Kindle Publishing: How You Can Get Started

Kindle Publishing For Self-Starters

In this post, I'm going to discuss some of the process that you need to getting your own stuff out into the world with Kindle Publishing.

There's a NY Times article I read recently quotes a small Michigan Publisher that claims over 81% of Americans say they have a book in them.  

Most of us will never write one, much less publish it.

But don't let the doubts or "experts" get you down.

Do You Have A Book In You?  

You probably do.

If you've ever thought to yourself, "If only so and so knew this, it'd be..." or maybe you have a special knowledge and experience in something unique, or perhaps you have tips on how to improve something, than you DO have a book in you.

Even if you've just daydreamed what it'd be like to be a princess or king in some faraway fantasy (except, of course, if you really are a king or princess) than yes you do have a book to write.

With Kindle Publishing, fulfilling your dream of writing a book and seeing it published is a lot easier than you think.

You just need to get started.

With ebooks, getting your stuff out into the world is no longer isolated to just a chosen few.

But there are a few things you need to know before you try use Amazon's Kindle Publishing to self-publish.

Do You Leap, Or Do You Look Before You Leap?

Are you someone who is the first to try something?  The first one to try out a new restaurant?

Perhaps you wake up every day, energetic and need to burn off some energy.

Or are you someone who likes to plan out every activity, every task in meticulous detail.  Perhaps you like to watch others, make mental notes about what works and what doesn't for them.

Well, I'm a little of both.  I like to take risks, but I also like to learn something in great detail before I jump.  I wouldn't go skydiving without first learning how to pack my parachute, and then personally pack it.

Actually, I probably wouldn't go skydiving.  Anyone that knows me also knows how much I "like" flying.

Whether you're someone who likes the challenge of learning on the go, or someone interested in all the details and enjoys watching sausage be made, then let me share with you some of the finer points of my process with writing and publishing my short stories through Amazon's KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing).

5 Basic Strategies For Getting Your Words Published Through Amazon's KDP Program

Straight from the horse's mouth of Amazon themselves, here some basic tips for kindle publishing that I'll be following (and wanted to share with you here):

1. Create Compelling Content:  Obviously writing something that readers would be interested in is a priority.  For non-fiction do some research (more on that type of research later) and find a problem that hasn't been addressed yet.  Or if it's something really competitive, find a way to spin information in your own way and make it interesting.  Tell a story that offers the problem for the audience and show them some tools to help solve that hurdle. 
2. Editing Means Reducing - Wash, Rinse and Repeat: Stephen King wrote in his book "On Writing" that the edit process should reduce the overall length of your writing by 10%.  So cut out an unnecessary section or passive terms. 
3. Create An Awesome Cover: Don't settle for trying to create a book cover for yourself.  People DO judge a book by its cover, so make it sleek, professional and polished. 
4. Tease Your Potential Reader And Describe Your Book To Improve Its Desirability: Book details offer an insight, a "sneak-peek" into your book, helps the reader get an idea of what its all about, and why they may want it. Do this well and advertising becomes much, much easier.
5. Promote Your Book:  Use ads, promote on social media including Facebook and Twitter to get the message out about your book launch. 

These are some of the finer points that will be the editing and marketing side of the process.  

These other suggestions I'll be exploring soon, and share how I develop my strategy as I get closer to launch.

If you ever have had a dream of writing your own book and worried that getting it published was one thing holding you back, it's much easier to launch your book than you think.  Especially with how popular the format of ebooks has become, it's simple.  

The traditional barriers that would have kept you from getting your thoughts, your words, your ideas out to the world are no longer that powerful of blocks.

There's a lot more that goes into the process and I'll be writing on that shortly, but don't let that discourage you.

You DO have a book in you and self-publishing through Kindle Publishing makes getting your words out into the world. 

You just need to get started writing.