Follow these steps to self-publish on Amazon and get the ebook you’ve wanted to write into the marketplace.

The digital age is upon us, and there’s no better time to write a book. But shipping delays, and closed bookstores, make it hard to get that book into the hands of readers.

Then there are printing costs. Thanks to print-on-demand services, you don’t have to store physical products anymore, but the amount of money you can make per book sale falls dramatically once production costs are factored in.

Ebooks are the way forward in a culture used to information at the push of a button. Amazon, being the largest retailer, is the simplest way to get your book out into the wild.

If you think writing a book starts with opening Microsoft Word, this post is for you.

How to create your ebook

1. Write the whole thing in Scrivener. It makes it way easier to get the correct file format. Use folders for chapters, documents for the words themselves. Like this:
   
2. Get an editor and book cover designer at Reedsy.com
3. If you choose not to use an editor, use the premium version of Grammarly to go through your draft and make the necessary edits.
4. Use Vellum to create the ebook for kindle, general ebooks (they have different formats), and print. It’s pricey but worth it. Simple to use and doesn’t take long at all.

Once these steps are done, hand it to at LEAST one person to read. Get their feedback and decide if their response is worth making any changes.

Self-publish on Amazon

1. Publish on Amazon through their Kindle Direct Publishing service
2. Go to Amazon Author Central and claim your author page. Then, claim your book.

And you’re done! That wasn’t so bad, was it?

Next Steps

This process is only part of the battle. Once the book is in the Kindle store, how will people find it? This is when AMS ads come into play. And FB ads.

Then, how do you keep in contact with your readers? How will they know about future books you come out with? This is where email marketing software like ConvertKit comes into play.

Don’t worry about the next steps, you can cross those bridges when you get there. Just keep in mind that the actual WRITING of the book is only the first step to self-publishing.

But the momentum you build up while finishing your draft will carry you through the rest of the steps. That the BIG hurdle, the activation energy if you will. Get past that, and it’s smooth sailing.

Let me know when your book is on Amazon. You’ve got your first reader right here!