Ebook and Print Book Publishing on Amazon

Over the last month I have been uploading my Kindle and Print version of the book onto Amazon for sale. The Kindle version was uploaded onto the KDP site and the Print version onto the Createspace site. Although both sites belong to Amazon, the structure of each site is different as they are considered separate entities.

Generally, the KDP site was much easier to work with, as you can upload your tax information digitally, obtain real time sales data and chose to be paid via direct deposit. Sadly, the Createspace site had only the option of mailing in your tax information, monthly sales data and only cheque payment options for Canadians. No cheques are mailed until you hit $100USD in royalties, so that might be a few years from now!

The 3D cover software on Createspace also impressed me as you can spin your cover around to make sure you “covered” the template you built your cover on. Alas, I still need to see the book in my hands to make sure the cover and pages printed properly.

For both sites after you upload, there is a 12-24 hour wait period as an Amazon staff needs to make sure that the file is properly formatted. For my Createspace cover I kept getting messages about the file not being big enough although I used their template. Of course, I have the option of not selling the book until I make sure the cover is perfect, which is great.

Amazon does tend to listen to their customers, which in this case, are the self-publishing authors. There was a demand for matte covers for print books versus glossy, so now there is an option for matte covers. People wanted real time sales data for kindle ebooks, so that is now available. When I had issues with uploading my cover to Createspace, I had the option of having someone contact me “now” or in 5 minutes. I chose “now” and my phone rang right away, connecting me to a service representative immediately.

Over the next few months I’ll be uploading onto other platforms, but Amazon is a good place to start. The software for uploading may not be as user friendly on other sites and there are extra fees if you need to re-upload again due to any mistakes in the file (free on Amazon to take down and upload again). Amazon has set a very high bar for self-publishing services and they can’t be beat at the moment. They are just so good! It’s only a matter of time before they take over the world with their other plans!