VersaQuill Quality and versatility in writing, research, & design
STEP-BY-STEP KINDLE PUBLISHING
Publishing options: Traditional publishers, print on demand, ebook
This guide to formatting text and
illustrations for sale as an Amazon Kindle book is geared toward those of us who
would rather be writing books than writing computer code. It includes
step-by-step instructions for collecting Kindle-specific material and for
formatting text via Kindle-friendly styles - a major time-saver.
Ignore the sections that are irrelevant to your work, do the bulleted items in the sections that are relevant, work through the final checklist, and you’re ready to upload. Step-by-Step Kindle Publishing will help you turn your book into a Kindle book as quickly and efficiently as possible - whether you’re publishing the Great American Novel, a scholarly monograph, or a political diatribe.
Go to Amazon’s listing and click Look Inside to read the first 10% for free.
Here's the short version of the table of contents. The book also has a 4-level, all-encompassing table of contents, for those of us who love the big, BIG picture.
Introduction: Ebook Design 101, Seven Facts and Best Practices
Chapter 1: Publishing a Kindle Book
Chapter 2: What You Need to Convert Your Book into Kindle Format
Chapter 3: Set Up a Seller’s Account with Amazon
Chapter 4: Elements of a Kindle Book
Chapter 5: Set Up a Word Template for Kindle Formatting (or
download it)
Chapter 6: Preparing the Main Text for Kindle
Chapter 7: Challenges to Resolve Before Formatting the Text
Chapter 8: Create Kindle-Specific Items for Your Book
Chapter 9: Assemble Your Kindle Book
Chapter 10: Apply Formatting to the Text
Chapter 11: Place Images and Captions
Chapter 12: Create a Table of Contents (TOC)
Chapter 13: Insert Bookmarks for Kindle Guide Items
Chapter 14: Final Checks in Word
Chapter 15: Save Word Document
Chapter 16: Save Word Document as Filtered HTML
Chapter 17: Save Filtered HTML Files to Zipped Folder
Chapter 18: Upload Book to Amazon
Chapter 19: Preview and Revise
Chapter 20: Publish Your Book
Chapter 21: Revisions after Publication
Chapter 22: Getting Started on Promotion
Appendix 1: Working with Styles in Word
Appendix 2:
Creating a Word-Generated Table of Contents (TOC)
Appendix 3: The Four-Level, All-Encompassing Table of Contents
About the Author, Dianne L. Durante
Sample: Getting More Enjoyment from Art You Love
|
|
Traditional publisher |
Print on Demand (Amazon CreateSpace) |
Ebook (Amazon Kindle) |
|
Editing MS before setting text |
Editor paid to do it, no cost to you |
You find and pay editor(s) |
You find and pay editor(s) |
|
Control of text |
Between you and publisher: they can refuse to print what they disapprove of or think won’t sell |
You, although Amazon will reject plagiarism or pornography |
You, although Amazon will reject plagiarism or pornography |
|
Illustrations |
Number and quality limited due to cost of printing and cost of high-res images |
Can’t print high-quality images via print on demand; requires ordering a couple thousand copies from an offset printer, probably at a cost of several thousand dollars |
As many as will fit in a 50MB file; however, Amazon reduces resolution during conversion to ebook format, and the quality the reader sees will be limited by his screen or monitor |
|
Permissions for photos and text |
Author usually pays |
Author pays |
Author pays |
|
Time for laying out book |
Weeks or months: usually a joint effort among author, editor, designer |
A few days |
A few hours |
|
Time from manuscript to bookstore |
Typically 1 year |
Typically 1 week, if you want to proof a hard copy |
1 day |
|
Marketing |
Publisher will probably send out review copies; unless you’re famous, publisher won’t sponsor book tours, full-page ads, etc. |
Your responsibility |
Your responsibility |
|
Royalties |
5-10% |
Profit depends on price you set vs. production cost |
70% less delivery cost, or 35% without deductions |
|
Profit on a $20 book |
$1-$2, less 15% commission if an agent found the traditional publisher for you |
$5 or so (depending on production cost) |
$7 (=35% because Amazon Kindle only allows 70% royalty on books priced at $2.99-$9.99) |
|
Who collects payments |
Publisher |
Amazon |
Amazon |
|
When you get paid |
Often annually |
Monthly (with a lag of 1-2 months) |
Monthly (with a lag of 1-2 months) |
|
Revisions |
In next print edition, if book sells well enough |
Revisions reviewed within a day; will apply to all copies printed from that point on |
Within a day; purchasers can upgrade to revised text |
Testimonials
Her writing is clever and clear, her business manner is professional and friendly, and her work is reliable and thorough. ...
Excellent writer, creative and versatile ... deals with deadlines very efficiently.
Her writing skills are excellent and her design always beautiful. ...
I’ve worked with several researchers, and Dianne was by far the most reliable, professional, savvy, and efficient.
The articles were informative, entertaining, well researched and professionally composed. Proofing and factual errors were non-existent. …
A web-savvy and entrepreneurial spirit married to a whip-smart writer/ researcher/ historian … She can take an idea and run with it ...