Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) is a way for authors to sell and publish their e-books, physical books, and audiobooks through Amazon, Audible, and iTunes. Amazon programs pay authors either per book sold or per page read. It\u2019s free to get started selling, and you\u2019ll only pay fees out of royalties earned on books sold.<\/p>\n
KDP provides authors access to an entire toolkit for formatting and publishing their work in less than a day. It\u2019s both a publishing company and a platform for selling. Since any book an author creates and sells through KDP is considered self-published, it also means that you have complete creative freedom with your book. Of course, you\u2019ll have to make sure you\u2019re not publishing anything illegal or copyrighted.<\/p>\n
After an author has written a manuscript, they can create an account through KDP. This is an Amazon service that allows authors to sell their physical books, e-books, and audiobooks through Amazon.com, Audible, and iTunes. Customers can view them or listen to books using a desktop, smartphone, or a Kindle, which is an electronic device made specifically for digital books.<\/p>\n
In addition to KDP making it quick and easy to publish a book, authors have access to 95 million Amazon Prime members. However, a customer doesn\u2019t need to be a Prime member to purchase a book created through KDP. No matter what type of Amazon, Audible, or iTunes account the buyer has, they can read KDP books on any number of devices\u2014smartphones, laptops, and e-readers like Kindles or Amazon Fire tablets.<\/p>\n
Royalties pay out to authors any time a book sells or gets checked out, depending on which Amazon program they access the book through. For example, Amazon offers programs that allow readers to check out a book, like a virtual library. Instead of an author getting paid on a book sale, they get paid per pages read\u2014even if the reader doesn\u2019t finish the entire book.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
![\"Kindle](\"https:\/\/fitsmallbusiness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/word-image-430.png%202026w,%20https:\/\/fitsmallbusiness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/word-image-430-300x225.png%20300w,%20https:\/\/fitsmallbusiness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/word-image-430-768x577.png%20768w,%20https:\/\/fitsmallbusiness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/word-image-430-1024x769.png%201024w,%20https:\/\/fitsmallbusiness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/word-image-430-730x548.png%20730w\")
<\/p>\n
Your Bookshelf within KDP is where you\u2019ll upload the content for your book<\/p>\n
Self-publishing a book using KDP is an attractive option because it\u2019s fast, easy, and gives authors access to an enormous number of buyers. KDP is a popular platform because it allows people to showcase their talents and abilities in an e-book, physical book, or audiobook. Some authors even do all three. Compared to traditional publishing, it\u2019s much faster, and you\u2019ll typically see higher profits per book when using KDP.<\/p>\n
KDP is best for people who are:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
![\"kindle](\"https:\/\/fitsmallbusiness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/word-image-431-e1570541104582.png%202481w,%20https:\/\/fitsmallbusiness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/word-image-431-e1570541104582-300x158.png%20300w,%20https:\/\/fitsmallbusiness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/word-image-431-e1570541104582-768x404.png%20768w,%20https:\/\/fitsmallbusiness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/word-image-431-e1570541104582-1024x539.png%201024w,%20https:\/\/fitsmallbusiness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/word-image-431-e1570541104582-730x384.png%20730w\")
<\/p>\n
Amazon gives authors a bio page so that readers can see their other work; they can even follow authors so that they\u2019re notified as soon as new work is published<\/p>\n
By using Kindle Direct Publishing, you\u2019ve got several options for publishing your book. If you grant exclusive distribution rights on your digital and audiobooks to Amazon, known as Kindle Direct Publishing Select (KDP Select), you\u2019ll earn a higher royalty rate. This exclusivity period lasts 90 days, and authors can auto-renew for another 90 days or choose to opt-out. If you choose to sell your digital or audiobook on other platforms, you\u2019ll earn a lower royalty rate.<\/p>\n
Options for selling through Kindle Direct Publishing include print, digital, and audio.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
