6 Quick Lessons for Publishing on Kindle
I have published five books on Amazon KDP that have been passion projects more than income spinners. Below are six lessons that I wish I had known throughout this process:
Write initially about what you know about – however boring. Why? Because what you know about, or are an expert in, is something that is unlikely to have a massive amount of competition. So if you are the world's best bookkeeper for beekeepers, write that book first.
Keep the book short – circa 5,000 words. This is not about writing the next War and Peace, but writing a book that adds value through the teaching of a few simple skills that people can master by reading a short book.
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__Write your book in small chunks. Break it up into 250–500 word chunks that can be written as short blog posts.
Do not fear having to format the book – you can pay someone on Fiverr or PeoplePerHour for a small price.
Also, you could take on the skill of KDP formatting and add another string to your bow. This is a great lesson and skill to learn. It does take some time to learn the skill, and I look back at the first couple of books and realise I need to revisit them.
When you publish the book, keep the price reasonable. Look at other similar books and price accordingly.
You can find all my books on Amazon here. However, you can read my book The S-Curve, completely free here.
TL;DR:
I’ve self-published five passion-project books on Amazon KDP. Here are six lessons I’ve learned:
- Start with what you know – it’ll have less competition.
- Keep it short – around 5,000 words is plenty.
- Write in small, blog-style chunks.
- Don’t stress about formatting – outsource it cheaply if needed.
- Or learn formatting yourself – it’s a valuable skill.
- Price your book reasonably based on similar titles.