording

Episode details: published January 22, 2019 · 14:37 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Sean Dollwet’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

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