Kindle Direct Publishing (kdp) is a way for you to self-publish your writing and possibly make some money as well if people decide to buy your work to read on their Kindle. Recently there has been a lot of hype about how you can get rich with Kindle publishing – see the word hype. Jim Edwards has a warning [ Jim Edwards Kindle-Lie ] for you about how to do it right – and avoid doing it wrong.

I think I can write fairly well so I set up a kdp account for myself. If you are an aspiring author/writer and want to put your work out there, here is how to set up you kdp account. There's more to learn, but that's for another lesson.

Cheers,

Ed

This lesson shows you how to set up a Kindle Direct Publishing account with Amazon.

Step 1. Open the kdp web page in a browser. URL: kdp.amazon.com

Open the Kindle Direct Publishing Page in a Browser. Click the button that applies to you. Sign in to your Amazon account, or create an account if you don't have one.

Step 2. Sign in to your amazon.com account

In this case, I already have an Amazon account.

Step 3. Read the kdp terms of service

If the TOS is agreeable to you, click the Agree button. If not, click the Cancel button and go back to whatever you were doing before you decided to sign up for kdp.

I advise you to note in particular these sections of the TOS. These are listed here to attract your attention and you should review the TOS for complete information.

4.1 Eligibility. In order to participate in the Program you must: (a) have an active Program account; and (b) be at least 18 years old or the legal age of majority in your place of residence.

5 Digital Book Distribution Rights.
5.1.1 Delivery. You must provide to us, at your own expense each Digital Book you desire to distribute through the Program. We will not return to you any electronic files or physical content or media you deliver to us in connection with the Program. You must deliver all electronic files free and clear of viruses, worms and other potentially harmful or disrupting code.
5.1.3 Digital Book Rejection. We are entitled to determine what content we accept and distribute through the Program in our sole discretion.
5.3.1 List Price. You will provide a list price for each Digital Book you submit to us in accordance with the then current Program procedures for list price submission ("List Price").
5.4.1 Royalties. If you are not in breach of your obligations under this Agreement, for each Digital Book sold to a customer (i.e., an end user) through the Program, the Amazon party that made the sale will pay you the applicable Royalty set forth in the Pricing Page, net of refunds, bad debt, and any taxes charged to a customer or applied with respect to sales to a customer (including without limitation any VAT or sales taxes).
6 Ownership and Control of Amazon Properties/ Feedback. Subject to the authorizations you grant to us under this Agreement, as between us and you, you retain all ownership rights in and to the copyrights and all other rights and interest in and to your Digital Books.

You may not include in any Digital Book any advertisements or other content that is primarily intended to advertise or promote products or services.

Step 4. That's it! You're done opening your kdp account.

Read about KDP Select if you want. The next Step is to add your literary work so people can buy it and download it to their Kindle. Click the Add new title button to get started.

If you don't have a book to add at this time, just Sign out. Sign back in when you're ready to continue.

Step 5a. If you see this …

Click the Update Now button. Your account window will open. You will be asked for address, tax, and royalty information. Edit as necessary and Save.

Step 5b. Royalties

Choose how you want to be paid. Click the + button. The choices are check and EFT (electronic funds transfer).
Checks are sent about 60 days after sales – See TOS for details.

Step 5c. Payment by Check example

Note that all Amazon.com royalties are paid only in USD$.

Step 5d. Payment by EFT example

Click Add a bank account. This is the account to which your royalties will be sent without using paper. Who has paper money anyway, right? OK, let's not go there.

Step 5e. Add a bank account for EFT

Fill in the blanks with your bank account information. You can delete or change this account as necessary.

Click Done. Finally, check over the information you entered to ensure it is complete and correct. Then click the SAVE button to update your kdp account.

Step 6. Return to the KDP Dashboard

Click the Bookshelf link at the top of the page. You're now ready to add your book!

 

The Great Amazon.com (Secret) Experiment

I thought I would let you know how my experiment with an Amazon.com seller account went. Hopefully I saved you $17 on that Matt Bacak thing.

How I Made $4.37 Profit in Only 1 Week!

Here’s how I made $4.37 profit. How Matt Bacak managed to pay all his bills doing this I’ll never know.

I uploaded 6  books following the instructions at Amazon. It took about a week before any sold and then I got a notification from Amazon – Do Not Ship. My first order ended up being cancelled because there were payment problems with the purchaser.

Then lightening struck and I got 2 orders on the same day.

Book One

This book, "The Irresistible Offer" by Mark Joyner, sold for $7.38 [Remember this is a used books - Condition - Very Good - Amazon provides guidelines for describing Condition to the customer] + $3.99 Shipping Allowance = $11.37 Charged to Customer.

Amazon Fees: Variable Closing Fee = $1.35, Fixed Closing Fee = $0.99, Commission (minimum 15% on books) = $1.11.  Total Amazon Charges: $3.45. Bubble mailer = $1.39 and Postage = $2.38 (Media rate). Total Shipping Cost = $3.77.

Net: Total Charged to Customer – Amazon Fees – Shipping = $11.37 – $3.45 – $3.77 = $4.15 Pure Profit!

Book Two

This book, "After the Affair", sold for $2.75 [Remember this is a used books - Condition - Good] + $3.99 Shipping Allowance = $6.74 Charged to Customer.

Amazon Fees: Variable Closing Fee = $1.35, Fixed Closing Fee = $0.99, Commission = $0.41.  Total Amazon Charges: $2.75 [Same as the book price!]. Bubble mailer = $1.39 and Postage = $2.38 (Media rate). Total Shipping Cost = $3.77.

Net: Total Charged to Customer – Amazon Fees – Shipping = $6.74 – $2.75 – $3.77 = $0.22 Pure Profit!

So I banked $4.37 net. I would still have a ways to go to earn the $17 for the Matt Bacak course if I hadn’t asked for a refund. I commend Matt Bacak’s organization for the courtesy and promptness with which they attended to my refund request.

If this is your idea of how to Make Your First Sale Online, go for it. If nothing else, you will gain some experience and confidence. Just don’t count on paying your bills this way.

Meanwhile …

The other 4 books are still sitting in my inventory at home awaiting notice from Amazon that I should ship them.

Wait – another ship notification just came in and I stand to make $0.40 on this order so bye for now – I have to get "The Case for Christ"  shipped.

All the best,

Ed

 

COPYWRITING? ME?

Killer copy? That I wrote? You’re kidding right?

I’M NOT KIDDING

Get this book first. Yes, I said "BOOK". For $15 or $20 dollars you can’t beat the buy-in price. And you will learn 95% of what you would have gotten from that $1,000 course, which maybe you don’t need after all.

STOP!

Stop even thinking about buying that copywriting course that has been tempting you and your credit card. No! Don’t do it!

GO!

"Web Copy That Sells" has won the praises of some big time copywriters for its simplicity (and as newbies, we value simplicity). No matter what your product is, you must know what this small book teaches you – the fundamentals of copywriting -  straightforward, easy to understand, and, best of all, easy to apply.

Highly Recommended

This book is without doubt the single most important and cost-effective investment you are going to make in copywriting for your business.

Really, save yourself a lot of money and time struggling with your copywriting. Get this book! I’m stressing this because I did buy the $1,000 copywriting course, and after seeing this book, I wish I hadn’t. It’s a lesson I learned the hard way but you don’t have to.