Hi Sidra! Yes, they will work with this caveat: you must have access to your KDP dashboard (or work with the publisher).
Anything can be updated at any time, including new cover, description, price, and new editions. All through KDP (KDP stands for Kindle Direct Publishing, which is the backend of your Amazon author account).
I'm on Pinterest right now looking for design ideas for the cover of Just Right. What I really want is a hardcover, but I don't know if I can pull that off myself.
This is a good reminder but I am confused about 2 things: 1. Categories: I can choose 3 categories when listing the book and a while back Amazon communicated they will not add books to additional categories. Have they changed that lately? 2. Look Inside feature: Is it back again? Because Amazon removed it ca. 2 years ago and replaced it with a "Read Sample" button.
Hi Nina - sorry for the confusion. You have 3 categories and 7 keyword slots (each with a limit of 50 characters). I added a few visuals above so you can see what I mean. More here: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G200644250
As for 'Look Inside': You are correct, it is now called 'read sample' and is supposed to be automatic once your upload is complete. To see it, that's trickier:
Amazon KDP:
"The Read sample feature enables readers to browse and preview samples of your books. When you publish a book, it’s automatically enabled.
You can find the “Read sample” button below the cover image on your book’s detail page. Note that in mobile devices, the feature is only available for eBooks, and it will show the “Look Inside the Book” sticker instead. This feature is not available on mobile devices for print books."
This is great info, thanks. Ten years ago I published some short stories I had written that I'd found in old folders. I just wanted to see how it all worked. I think I did most things incorrectly and the stories weren't all that great. I am working on a book now, and this advice will really help, thanks.
Thanks for all these great KDP tips. Some of them are not well known such as the importance of an excellent searchable subtitle. I've been frustrated a lot since my novel has been out a year and I did everything wrong the first time. Now I am doing a second edition with reediting, total reformatting by an indie publishing house in England and a new 8 page glossary (my novel takes place in India). Some people question my decision to "improve it as much as possible" but your tips take a positive point of view which together with improvements, can yield a good result. There is so much grumbling on other social media about how impossible to sell one's KDP book. But those who dare to think they can, do and are persevering and resilient in their efforts to more likely meet some success. Thanks again.
Thank you for reading and commenting, Larry! It is more difficult than ever to stand out with our books, given the overwhelming volume of content (not to mention AI-generated books, #blech). I hope these tips help authors find every advantage!
Totally agree. Making progress can occur by carefully working through the details in trying out, seeing how it goes and reworking when necessary. Have a tough resilience to help one get through. Thanks for all the positive encouragement and possible advantages you are suggesting.
Thanks so much, Kevin! I'm a huge believer in helping writers figure out stuff, and what works and what doesn't (after publishing 8 books and marketing my clients' books over the past 13 years). x
Thank you so much for this great article!! I am just starting with KDP and will definitely follow your advice. So: No! You're not yelling into the wind!
Thanks for sharing these tips with us. I 'saved' the post so that I can refer to it in the future. Currently, I'm working on a nonfiction guidebook with a friend. Due to circumstances beyond our control, I have been tasked with publishing the book as well as its marketing. Learning about how Amazon works is key. One thing: does it make sense to use KDP/Amazon when many of our intended readers need printed books?
Hi Robert! GREAT question. Amazon KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) allows you to format and upload ebooks, print books, hardcovers, and audiobooks. All free to upload. For expanded distribution, you can go through Ingram/Spark or Draft 2 Digital - both good options.
KDP Select gives you the option to have only your ebook be exclusive to Amazon, and print, etc., available elsewhere. If you decide to go exclusive with Select, you can take the ebook free for up to 5 days every 3 months, which can help increase visibility on Amazon, Google, and social media platforms if you post there as well.
Recommend using KDP and one of the other options for expanded distribution. There are numerous videos and tutorials available on the process. If you haven't formatted a book before, I recommend hiring someone, OR using a tool like Vellum https://vellum.pub/.
Hi Rachel! Thanks for replying to my query. Your suggestion to use Amazon for ebooks and Draft2Digital for print and broader distribution is what I've been considering. I've been researching this process for a while and feel a bit confused: Amazon seems like the easy way, but it limits the range of bookstores (both virtual and in-person) that will sell it.
One positive aspect of the project is that I'm a graphic designer and have designed a few small books throughout my career. The book has a large number of federal forms at the end of specific chapters. I downloaded the PDF files and have converted them to PNGs, which can be imported into Word. Then I can format the text as a Word document. Will this work with KDP?
Hi Robert. I thought I replied, but I don't see it now. For KDP, you have to format the post using something like Vellum.pub. You can either publish it yourself or hire someone to format it for you. If you're familiar with coding, it will be fairly easy for you.
My novels were published on Amazon a long time ago. I struggle with marketing and promoting. Do you think these tips would still work?
Hi Sidra! Yes, they will work with this caveat: you must have access to your KDP dashboard (or work with the publisher).
Anything can be updated at any time, including new cover, description, price, and new editions. All through KDP (KDP stands for Kindle Direct Publishing, which is the backend of your Amazon author account).
Hope that helps!
More here: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G200736410
RoboCat. Of course.
Great article. Thank you for all the tips.
I mean, it makes sense, right? LOL
And thank you!
I'm on Pinterest right now looking for design ideas for the cover of Just Right. What I really want is a hardcover, but I don't know if I can pull that off myself.
Hi SJ! Do you mean formatting for a hardcover (or print)? I can point you in a direction.
