If your goal is to publish a book independently, this means that you will have to deal with all the steps of the process – including those that are normally the responsibility of the publisher.
When it comes to writing your text, you can use any editor. It can even be Notepad or any other editor that you feel more comfortable with. It is even better not to worry too much about formats and layout at this stage.
Romance Book Formatting: what will the design and layout look like?
The time to think about this is when the text is ready to publish. As we are focusing on publishing for Kindle, it is interesting to look for material about the specifications of the platform. But we can give you tips on the main points!
Romance Book Layout
Give preference to complex editors like Word or Google Docs that export in RTF format. This file extension is supported by the KDP platform and preserves almost all the formatting for margins, fonts and headings that you set in the document.
Romance Book Design
If your book contains images, you will need to work more carefully with the layout. Looking for more specialized software such as Adobe InDesign might be a good idea. And remember that most Kindle devices use e-ink technology, so all images on these devices will be displayed in black and white.
Romance Book Cover
Still within design, we need to pay special attention to the cover. It will be the face of your book and has great influence on the reader’s buying decision.
There are image editing programs that can help those with more experience, but the truth is that creativity counts a lot when it comes to standing out, regardless of the tool.
Seek cover references for inspiration, without copying. Make your name stand out and focus on arousing curiosity with the image. If you want a romance book cover design service, we recommend lovingbookcover.com
Speaking of images, even if KDP does not require a very high-resolution cover, it is good to use photos or illustrations of larger sizes to give more clarity and prepare for a possible print edition in the future.
And of course: always use images that have the right to be used. Royalty free sites such as iStock and Adobe Stock are good places to start your search.
2-KDP: how to publish your romance book on Amazon?
You already have your book written, revised, laid out and with the cover ready. Now comes the best part: publishing and selling your work!
Until a decade ago, it was very difficult to enter the publishing market on your own. Printing and promotion costs were very expensive and you needed a publisher with a good structure and a relationship with as many bookstores as possible.
Amazon completely changed this scenario when it introduced the Kindle Direct Publishing, or KDP, platform. In it, anyone can upload their book and put it up for sale on the company’s website for download on Kindle devices, tablets and smartphones.
The biggest advantages of KDP are:
– visibility on the world’s largest online retail network in multiple languages;
– total control over editing and publishing
– full control over selling price;
– higher royalties per copy sold;
– ease of publishing and reviewing information.
In fact, ease is one of the highlights of KDP. If you already have your book ready, the steps to start making money from your writing are quick and simple:
1. Sign up on Amazon
2. Use your registration to access KDP at httpss://kdp.amazon.com/
3. Under the “Library” tab, go to the “Create a new book” area
4. Enter basic data such as name, synopsis, edition, tags, and genre (category placement is very important to find the right readers)
5. Upload the content of your book (preferably in .rtf extension)
6. Upload your cover (a JPG image that follows the platform’s guidelines)
7. Use the platform’s previewer to review the presentation and layout of your text
8. Enter the ISBN if available (not required)
9. Choose the royalty method (35% or 70%, the latter only for books sold exclusively in the Kindle store)
10. Set the book price for each country where Amazon operates
11. Publish the book
Depending on how well your e-book is prepared, this whole process takes only a few minutes, and your book will be available for sale in the store in less than 24 hours. But once you are done, your work is just beginning.
3. Launch: do you know how to publicize your romance book?
One of the main functions of a publishing house and the reason they are so sought after by authors is in one word: dissemination. The truth is that they still have more power to invest in marketing for a book and contacts to influence its entry into the market.
But the Internet has changed this dynamic a lot, and today there are several cases of famous writers who started without any editorial help.
The secret is to invest in digital marketing on your own to create a loyal reader base and make a living from your writing. Here are some fundamental tips!
Have your writer persona present on social networks
You can’t create your promotion strategy without being present on social networks. The interesting thing here is to try to work your profiles in a way that they reflect your writing persona, so that readers who like your work have someone to follow and with whom they can identify.
Ah, becoming a known persona is not only about the public, but also the market. Follow other writers and publishers, join communities, interact with influencers. This networking can help spread your work even further.
Create hype for the launch
Every book launch can be an event, as long as you know how to work the hype for the date. Do special promotions, instigate curiosity about what you are going to tell, seek influencers to talk about the book in a specific window.
It is very important to focus on the launch because it is your chance to start with impact. The bigger the initial buzz, the more chance you have of creating a long draught for the sale of your books.
Take advantage of KDP tools
KDP has some promotion tools for those who participate in its exclusive program, KDP Selelct. You can, for example, offer free e-books for 5 days every 3 months. You won’t earn anything, but use the opportunity to spread the word and gain new readers.
Select books can also be read for free through Kindle Unlimited, creating another outreach channel specifically for those who are subscribers.
Go for content marketing
The best thing about using content marketing to promote your books is that this is exactly your area! Every writer needs a blog or a profile where they can share opinions, tips, observations, reviews, excerpts from their books, and smaller works.
This way you make it easy for people to get to know your work: by reading your articles and liking your style, they may become more interested in consuming your e-books.
As you may have realized, it is very simple today to show your works to the world. You just need to see this process as a whole, in the same way that you manage your professional career.
After all, the best answer to how to publish your book on Amazon is: have a goal, have discipline, and have passion. With those three elements, everything else will seem easier!
And if you are all set to take this step, how about working better at promoting your books? Research more in depth on the subject in this e-book!
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