Set up an account
If you didn’t do this to set up an eBook, the first thing you’ll need to do is create a new account at kdp.amazon.com. You could use your regular Amazon account, but I wanted an account that was strictly associated with me as an author. I also used that same email when setting up my Amazon Author page.
Paperback Document
Amazon offers templates for creating your document and these are a good place to start. However, if you intend to expand out further and publish on other platforms these documents don’t meet the requirements of other printers like IngramSpark and Barnes & Noble. For example the margins in the Amazon template file do not meet the minimum requirements.
Additionally, IngramSpark requires that your files be exported to a pdf very specifically to be considered “print ready”. For this reason, and to make things easier down the road, I would recommend formatting your book per IngramSpark requirements and then use that file for Amazon and Barnes & Noble. This will save you time down the road and make uploading a breeze.
When deciding what size book you want to print it’s useful to reference the distribution information for different book sizes and paper types if you intend to distribute your book elsewhere.
Using the same file was also important to me because I wanted the pages to match up across printers, even if there were other subtle differences. Since I started with Amazon before I realized my book needed to be reformatted for IngramSpark there are books out there that are different. Who knows - maybe one day when I’m famous those books will sell for a premium.
Cover
To determine the correct format for your cover you need to know the size of your book, how many pages it will be (meaning you’ll need to complete formatting your book first) and the paper type. These factors essentially determine how wide your spine will be. Amazon will provide you with a template to use so long as you have this information.
What you need
In order to complete setup for your paperback you’ll need the following:
- Your paperback ISBN if you are using an ISBN you’ve purchased.
- The imprint you used when setting up your ISBN account. You can find this in your Bowker account by going to My Account > My Profile Data > My Company. If you want to set up your own publishing company you should set up the Business Entity first. You cannot go back and change this on your Amazon listing later.
- Your cover formatted properly. KDP does have a tool to create your own cover called Cover Creator, but I did not use it so I can’t speak to how well it works.
- Your .pdf file or other accepted format of your manuscript.
- Series information, if you have one.
- Your published date. I left this blank since it was the first place I published. As I noted in the setting up your ISBN post, this led to a mismatch in Bowker and on Amazon due to not knowing exactly when my book would be live. Since I was ready to publish immediately I didn’t future date everything, but that might have been the best way to get matching published dates.
- Your price. Not sure how to price your book?
Description
I feel the description field in particular is worth noting because I had to futz around with it a lot. This field does accept some basic html formatting, which is nice if you’re familiar with html. I did a lot of copying and pasting between the eBook form and the paperback form and I ran into issues with how it looked when the pages launched. I discovered that the eBook description field translates line breaks on your page, but the paperback version does not (in the paperback version of the form you must use html to get line breaks). In order to copy and paste nicely between the two, I found you have to remove line breaks and use strictly html. For example:
<h4><i>Maybe she hadn’t always done everything she could to help her brother in the past, but Isla wasn’t going to let that stop her now.</i></h4><br>Isla finds her younger brother Ethan frustrating, he finds her overbearing. When a traumatic event puts Ethan in a coma, Isla grapples with feelings of guilt. Isla soon becomes concerned that her brother might be in real danger.<br><br>Their lives turn upside down when Isla learns of a family secret that her father has worked hard to keep hidden. Why don’t they ever see their grandmother? And what happened to their mother on the day she died? What secrets did she know?<br><br>Ethan and Isla's destinies become entwined as they begin a journey neither could have imagined. The children will have to mend their broken relationship and work together as a team in order to escape the nightmarish grip holding them <strong><i>beyond the darkness.</i></strong>
Expanded Distribution
You might want to consider using Amazon for expanded distribution (to libraries, retailers, book stores, etc) if you don’t want to proceed with listing your book in more places than on Amazon. That said, I wouldn’t recommend signing up for Expanded Distribution unless you really don’t think you can do it yourself.
- First off, based on my listing price I couldn’t even use expanded distribution through Amazon because my cost to print plus Amazon’s fees left me literally in the red.
- Secondly, Amazon uses IngramSpark to distribute your book. That means both IngramSpark and Amazon are taking a piece of your earnings. It’s better to go directly to IngramSpark to get your book out there for wider distribution.
Listing
Amazon states that it can take up to 72 hours for a book to show up in the store. I found it took closer to 48 hours.
Linking
If you want to ensure your eBook and Paperback are linked together on the same product listing page you’ll need to set up an Amazon Author Page first.
Making Changes
You can still make changes after you’ve published your book. It requires the same “up to 72” hour change window but I have found changes publish much quicker (usually less than 24 hours).