Kindle Direct Publishing: Kindle Format, Book Covers, KDP Select, Kindle Singles, How to Write an eBook, & Publishing to the Kindle Store A DivaPreneur's Quick Start Guide to Kindle Publishing

Kindle Direct Publishing

Includes Kindle Format, Book Covers, KDP Select, How to Write an EBook, Kindle Singles and Publishing to the Kindle Store

Quick Start Guide to Kindle Publishing

by Kath Conabree

Copyright 2013 Kath Conabree

Published by DivaPreneurs Worldwide at Smashwords

Cover: Artwork: Kath Conabree;

Logistics: Monique Rom

All rights reserved.

ISBN 978-0-9571803-3-8

Smashwords Edition License Notes

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your enjoyment only, then please return to Smashwords.com or your favorite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

What People Are Saying…

What a Kindle success guide! I am in the process of publishing my first Kindle book (watch out for me!) and I feel that I have an angel sitting on my shoulder and guiding me every step of the way. This easy to read, yet informative & entertaining guide does not fail to deliver. The free forms that are available with this book are beautifully crafted and invaluable to creating your writing framework. A must have for budding new authors. Go and buy this book!

Jen Bailey, Udemy Instructor

As always Kath Conabree has taken a difficult and challenging concept and broken it down into clear and logical bite-sized steps that anyone can understand - and she does it all with a terrific sense of humour! I totally love her style and will collect every book in the series

Carolyn Tremblay, BA, MSc Candidate, Author

"Classy, Informative Must Have Book For Kindle Authors. This book is … an easy to read book that flows and takes you on a journey through the entire process for creating and launching your kindle book. The forms offered are top class and save you so much time and effort as you create, edit and format your kindle book. Whether a newbie to kindle needing someone to hold your hand every step of the way, or you have published before but want to discover how to really turn your book into something everyone will want to read, this book is full of priceless information. Kath is a total professional and really knows her stuff... I can vouch for Kath's expertise and professionalism, skills and knowledge of this topic because she edited, formatted and published my very first GPlus book and helped ensure that became a #1 category best seller in the first 48hrs of launch! This is a must read book and reference guide for all budding and current Kindle authors...

CA Dodsley, G+ How2Girl

Dedication

For Wayne, because I didn't understand, and I missed him out last time. And for Monique Rom, who always, always goes above and beyond.

Chapter 1: How to Use this Book

Hello Dear Reader!

Thank you very much for buying this book. As 50% of the profit continues to go to a named charity, they'll appreciate it too! I thought we should throw in a few little instructions that will help you get to your goal faster, so here goes…

All through this book you will find useful forms or checklists that you will be able to download from the eBook version by clicking where instructed. If you’re reading the Smashwords version, you can copy and paste the URLs into your browser, as Smashwords does not allow more than a few links through their conversion process. Though the forms can be read on your Kindle, they cannot be used on, or printed out from your Kindle, so it is important that you download them to the machine you are actually writing your book on and which has access to a printer. If you have the print version of the book, the URLs have been included so that you can type them into your browser to get access. We'd love to say that you can type directly into all the forms once downloaded, but the fact is Diva & GuyPreneurs, you will have to print them in order to get the best possible use out of them. We recommend that you also download any software, programmes etc to the device on which you are writing your book.

Even if you're reading this eBook on your Kindle or other eReading device, you can always download Kindle for PC or Kindle for Mac and open this book on one of these free programmes, which will be located on your laptop or desktop computer. Then click the links from inside the book to automatically download the forms directly to the computer you are using to write your book on (or at least to the one that's connected to a printer).

If you've enjoyed this book and found it helpful, please do leave a wonderful review for it on Smashwords, Amazon or wherever you bought it from. If you feel it needs work, or even is absolute rubbish :), rather than leave a negative review, please do go ahead and email me (Kath) at publisher@divapreneursworldwide.com to have a rant. Believe it or not I really do want to hear your comments and suggestions so that I can improve the next DivaPreneur's Guide to provide as much value as possible and give you what you love.

I really hope you enjoy this DivaPreneur's Guide and I look forward to hearing from you!

Kath Conabree, Author / Publisher

PS (For the sake of brevity, PC or not, this book is mostly written in the female voice, with the assumption that each reader regardless of gender can ‘translate’ the concepts to fit themselves because this DivaPreneur happens to be a female – sorry boys!)

Chapter 2: An Introduction to Kindle

More than at any other time in history, if you've ever had a dream of writing your life story, a novel, a children's book or any other magnum opus and putting it off 'till 'someday', this day, today, Divas and Divos, right here, right now is the time to get started!

Scary? A little. Time-consuming? Not if you do it right. Complicated? Doesn’t have to be. Worth it? Absolutely! There are so many reasons for you to stop what you're doing right now and do this instead - and so many ways to do it too. In this DivaPreneur's Guide, we will cover some of those really important reasons and completely demystify what must be one of the world's best kept secrets. All the while holding your hand every step of the way through the process, from outlining your book, to writing it, to publishing it on kindle and then marketing it. Sounds heavy right? Ya, it's not. Just a few steps lay between you and your new status as 'author'. Ready? Let's go, Goddesses!

With roughly a third (32.7%) of the entire world’s population already online and growing at a rate of 528% between 2000 and 2011, the evolution of the internet is pushing the boundaries of technology towards the future. There are certainly disadvantages to the internet, from annoyingly erroneous information to unscrupulous snake oil type sales sites, from promoting a peeping-tom like celebrity-watching culture right on up through ethically challenged elements such as normalizing the use of pornography or even dangerous criminal acts including identity theft, stalking, cyber-bullying or grooming. None of which is positive. If not used properly, a chain saw can take off your leg too, but like every other tool-for-the-job, the savvy DivaPreneur must not only learn how to use the internet properly and safely, but learn also to maximize its true potential, if she doesn’t want to be left for dead on the side of the road to the future.

