I’m always struck by the variety of topics in the AWC programme. This week was no different. I’m sure I’m not alone in being thoroughly impressed with club member Helena Sheridan’s knowledge and skills, as she expertly took us through ‘How to Self Publish a book on Kindle Direct Publishing.’
Helena was adamant that she has no particular expertise in using the KDP facility on Amazon (I don’t quite believe this), but she certainly has bucket-loads of determination! Learning on the job, Helena edited and published Grin & Tonic, an anthology of life’s funny and unexpected moments by LiterEight, a group of AWC members.
The main message from the evening was, ‘have a go,’ and Helena certainly made the task seem possible. If you are interested, you will need an Amazon account, most people already have one! To get started go to amazon.com/kdpjumpstart. You will be asked to sign in with your Amazon username and password and you can then create an account.
You will be guided through a step-by-step process and as Helena said, if you make a mistake, the bots will quickly tell you! KDP has particular formatting requirements for your manuscript, and rules for any images that you may want to have in your final project.
KDP allows you to publish your work in several formats; eBook, paperback, hardback – the choice is yours. You are in control of your finished product, each decision about the layout, cover, etc. is your own. The process is also free, and this includes the ISBN number that KDP generates for your work.
When you are absolutely sure that everything is perfect, only then press ‘publish.’ Before you know it, your eBook will be listed on Amazon, and you can watch it sell like hot cakes! If you want paperback copies, KDP will take around 72 hours to ‘bake’ your manuscript.
LiterEight are rightly delighted with their finished product, as they should be. The evening ended with members of the group reading their work from the anthology. We certainly have a few comedians in AWC.
Thanks once more to Helena for her impressive presentation and now, it’s over to you!
Fiona Johnson