Tag Archives: ebooks

How to Publish a Book on Amazon KDP

So, you’re ready to publish your first book?

First of all, congratulations! Writing a book is the hardest part. In fact, the percentage of authors who actually complete their first manuscript is estimated to be as low as 3%.

But books are made to be read, so if you’re ready to publish your manuscript, keep on reading. Below is a step-by-step guide to publishing your book TODAY!

What is Amazon KDP?

KDP stands for Kindle Direct Publishing. It is a self-publishing platform that is owned by Amazon, which helps your book to reach the audiences that order books and ebooks through Amazon and Kindle.

There is no need for paying for printing because KDP is print-on-demand, so the cost is immediately covered by their share, and you receive the money left over after production.

The percentage of royalties made by the author (you) depends on the format your book is in:

If you publish a paperback, you will receive 60% of the list price leftover after printing cost. That is WAY more than the average royalty for traditionally published paperbacks which usually hovers around 10-15%.

If you publish an ebook, KDP gives you two different distribution options which come with different royalty percentages. The first one is called KDP Select, and it comes with a whopping 70% author royalty. For a book to qualify for Kindle Unlimited it needs to be sold exclusively on Amazon and needs to be prices between $2.99 and $9.99. KDP Select also comes with perks like enrolling your book into Kindle Unlimited and having access to different types of book promotions. All other ebooks will receive a 35% author royalty, which is still considered a great cut for authors.

How to Publish Your Book on KDP

Before you start publishing, make sure you format your book. This should include mirrored margins with a .5 on three sides and a .75 on the internal side. Choose the right font and type size for your book to be easy to read and make sure you have any copyright pages, a table of contents, and any other book format requirements your book needs to be complete.

Once you are ready to publish go to KDP and create an account. When you get to your dashboard you will see options to create your book in either paperback, ebook, or audiobook. (This is a new feature they are still perfecting, and it can only be done with current ebooks for now.)

Here is a list of all of the things you need have ready to input when you publish your book:

Title and subtitle or series name
Names of authors, illustrators, editors, or others that worked on the book
Description of your book (this should be at least 1-2 paragraphs)
ISBN (This is basically the product number. You can buy your own at Bowker or you can let Amazon assign one to you. Note: If you use Amazon, this will automatically identify your book as being self-published to sellers.)
Book cover. I recommend Self Pub Book Covers if you don’t want to make your own. If you are creative, Canva has great options for designing book covers.
Book genre and key words
Book blurb for the back of the book
Price you want your book to be listed for
Manuscript of you book (you should have both a Word document or Google doc and a PDF)

Hopefully, this guide can help you get started publishing today.

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April Author Newsletter

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Hey, readers!

Here are a few exciting updates to look out for this month:

There are already 4 audiobook chapters of Caravan available for FREE on Youtube. And more will come out this month.

Chapter 10 of A Haunted Heart just came out on Wattpad today!
I have been working towards a more consistent writing schedule. So be on the lookout for more blog posts, writing tips, flash fiction, and more!
I have been reading so many books but I still need to review them! Look out for book reviews including literary romance, thrillers, and more!

Happy Reading 🙂

–Elizabeth Penn

5 Easy Steps to Character Creation

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So, you have a character in mind but you can’t quite put them together? Or maybe you only have a story idea. Or, even more stressful…maybe your story is just to short or empty and you have to create more character to fill the space!

Have no fear! Here are 5 easy steps to create new characters:

1. Name

This, for me, is the hardest part. I am terrible at naming characters. But I’ve found some amazing resources that have helped me. The first is to find an app for your phone that generates names. It’s free and you can get a name in just one click. Second, you can try baby name books. These are great, and you can check off names you have already used so you never repeat names. And last, you can become a “name collector.” This means that when you meet new people in public, or online, if they have a name you like, you write it down. You create a notebook of names to come back to later.

2. The Good Stuff

Now it is time to list why your character is so great (or not great if they are the antagonist). What are they good at? Why do others like them? Are they strong? Good at knitting? Smile all the time? Treat this section like someone asked, “Hey, your friend seems nice. Tell me about them.”

3. The Bad Stuff

Well, we can’t be good at everything. And neither can our characters! A flawed character is necessary to not only move the story along, but also to make them relatable to the reader. So, what about them gets in the way? Are they lazy or easily confused? Or so they have a physical disability or perhaps emotional scars from the past?

4. Backstory

Unless your main character is a newborn baby, then they had stuff happen to them before the opening of the story. Even if you never talk about these things directly, it is important to know them. The character’s past will be the reason they act the way they do in relation to others. And, it is how they got to where they are now. Act like their therapist. Ask them what their childhood was like, and what were they like in school? Things like that. And write them down for later.

5. Goals

Now that they are here, where are they going? Even small side characters have goals. Your characters are like people. They have hopes and dreams. They are trying to accomplish something. What is it? A new job? A new relationship?

But wait…even more that the goal…is the WHY? Anew relationship because they got a divorce? A new job because they dream of being rich? Or are they moving somewhere?

Once you get all these down you should not only have more rounded characters, but it will be easier to write them in relation to one another. They will interact with other characters and their surroundings more naturally.

5 Tips for Character Development

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If you have found some of your recent characters to be flat, or maybe they just don’t feel as real as they do in your head, here are 5 tips to help your characters become the best versions of themselves!

Give them a few quirks. Characters, like real people, should have little things that make them unique. Everything from a favorite food or color to a superstition or pet peeve. If you can show your characters with these little things, the readers will be able to better relate to them and create more meaningful connections with the characters.
Backstory… All your characters existed and had lives before their debut moment in the book. So, even if a character seems too small to have a backstory, write them one. Even just a few sentences can go a long way in making sure the character has authentic interactions with the others.
Good or Bad? Both! No one is all good or all bad. Even fictional characters. So, make sure you give your protagonists flaws and your antagonists a shred of goodness. It will round them out as a complete person. No one is perfect, and they shouldn’t be, either.
Goals. Like with the backstory, make sure your characters all have a goal they want to achieve including the “why” they want to do it. Even if you never plan to let them achieve this goal, or it seems too small or too distant from the main plot to matter, make sure your characters all have hopes and dreams that get them out of bed in the morning. We all do, and your readers will appreciate having that in common with the characters.
Picture them. If you don’t have their physical appearance down to the tiny details, find some free stick photos and choose one that will represent your character when you write. Sometimes we just need a little visual boost to get our descriptions just right.

I hope these help you in your writing journey!

Happy writing 🙂