Takeaways from my New Hobby

It’s far easier to self-publish on KDP than on some of the other platforms. KDP has an easy-to-use free service to format book covers if you’re wanting to sell a paperback. You can also create the cover illustration for a kindle format, and they link the different types of books for you. Make an author page, if you like. It’s all free. They’ll report taxes for you. They pay monthly after you’ve been selling awhile. You earn royalties with no minimum, as long as you link your banking institution. You can publish in multiple countries.

Be aware that you can publish free on Amazon and other platforms (Apple, B&N, Kobo, Google Play, etc.). But if you’re wanting to go with KU (kindle unlimited), you cannot have simultaneous ebook publication on any of the others for the first 90 days you’re on KU. (If you’ve already got an ebook on another platform or more, just take it off sale if that’s the way you’re wanting to go.) KU pays by # of pages ‘read’ (or ‘viewed’).

Here's not so much of a con as a caveat. I saw where an author published a book, only to have it removed because it had the same title as another. (She alleged that the publisher said it was not her work. I'm not positive this was through KDP.) This author was beside herself. According to her, there was no recourse. I haven't needed to contact anyone there, but it is a huge company. So I wouldn't doubt that a mixup like that could create havoc. For that reason, I'd opt for a title that's not a duplicate. If nothing else, add a discrete subtitle to differentiate it. Forewarned is forearmed.

I have an author friend who earns his main living from his books. He advised asking readers to review your work and explaining why it’s so important on the final page. He told me to not even set it up where they’d have to turn a page to see it. I guess he means not to click, too, if it’s in ebook format. (I published a couple of books in January on Barnes & Noble. To date, I have one book that has not gotten a single review. Ha! Ha!)

I know of free websites that have beaucoup information on this from authors who’ve published far and wide, 100X more than my limited experience. One is ‘Insecure Writers Support Group’ (IWSP). You can find the website online and/or it has a presence on Facebook. Another site has a TON of excellent info. But its administrators are much more serious about no self-promotion on that site than IWSP, who does allow it, but only on a specified weekly prompt on Fridays. Just ask me if you want that other site’s info. :)