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Young Writers Society


How does one go about publishing an e-book on Kindle



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Sat Jun 04, 2016 12:31 pm
yizhongt says...



Hey everyone. I'm not sure whether I'm on the write forum, but does anyone have any experience or advise for publishing works on Kindle? Any advice or experience going through the process would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance!
  





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Sat Jun 04, 2016 2:46 pm
Sureal says...



I have no experience in it myself, but there seems to be lots of information available at Amazon as a starting point.
I wrote the above just for you.
  





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Sun Jun 12, 2016 2:20 pm
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jumpingsheep says...



Hi! I actually published a e-book on the Kindle a few years ago.

--The first thing you need to do is create a KDP (Kindle Digital Publishing) account. If you already have an Amazon account, then you can use that to login, however, if you're under 18, then you need to use a parent's account.
--After, you need to create a new title, and this is where KDP will walk you through the process of publishing your e-book.

Things to keep in mind:
--Edit. Edit many times. One of the stigmas surrounding self-published ebooks are their lack of revision. Revise, revise, revise. Have multiple people help edit your book.
--Be sure to read all the disclaimers about taxes and royalties. Kindle has several different royalty deals with several different benefits, so make sure you pick the one you want.
--Covers are very important. This is the first way you are going to attract new readers. I would recommend finding someone online to create your cover (keep in mind that they might request payment) or using a cover creating service such as Canva. Be sure to use copy-right free photos and such. I actually had a friend who did it for free (as long as she was credited), so I would recommend reaching out to friends first.
--Check the formatting carefully. Sometimes documents get a little messed around when moving from a word processor to a KDP file, so keep looking at the "book preview" to make sure the formatting is exactly how you like it.
--When your book first comes out, set up a free promotion. To do this, you need to enroll your book through KDP Select (again, this is all part of the stepped process Amazon will walk you through). Once again, be sure to read all the disclaimers on this program to make sure that it is something you want to do. Once you have enrolled, you will be able to do promotions on your book. I made my book free for the first 5 days it was published so that everyone I advertised to got it for free. This also makes your book appear on Amazon's "free e-books" list, which many people browse to look for new and free ebooks. During this 5-day period (my first five days) I gave away abut sixty e-books.
--Three-day free promotions are the best way. Usually when I do a free promotion, the highest amount of downloads are on the first day, and usually by the fourth day, the downloads are only at about one or two. So keep promotions at about two to three days at a time. You receive five free promotion days per month.
--Social media is your best friend. Tell everyone about your book!

Good luck! Please respond with any questions you have! I'd be happy to answer them!
hello there
  





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Wed Jun 15, 2016 12:37 am
ANADIR says...



I agree with Jumping sheep. I have multiple self published Ebooks on Amazon, Nook, and a few other places. Everything they said is completely correct, but I would slightly redirect you in terms of covers. While getting a good first cover is quite important, I don't personally see any reason to pay 100-200$ for it. (The price that professional cover artists do when making a cover from scratch.) And the reason I say that is twofold. First, I don't have very much money as a minor with no source of income. Paying 100-200 dollars for a cover is extremely pricey to me. Especially when I actually published my first one or two books to see what people who didn't know me or have reason to be kind to me would say about them. Second, there are SO MANY undiscovered artists. It's honestly really ridiculous. There are tons of extremely talented artists on YWS that deserve at least a little publicity, and making book covers for them is something they will happily do for free as long as you provide credit.
So yes, go to your friends if any of them are artists first, and then go to the YWS drawing community and ask them to help you out. They have always been able to help me, and their work is easily professional level.
And one last thing. I agree that publicity is important, but I PERSONALLY wouldn't go to social media immediately. While getting the word out is very important, jumping directly to social media with the 'heeeeeey dude how it go? good? Perfect, buy my book m8' isn't the best way to make friends. Of course, if your friends already know about your book and are waiting to buy it once it comes out, feel free to tell them. And I'll also glady answer any questions that you have. :D
Is it not human nature to want what we cannot have, and yet manage to overlook the blessings piled upon us?
  





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Wed Jun 15, 2016 12:43 am
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Vervain says...