Thank you for this overview 🤩
Thank you so much! It's good to know I'm not just yelling into the wind :)
This is a good reminder but I am confused about 2 things: 1. Categories: I can choose 3 categories when listing the book and a while back Amazon communicated they will not add books to additional categories. Have they changed that lately? 2. Look Inside feature: Is it back again? Because Amazon removed it ca. 2 years ago and replaced it with a "Read Sample" button.
Hi Nina - sorry for the confusion. You have 3 categories and 7 keyword slots (each with a limit of 50 characters). I added a few visuals above so you can see what I mean. More here: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G200644250
As for 'Look Inside': You are correct, it is now called 'read sample' and is supposed to be automatic once your upload is complete. To see it, that's trickier:
Amazon KDP:
"The Read sample feature enables readers to browse and preview samples of your books. When you publish a book, it’s automatically enabled.
You can find the “Read sample” button below the cover image on your book’s detail page. Note that in mobile devices, the feature is only available for eBooks, and it will show the “Look Inside the Book” sticker instead. This feature is not available on mobile devices for print books."
Hope that helps!
This is great info, thanks. Ten years ago I published some short stories I had written that I'd found in old folders. I just wanted to see how it all worked. I think I did most things incorrectly and the stories weren't all that great. I am working on a book now, and this advice will really help, thanks.
Very useful, thank you!
So glad, thank you!
Sure!
Thanks for all these great KDP tips. Some of them are not well known such as the importance of an excellent searchable subtitle. I've been frustrated a lot since my novel has been out a year and I did everything wrong the first time. Now I am doing a second edition with reediting, total reformatting by an indie publishing house in England and a new 8 page glossary (my novel takes place in India). Some people question my decision to "improve it as much as possible" but your tips take a positive point of view which together with improvements, can yield a good result. There is so much grumbling on other social media about how impossible to sell one's KDP book. But those who dare to think they can, do and are persevering and resilient in their efforts to more likely meet some success. Thanks again.
Thank you for reading and commenting, Larry! It is more difficult than ever to stand out with our books, given the overwhelming volume of content (not to mention AI-generated books, #blech). I hope these tips help authors find every advantage!
Totally agree. Making progress can occur by carefully working through the details in trying out, seeing how it goes and reworking when necessary. Have a tough resilience to help one get through. Thanks for all the positive encouragement and possible advantages you are suggesting.
Thanks Didn’t realize we can use tags in as many ways.
Right? I didn't either for a long time. Useful info I hope!
I couldn't find any more categories after help and contact us (from my bookshelf page). There was no option for Amazon product page.
The closest I found was "Amazon Store, pricing, & promotion", which just gave the option to "report issue with Amazon categories."
Is there a different page that I need to hit "Help" from?
Hi Janine! If you're US-based, just go to your KDP dashboard; click on the directions here to follow step by step: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G201298500#howtokeywords
Hi Janine - me again. I added a link and screenshot above in the post to help you. I hope!
Okay, I think my confusion was I was looking for additional genre categories instead of keywords.
Such an informative article. Yours is indicative of the warmth and welcoming spirit of Substack.
Thanks so much, Kevin! I'm a huge believer in helping writers figure out stuff, and what works and what doesn't (after publishing 8 books and marketing my clients' books over the past 13 years). x
Thank you so much for this great article!! I am just starting with KDP and will definitely follow your advice. So: No! You're not yelling into the wind!
Thank YOU, Anette! One never knows 😜
Great tips
Thank you, JFT! Appreciated.
Thanks for sharing these tips with us. I 'saved' the post so that I can refer to it in the future. Currently, I'm working on a nonfiction guidebook with a friend. Due to circumstances beyond our control, I have been tasked with publishing the book as well as its marketing. Learning about how Amazon works is key. One thing: does it make sense to use KDP/Amazon when many of our intended readers need printed books?
Hi Robert! GREAT question. Amazon KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) allows you to format and upload ebooks, print books, hardcovers, and audiobooks. All free to upload. For expanded distribution, you can go through Ingram/Spark or Draft 2 Digital - both good options.
KDP Select gives you the option to have only your ebook be exclusive to Amazon, and print, etc., available elsewhere. If you decide to go exclusive with Select, you can take the ebook free for up to 5 days every 3 months, which can help increase visibility on Amazon, Google, and social media platforms if you post there as well.
Recommend using KDP and one of the other options for expanded distribution. There are numerous videos and tutorials available on the process. If you haven't formatted a book before, I recommend hiring someone, OR using a tool like Vellum https://vellum.pub/.
Good luck!
Hi Rachel! Thanks for replying to my query. Your suggestion to use Amazon for ebooks and Draft2Digital for print and broader distribution is what I've been considering. I've been researching this process for a while and feel a bit confused: Amazon seems like the easy way, but it limits the range of bookstores (both virtual and in-person) that will sell it.
One positive aspect of the project is that I'm a graphic designer and have designed a few small books throughout my career. The book has a large number of federal forms at the end of specific chapters. I downloaded the PDF files and have converted them to PNGs, which can be imported into Word. Then I can format the text as a Word document. Will this work with KDP?
Hi Robert. I thought I replied, but I don't see it now. For KDP, you have to format the post using something like Vellum.pub. You can either publish it yourself or hire someone to format it for you. If you're familiar with coding, it will be fairly easy for you.
Really helpful- I’m not there yet, but I’m dreaming big