I haven’t blogged for some time, because of the steep learning curve I’ve found myself on with the next step in the self publishing process. The Kindle content and the cover photo have long been live on Amazon, and re-uploaded several times: https://www.amazon.com.au/s?k=Karrana&ref=nb_sb_noss_2,,

The PDF of the Word document for paperbacks is up and ready to go, but I’ve hit a snag. The birth of the paperback cover, using a template provided by Kindle Direct Publishing, is proving obstinate and difficult to oblige. I used Powerpoint to design the cover with a photo from Shutterstock. (See the Featured image for this post). My next step is contacting support by phone, as I’ve followed directions carefully, and cannot see why it won’t upload.

Another problem is that the Library where I convene my Creative Writing class has not been able to keep a space for my Author Talk this year, which I requested in May; the novel was, in fact, already published on Amazon as an ebook, but not, at the time, as a paperback.

So I’m now considering venues for a Book Launch, instead of combining it with the Author Talk, which would have included my self publishing journey, and information about self publishing with Amazon. Many writers are keen to learn about the process of self publishing, especially if they are proficient at self editing, as well as skilled creative writers. However, there is still mistrust surrounding self publishing, as many poor quality manuscripts were published in earlier days. Amazon has put a brake on this, by implementing strategies to prevent badly written books being uploaded.

One of the highs of self publishing on Amazon, is that you don’t have to pay money to a third party, or wait for months while publishers decide whether to publish your manuscript or not. You earn 75 % royalties rather than what publishers afford you. You can publish first as an ebook for Kindle, and re-upload until you are satisfied with the product, before ordering paperbacks. Amazon gives feedback when you first upload for Kindle, advising of any spelling and other errors.There’s a lot of information on the KDP website for the first-time author/publisher: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/.

Forums and help lines exist also, both on KDP and outside, in particular the helpful Kindle Board forum site: https://www.kboards.com/

Keep posted for more news on how to upload a brilliant cover for a paperback! I’m still learning.

Huzzah! It’s done, and I’ve presssed the button!