How to Create an ebook for Amazon in 2021

 Circa July 2021 BookBaby will charge you $138.00 to create a 300 page ebook. That’s $138 wasted if you have a few hours and the intelligence (and confidence) to do it yourself. At a minimum, you want your ebook on Amazon, and KDP is their platform for doing that. Sign up for a free Amazon/KDP account here. If you already have an Amazon account, use your Amazon login and password.

There was a time when you needed deep technical skills to create an ebook. No longer. There was a time when you had to know the difference between epub and mobi formats. No longer. In the past, you needed specialized software like Canva to do so, and although Canva still exists, you can still do it yourself by following step-by-step KDP instructions. And there aren’t many of those to follow once you understand that an ebook is formatted differently than a print book.

In fact, what you need, all you need, is to know how to use MS-Word properly. All you need to do is to create a properly formatted docx document ready for upload. Most services today worth their salt, like Amazon KDP, accept a docx and they do the rest.

Writers should spend time learning MS-Word the proper way through its tutorials and Help screens. Click MS-Word Help in your ribbon, then Show Training, then select a tutorial. At a minimum, go thru the following. Each has topics you need to get familiar with. Look through them.

• Write and edit. You can also use MS-Word’s Editor, Autocrit, Grammarly, or ProWritingAid to help as you type and edit your work.
• Format text. Important: choose Normal for most text, Heading 1 for Chapter headings, or create and set the Style yourself. Automatically generate the Table of Contents links. Create links for other things as well.
• Lay out pages. Set line spaces, indents, margins, gutter, mirror image etc. Do not add page numbers. Insert Page and Section breaks. Do not have any blank pages in an ebook.
• Insert tables, pictures, and watermarks. All pictures or inserts must be jpg.
• Save and print. With OneDrive on, you don’t even have to click Save. And you should not print a 200-page book on your printer. Staples online print services will do it for $.15 per page, or $30.00, saving you printer cartridges and paper, aggravation, and time.

Always remember WYSIWYG. What You See on your Screen Is What You Get when viewed. In Previewer you can toggle between phone or tablet views to see how it looks.

Trust it.

When your docx manuscript is done, and your ebook/docx formatted, click File in your Ribbon on top-left corner, Options, Save, and check “Embed fonts,” and Save.

Then your ebook docx manuscript is ready for upload to Amazon KDP.

Amazon KDP has three screens to complete, the first with the title, your name etc. The second where you upload file and cover or use KDP Cover Creator. On this page launch Previewer to see your epub book page by page. The third screen is where you set the price, generally between $2.99 and $3.99. You will see how much royalty you will make as you set the figure. On this page also you click “Approve” when its perfect for you. It takes KDP 1-2 days to review your submission and approve it/load it for sale on Amazon. They will notify you by email.

PS And if you do have to change something inside, you can do that, reload, and KDP will do it and review/accept it after a few days.

Creating the front cover, spine, and back cover in one document are different stories entirely and require much more effort to specify and set up. I recommend against doing that. Use KDP’s Cover Creator templates instead, since they are good enough for most purposes. Your back cover will have your author picture (small), short author bio, book blurb, and room for the ISBN/price barcode.

Then, your marketing tasks begin, actually they should have already begun before.

It's Easy to Use Amazon KDP to Publish

 Back in 2012, when I knew much less about writing and publishing, I wrote my 320-page memoir Episodes and knew I wanted to publish my first book on Amazon Createspace. I didn't know how to use it, but its Help articles were good enough that I was successful. No one held my hand doing it, although, at the time, I talked to Createspace staff twice who helped me understand it better. The big benefit was the Previewer feature which allowed me to "see" my 6x9 book exactly as it would be printed. Kindle epub was off my radar because at that time, between epub, Mobi, and other formats, I couldn't figure it out.

  Today, 2021, it couldn't be easier and you don't have to worry or use epub, Mobi, or anything else other than an MS-Word docx document to upload both as a paper trade book or a Kindle epub book. And I've learned another trick using MS-Word, generating a Table of Contents automatically, making all of that infinitely easier too. 

  The thing is this: you must write a good book. That's Number One.

  Two, all grammar, spelling, accent marks, punctuation, etc. must be correct.

  Three, you must format it correctly. In Episodes I had a line space between each paragraph; not good. It broke up the reading. But I thought I knew what I was doing. I didn't. 

  Four, KDP, the successor to Createspace for both print and ebooks, has fairly good tutorials and instructions to follow. You need some computer savvy, but the steps are there to follow. And you can always go back and correct things and upload a corrected Docx manuscript until you get it perfect.

  And Five, it must be perfect. There are too many good writers, millions of books, and something that doesn't read well or look good will not sell. Nor will it make you look good. Above all, you are selling yourself, not just your book. You want readers/buyers to trust you. Trust that you know what you are doing, trust that you write good books.

  Using KDP is free because down the road Amazon takes its royalty cut and makes its money off you. I think that's fair for the service. You can sign up for a free account here.

  Since 2012 I've learned a ton. I took Episodes off the market and rewrote it completely, shaving 30 pages from it. I just released trade and Kindle versions of Coffee, Cigarettes, Death & Mania, a much more fitting ride with me on the rollercoaster of my life between 1979 and 1996.

  I also have a website and a social presence on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, and Pinterest. If you as an author can do those too then you will do better.

  Either way, check out KDP for fun, no obligation. Upload your manuscript. and see what it looks like.

