Self Publishing on Amazon
Ok so you’ve finished your book and all you have to do is upload it to Amazon. Right? Unfortunately, no. There are a few things to do and a few decisions to make before your book will be ready to publish.
I recommend starting with the paperback, as much of the work will carry over to the ebook.
Ink and Paper Type
Will your book be in black and white, or colour? Will it be printed on cream or white paper? This will affect the cost of printing.
Size
What are your book’s dimensions? Yes, that’s right, you have to decide on your book’s physical dimensions. This came as a surprise to me! I did some research and landed on 8.5” x 5.5” for both Subigus and Consevius. There are a few other options and there’s an element of personal preference here but do try to stick with one of the formats preferred by ‘real’ publishers. This will also affect the cost of printing.
Font
Which font will you use? Besides personal preference there are some things to consider:
Appropriate style. An old-fashioned font with serifs might be appropriate for a romance novel, but would it be appropriate for a sci-fi? Subigus and Consevius both use Avenir Book as I felt that a modern sans serif font suited a novel set in the near future.
Readability. Is that font easy on the eye? Is it accessible to all?
Font size and width. You might default to the standard 12pt for the height of the font, but have you considered the width? Some fonts are wider than others. Switching Subigus between Avenir Book and Times New Roman, both at 12pt, adds 30 pages to the length of the printed book. I’ve discussed the length of books in another post, but suffice to say a longer book will add to the cost of printing.
Layout
For the paperback, you will need to download the template for your book’s dimensions and then layout your book in a word processor. You’ve probably never seen a book unbound so may not realise that odd and even pages are different to allow for the extra material in the spine. So you’ll need some confidence working with sections. Next you’ll need to add things like chapter headings and page numbers and a copyright blurb for the first page.
For the ebook you will need to download Kindle Create, add chapter markers, and then output your book in an ebook compatible format.
Cover design
Your book’s cover is your shop window so you’ll want an eye-catching design. Will you design it yourself, or will you employ a graphic designer? You’ll need some confidence with design software to be able to do it yourself. I designed my own covers using Affinity Publisher; software that is powerful, accessibly priced, but perhaps a little complex for a casual user. For the paperback you’ll need to use a template for the appropriate size of book. The “cover” is actually a single image that includes the front, the spine, and the back. You’ll need to leave space for things like the barcode, and where the spine is folded. Before you design your cover you should ensure you have decided on your font, as tweaking the font will alter the number of pages and hence the thickness of the spine. Once you’ve designed your paperback cover, the ebook cover is a little simpler. I simply used a crop of my paperback’s front cover. Don’t forget you will need to purchase a commercial licence for any images used, unless they are your own creation.
Pricing
You will need to decide on your book’s pricing. I will talk more about this in another post. Amazon will dictate a minimum price based on the cost of printing the book. Besides this you will need to choose a royalty scheme (there are different terms depending on whether you grant Amazon exclusive rights to the book, or you want the right to sell it elsewhere) and then assign a price for each market.
Tax Interview
Before you can sell your book you will need to take Amazon’s tax interview to ensure the appropriate taxes are paid. This is a very straightforward form if you are selling as an individual, but can get complicated if you are selling through a company or partnership.
Order a proof copy
You will need to order a proof or author copy of your novel. This can be exciting, feeling it in your hands for the first time. This is a proud moment for any author. You’ve come further than most. There’s a bit of work involved here too though - checking everything is laid out correctly both outside and inside.
And you thought writing was hard!