The explosion of interest in digital books and reading e-books on Kindles and other tablets has led to a rise in popularity of a relatively new format called Kindle ebooks. These are standalone, electronic versions of books that can be stored and accessed on a smartphone, tablet, or computer. Some people prefer to read the printed version of books because of the tactile experience and visual benefits of holding a physical book in the palm of your hands, but the convenience of being able to access books wherever you go has led to a boom in e-book sales.
Why Should You Try to Write and Publish a Kindle eBook?
If you’re looking to publish your own e-book, you should certainly consider the Kindle. Not only do they provide the perfect platform for self-publishing, but Amazon also offers a helpful tutorial that walks you through the whole process.
On the subject of self-publishing, it’s important to note that not all eBook publishers are created equal. In other words, it’s not necessarily a good idea to work with all the big fish in the industry, especially if you’re just starting out. It’s always a good idea to consider the size of the company, its track record, and whether or not it’s worth contracting with them.
What is a Kindle eBook?
If you’ve ever shopped at Amazon, you may have noticed that the eBook section of their site is prominently featured. This is mostly due to the fact that they dominate the market as far as eBook downloads go, with close to 60% of the entire industry’s revenue coming from the retail giant. If you’ve ever shopped at all on Amazon, you may have also noticed that the vast majority of the books you see there are in the form of e-books.
In an effort to provide the best possible customer experience, Amazon launched the Kindle line of products, which included the Kindle Paperwhite and Kindle Fire. These are full-featured e-readers that support all the major e-book formats, as well as the epub standard, which is an open source format that supports all the popular e-reader platforms. In order to take advantage of all the bells and whistles the device has to offer, you will need to write the book first and then convert it to e-format before publishing.
Many self-publishing authors have taken advantage of the fact that Amazon offers a helpful tutorial that walks you through the whole process of writing and publishing an e-book. This can be a pretty useful thing for people who are brand-new to the whole process of writing a book and don’t necessarily have the time to put into mastering the art of writing a novel or how to properly format it for Kindle (or any other e-reader for that matter).
How Do I Start Writing a Kindle eBook?
If you’ve ever shopped at Amazon before, you may have seen that their eBook section is located below their other product categories. This is because, as a retailer, Amazon has the right to sell anything they want. So, although it may not be the most conventional route, one of the best places for self-publishers to start is by creating an account on Amazon’s MTurk website. You can do this by clicking on the Get started with Amazon MTurk link located at the top of their homepage.
From there, you’ll need to fill out some basic information about your book, such as its title and subtitle, the number of pages it’s composed of, and its category. After that, you’ll need to set a price for your work, which can either be set manually or based on the average price of books in your category. Don’t worry — you don’t need to make any money off your book right now, because Amazon will give you a cash back (for free) if you meet their minimum spending requirements. These can be reset at any time, so if you decide down the road that you want to pursue self-publishing as a career, you can always go back and change your mind.
What is MTurk?
In its simplest form, MTurk is an online marketplace where you can find people to do small tasks for you. For example, you may need someone to do some research for you online, or you may need someone to transcribe an audio file for you. You can give them a little bit of payment to do your homework or transcribe your audio file, and then you can continue shopping for more tasks.
You may wonder how creating a piece of content on MTurk is not the same as doing so directly on your computer. The truth is that, although you’re creating the content yourself, you won’t be held responsible for anything that happens after you post the task. It’s akin to hiring someone to walk your dog for you while you’re at work. Just make sure that you vet them beforehand, so you don’t end up with a scammer who tries to trick or cheat you.
Do I Need a Cover For My Kindle eBook?
Although it’s not required, you should consider getting a cover for your Kindle eBook. They’re not that expensive, and they can really help increase your book’s sales. Not only that, but when someone downloads your Kindle book and decides they don’t like it, they can return it for a refund or exchange, and the process is hassle-free and takes less than a day.
If you’re comfortable enough with Photoshop, you can design your own cover. Otherwise, you can find many beautiful covers to choose from. Just make sure that the cover you choose fits the theme you’re going for with your book.
What about Audibles For My Kindle eBook?
You may also want to consider getting an audio book for your Kindle. There are many popular titles, both on and off the Kindle platform, that can be converted to audio format. Not only does this make them much easier to consume, but it also allows more people to listen to your work. You should certainly consider getting an audio book for yourself, even if you’re planning on self-publishing a Kindle eBook.
If you don’t have access to good quality audio, the next best thing is to convert your own book to audio format. With a little bit of patience, you can record yourself reading the book aloud while using a voice recorder app on your phone. Once you have that, you can either upload the file to a site like Audible or send it directly to your Kindle. In either case, the audiobook will be available for people to download and listen to whenever they like.
Do I Need to Format My Kindle eBook For It to Work On All Kindles?
Although it’s not required, you should probably invest in professional-quality e-paper for your Kindle. This will help make the difference between a good and bad experience when reading your Kindle book on one of the many different platforms and devices the platform supports. The type of e-paper you need will depend on the screen size and refresh rate of the device you are using. If you aren’t sure what e-paper is or how it works, just make sure that you get the best there is. Otherwise, your book won’t look as good as it could on one of the many different devices it supports.
How Many Books Can I Publish On Kindle?
As a self-publisher, you can only publish what Amazon permits you to publish. This depends on a number of factors, including the size of your book, how long it is, and whether or not it’s eligible for the Kindle Singles program. If you decide to go down the self-publishing route and create your own platform, you can ensure that you keep all your rights to your work by using a Creative Commons license. This will allow you to distribute your book to other platforms (such as Amazon) and enable people to make changes to it, provided they credit you for the original work.
For non-commercial use, individuals can have a Kindle book limit of up to 9 books before they’re required to pay monthly fees. Companies can have a cap of 6. This number can go up to as much as 30 books for individuals and up to 25 for companies. If you meet the minimum spending requirements, you will be given a free Kindle Unlimited account, allowing you to have a paperback limit of up to one million pages and a Kindle eBook limit of up to 50 books, with no monthly fees. You can put your entire backlist on Kindle, including both print and digital copies, for free.
For more information about the different pricing plans and variables to consider, visit this helpful link from Amazon.