![\"kindle](\"https:\/\/fitsmallbusiness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/word-image-432-e1570541201328.png%202487w,%20https:\/\/fitsmallbusiness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/word-image-432-e1570541201328-300x158.png%20300w,%20https:\/\/fitsmallbusiness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/word-image-432-e1570541201328-768x405.png%20768w,%20https:\/\/fitsmallbusiness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/word-image-432-e1570541201328-1024x540.png%201024w,%20https:\/\/fitsmallbusiness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/word-image-432-e1570541201328-730x385.png%20730w\")
<\/p>\n
Each of Vickie Gould\u2019s books are published through Kindle Direct Publishing<\/p>\n
Kindle Direct Publishing allows you to sell print-on-demand physical books to Amazon customers. This is an ideal option for authors who want physical books to use at in-person events. These events include book signings, conferences, trade shows, and gift-giving at holiday parties. Since these books are printed, authors will have smaller profit margins than using its digital counterparts.<\/p>\n
Digital books are a popular way to keep more of your profit when using Kindle Direct Publishing. It\u2019s free to publish a book digitally, and then you\u2019ll just pay a small fee from the royalties you receive from digital sales. Customers purchase books to read on the Kindle app on their smartphone or desktop, or they can read it through an actual Kindle.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
![\"kindle](\"https:\/\/fitsmallbusiness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/word-image-433.png%202500w,%20https:\/\/fitsmallbusiness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/word-image-433-300x187.png%20300w,%20https:\/\/fitsmallbusiness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/word-image-433-768x480.png%20768w,%20https:\/\/fitsmallbusiness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/word-image-433-1024x640.png%201024w,%20https:\/\/fitsmallbusiness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/word-image-433-730x456.png%20730w\")
<\/p>\n
An example of a Kindle library on the MacBook Kindle app<\/p>\n
You can create a professional audiobook using the Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX), which is an Amazon company. Once done, you\u2019ll sell it through Amazon, Audible, and iTunes. This is an attractive option for authors who don\u2019t have content that requires a reader to stop and write to reflect. Many people listen to audiobooks while commuting or at work, making it difficult to pause to take notes.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
![\"Audible](\"https:\/\/fitsmallbusiness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/word-image-434.png%202028w,%20https:\/\/fitsmallbusiness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/word-image-434-300x231.png%20300w,%20https:\/\/fitsmallbusiness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/word-image-434-768x591.png%20768w,%20https:\/\/fitsmallbusiness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/word-image-434-1024x788.png%201024w,%20https:\/\/fitsmallbusiness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/word-image-434-730x562.png%20730w\")
<\/p>\n
Audible listeners purchase credits or buy an audiobook outright<\/p>\n
It doesn\u2019t cost anything upfront to sell your book through Kindle Direct Publishing. You\u2019ll keep either 35% or 70% of book sales, depending on whether or not you\u2019re enrolled in KDP Select, which outlines a 90-day exclusivity clause. You\u2019ll also pay a small fee for printing a physical book, and delivery charges on both physical and digital books. You can edit your book for free within Kindle Create, or you can hire someone to do it for you. In addition to KDP costs, you\u2019ll have to edit your manuscript, design a cover, and market your book.<\/p>\n
Fees to consider when using Kindle Direct Publishing include:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
![\"kindle](\"https:\/\/fitsmallbusiness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/word-image-435.png%201438w,%20https:\/\/fitsmallbusiness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/word-image-435-300x107.png%20300w,%20https:\/\/fitsmallbusiness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/word-image-435-768x273.png%20768w,%20https:\/\/fitsmallbusiness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/word-image-435-1024x365.png%201024w,%20https:\/\/fitsmallbusiness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/word-image-435-730x260.png%20730w\")
<\/p>\n
To calculate how much your physical book will cost based on print settings, you\u2019ll need to download an Excel spreadsheet from Kindle Direct Publishing<\/p>\n
Amazon offers many different programs for authors to promote their digital and physical books through Kindle Direct Publishing. These programs include Kindle Unlimited, Kindle Direct Publishing Select, Kindle Countdown Deals, Kindle Free Promotions, and Kindle Owners Lending Library. Some of these programs allow authors to earn a higher royalty than others but have exclusions to watch out for.<\/p>\n
