If you’re working on your debut and planning to self-publish through Amazon/KDP, this one is for you. We’re going to go through some of the basics on setting up an account, adding a book, pre-order, and more. Even if you’re a seasoned pro at KDP, maybe you’ll still learn a thing or two.
Step 1: Open an Account
Here’s the link. This first form is fairly self-explanatory but it’s worth noting that “Your Name” can be your legal name or your pen name.
Step 2: Complete Your Account
This time, “Legal Name” really means your legal name. If you’re in the process of changing your name, you need to provide whatever name currently applies at the time providing this info. While I haven’t had to change my name with KDP, there are instructions on how to do so here.
Completing your account requires entering your legal name, mailing address, DOB, contact phone number, bank account information, and tax info. The bank account is the one that will be used for direct deposit of royalties so if you have a separate business account for author royalties, make sure that’s the one you enter! If you need to change your banking information at a later date, here are KDP’s instructions on how to do so.
Section 2.5: Business vs. Individual
Let’s have a quick aside here.
Many authors set up LLCs or other business entities. There are various pros and cons to this that may vary as taxes and law vary between states. If you’re interested in forming a legal business entity for your author business, I strongly recommend seeking representation from an attorney. I’m not an attorney, ergo this is not legal advice.
BUT if you have not formed a legal business entity (LLC, corporation, etc.), then do not select “Business” as your business type or tax classification. I know that being an author is a business, however KDP is specifically referring to legally formed business entities. Business entities like LLCs and corporations can involve creating and filing Articles of Organization, EINs, Annual Registrations and more depending on the state and entity type. If you don’t remember filing documents with your state government or hiring an attorney to do so, then you don’t have a legal business entity.
TLDR: In the Account Details section, select the appropriate business type. If you haven’t formed an LLC or other legal entity for your author business, select “Individual.”
When you complete the Tax section, select the appropriate tax classification.
(Pro-tip: A disregarded entity LLC is an LLC that does not file taxes separately from its owner. If you do have an LLC but aren’t sure if it’s a disregarded entity, check with your accountant or attorney.)
Step 3: Add a Book
Now, let’s get to the good stuff! It’s important to note here that you can add a book to your KDP account before it’s ready and even before you’re ready to set up pre-orders. For each book you add, KDP will show you separate details and info for each format. You can see here that there are two options for our anthology—one for the eBook and one for the paperback.
Step 4: Details, Content & More
There are three tabs when adding a book to KDP. At any point in the process, you can save the info you’ve entered without needing to complete the process. Saving your progress will not accidently publish your book!
When adding info about your book, the “Description” section is the place to input your blurb. I recommend writing the blurb elsewhere and copy/pasting to maintain formatting.
Step 5: Set Up Pre-Orders
You don’t need to have everything ready to go in order to set up pre-orders. I believe that KDP has a one-year cutoff on how far into the future you can set release for but otherwise, you can start accepting pre-orders as soon as you’re ready!
The most important thing you need to know about pre-orders is this:
Whatever date and time KDP tells you that you need to submit the final version of your book by is the absolute deadline. (In the image above, that’s October 31, 2024 11:59 PM GMT.) I cannot possibly stress this enough. If you miss your upload deadline, Amazon/KDP will cancel all your pre-orders without mercy. There’s no greater heartbreak than an author who loses their pre-orders.
Step 6: Adding Your Cover
The cover for your eBook will simply be the front cover whereas the cover for your paperback will be a single image that contains the back cover, spine, and front cover (the cover “wrap”). The image file for the eBook is a JPG file and the image file for the paperback is a print-ready PDF. If you’ve hired a cover designer, they’ll provide you with these files.
Remember that KDP will need to add a barcode to your back cover so your designer may need to tweak the design if they haven’t included a barcode.
Step 7: Uploading Content
I know that steps 6 and 7 seem backward if you’re working down the page on KDP but in reality, you’ll likely have your cover ready before your final draft!
When you upload your eBook, you’ll need an epub file. For your paperback, you’ll need a PDF. If you’ve hired a professional formatter, these are the file types they’ll provide you with so don’t stress about converting files.
Step 8: Choose Your Print Options
For a paperback, you’ll need to choose your trim size, paper type, and cover finish. These choices are highly individualized and may depend on:
Book length
Genre standards
Interior graphics, images, maps, art, etc.
Cover style
Step 9: Preview Your Book
You will have the option to preview both the eBook and paperback books before publishing. Don’t skip this. Go through the previewer and make sure graphics aren’t wonky, formatting is consistent, nothing has changed, everything looks the way you want, etc. I strongly recommend ordering physical proofs for paperbacks too!
Step 10: Publish!
Then, one day, when you’re finalllllllllly ready (read: when you’re so sick of looking at your book), hit publish and relish in the joy and pride of being a published author!
If you found this blog post helpful and want to see more step-by-step publishing guides, drop us a comment to say what we should help you with next!💙
