If you’ve ever heard of the Kindle, you’ve probably also heard of its most popular competitor, the Nook. Perhaps the most recognizable symbol of the Amazon Kindle is their red logo, which is often imprinted on items sold by the company. Amazon first began producing the Kindle in 2007 and the Nook was soon after.
While you may know that Amazon and Barnes & Noble are fierce competitors, you may not know just how fierce of competitors they are. According to a recent study from the International Data Corporation (IDC), Amazon and Barnes & Noble held the top two positions in the Ebook reader market share, with Amazon having a 47.3% share and Barnes & Noble holding the other 47.3%.
Odds are you’re still thinking about buying an e-reader, but if you want to write a Kindle book, you’ll need to do it on a computer. Luckily, this article will tell you exactly how.
Why Write a Kindle Book On a Laptop?
One of the benefits of buying a Kindle is that you don’t necessarily need a traditional writer’s computer to write one. In fact, you can write a Kindle book on your smartphone, using the Kindle app. But what if you want a computer-based solution?
The great thing about writing a Kindle book on a laptop is that you have all the advantages of a traditional computer system — the hardware and the software — and you have the flexibility of movement afforded by a laptop. You can take your laptop with you anywhere, so long as you have Wi-Fi access, and you can use it almost anywhere, as long as there’s power source available. This makes it ideal for anyone looking to write a book during travels or on the move.
Laptops are also great for anyone who wants to write in the privacy of their home, but doesn’t have a dedicated writing room. You can take your laptop into your private space and use the blank screen to keep your visitors (and yourself) busy while you work.
Choose A Laptop
If you plan on writing a Kindle book, you’ll want to make sure that you have a laptop that’s reliable and can handle the task. One popular choice among customers who buy multiple Kindles is the Google Chromebook, which the IDC named the “best of the best” in a recent report, due to its sleek design, simple online storage, and fast boot up time. The Chromebook has a fanless design, making it quiet and power efficient, and it also has a backlit keyboard, so it’s easy to use even in the dark.
Another great option for a laptop is the MacBook Air. This sleek and modern-looking machine boasts a long list of qualities that make it an exceptional choice for writers, including its fanless design, Touch ID, and its sleek display.
Install The Right Software
Now that you have your laptop, you’ll want to make sure that it’s set up correctly to write a Kindle book. First, make sure that you have the right application for writing. If you’re using Microsoft Word, you’ll want to make sure that you have Apple Mail set up on your Mac. You can also use a different word processing application, like Google Docs or OpenOffice, but you’ll need to make sure that it’s set up for writing. You don’t want to write in Microsoft Word and have your Google Mail application pop up when you click on a link in an e-mail, because this could cause some bad karma.
Once you have the application installed, you’ll need to configure it to your liking. You can set Word to automatically save your documents to a specific drive or storage space, so you can easily find them later. Make sure that you don’t use spaces when naming your documents, as this can cause major headaches down the line. If you’re using the Chrome browser on your laptop, you can set it up so that everything on your computer is automatically backed up, so if you ever lose any data, it’ll be there right away.
Set Up Your E-Reader
If you’re writing a Kindle book and want to read it on your e-reader, you’ll first need to set it up. As with any new technology, there are a number of options to choose from when it comes to e-readers, and the advantage of this being an older technology is that it’s been around for quite some time. Perhaps one of the most popular brands of e-reader is Amazon’s Kindle, which the company introduced in 2007 and continues to improve upon. Setting up an Amazon Kindle requires you to have a digital account with Amazon, and you’ll need to link the account to the Kindle. Visit the Amazon Kindle website to get started.
Start Writing
Once you have your e-reader set up and your laptop configured, it’s time to start writing. You can write anywhere you like, as long as you have access to the internet. You don’t necessarily need to feel bound to a desk or a couch, as long as there’s a chair available. For best results, find a quiet, private place where you can sit with your laptop and get some uninterrupted writing done.
While you’re at it, you can also review a few chapters of your book to see how it flows and whether or not you need to make any changes. Once you’re satisfied with the way your book is flowing, it’s time to publish. Visit the Kindle Publishing website to get started.
Publish Your Book
Once you’ve written your book and edited it several times, it’s time to publish. If you’ve followed these steps, you’ll have a Kindle book ready to go. To do this, simply visit the Kindle Publishing website and sign up for a free account. From there, you can upload the file for your book and make sure that it’s available for purchase. If all goes well, you can expect to begin making sales in a few weeks, once your book is listed on the Amazon Kindle.
If all of this was rather simple, you can find the full tutorial in our step-by-step guide to creating a Kindle book from start to finish.