Kindle Unlimited is a subscription service where people pay $9.99 per month to read an unlimited number of 1.4 million books available on Kindle Unlimited. They don\u2019t have to be Amazon Prime members to subscribe. Because they\u2019re paying a fixed fee for the service, many readers choose to skim through books and read just a few pages before committing to reading an entire book.<\/p>\n
The ability to glance through an e-book quickly without buying it works out great for readers, but it might not be the best situation for authors. An author may only earn royalties on a few pages rather than the entire book since it pays per page read.<\/p>\n
The Kindle Direct Publishing Global Fund (KDP GF) gets announced at the end of each month. This determines how much each title available has earned its authors. A total of $25.8 million paid to authors in August 2019 and gets split up by how many pages a KU subscriber read. In this instance, Amazon paid .004387 of a cent per page read. If an author has a 400-page book and someone reads the book cover-to-cover, that\u2019s $1.75 for the author.<\/p>\n
By enrolling in KDP Select, you\u2019ll benefit from increased royalties for sales in certain countries, such as the United States and Canada. However, you can\u2019t distribute your books on any other platforms other than Amazon\u2019s Audible or Kindle departments.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s important to note that a customer can read your book as many times as they like, but you\u2019ll only get paid for the number of pages they read the first time they read your book. It could potentially take months for someone to read your book, and you\u2019ll only get paid once they do.<\/p>\n
One week every 90 days, authors can discount their book through a countdown deal. Authors still earn a 70% royalty on the discounted price even if it falls below $2.99, which is when an author would usually earn only 35% royalties. To use countdown deals, you\u2019ll need to participate in KDP Select.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
![\"kindle](\"https:\/\/fitsmallbusiness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/word-image-436.png%202500w,%20https:\/\/fitsmallbusiness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/word-image-436-300x145.png%20300w,%20https:\/\/fitsmallbusiness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/word-image-436-768x370.png%20768w,%20https:\/\/fitsmallbusiness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/word-image-436-1024x494.png%201024w,%20https:\/\/fitsmallbusiness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/word-image-436-730x352.png%20730w\")
<\/p>\n
You can tell which books are exclusive to Amazon by the \u201cKindle Unlimited\u201d logo, and each of these are listed as countdown deals<\/p>\n
An author can make their book free to purchase, which is often done as a promotion tool to get more reviews. It is also used to boost rankings on bestsellers lists. When offering a free promo, you won\u2019t get royalties during that period.<\/p>\n
Authors can run a free promotion for up to five days in a variety of timeframes. They can use all five days at once, multiple days in a row, or one day at a time. You can\u2019t roll over unused days. You\u2019ll also have to participate in KDP Select to run a free promotion.<\/p>\n
Similar to KU, the Kindle Owners Lending Library (KOLL) allows readers to check out one book per month without returning the digital book by a specific date. This is available to all Amazon Prime subscribers without an additional fee, with a caveat. You can only borrow these books to read on your Kindle e-reader, Fire tablet, or Fire phone. It won\u2019t work from your Android or iPhone Kindle app. Authors are paid per page read according to the KDP GF.<\/p>\n
Using Kindle Direct Publishing to publish your book allows you to earn royalties from one of the largest ecommerce sites in the world. It\u2019s very quick to get started, and Amazon provides a range of easy-to-use tools. On the other hand, printing a physical book can eat into profits. You\u2019ll also contend with exclusivity clauses and only get paid for each digital page read, rather than an entire book, for certain KDP programs.<\/p>\n
There are many benefits to using Kindle Direct Publishing, and they include:<\/p>\n
The cons of using Kindle Direct Publishing include:<\/p>\n
| \n Royalties Earned*<\/p>\n<\/th>\n | \n Number of Pages Read<\/p>\n<\/th>\n | \n Number of Times Read<\/p>\n<\/th>\n | \n Book Length<\/p>\n<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n |
|---|---|---|---|
