using createspace | Richter Publishing

Write & Publish a Book Yourself Step #8: Kindle

Now that you have a paperback book, you can upload it on Kindle. If you’re not familiar with Kindle, it is a digital device that you can download multiple books and magazines to. You have to have an Amazon account in order to purchase books to download, however you do not need a Kindle device. They have an app on the iPhone and most smartphones and tablets to use.

Having your book on Amazon Kindle is just another way to distribute your book to as many people as possible. People are divided between which method they prefer to read their information. I personally prefer to have a real book in my hand, to flip through it and be able to autograph it. Others prefer digital. It is convenient because you can hold hundreds of books in one small, compact gadget. Having your book in both formats is important.

In order to publish a book on Kindle you do need to have an Amazon account. If you already do, you can log in with those same credentials. If you don’t have an account you will need to sign up for one. In this chapter of my book, How to Write and Publish a Book Yourself, I will walk you through how to do this as well as:

The KDP Select Program (to reach more readers and customers)
Book’s Copyright and Publishing Rights
Uploading Your Cover
Selecting a Digital Rights Management (DRM) (to inhibit unauthorized distribution of the Kindle book)

Tara Richter Author & Publisher

Write & Publish a Book Yourself: Step #5 Creating the Cover

Now that your manuscript is finished, you need to design a cover to showcase your book. This is the part that will sell the great content inside. They say you never get a second chance to make a first impression. Well, neither does your novel.

Designing Your Book Cover

If you do not have any design skills, this may be one of the more difficult steps of publishing your own book. Just remember that less is more. You do not need a really fancy cover to get someone’s attention; it should be simple and bold.

A tip from a graphic designer (my college degree): every now and then during the process, get up from your computer and walk across the room to view your design. How does it look? Sometimes we get caught up being so close to it that we forget to look at it from another perspective. Think of the books that you have purchased in the past. What did you like about the cover or didn’t like? Mimic the design that compelled you to buy a book. I personally like to place my professional photos on the front or back of my books because I’m branding myself. It also gives a human touch to my advice so others can relate to me. Deciding if you want your photo on the cover depends on the kind of book you’re writing. If the story is about depression, you wouldn’t want a bright-eyed, smiling face on the front. Make sure the images accurately portray the content.

Using Photoshop for Book Covers

Since I am a graphic designer, I do have an extra talent that allows me to design my own book covers. Nonetheless, you can do it too. I have used Photoshop and Illustrator on my first three books. Photoshop is the best tool to use because you need layers and to know the resolution of your images. As I spoke about in the last chapter, you want a minimum 300 DPI (dots per inch) for printing purposes.

In my book I will walk you through the step by step tutorial of creating your book’s cover using Photoshop (for free…even if you don’t have Photoshop or have never used it before!) and uploading it to CreateSpace: How to Write and Publish a Book Yourself.

Tara Richter Author & Publisher

Tag Archives: using createspace

Write & Publish a Book Yourself Step #8: Kindle

Write & Publish a Book Yourself: Step #5 Creating the Cover

Designing Your Book Cover

Using Photoshop for Book Covers

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