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You are here: Home / Archives for Amazon

Navigating Amazon KDP ads and keywords

November 9, 2021 By Erika Sharma 1 Comment

Researching Amazon KDP keywords, showing glasses and a notebook.The advent of the internet has changed the landscape of books. Self-publishing is getting easier all the time, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. The biggest hurdle you’ll face as an online bookseller is marketing. Every self-publishing author in 2021 needs to know how to do keyword research! We’ll explain the basics of Amazon KDP ads and then show you how to find the most effective Amazon KDP keywords that will sell your books. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Publishing Tagged With: Amazon, book marketing

Amazon updates for book authors

November 8, 2021 By Fiona Raven Leave a Comment

Amazon update showing detail of A+Content.Trying to keep up with Amazon updates? So are we! There’ve been a few changes lately, so we’re discussing them here to keep you up to date. The main Amazon updates for book authors are: 1) EPUBs are replacing MOBIs for reflowable Kindle ebooks, 2) hardcover binding is now an option, and 3) A+ Content is available for your book’s product page on Amazon. Let’s break it down for you.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Publishing Tagged With: Amazon, book binding, book marketing, ebooks, ISBN

ISBNs for self publishers: how to get and assign them

May 10, 2021 By Fiona Raven 4 Comments

Labelling the parts of an ISBN.International Standard Book Numbers (ISBNs) are important for self publishers. Some printers, print-on-demand publishers, and ebook vendors will offer to provide you with an ISBN, but it’s usually better to get your own. Part of the ISBN includes a “publisher number,” which is assigned to a specific publisher. Therefore, if you allow another company to provide the ISBN, then that company will be listed as the publisher of your book.

We’ll explain everything you need to know: how, where, and why to get your own block of ISBNs, and how to assign them to your print and digital books.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Publishing Tagged With: Amazon, book marketing, copyright, ebooks, ISBN

Book distribution 101

November 8, 2020 By Glenna Collett 1 Comment

books in a book distribution warehouseYou’ve published a book—or you will soon—and you know that you’ll need to get it to readers. But how? That basic question is what we’re going to clue you in on. The very concept of book distribution confounds a lot of first-time publishers, so we’re hoping to make it all clear here.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Publishing Tagged With: Amazon, book marketing, book printing, ebooks

Design a workbook

September 7, 2020 By Glenna Collett Leave a Comment

Design a workbook, five sample front covers shown.Want to design a workbook? Who uses those any more?

Lots of folks, actually. Even though there are apps for practically everything these days, children still enjoy workbooks for mazes or drawing or learning practically anything. Adults can use them for recording their latest bird find or geocaching location, or for word or number puzzles, for instance. A coloring book can be considered a workbook, too.

We’ll help you design a workbook that will work well for your audience.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Book Design Tagged With: Amazon, book printing, copyright, typesetting

Design a children’s picture book

March 9, 2020 By Fiona Raven 71 Comments

Group of children's picture books.Children’s picture books are fun to design! They’re colorful, full of images, and everything is packed into a small number of words and pages.

To design a children’s picture book, you’ll need to consider lots of factors: book size, page count, quality of images, flow of text, color, and more. Let’s take a look at those factors. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Book Design Tagged With: Amazon, children's books, color, images, typesetting

How much does it cost to self-publish?

January 13, 2020 By Glenna Collett 11 Comments

dollar and pound signs indicating book publishing expensesThe path to a high quality self-published book is strewn with expenses. Annoying, maybe, but necessary. So, how much does it cost to self-publish? We’ve discussed most of the cost issues in the past, but here I’m pulling them all together so you won’t stumble on any surprises as you make your way.

Please don’t let anyone persuade you that you can produce a printed book that is up to publishing industry standards—and also market it—for free, because that’s simply not true.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Publishing Tagged With: Amazon, book marketing, book printing, copyright, ebooks, images, ISBN

POD Book Publishing

September 9, 2019 By Fiona Raven 54 Comments

POD publishing means print-on-demand and no more book shipping costs.Thinking of POD book publishing? So are we! When we published Book Design Made Simple, we got a good deal for printing both editions at Friesens in Canada. Offset printing cost us about 62% less than print on demand (POD) at Amazon. We also found a book distributor, which has housed our books and handled all of our orders ever since.

But now we’re running low on print books, and we need to decide what to do next. Should we do another offset print run, or switch to POD book publishing? [Read more…]

Filed Under: Publishing Tagged With: Amazon, book printing, ISBN

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Recent Posts

  • Book endpapers: A gallery of ideas July 11, 2022
  • Writing in InDesign: Why and how May 9, 2022
  • Designing a book spine March 7, 2022
  • What type size should I use? January 10, 2022
  • Navigating Amazon KDP ads and keywords November 9, 2021
  • Amazon updates for book authors November 8, 2021
  • What does a children’s book editor do? August 31, 2021

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