If you are self-publishing and not sure where to publish your book, then this post is for you!
There are several platforms you can use to publish your book, but I recommend starting with Amazon KDP.
Here is a step-by-step guide for publishing your paperback book and ebook on Amazon.
As a side note, you can set your ebook up for pre-sale (I recommend having a cover design completed first). You cannot set up the paperback for pre-sale though. I started with my ebook set-up and then did my paperback version later once I had the completed manuscript to upload and that was when I found out there was not an option to set the paperback up for pre-order. The good thing about setting up the ebook first and doing it as a pre-order is that you don't need the manuscript uploaded until about a week before the release date!
Go to the KDP website. Use this link, or type KDP in the search bar on Amazon and click on the header at the top of the page. KDP Website
Once you set up an account or log in through Amazon, click on the Create button.
Select what option you want to create first. Personally, I started with the ebook. Note: KDP now offers a Hardcover version. I have not used that but it might be something you are interested in.
You will then be taken through multiple sections to fill out information for your book. Keep in mind you will need to enter pricing for your ebook and since Amazon provides the AISN for ebooks you can change the price at any time. And there is no barcode so it is not tied to the barcode that you previously purchased on Bowker. The great thing about this setup is that you can delete anything you don't want. So you can go in and do a test run for your book setup and if you don't want it later or want to start over, just delete that created file.
At the bottom of the first page is where you can choose if you want to release your ebook now or later. Then you give it a release date. Click save and continue to move forward to the next steps and once you are done, you can move on to the setup of your paperback, or come back at a later time to do that. Once you have the ebook setup and a pre-order date set, then it will appear on Amazon. I highly recommend that you start marketing right away to get as many pre-orders as you can before the release date. Here is how it will appear on Amazon.
The paperback setup will work much like the ebook setup.
Once you start this setup, you can either save it as a draft at any point or click save and continue. As long as you have selected save and continue, if you close out then your changes will be saved. You can go back at any time to make changes. For the paperback, you will need to have your barcode that you previously purchased on Bowker and you will need to make sure that the list price you set is the same price that you set when creating your barcode.
I hope this information helped!
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