Self-publishing through Amazon is on the rise, with the company’s Kindle Direct Publishing service growing more and more in popularity every year. Considering Amazon is the number 1 retailer for books worldwide, this doesn’t come as a surprise.

Amazon self-publishing is an easy way to get your work out there. It comes with a lot less hassle than traditional publishing. So much so, you might have thought about publishing your book through Amazon’s self-publishing services.
However, one wrong move when publishing your eBook could see your results as an author suffer. No need to worry though, we’re here to help.
In today’s post, we’re going to show you how to self-publish your book using Kindle Direct Publishing. If you need help putting your book out there, make sure you keep reading!
What Is Amazon Self-Publishing?
Let’s start by giving you a bit more information about what Amazon self-publishing is.
Otherwise known as Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing or Amazon KDP for short, this is a simple service that allows you to self-publish eBooks, hardcover books, and paperbacks.
Amazon gives you direct access to its tools so that you can publish your book, create detailed product pages and expand the availability of your book.
Not only does this let you put your book out there, but it also lets you access the global book market.
Unlike a traditional publishing house, you are given full rights to your book. Types of books you can publish using the service include children’s books, comics, cookbooks, novels, a series of books, journals, textbooks, and poetry.
How Long Will It Take To Publish Your Book On Amazon KDP?
If we’re being totally honest, we can’t tell you exactly how long it will take you to publish your book on Amazon KDP. Some articles will promise you that your book can be published in one day, but we don’t like to do that.
How long it takes to publish a book on Amazon depends on how good you want the listing to be. Getting each step perfect might mean it takes longer to publish your book but you will have more chance of success.
As a result, we like to say that it takes as long as it takes. It could take one day or one week, but either way, as long as you follow the right steps, you’ll have a solid Amazon listing and market plan.
Why Should You Self-Publish Your Book On Amazon?
So, why should you self-publish your book on Amazon? Well, quite frankly, the results speak for themselves.
Amazon is the best option when it comes to publishing your book because 70% of books are sold on Amazon. More than 310 million books were sold on Amazon just last year. This accounted for $718 billion in book sales.
As if these statistics weren’t enough, self-publishing a book on Amazon is much easier and faster than getting a publishing house to publish your book. On top of that, you get all the rights which means you get to keep all the profits.
If you weren’t already tempted to publish on Amazon, we hope you are now!
How To Self-Publish Your Book Using Kindle Direct Publishing?

Now you know everything there is to know about Kindle Direct Publishing, we can show you the step-by-step process you need to follow in order to successfully publish your book on Amazon.
If you follow the steps in this guide carefully, you’ll be well on your way to success as an author.
Step 1 – Set Up A Kindle Direct Publishing Account
Before you can do anything else, you have to create a KDP account. Setting up your account is easy. We’ve outlined the steps you have to follow below:
- Head over to https://kdp.amazon.com and register using your email address or current Amazon account.
- You will now be asked to fill out various account information boxes and complete tax information.
- When you’ve finished entering personal tax information, select “Finished” and head to the profile page.
- Your KDP account is now set up, you can now move on to the next step.
Step 2 – Choose Your Book Titles
The next step you need to take is to choose your books titles. You can do this by heading to your KDP profile.
You are required to fill out the title and subtitle of your book before you go any further. The title is essential but the subtitle is actually optional.
Having said that, you will want to select a subtitle too because this is more likely to bring in more views and increase reader intrigue.
You should try and keep your book titles clear, simple, and unique.
Step 3 – Write A Brief Description Of Your Book For Amazon
Next, you need to write a brief description of your book. This will be displayed on Amazon alongside your title and book cover, therefore it has to be effective. An ineffective book description won’t attract more people to click on your book.
You should take your time coming up with this as it is an important part of the process. The aim of this description is to draw the reader in so make sure it is clear, exciting, and intriguing.
A well-written description will practically sell your book for you.
Step 4 – Pick Your Amazon Keywords
If you’re going to be successful, you need your book to show up on Google and Amazon search results. To do this, you’ll need to select the right mix of keywords. Amazon only lets you use seven keywords per book.
The keywords you choose not only need to be effective, but they also need to be specific to your book. That way, when someone searches for a specific topic, there’s a better chance they stumble across your book.
For example, if your book is about confidence, keywords like what is confidence or what is confidence could be useful. You can use tools like KW Finder to find the best keywords.
Step 5 – Choose Your Amazon Categories
Next, you need to select the categories and subcategories your book falls into. Similar to keyword selecting, the aim of this is to find the category that suits your book best. On top of that, you want to find a category that isn’t oversaturated.
When you visit a book page, the category will be shown as well as your books ranking.
The categories you choose will rank your book as a bestseller, so make sure you get them right. We recommend choosing categories that have a lower competition. This will help you stand out more.
Step 6 – Upload Your Book
You can now upload your book to Amazon. Unfortunately, this part of the process is a little tricky as you have to upload your book in the right format. Usually a formatter will do this for you, but you’ll have to do it on your own.
Formats Amazon accepts include Microsoft Word, Kindle Create, EPUB, HTML, MOBI, and Adobe PDF.
You can upload your book once you have formatted it in one of these ways.
Step 7 – Upload Your Book Cover
The penultimate step to self-publishing a book on Amazon is to upload your book cover. No matter what, people will always judge a book by its cover so make sure you choose a good one.
Personally, we recommend asking a professional cover designer for help. Unless you are highly skilled in the area, don’t design your own cover.
Step 8 – Price Your Book
The final thing you need to do before publishing your book is set the price. During this process you can also set up royalties.
How much you charge for your book is totally up to you. Having said that, it could be a good idea to see what your competitors are selling their books for first. This will give you a better idea of what price is fair.
Once that’s done, you can publish your book.
Final Thoughts
In this post, we’ve shown you exactly how to self-publish your book on Amazon through Kindle Direct Publishing.
Now you’ve made your way through this guide, you should have everything you need to publish your own book. With this guide at your fingertips, you can now start the process of publishing your work.
Who knows, we may even have given you the inspiration you need to write your own book.