Computer programmes these days (often free) allow anyone to create documents, PowerPoint presentations, videos, audios, e-books etc., of professional quality in the comfort of their own home business. Speaking of home businesses, the internet has opened the doors to allowing many thousands to work from home, saving the cost of transportation, millions of collective hours in traffic going to and from work, and reducing their C02 footprints – and day care fees for the kiddies. There are tax write offs for use of space in your home for a business office, for equipment, activities that bring business and any number of advantages for you, the author or homeworker.

Yes, some of us will bemoan a gentler, slower time when we got our news from the paper and communicated with friends by post or in person. Nevertheless, the advantages, certainly in terms of the dissemination of information, new knowledge, cutting-edge research, useful worldwide resources, accessible market entry and the power of we, the people, to affect global events, far outweigh any disadvantages.

As the global momentum towards the future increases, the information age has evolved into the digital age and information technology goes so much further than just emailing friends, buying a book on Amazon or banking online. It now reaches audiences through other online media like podcasts, videos, webinars, E-books, and webconferencing, just to name a few.

For the first time in human history, every single person on the planet who has access to an internet connection has the ability to play in the big leagues in terms of business. With very low start-up costs, long opening hours, the ability to test marketing strategies, scale up and compete with the big boys, access to the internet puts every normal person in a position to be able to own their own business, write and publish books, earn a decent (or sometimes indecent!) income, and be successful. How exciting is that?

An entirely new global economy has been built around making money by selling something online. Some businesses sell infinitesimally small quantities of hundreds of thousands of items, from gizmos to go-go boots. Some sell a small set of very exclusive (read expensive) items or services. Money is not only made from physical products (or services), but the lion’s share of the global income is derived from selling information about every conceivable topic. The leading sales industry online has to be the trade in information. Specialist information. For the first time ever, regular everyday people can do what they love and teach thousands of others how to do it too – in a global way – and at a profit.

For more than four years, we have been ‘seriously’ learning about the potential of the internet. Everything from learning to build a few crude little go-nowhere websites and blogs right on up through understanding search engine algorithms, using social media for marketing and exploring new ways to turn a profit online. Trouble is, it takes thousands of hours to learn and easily that much money to really ‘get it’, despite what the gurus tell you. On good days we made some bucks, on bad days we fervently wished for a reliable and trustworthy company (well anybody who wasn’t us, really) who would handle all the niggly bits of technology, internet sales and marketing for a reasonable price. What we did learn through trial and error (and expense!) was the difference between complete rubbish and what was quality - value for the time spent and money paid. That lesson alone was worth the effort. Particularly because now we can share that with others - like you, Divas!

There’s no doubt that some people make absolute fortunes online practically overnight, we know some of them personally. They’ve either learned to exploit a new niche, or a new bit of technology, or they’re far-sighted enough to tap into an up and coming market by keeping their fingers on the ‘pulse’ as it were, or they have trusted people who do these things for them. They engage in Joint Venture (J/V) partnerships all across the internet, most with people they don’t know personally, but who have big lists to sell to in return for a percentage (usually 50% or more) of the profit. And they still make millions. Though mega gurus are a relatively rare percentage of the population (get-rich-quick schemes being what they are), many more people are amassing fortunes with the advent of accessible internet technologies than would otherwise be possible. Average Joes. Or rather average Diva & GuyPreneurs. Like you, or me.

There is also no doubt that some people are out to lighten your purse with half-baked schemes, and many self-styled internet gurus deliberately withhold the last piece of the puzzle when selling their systems and software, so that you’re constantly have to fork out more money to get the ‘next’ shiny new piece. Their sales pages will show you pics of expensive cars, mansions and exotic travel which their lifestyle provides for them, but in reality what we, the unsuspecting consumers, have paid for.

But by and large, the accessibility of the internet, e-book readers, tablets, smartphones and companies like Amazon, provide a tremendous opportunity for the little guy (or gal) to get their groove on when it comes to publishing. Truly these days, any Diva could be running her business from her smartphone while lounging on a sunny beach somewhere sipping cocktails, or making money while she gets her beauty sleep. I know my favourite way to start the day, is when I wake up in the morning to discover I've made some money while I was asleep!

It is estimated that there are more than 5.9 billion mobile/cell phone subscribers worldwide, 1.2 billion of whom use them to access the internet. Information technology and its rapid advancements can be complex, but the permutations, and therefore the opportunities to profit from it, are also infinite in the creation and sale of products and services. Are we starting to see the colossal potential here, Divas?

Insofar as the information industry is concerned, the advent of e-reading as a method of accessing written material has caused the market to explode. Whether accessed on smartphones, iPads, computers or e-readers like the kindle, consumers are reading more than ever. And now we have an entirely new crop of consumers in children. The ease of use of the delivery technology, the colour and movement that young people find attractive, and the ability to interact with the material is developing an entirely new demographic of consumers. In fact the children's kindle market on Amazon alone is growing exponentially month on month.

So whether you're writing a novel, a how to book, an academic tome, or a children's quiz book, there is a market out there for you. Getting your book written and published to kindle is an opportunity that simply cannot be missed. The ease and almost cost-free entry to the publishing world makes writing your book and publishing it so easy, it would be foolish not to take advantage of this chance to tick it off your bucket list!

Seriously, whether you’re a technophobe Diva or even just a ‘conscientious objector’ GuyPreneur, the future lies in getting educated, and getting online. Use the internet judiciously and with thoughtful strategy – it’s a tool, like money, like your car, or that chain saw. Used appropriately, the infinite potential market (1,966,514,816 people in 130 countries) looking