How I Sold My Book on Amazon KDP and Got Overwhelming Results

 

Selling books through Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) platform can be a life-changing experience. I started my journey by publishing a book that exceeded my expectations. gaining more than 95 pre-orders before it even launched. Initially, I planned to release it as an eBook, but later, I opetin for paperback and hardcover editions. To my surprise, these copies were not only sold in the US but also in Germany, making the entire experience incredibly rewarding.

I decided to dive deeper and create a detailed guide to help others publish their first book. In this article, I’ll explain everything step by step—from understanding what KDP is to publishing your book.

What is KDP?

KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) is Amazon’s platform for self-publishing books. You can publish low-content, mid-content, or high-content books here.

1. Low-content books: These include notebooks, journals, affirmation books, or manifestation journals. They typically have minimal text, and the focus is more on the cover design.
2. Mid-content books: These involve more content, such as planners or puzzle books, where instructions or unique materials are included. Mid-content books require a bit more effort as they are customized and detailed.
3. High-content books: High-content books, like novels or non-fiction works, contain extensive information and text. These are more complex to create but offer higher value.

For beginners, low-content books are the easiest to start with.

How KDP Works

Here’s a simplified explanation of how KDP functions:

1. Publishing: You upload your book on KDP. It takes 72 hours for Amazon to review your submission before it goes live on their marketplace.
2. Markets: Once approved, your book is available on Amazon’s largest market in the US and other countries like Australia. Unfortunately, physical copies are not yet available in India, but eBooks can be published there.
3. Printing & Shipping: When a customer places an order, Amazon prints, ships, and delivers the book.
4. Royalties: Amazon deducts costs for printing, shipping, and their share of the profit, and the rest is credited to you as royalties. Depending on your pricing, you earn a percentage split (e.g., 60-40 or 70-30).

You can set your book’s price, keeping it competitive for better sales.

Steps to Publish a Book on KDP

Step 1: Research

Research is crucial to understanding your target audience. To streamline this process, I used a tool called BookBolt. This tool helps with product research, content creation, and seller analysis. Here’s how it works:

1. Use trending keywords to identify products in demand (e.g., “Halloween coloring books”).
2. Explore successful products and sellers to get inspiration.
3. Check search volume and competition levels for various keywords.

If you prefer manual research, search directly on Amazon using keywords like “notebooks” or “planners” and analyze the results.

Step 2: Keyword Research

Keywords play a vital role in your book’s discoverability. Use tools like BookBolt to identify trending and low-competition keywords. Alternatively, use Amazon’s search bar to see auto-suggested keywords based on what people are searching for. Maintain a list of high-potential keywords to use when publishing your book.

Step 3: Design

Designing your book’s cover and interior is the next step. I prefer using Canva for this, but you can also use BookBolt’s built-in design features. Here’s how I designed my blank comic book:

1. Cover Dimensions: Use a KDP cover template generator (e.g., Bookow) to get accurate dimensions. For an 8.5×11 inch book with 112 pages, the required cover size was 17.502 inches wide.
2. Design Elements: Add vibrant and eye-catching graphics, adjust margins, and ensure all elements stay within the design guidelines.
3. Interior Pages: Create simple interiors using black-and-white designs to reduce printing costs.

Once the cover and interior are ready, save them as PDFs for uploading.

Step 4: Publishing

Now it’s time to publish your book:

1. Log into your KDP account and select the type of book (e.g., paperback).
2. Fill in the book details, including the title, description, keywords, and categories.
3. Upload the manuscript (interior PDF) and cover.
4. Set the price and review your book using KDP’s previewer to ensure everything looks perfect.

Pro Tips for Success on KDP

• Seasonal Books: Create products based on upcoming seasons or events (e.g., Halloween, New Year). Last year, I made a maze book during Halloween, which generated a few sales.
• Pricing: Keep your price competitive. For low-content books, $5-$6 works well.
• Consistency: Regularly upload books to build a diverse portfolio and maximize sales potential.

Final Thoughts

Publishing on KDP is a game of patience, but with consistent effort, it can turn into a significant passive income source. If you’d like to see me take a 10-day challenge to upload 100 books and share the results, let me know in the comments below!

So what are you waiting for? Start your KDP journey today and unleash your creative potential!