I decided to publish my first book with Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). This platform offered a number of benefits that I saw as advantageous, including:

• full control over content and design
• control over pricing
• free ISBNs and barcodes for print versions
• simple-to-use tools to help with manuscript and cover design
• a wide potential audience via Amazon’s website and the ability to enrol in extended distribution

On the downside:

• you must cover all other costs yourself (such as advertising and promotions) and only earn money when you make a sale
• the ISBN provided can only be used for Amazon print publishing, and no ISBN is provided for eBooks
• lower royalty rates for print versions due to printing costs
• limited formats and dimensions for physical books if you want to enrol in extended distribution

The process is fairly straightforward once you enrol with KDP. You’ll need to complete some administrative tasks, such as providing tax and account details, before you’re ready to publish. Once you create a title, it appears in your Bookshelf, where you can specify:

1. the format(s) you want to publish in (Kindle eBook, paperback and/or hardcover)
2. the language of your book
3. the book title
4. whether the book is part of a series
5. the author and contributors
6. a summary of the book for the Amazon listing
7. your target audience and primary marketplace
8. book categories and keywords
9. the ISBN
10. print options

Then comes the fun part — uploading your manuscript and designing the cover. I wanted a print option with bleed (the portion of the printed page that is trimmed when the book is cut and bound), so I used a PDF format to create the final manuscript. I also chose to design my own cover rather than using the Cover Creator tool, as this gave me greater flexibility in the design.

The next step is to launch the previewer and check for any errors. I encountered several issues when I first uploaded my manuscript, which I needed to correct. Note that KDP will perform additional checks once you submit your book for publishing. When everything is approved, you can proceed to the third and final step — setting the pricing.

At this stage, I ordered a proof copy of my book to carry out a quality check of the print version and identify any issues before releasing it for sale.

You’ll need to nominate a primary marketplace for your book and then set your pricing. The royalty rates depend on the price you set, the market you sell to, and how the book is sold. You also have the option to enrol in expanded distribution (if your book meets the requirements), allowing it to be sold to distributors, libraries and other retailers. You can either customise the pricing for each market or base it on the primary market price.