Publishing advice for authors
What things cost, how the platforms actually work, and which decisions are hard to reverse. Written for authors deciding how to publish, not for search engines.
How much does it cost to publish a book on Amazon KDP?
Uploading to KDP is free. The real costs are editing, cover, formatting, proofs and marketing. What each one runs to, and which are optional.
KDP vs IngramSpark: which should you use?
KDP owns the Amazon customer. IngramSpark owns bookshops and libraries. Most authors who understand the difference use both — here is how.
How much does a ghostwriter cost?
Ghostwriting is quoted per word, per project or per hour, and the spread is enormous. What drives the number and how to read a quote.
The four types of editing, and which one your book needs
Developmental, line, copyediting and proofreading are four different jobs. What each does, the right order, and how to tell where you are.
KDP book cover dimensions, explained
Ebook covers, paperback wraps, bleed, spine width and why covers get rejected. The measurements that matter and how to calculate yours.
KDP royalties: 35%, 70%, and what actually lands in your account
The 70% royalty has conditions that catch people out: a price band, territory limits and a delivery fee. How the two tiers work and which pays more.
Do you need an ISBN to self-publish?
Ebooks on Amazon do not need one. Paperbacks do, and the free option has a catch. What an ISBN actually does, and when to buy your own.
How to format a manuscript for Kindle
Ebooks reflow, which breaks most Word habits. What to unlearn, the styles to use instead, and how to check the result before you publish.
How to market a self-published book
Most book marketing advice is a list of tactics with no order. The sequence that matters, starting with the two things that decide the rest.
How to get book reviews (legitimately)
Reviews decide whether a listing converts, and shortcuts get accounts banned. The methods that work, the rules, and what to do about an unfair review.
What does it cost to produce an audiobook?
Narration is priced per finished hour, not recording hour. How the costs work, what royalty share trades away, and when an audiobook earns out.
How long does it take to write a book?
From first draft to a book on sale, with honest timings for each stage, including the two authors underestimate and the one you control.
How to write a book description that sells
A blurb is sales copy, not a synopsis. The structure that works, why the first two lines carry most of the weight, and the mistakes that lose the sale.
KDP Select vs going wide
Exclusivity buys you Kindle Unlimited and costs you every other retailer and library. How to work out which side of that trade your book sits on.
Amazon Ads for books, without the jargon
How the ad types differ, what ACOS tells you, why targeting comparable books beats broad keywords, and how to judge a campaign on a series.
KDP categories and keywords, done properly
Categories and the seven keyword slots decide who ever sees your book. Why narrow beats broad, how to use all 50 characters, and the phrases that waste a slot.
Copyright for self-published authors
You own the copyright the moment you write it. Registration buys specific legal remedies — what it does, and when it is worth doing.
Self-publishing, traditional, or hybrid?
Who pays, who decides, who owns it and how long it takes — the four questions that separate the routes, and how to spot a vanity press.
What an author website actually needs
Four pages, one mailing list signup and buy links that go everywhere. What to build first, what to skip, and the mistakes that make a site feel abandoned.
How to build an author mailing list
The only audience you own. What to offer for an address, where to put the signup, how often to write, and why list size matters less than you think.
Do book trailers actually work?
A trailer is an asset, not a campaign, and will not sell a book alone. Where they earn their cost, what makes a bad one, and what to make instead.
Should authors blog?
For most novelists, no. For non-fiction authors with expertise to demonstrate, it is one of the most durable channels there is. How to tell which you are.