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Hello SErs. Harmony here. From January 2020, I plan on running a post series dedicated to taking a step-by-step look at how to get your finished manuscript from your computer and on sale on Amazon in both ebook and paperback. Some of us do that ourselves already, and for those of you who know all this, then you have my apologies in advance, lol. For those of you who hire this out, or do it yourself but you’re not that confident, then it is my hope that this series will prove invaluable for you.

So, why am I posting about this now? Well, while I have an outline plan for the planned series, I would also like to ask for and invite your input. Below, I will list the rough points that I’ve come up with so far. If there’s anything not on the list that you would like to see covered in the series, please let me know in the comments below, and I shall endeavour to write it into the series for you.

Okay, so here’s the outline list as it stands (in no particular order as yet):

1. The best software for writing your manuscript (yes, folks, I’m afraid it starts this early in the process!)
2. General formatting necessities
3. Formatting for ebook … which will include using templates, generating a TOC (table of contents), section breaks, etc.
4. Formatting for paperback … which will include templates, recto start, blank pages, headers/footers, gutters and margins, etc.
5. Software for designing book covers … which will also include online image resources, as well as keeping things legal
6. Making your cover for ebook (split into two parts: a) using Amazon’s create tool, and
7. b) uploading your own jpeg file)
8. Making your cover for paperback (again split into two parts: a) using Amazon’s create tool, and
9. b) uploading your own pdf file)
10. Setting up KDP account … inc tax info, IBAN & SWIFT, etc.
11. An overview of the KDP dashboard
12. Uploading your ebook file … including checking for file size and any hidden costs, etc.
13. Preview and Review ebook (including all about various devices and ways of checking the finished layout)
14. Editing your ebook … including why you’ll want an ePub first, and will later convert to mobi before you upload
15. Uploading your paperback file … including deciding on things like trim size, etc.
16. Preview and Review paperback … also on using the online previewer
17. Filling in the book descriptions (including the use of HTML here) and the other form fields for your books
18. Setting prices … which will include the 35% and 70% royalty options and what they are, as well as worldwide distribution, etc.
19. Checking your final sales pages once the book is live

Given that I’m scheduled for around 2 to 3 posts per month next year, you can see that this will cover quite a time period. However, I will link each post to the previous posts in the series for your ease. And on the final post in the series, I will include links to all the preceding posts.

I hope that this series is something a lot of you will look forward to and that it proves useful for a long time to come. I would love to hear your thoughts and suggestions in the comments below.

©Harmony Kent 2019

(If you're reading this post on or after January 8th, 2020, then here's the link for Part 1 in the How to Publish with KDP series: https://wp.me/p7OGru-29t. Please note, the link won't work until January 8th, 2020.)