If you’ve already written a book, congratulations to you. Completing a book-length project is no small accomplishment. But for most of you, the next question on the horizon has already come up. Now, how to publish a book?
You’re probably aware by now that the self-publishing market is fairly robust. As of this writing, in the year 2020, the Amazon book market is making publishing dreams come true for authors all over the globe. It has never been easier (and cheaper) than now to get your book in the reader’s hands.
But how to publish a book comes down to a little more than understanding Amazon and how KDP works.
The Essentials Of How To Publish A Book
I always say that writing a book is only half of the writer’s whole journey. Once the book is done, you have a series of other questions to answer.
Have you decided whether you are going to publish traditionally or self-publish? If these terms are somehow strange to you, you had better figure them out. Traditional publishing follows the time-honored course of submitting your book via query letter or connecting with agents, seeking a large publisher and working with a large company. Self-publishing is the opposite. It skips all of that, challenging the author to take those tasks independently.
The choice here is a huge one. Wait, it’s not just huge. It’s the biggest choice you’ll have to make. While choosing one path does not necessarily eliminate the possibility of the other, you need to be aware of some of those caveats before you commit yourself one way or another.
Have you gotten professional editing? Without proper editing, your book doesn’t stand a chance at success. You may not understand this, but since the explosion of the self-publishing revolution, readers are becoming pickier.
If they don’t like a book, they will talk about it. Negative reviews are doom for writers and authors, so do yourself a favor, make sure you have a professional look at your book before you publish.
Do you have a professionally designed cover? A lot of self-publishing authors assume it’s their words that will earn them their fair share of readers. But this simply is not true. In order to attract readers, you need an amazing cover first. There is a myriad of reasons why it’s important.
Answering these questions is an essential step in how to publish a book.
What Is Amazon & How Does It Work?
Whatever path you look at, Amazon can be your most powerful ally in selling books.
Why do I say they “can be”? Because in addition to being the world’s largest book store, Amazon is also the world’s biggest, uhm, store. They sell everything from movies to music, household items to tools… to toilet paper.
There is nothing you can’t buy on Amazon.
The challenge with Amazon is that they make all of the rules. They know that in order for a book to become successful, the writer and publisher need to play according to the rules and standards they set forth. Yeah, they’re playing with all the cards. No fair.
But that doesn’t have to be something that leaves you down in the mouth. When you gain an understanding of how their functions and features work, that can be a tremendous advantage to an author. KDP features like targeted advertising and the “Unlimited” feature make reaching readers more attainable (in case you were wondering, KDP stands for Kindle Direct Publishing).
If you master Amazon (or work with someone who has mastered Amazon) a well-positioned book can reach a bigger audience than ever before.