Making money
with KDP is a lot easier than you might think. If you can write (or outsource
writing elsewhere) and use Microsoft Word or an equivalent word processor, you
can make money with the program.
The first thing
you need to do to make money on KDP is to choose a subject. You should decide
between fiction and non-fiction, then choose what exactly you want to write
about.
Typically,
fiction sells better on Amazon than non-fiction. This is a very general
statement, however. The right type of non-fiction could end up earning more
than a novel. But generally speaking, fiction is more lucrative. However,
fiction may also take a lot longer to create, especially if you create quality
full-length novels.
Unless you
already know something specific you’d love to write about, a good way to
determine what would be profitable on Amazon would be to check the bestseller
lists. Remember, the bestseller lists for Kindle may not always be the same as
those for print books, so be sure you’re checking the Kindle bestseller
lists.
Once you have
chosen your subject, it’s time to create your publication. There are many
different ways to do this, but the most common way is by simply creating a Word
document in .doc format. You can upload this file to the KDP
system and it
will be automatically formatted for the Kindle format (.mobi). Here is a great
tutorial on building your book for Kindle:
You’ll need a
cover image. Amazon has specific rules for the size and other aspects of cover
creation. At the moment, you can only submit cover images in JPG or TIFF
format.
They recommend
an aspect ratio of 1.6, and for best quality they recommend and image size of
1563x2500.
You can find out the most
current image guidelines here:
Remember, people
do judge a book by its cover, despite so many recommendations to the contrary.
Thus, it is critical to create an attractive cover that makes your book appear
to be published professionally. Nothing screams “indie author” (and sadly “low quality”)
more loudly than a poorly designed book cover image.
If you aren’t
great with design, consider outsourcing the design of your Kindle cover or at
least buying a pre-made cover.
Amazon has a
complete guide to publishing your book on Kindle. This guide will walk you
step-by-step through the process of submitting your publication to the KDP
platform.
Once you have
published your book on Amazon, it’s time to promote it. It’s not enough to
simply publish and move on. If you want your book to sell as much as possible,
a little promotion goes a long way.
Fortunately,
it’s not that difficult to get a book started. The main things that will help
your book are:
·
Having a few positive reviews
·
Getting a few sales in the
first few days in order to push it into the
bestseller lists
Do not fall into the trap of paying for
things like sales or reviews! This is against Amazon’s rules, and you could
lose your KDP account permanently if you are caught! It is not worth the risk,
so don’t even try it!
Instead, you
can join Facebook groups related to the topic of your book and advertise it
once if they allow advertisements. You can post on Twitter. Try using Pinterest
to create related pin boards. Once you get a few reviews, sales will probably
pick up considerably.
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