| \n $1,000<\/p>\n<\/td>\n | \n 100<\/p>\n<\/td>\n | \n 100<\/p>\n<\/td>\n | \n 100<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| \n $2,000<\/p>\n<\/td>\n | \n 200<\/p>\n<\/td>\n | \n 100<\/p>\n<\/td>\n | \n 200<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| \n $1,000<\/p>\n<\/td>\n | \n 100<\/p>\n<\/td>\n | \n 100<\/p>\n<\/td>\n | \n 200<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n *If the KDP Global Fund is at $10 million. Amazon announces the size of the previous months\u2019 KDP Global Fund, which is the allotment of money available to pay out to authors whose titles are on KU and KOLL.<\/p>\n KDP GF x total pages read \/ total available pages = royalties earned<\/p>\n Alternatives to Kindle Direct Publishing<\/h2>\nIf you\u2019re not ready to publish your book through Amazon, there are other ways to share your work. These approaches include traditional publishing, self-publishing through another platform, and blogging. Some publishing avenues are easier than others and allow you to get started relatively quickly. Traditional publishing is exponentially more difficult and could take years to get published, if at all.<\/p>\n To publish your book without Kindle Direct Publishing, consider one of several alternatives.<\/p>\n Traditional Publishing<\/h3>\nPublishing a book traditionally involves finding a literary agent and a publisher. Some agents will have you send a book proposal before signing with them while others wait to work on the book proposal with you. These book proposals are usually 10 to 15 pages long, not including sample chapters. Your agent will pitch your book proposal to many different publishers. If you land a book deal, you\u2019ll likely have to relinquish your idea of a cover or title since publishers typically choose these based on what they know sells best. They\u2019ll also control the rights to your book.<\/p>\n Once you\u2019ve submitted a finished and edited manuscript, it\u2019s usually 24 months before your books start to appear in book stores. You\u2019ll also have to market your book heavily. For this reason, traditional publishers prefer authors with already-established audiences, such as those found in your email list and through your following on social media.<\/p>\n Blogging<\/h3>\nWhile not necessarily a way to publish a physical book, you can create blog posts. Many bloggers will start here, and then once they have enough content, they\u2019ll turn it into a book. Alternately, they\u2019ll start blogging and write high-level content in blog posts and later write more in-depth content for a book.<\/p>\n Self-publish Through Another Platform<\/h3>\nThere are many different alternatives to self-publishing. The most popular platforms outside of KDP include Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble Nook, Google Play, and Rakuten\u2019s Kobo. Most of these options are wide open for self-publishers, aside from Google Play, since it\u2019s only taking on a limited number of publishing accounts. You\u2019ll have to fill out its online interest form to join the Google Play waitlist.<\/p>\n Kindle Direct Publishing Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)<\/h2>\nThis section includes the most frequently asked questions about Kindle Direct Publishing.<\/p>\n Can you get rich from writing a book?<\/h3>\nYou can, but that\u2019s unlikely. Most books sell fewer than 200 copies, including copies sold to the author themselves. Once you publish a book, you\u2019ll still need to heavily market it through social media, book signings, and ads. Savvy authors will use their self-published book to then upsell readers to different programs and services, such as their own coaching program or course.<\/p>\n Is it better to self-publish or get a publisher?<\/h3>\nThis entirely depends on what your motive for publishing a book is. There is an element of prowess to get a book publishing deal. However, a traditional publisher will typically take a much higher percentage of book sales compared to self-publishing. When self-publishing, you also keep control of the title and content. It will also take you much less time to publish than going through a publisher. With either option, you\u2019ll still have to promote the book heavily.<\/p>\n When does Amazon pay Kindle Direct Publishing royalties?<\/h3>\nYou\u2019ll get paid approximately 60 days after the end of the month in which your royalties are earned. For example, you\u2019ll receive payment in November for royalties earned in September, provided you meet the minimum payment threshold. This threshold is $100 for both checks and wires. If you get paid via automated clearing house (ACH), there is no minimum, and you\u2019re paid in full monthly.<\/p>\n Bottom Line: What Is Kindle Direct Publishing?<\/h2>\nIn as little as a day, your edited manuscript can go live on Amazon, Audible, or iTunes using Kindle Direct Publishing. The process of publishing your book on KDP doesn\u2019t cost anything, although you\u2019ll pay fees out of your royalties when you sell a book. To sell your book, however, you\u2019ll need to promote and market it heavily.<\/p>\n |