To add an amendment to what ANADIR said:

If you have the money to pay your cover artist, please do so. Even if it's a fraction of what you would have paid a professional, even if you "hired" a friend, artists deserve pay for their work, especially if they put time into making you a good cover for your book. If you don't want to pay anyone, find someone who explicitly says they'll make it for free, or make it yourself. Simple as that.

I don't have much to add on the topic itself, as the two before me answered you pretty well, but please, please pay your artist.
stay off the faerie paths
  





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Wed Jun 15, 2016 1:02 am
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Rosendorn says...



The advertising and art industries would like to reinforce that you should pay your artists.

Exposure is a useless, utterly and completely useless, thing to give artists, for multiple reasons:

1- They can get exposure themselves. In the world of social media, the very fact you found them means they have exposure. They do not need you to get exposure.

2- They have expenses. Even if they are minors, they are likely saving up for things like college, or moving out, or even helping their families. No matter what their age, they will use and need that money. If it's tight for you, it's very likely also tight for them. They cannot pay immediate bills with "exposure."

3- If you are expecting to get paid for your art in the form of selling your stories, why are you denying the person who made it your work even gets sold the same opportunity?

This article goes into many more reasons why you should pay your artists.

Publishing a book is an expense and you should treat it as such. If you don't have a job, find one to pay for the art your story deserves. Many art-related unions have completely panned the practice of working for free, and more are sure to follow as they fight for worker rights.

Paying your artists is a basic worker right. If somebody is working for you, expect to pay them. Artists are just as important to society as lawyers, and they should be compensated accordingly. Even when I've asked friends for art pieces, if I have anything specific in mind, I pay them at their regular rate unless they are explicitly offering their work for free on their own accord. I pay them because they are my friend, and I want to see them succeed at business.

If you treat your artist with respect, they will in turn put more value on your work, enjoy having you as a client, and be able to meet their own needs because you have given them the monetary compensation to do so. It's win-win for everyone.
A writer is a world trapped in a person— Victor Hugo

Ink is blood. Paper is bandages. The wounded press books to their heart to know they're not alone.
  





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Wed Jun 15, 2016 2:38 am
ANADIR says...



Oh my goodness,
I completely forgot to mention that, thanks guys (and girls). I personally offered royalties to my cover artists, and I went in ranges from 35-50% since I'm writing for fun instead of money as well as I am not a well known author, I often offered much higher royalty rates in order to help pay the artist a little better.
If you and your artist have agreed that you will pay them, make sure to confirm with them the METHOD of payment. If they were expecting a flat payment and you were going to give them royalties, that might cause some trouble.
Is it not human nature to want what we cannot have, and yet manage to overlook the blessings piled upon us?
  





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Wed Jun 15, 2016 5:24 am
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Rosendorn says...



You should go with royalties and an up front investment.

Royalties are something artists receive when they make a cover for a book. This is how traditional publishing works. It's not much, but it is standard. They had a part in the book's final form, so they should indeed get paid along with you for helping to generate sales.

However, these royalties do not compensate artists for:
- The time spent on the cover
- The time spent practicing to get good enough to do a cover
- The cost of materials (even digital costs money to do, because their investment is a whole computer and possibly a tablet)
- The costs of any education they've received (Everything from simply paying for the electricity and internet so they have access to "free" tutorials, transportation to a library for "free" materials, to a full out art degree)

Artists should be, at the very least, paid minimum wage. Most artists I know set their prices above minimum wage, to account for the fact they have multiple years' of experience (sometimes 10-20 years, even for somebody barely older than their amount of experience, because a lot of artists start young) and education in some form or another. But even artists who only have a handful of years' experience deserve to be compensated for it, because those are years of experience you do not have.

In summary:

-Royalties are a writer's and artist's reward for making something good enough it turns a profit. Giving them royalties makes it they want to help your work sell, so they put extra effort and might even promote you.

- Up front costs are the bare minimum required for you to have a healthy working relationship with the people involved in making your story publishing ready. They compensate the artist fairly for their time, energy, and education, and show that you respect their profession enough to value their work with a fair wage.
A writer is a world trapped in a person— Victor Hugo

Ink is blood. Paper is bandages. The wounded press books to their heart to know they're not alone.
  





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Sun Jul 03, 2016 2:02 am
yizhongt says...



Hey everyone, thank you all for your advice and tips. You guys are just awesome!
  








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