For many writers, becoming a self-published author is a very long journey.

Are you an indie author? Do you have plans to get published soon? Are you having problems getting your book onto shelves?

We can tell you now that you don’t have to spend your entire savings on a literary agent or hundreds of unsellable book copies.

While promoting your book to friends is a good start, there’s the pot of gold that’s called KDP.

What does KDP stand for? Is it worth all the buzz?

Read ahead to answer these questions, and find out what our Kindle Direct Publishing Success Guide has to offer.

What Does KDP Stand For?

KDP is an abbreviation that means Kindle Direct Publishing.

The American tech company, Amazon, made this genius idea possible on November 19, 2007.

The company launched it alongside the Kindle E-reader, a portable tablet-like device that allows readers to enjoy ebooks, newspapers, and other digital media.

Originally code-named Fiona, the first electronic reader in the world was a commissioned project of Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos.

The device’s name comes from “kindle,” meaning “to light a fire” – the perfect metaphor for avid readers and writers whose flames of creativity are never-ending.

Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing is a game-changing tool for self-published authors.

It is an independent, writer-friendly, self-publishing platform accessible to writers around the globe.

Authors from every nook and cranny can self-publish their masterpieces online through Kindle Direct Publishing and offer them to the public anytime, anywhere, with ease. 

Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing commands the current ebook market.

It is one of the largest ebook distributors globally.

Kindle ebooks hold approximately 80% of all ebook market shares, leading its competitors.

For many avid ebook readers, Kindle Direct Publishing’s online store is the most popular source of English language books.

It offers non-fiction books, crime fiction books, ebook files, and public domain books.

Contrasting Traditional Press and Self-publishing

An author’s ultimate dream is to have their books published and reach as many eager readers’ minds and hearts as possible.

While authors can take the long, traditional way, they can now access a very convenient shortcut.

Let’s discuss both.

The Long and Tiring Road to Traditional Publishing

For the longest time, there has always been the extremely tiring and demanding procedure of traditional publishing before a litterateur gets published.

In addition, it demands a big chunk of cash for book marketing.

Traditional publishing involves different layers of filtration and alteration so that a literary piece becomes more marketable.

As a result, traditional publishing gives authors less control of the final output of the work.

Writing Your Book

A writer’s dream is to complete a book, but it is only the beginning of becoming published.

Writing the book manuscript is the first step in a traditional publishing path.

Imagine this as a magical key to several gates that an author should pass to get published. 

Self-editing Your Manuscript

For a book to appeal to literary agents, its writer should first proofread and meticulously edit it, ridding it of any signs of unripeness.

This stage is where the writer tweaks the book for publishing.

Presentation to a Literary Agent

Presentation is the stage where an author loses full control over the work.

It is now on an agent’s shoulders and judgment if the book has potential and is worthy of moving on to the next stage.

In this stage, an agent may require some alterations to the original text to make it more appealing to readers.

It includes a screening process that may involve multiple rejections, which can be disheartening for any writer.

Submission to a Publisher

A publisher is in charge of giving contracts to writers.

Before giving a writer any contract, a writer’s masterpiece goes through another layer of filtration, book structure checking, and tweaking.

Many famous writers have gone through the same process, for this was only the accepted method for a long time.

Contract Signing

Contract-making is the part where a publisher strikes an agreement with a writer.

At this point, the publisher agrees to shoulder the costs for editing, formatting, designing, producing, and providing promotional tools.

This stage also finalizes each copy’s cost and revenue division between the publisher and the writer.

Book Production

This part is where editing, formatting, and overall book designing happens.

It is also the stage where initial for-sale copies of a writer’s book come out of the press.

Book Marketing

Marketing is the stage where the publisher identifies, studies, and reaches out to the book’s target readers.

Book marketing strategies are crucial in ensuring the book’s appeal to readers.

The earlier stages of marketing involve creating a professional book cover design and overall interior appearance.

It also includes the mass production of the actual book, implementation of book ads, negotiations with book retailers, and a book launch.

