Publishing Tips

Publishing Tips

There is so much information about Self-Publishing available on the internet. It's difficult to know where to start. I will be posting the steps and people who were helpful to me.

Self-Publishing- Yes you can do it!


Where to Start

  1. Google Docs- Here is a great tool for compiling your content. You can add to your document from a computer, tablet or phone.

  2. Google Sites- Google offers a good option for a basic website if needed.

  3. Convertkit- This is an option for creating a mailing list and other marketing tools.

  4. Content/ Vision/ Genre/ Audience- If you don't have content already, you will need to decide what you are going to write about.

  5. Tim Grahl- Your First Thousand Copies. This book was very helpful to me. Tim helped me understand flow and how to look for what your audience is needing. You will learn what every story must have.


KDP Publishing

  1. Create KDP account- This account will be the 'KDP hub' for your book

  2. www.kindlepreneur.com This guy has an enormous amount of helpful information.

  3. Publisher Rocket- A useful tool for marketing your title and keywords

  4. Dane McBeth Publisher/guru- Dane has tons of helpful videos. I used his word template for my own book.

  5. Formatting- Download Template from Dane,

  6. Self Publishing Made Simple FB group- Emee gave me some valuable tips.

  7. Editing- hire an editor or DIY

  8. Copyright- $50 eventually this will be needed for your book.

  9. Uploading- Final copy/Preview/Publish


Managing Your Book on KDP

  1. Uploading- Easy step by step

  2. Manuscript- Separate the final copy

  3. Cover- Hire this out or DIY

  4. Pricing- Decide on Price before publishing

  5. Proof copies- Buy copies before publishing. You can buy Author copies after publishing.

  6. Formats. Kindle= Word. Hard and paper back= PDF

  7. Troubleshooting- If book returns to "Draft" mode, check your email.

  8. Reports- Easily follow reports to monitor sales/orders

  9. AMS- Plan ahead. I recommend a marketing strategy for your book.


The more detailed version!

Where to start. I recommend using Google Drive. You can create documents and keep all your information here. Your drive can be accessed from any device. Which means you can continually add content from anywhere as soon as it comes to your mind.

KDP Publishing. Create a KDP account, this will be the "KDP hub" for your book. The link is https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/

Log in using your amazon account information.

Your KDP account dashboard will look like this. All the information you need in one spot.

Here is the information about your book formats. You can see if your book is...

  1. Live or in Draft status

  2. order proof or author copies

  3. Change book content, cover image

  4. Preview book project

This view is directly on the Amazon site after your book is published. Searching "book" then title: The Value Message. You can choose which formats are available.

Select your book. On this view, you can "look inside", select format and read the book description.

On the Amazon site, as you scroll down you can see your book details and ranking stats.

This is the "Reports" view from the KDP dashboard. This view is sales data. How many books sold and which formats were sold. You can select date ranges for this data.

Next I would recommend checking this guy out. http://www.kindlepreneur.com Dave Chesson. He has an incredible amount of information available about KDP Publishing. for $97 his Publisher Rocket software will save you hours of research and give you a huge advantage when it comes to marketing your book.

More Publishing Tips


  1. Look up Dane McBeth on YouTube. He is a publisher/guru and has tons of helpful videos. I used his Word template for my book.

  2. FB groub: Self-publishing made simple. Emee gave me some valuable tips.

  3. Editing- Hire this done or DIY.

  4. Copyright $50- Eventually this will be needed for your book.

  5. Upload final copy to KDP. Preview. You can purchase proof copies.

  6. Publish. You can order author copies after you publish.

Managing Your Book on KDP

  1. Uploading- Follow easy step by step

  2. Manuscript- Separate the final copy, delete or archive old versions.

  3. Cover- Hire this out or DIY. KDP has a good cover creator.

  4. Pricing- Decide on Price before publishing. Consider print cost, KDP percentage, then your royalties.

  5. Enroll in KDP select. 90 days to exclusively sell your digital version on KDP will net higher royalties.

  6. Proof copies- Buy copies before publishing. You can buy Author copies after publishing.

  7. Formats. Kindle= Word. Hard and paper back= PDF

  8. Troubleshooting- If book returns to "Draft" mode, check your email, KDP will send you any error information.

  9. Reports- Easily follow reports to monitor sales/orders from your KDP dashboard.

  10. AMS- Plan ahead. I recommend a marketing strategy for your book.