Self Publishing with KDP 2023 Update

I am a self-published author. I have self-published for a variety of reasons. My primary reason is time. I have no interest in spending my days trying to find an agent, who will then try and find a publisher. I have been told this can take years. Although I have a resilient ego, I have no interest in facing a wealth of rejection. Again, I have been told by published authors and read author interviews that document myriad rejections. Some successful manuscripts were rejected for years before finding a publisher who saw the value of the work. I’m a retired guy who always wanted to write something and have it published. If what I wrote actually appealed to anyone and it sold, then all for the better. Since that is currently occurring, I have created a self-fulfilling prophecy regarding how brilliant I am for seeing that self-publishing would work for me. LOL

Now I have established that self-publishing is working for me, perhaps it will work for you. Here are some caveats. There are a ton of companies out there willing to take your money and produce your book. No doubt some of them are very good. After much research I ended up with Amazon’s KDP. It is the least expensive solution from a reputable company that I could find.  KDP meets my fiscally conservative demands.

I have been happy with the cost of KDP the quality and promptness of their work and their services. I discovered some pitfalls in the area of ISBN numbers.  KDP assigns an ISBN to your book for free. That is a distinct savings immediately since Bowker charges over $100.00 for a single ISBN and if you purchase from one of the authorized resellers you will pay at least $55.00. Take note, the ISBN (international standard book number, a ten-digit number assigned to every book before publication, recording such details as language, provenance, and publisher) from KDP is a legitimate ISBN and is not a unique Amazon/ KDP  ISBN. I, erroneously, thought that the ISBN that KDP was not registered in Books In Print (the bookstores bible), it is. 

What’s my point?  KDP is a great place to get your work published for a minimal amount of money. I have discovered that that getting a good layout and setting up a book is substantially more laborious than I realized. My 28-page childhood stress books were relatively easy compared to my first 100-page Hardy Belch book. I did purchase a desktop publishing package that I learned by using. Serif PagePlus 11 works very well.  The Serif series has been replaced with the Affinity series.   Affinity Publisher is only $55.00.  I have not used it but my track record with the company has been quite successful.   

If you are capable on MS Word, you can lay out your book, including illustrations in Word.  I find a desktop publishing package easier to manipulate but if you're a Word fan, KDP takes Word files. 

KDP offers formatting and illustration services for a fee.  If you can do it yourself, you save those fees.  I found my main illustrator online years ago on a service like Freelancer or Guru.   I've used UPWORK and it has worked out well. You can post a project and have illustrators bid on your project.  They can provide samples although most show an online portfolio.  The services provide protection for both the author and the illustrator, usually in the form of escrowing the money.   Using a friend to illustrate can work but working with friends can be perilous and done at your own risk.  

I do recommend an editor unless you have extraordinary strengths in proofing, spelling, grammar and punctuation.   An editor can be found on the same services noted above. 

If you can illustrate and write, layout the book in a desktop publishing package, the cost to get your book published through Amazon's KDP will be ZERO!   I would suggest that on your first book or two you get printed proofs which will be a minimal cost. It is shocking how something shows as a glaring error on the proof that you missed prior to submission.   

I've self-published over 50 books for children.  Kiku's Quest is my first novel  followed by Kiku the Paladin Princess.  I get monthly royalty checks from KDP.   My initial goal was to publish a book.  My measure of success was and continues to be impacting one kid.  Jack's Diabetes was inspired by a 12 year old boy who had just gotten an insulin pump.  He was dismayed that his peers didn't even know what diabetes was, let alone the impact it can have on a person.   Jay is now over 20 years old.  An email 8 years ago telling me that the book helped him deal with his issues was my measure of success.  The book has sold in the U.S., Canada, Great Britain, Europe and Japan.   It is in no way a best seller but if it is helping kids deal with their issues, I'm happy.   

If your measure of success is the number of copies you sell and the revenue they generate, you will need to invest in a publicist or marketing firm unless that is your bailiwick.  

Regardless of the selling success of your book there is a very rich, fulfilling feeling when you hold a professionally published copy of your book.  

Don't sit back and think that someday I'm going to do that, just do it!  

Best of Luck!