Kindle Direct Publishing or KDP gives authors and publishers the ability to keep control of and publish their books worldwide on the Kindle and Kindle reading apps.
Authors and publishers can publish their books in 5 languages on all Kindle devices, free Kindle reading apps, and online at kdp.amazon.com. But is it for you?
Some of the reasons I chose KDP include its ease of access as well as its being free, but that doesn’t mean it is the only platform I publish on or my most profitable. Here are some things you should consider before you use KDP.
Kindle Direct Publishing isn’t totally free.
Naturally, Amazon needs to make money too, so they do that by taking a percentage of the money that you earn whenever you make a sale. In other words, they keep a cut of your profit, which is fine! I love KDP, but there are other options.
If you want to ‘go wide’ Kindle Direct Publishing is not the best platform, monetarily speaking, to do so. Ingramspark is better in that sense because from what I understand, they use the same network, but Ingramspark is higher on the list. So if KDP goes to IS and takes a cut off of their cut, that leaves less money for you.
That’s totally fine if you don’t want any up-front costs, but there’s another expense if you don’t want to use Kindle Direct Publishing’s free ISBN. Depending on the book you’re writing is going to decide if you should buy an ISBN or use a free one.
What’s the goal?
Are you writing a how-to book or a paranormal fantasy romance novel? When I contemplated what kind of book I wanted to write, I didn’t even attempt a real self-help book. The idea died in my brain before it could even make it to paper.
But a romance novel with an inspirational theme? Yes, please! I couldn’t sleep from writing the words down. I was so in love with the characters and world I was creating. Thus begs the question, do you want KDP to own it, or you?
I can only write so fast, though, so when I was researching more passive income streams, I came across low-content books as well. A free ISBN from Kindle Direct Publishing is acceptable for things like gratitude journals.
The difference is, my romance novels are MINE, and I will not relinquish the rights to anyone, and that’s what an ISBN does for you, proving you are the owner of the work (copyright too). But like with low-content books, using a free ISBN doesn’t matter because I will only use it on Kindle Direct Publishing.
Do you even need a physical book then?
If you’re writing romance novels, yes, I would suggest a real book. The reason is that not everyone in your genre will be tech-savvy. Knowing your niche is huge in this decision, but for myself, I knew that mine included older generations that would still like a real book.
What kind of low-content book is it if it’s not a novel? Gratitude journals need to be printed; they don’t work the same on a device. But if it’s a guide to blogging, you only really need an ebook. In that case, Kindle Direct Publishing may not be for you.
If you think you only need an ebook, you can use other free sites that may have a wider audience than even Kindle Direct Publishing. Draft2Digital can get you into libraries and Kobo as well as Apple Books and Barnes and Noble. So research what the percentage of the money they take is as opposed to KDP, which might tip the scale for you.
What do you think? Will you go KDP, Draft2Digital, or something else? If you’re planning on making one of your ebooks for free, I also suggest using Draft2Digital.
Speaking of…Grab my debut novel, Fireflies: A Celtic Romance Series for free! Dragonflies is out now.
Came to know important things. Thanks for sharing! Wish you huge success!!!
Thank you so much, same to you!
It is good to know about this. I’m not a fan of reading books that way, but I am aware that if someday I decide to publish something, I will need to have the group of Kindle readers in my mind.
Yes, absolutely. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for this, Shea. This is some good food for thought.
You’re very welcome, thank you!
Interesting, didnt know you can publish directly with kindle. I have the app because I try to lessen buying books.
Yes! Me too, thank you!