Hello, fellow writers!
I’ve been busy revising, editing, and formatting my short story “Ghost Girl: The Story of Jamie Jones” and self-publishing it as an ebook through Amazon KDP. I thought it would be a good idea to share my process and the resources that helped me along the way. Please note that I’m not a techie person, so I had to search for the easiest–not necessarily the fastest–way to do this. Yes, it was a trial-and-error, time-consuming endeavor, but it wasn’t impossible, and if I could to do it, then so can anyone else.
So here’s how I did it:
1- I revised and revised my story and–with the help of my editor (you really should have one)–created the best possible final copy.
2- I copyrighted my work ($35 online). (This was a personal choice.)
3- I downloaded and studied the following two guides:
a) Publish on Amazon Kindle with Kindle Direct Publishing
http://www.amazon.com/Publish-Amazon-Kindle-Publishing-ebook/dp/B004LX069M/ref=pd_sim_kstore_24
b) Building Your Book for Kindle
http://www.amazon.com/Building-Your-Book-Kindle-ebook/dp/B007URVZJ6
4- I used the following two internet sources to help me create a cover:
a) http://www.thebookdesigner.com/2010/02/4-incredible-free-sources-for-photos-to-use-in-your-book-or-blog/ (I found a great public domain photo for my story in Wikimedia Commons.)
b) http://www.williamking.me/2012/02/22/create-your-own-ebook-cover-step-by-step-with-pictures/ (The dimensions suggested by Mr. King [6 x 8] no longer work [KDP image requirements have changed], but, other than that, the instructions for creating a cover using powerpoint and then saving the image as a jpeg are clear, simple, and very helpful. KDP’s new image requirements are: a height/width ratio of 1.6 [divide the longest side by the shortest side], minimum dimensions of 625 by 1000 pixels, and preferred dimensions of 1563 by 2500 pixels. What I did was play around with the dimensions in powerpoint [page setup] until I found the ratio in inches that most closely transferred to 1563 by 2500 pixels in jpeg.)
4- I used the following source to write my copyright notice and legal disclaimers:
http://jwmanus.wordpress.com/cheat-sheets-for-ebook-formatting/legal-stuff-in-ebooks/
5- I followed the instructions in Building Your Book for Kindle (see step 3) to format my ebook and get it ready for publishing. (This step took a long time!)
6- I joined Amazon KDP and followed their step-by-step self-publishing instructions.
https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/signin
7- Success! (With many trial-and-error stressful moments along the way.)
I plan to dedicate more time to my poems and stories, which means I’ll be blogging less. My goal is to add a post to each of my blogs (I’ve got four!) at least once a month.
“A person is a fool to become a writer. His only compensation is absolute freedom. He has no master except his own soul, and that, I am sure, is why he does it.” (she, in my case) –Roald Dahl
Thank you so much for sharing this step by step guide. Although it’s too late for me this time, i definitely may try in the future. Hopefully your book will be a best-seller, but doesn’t it feel wonderful to have learned all this and accomplished your goal even if it isn’t?
Absolutely! Thank you for reminding me and best wishes on your writing.
Elsa, thank you for this! So informative! Hope you are doing well!
I’m doing very well — I trust that so are you! Blessings!