Book Sales

A publisher pays the author through royalties.

For every copy sold, the author gets a part of the sales.

A publisher and its authors make money based on the number of books sold. 

Independent Publishing

Unlike traditional publishing, self-publishing gives authors the liberty of handling the direction of the end product with full and unadulterated creative control.

An author may opt to hire or do away without hiring professional editors and designers.

Independent publishing is a more accessible mode of publishing – it does not require a big budget and gives writers full control over their books.

Hiring a book designer and editor is optional, and every author has free reins on what to put or not to include in their books.

Overall, self-publishing is as simple as finishing a book, self-editing, self-designing, and signing up for an independent publishing service such as KDP.

Dissecting Kindle Direct Publishing

Like any independent publishing platform, KDP has its advantages and disadvantages.

Kindle Direct Publishing Pros

Here are some of KDP’s benefits, to name a few:

No Gatekeeping

Gatekeeping refers to the process where literary agents and traditional publishers peel off numerous layers from a book.

With an independent publishing tool such as KDP, every author can publish freely without the threat of hard rejection.

Ease of Application

Unlike traditional publishing, independent publishing through KDP enables authors to skip the long and tiring traditional process.

Full Control

Kindle Direct Publishing allows authors to steer their boats at their own pace.

For book marketing, the platform allows users to upload graphic images of their books and input complete and unadulterated book details.

There are no ifs and buts, and cost control is also under the author’s sole discretion.

Faster Publishing

Self-publishing is as straightforward as a few clicks on the KDP platform – your book does not have to go through multiple editing roadblocks.

No Stock Inventory

The Kindle Press refrains from holding hundreds of printed copies of books, as it only produces printed copies of your book after a sale.

It does not require a large production capital and only asks a small fee per book that goes on sale.

Kindle Direct Publishing Cons

Of course, self-publishing with KDP also has its disadvantages.

Independent Publishing

When we say independent, we mean all the work is yours as an author.

You will have to do all the editing, proofreading, and formatting unless you hire an editor.

Quality book cover design and book marketing will also be solely your responsibility, again, unless you procure third-party services.

Stiff Competition

With the self-publishing tool becoming increasingly popular, many authors are shifting to the platform for their publishing needs.

As a result, the marketplace has become extremely competitive.

It can be difficult to get a new book noticed, especially if it belongs to a pretty common genre.

The Beauty of KDP Select

Kindle Direct Publishing offers the KDP Select program to self-publishing authors. 

KDP Select allows authors to grant Amazon exclusive rights to sell their books solely on the Amazon Kindle Store platform. ?

The beauty of KDP Select is that Amazon gives the author access to additional book marketing tools through Kindle Unlimited (KU).

While this limits the reach of a book, it helps boost the book’s sales on the Amazon platform. 

Authors agreeing to the terms of Kindle Select are also candidates for a higher rate on book royalties. 

KDP Select is open to all authors for a trial period of 90 days, after which an auto-renew enrollment and agreement take place.

Kindle Direct Publishing Success Guide

Becoming a self-published author can be very challenging for first-time self-publishers.

For this reason, we’ve gone the extra mile of building a Kindle Direct Publishing Success Guide.

It is a complete guide to ebook distribution and sales through the Kindle publishing platform.

This guide provides niche ideas, marketing keywords, and custom interiors for your freshly completed masterpiece.

We’ve made it a point to gather up-to-the-minute research and bonus tips for selling your book on one of the world’s largest marketplaces – Amazon.

Final Thoughts

What does KDP stand for?

It stands for the millions of unpublished writers looking to get a piece of the published pie.

It is an excellent book publishing platform for new, intermediate, and advanced authors looking to avoid the tedious process called traditional publishing.

Even traditionally published authors of print books are slowly transitioning into the platform.

With KDP, authors can access a wide range of opportunities for exposure, networking, and, eventually, massive author earnings.

If you’re serious about engaging in the services of KDP to publish your books independently, you might want to check out our KDP Success Guide.