Kindle Direct Publishing Part 2: Completing the First Form

Instructions

Hello hello KDP people!! These are the instructions, word for word, on how to complete the first form in the KDP publishing process. You are on your own until then! It begins!! Note: This is the last scratch project I'll share before leaving to start homeschool. If Scratch Cat is too fast, read this instead. Love, fave, and share with your friends. ______________________________________________________________________________________ Make sure you have a notebook or a piece of paper handy. I'll tell you when something really needs to be written down to remember and you can decide when else you want to take notes. So, first, the website you need to visit to actually publish your stories is- kdp.amazon.com Write this down - this is going to be very helpful later. Second, login to go to your bookshelf. This is the area on the site where all of your published books are viewed for your convenience. Next, go to your typed book. This is on a different website; Google Docs, Microsoft Word, or wherever you have your typed book. My book, for example, is on Google Docs. Make two pages that are clear: The first page and the second page. Now, type the title of your book and your pen name/author name on the first page. This is your title page. On the second page, type the words "@ Copyright (year) by (your name/pen name). All rights reserved. (your country)" No, this is not considered fraud or cheating. You don't list anything except the copyright, and the font the book was typeset in. Example: "@ Copyright 2025 by Turquoise Joy. All rights reserved. USA. This book is a work of fiction. This book is typeset in Georgia." Next, go to the KDP website again. On the top of the screen you will see "Create a new title or series" and a list of options. Click on "Create a book". At the top of the screen, you will see three sections: Paperback Details, Paperback Content and Paperback Rights. You will work on each section individually. Go to the Paperback Details. Below you will see boxes labelled Language, Book Title, Series (optional), Edition Number, Author, Contributors, Descriptions, Publishing Rights, Primary Audience, Primary Marketplace, Categories, Keywords, Publication Date, and Release Date. We'll start with Language. Click on the box directly under Language. Right beside the title (language) it should say "Choose the primary language your book will be printed in." This is the language your book will be printed in. Select your language. (i.e., Spanish, French, English, etc.) After you select your language, go to the next box. (Book Title) Next to the title, it should say "Enter your title as it appears and the book cover." Underneath, there are two boxes. "Book Title" and "Subtitle (optional)" Enter your book's title. If your book has a subtitle, enter it in the second box. A subtitle is like " The Story of Sarch" (that's the title) and then it says, " The Miraculous Tale of a Cat With a Dream" under it. That is the subtitle. Now, Go to the next box. This should read, "Series, optional". The button below the title should read "Add to series". If your book is part of a series, select the button. "Edition Number" is next. Don't fill this box- this is for things like dictionaries and such. In that case, enter the current year and move on. If your screen matches mine, it should say "Author" next. It should say, "Primary Author or Contributor" and a bunch of boxes. Enter your first name/first pen name. Middle name and last name are next; the middle name is optional, but enter your last name. In the next box, labelled "Contributors", enter the people that contributed to the possibility of publishing your book. (i.e., the editor, co-author, etc.) If you did everything yourself or the people that edited or co-authored prefer to remain anonymous, just enter your name or pen name in the box. On the other hand, if you have a ton of people that do want to be credited, enter their names. You can have up to 9 contributors. Just click the "Add Another" button. Next is the description box. You will see a space that looks a lot like an empty email or Scratch forum box. In this box you will type the words that will be printed on the back of the book. Also in this box, you can put your author bio. I'll explain about that in a moment. When you make your description, you need to include two things: A basic storyline and an epic cliffhanger. A cliffhanger is something authors often place at the end of their book description. Example: "When orphaned Mary Lennox, sickly and lonely and cross, comes to live at her uncle's great house on the Yorkshire moors, she finds it full of secrets. Down a corridor of empty rooms she hears someone crying in the night. Outside, she meets Dickon, a magical boy who can charm the wild animals and birds of the countryside. "(description continued)