Practice Writing and Sharing like an Oreo

 I read a short article from TheWritePractice.com this morning by Joe Bunting. He and I and thousands of others swear by the practice of writing every day to become better and better. Writing itself is the best practice. We speak 125 words a minute so imagine what you could create in only 15 minutes a day if you don't filter yourself. That's right, just write creatively and honestly and don't waste time editing as you go. That can come later.

   Here are Joe's steps on practicing with my additions:

1. Find paper and pen, a PC/laptop/phone, a journal etc., to write in/on. If you can, find a quiet spot but not absolutely necessary.

2. Set a time limit. 

   If you are crunched for time set a 15-minute egg timer or your watch.

3. Write. 

   It could be a memory, a feeling, a story, idea, your novel, poem, or memoir. regardless, write. Let the words flow from your thoughts and feelings. But it's important to reset your eyes like the 20/20 rule says - write 20 minutes then break for 20 seconds. Get up and walk away, stretch, get coffee or tea etc. You don't want white-screen fatigue.

4. Share what you've written for feedback. 

   This is where I disagree with Joe a bit. To share is good advice, and for first time writers, just do it. Everyone knows drafts aren't perfect. Author Anne Lamott says they're "shitty." But for experienced writers, we like to at least edit and polish the piece a little before we share it. Up to you. Either way Share.

   Writing groups found online or locally are a great way to share if you don't have what Stephen King calls "a beta reader." This is someone you trust to give you honest feedback. His wife Tabitha and friends do it for his works. Writing, poetry, and writing critique groups can be searched for on MeetUp.com for example, or your library. All are generally helpful and supportive.

5. Give feedback to other writers or poets. 

   It's true that we don't see the log in our own eyes and rarely recognize all our mistakes or chances for improved writing. Oh, but when we hear others read theirs, Boy, what doesn't sound right stands out. More than that, hearing and reading others' pieces, like reading or listening to books themselves, helps us improve. Stephen King in his memoir and writing textbook On Writing says we should read more than we write. This is where a Creative Writers Group, Poetry Group, or similar group will help us. Plus we meet other writers and poets and learn their tips and advice, as well as what we shouldn't do. And, we make friends.

   A good way to give feedback is to follow, as Joe says, "the Oreo method." First give positive feedback - what you liked. Second, be constructive, what wasn't clear or could be improved, and always give specifics. Third, in closing, your comments should always be positive and encouraging. The Oreo mnemonic is - positive/ constructive/ positive. In this example the Oreo is icing/cookie/icing - even yummier.

   I've facilitated, shared, and listened in Creative Writers Groups almost every Monday and Tuesday afternoon for years and they have improved my writing 100% with more to achieve. Now we are on Zoom due to Covid restrictions and it has not hampered us. New members are welcome and you can contact me at 1950ablia@gmail.com if interested. Writing groups are non-threatening, supportive, and encouraging, or should be, and friendship is guaranteed.

   So write and share sooner rather than later.

Best and be safe,

Rodney

   

New book coming

 Hi There, I haven't been posting for months since devoting all my time to living around Covid and rewriting my bipolar memoir, Episodes. I'm almost done extensive revisions and improvements and expect to publish by February 2021 (actually July 2021). The new version is completely revised as you can tell by the new title, Coffee, Cigarettes, Death & Mania.

Cof, Cigs, Death & Mania will be shorter and more concise, more action and dialogue packed, but will still focus on main themes of Yes, millions of people are bipolar, There is help, and There is hope for normal life, family, and work between episodes. Also, how caregivers can weather the storms and be better prepared.

I've also been busy handling my editing, formatting, polishing, and publishing business, ABLiA Media, to help writers in any genre achieve their best work. Recently I helped writer Marion Pollack edit, format, and publish on Amazon her hilarious memoir Grandma Tell Us a Story. Other works I have similarly helped with are The Man Who Never Slept by Robert Quinn, Unbalanced Justice by Samuel L Naro, and two books by Dr.  Michael P. Riccards, A Hero of My Own Life and some of his Italian Grandpa stories. I have helped more than a dozen writers publish with tips, editing, format suggestions, grammar assistance, publishing, and critiques.

I am very active with both the Hamilton and Lawrence NJ Creative Writers Groups, critique and encouragement groups for writers who share their work and receive critical feedback. I started the Hamilton Group in 2011. Both groups meet weekly and both are listed on MeetUp.com. We meet on Zoom now, and if interested in joining for free, email me at rodwriter80@gmail.com and I will connect you up. Participating in both groups weekly since 2011, and others, I have listened to, critiqued, and offered suggestion and tips for improvement on over 3,000 pieces from over 100 writers and poets.

This Blog, Write with Authority, will focus on my observations, tips, and highlights from others on how to improve one's writings and poems, prose and poetry. As a State of New Jersey technical writer for 30 years, and an author since 2013, I have the experience and life knowledge to help you do your best, to publish, and to succeed. My second published book in 2018 was Solving the World's Titanic Struggles, a compendium of 100 short essays on current topics and questions, with a spiritual base of solutions. Solving is available on Amazon.

A poetry tip for example: Use enjambment. That is the way you end the line, with what word or words, and move to the next. Take "The deer came down from the mountain."  Boring.

What if it were:

The deer came

d

  o

    w

       n

from the mountain.

See? Very different. Unique, impactful. Leaves an impression.

So hope to see you more often on these pages as I create more posts for your consideration.

Best,

Rodney Richards