Out of the numerous options through which you can self-publish, especially if you aren’t interested in conventional publishing, is on Amazon, and this is achieved with its Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) program.
However, while Kindle Direct Publishing gives writers access into the literary world on their own terms, they still want to know the pros and cons of self-publishing an eBook on Amazon, if any.
Let’s delve into this.
What Are The Pros And Cons Of Self-Publishing An eBook On Amazon?
Having decided that self-publishing on Amazon is the ideal way for you to publish your eBook, it’s important that you understand the pros and cons involved in doing this.
Going forward, we will be looking at the pros and cons of self-publishing an eBook on Amazon, and I hope that you do make the best decision having weighed your options.
Pros Of Self-Publishing On Amazon – Explained
No doubt, there are a wide range of advantages attached to self-publishing an eBook on Amazon when compared to the conventional publishing style, and in this selection, we will be looking at a good number of them.
1. Ease Of Use
One of the major reasons why writers settle for KDP is the ease it provides users when self-publishing.
I bet that you will enjoy hassle-free publishing as it already provides comprehensive documentation, how-to videos, FAQs, forums, and a help center making it easy for both experienced and new publishers.
2. Decide Cost Of Publishing
Publishing a book; designing the book cover, formatting, editing, and printing inclusive costs within the range of $200 to $2500, and this is one of the major reasons why writers would rather self-publish.
You have the liberty to decide what you can spend on your ebook which is not feasible in the world of conventional publishing.
3. High Royalties
KDP offers authors to types of royalty plans to choose from: a 35% royalty plan or a 70% royalty plan, and the essence of this plan is to give them a greater amount of control over their own financing.
However, I advise that before you settle for any of the plans, ensure you clearly understand what each of them represents.
4. Cover A Wide Audience
It’s no longer news that Amazon is one of the biggest online book markets out there, so it’s safe to say that publishing on this platform exposes your book to a wide range of audience (Amazon users).
Aside from the millions of people that can read your book, Amazon Ads are available to enable you to promote your book to readers who will most likely buy your book.
5. Flexibility
The freedom that comes with deciding what your book content, title, cover design will look like, including who your target audience are makes self-publishing on Amazon beneficial.
6. Multimedia Content
Do you know that self-publishing on Amazon allows you to publish an ebook with audio and video files, and clickable links and images.
However, before uploading your eBook on Amazon, ensure you scrutinize its compatibility with Amazon’s requirements and supported features through Kindle Previewer.
7. Ability To Track Sales & Quick Earnings
Amazon has a very cool feature known as the Kindle Sales Dashboard, and its function is to enable self-published authors to track the sales of their book with real-time reports and the royalties earned for the past 90 days since royalties are paid every month via wire transfer, direct deposit, or check.
Additionally, it allows users to filter the data by the marketplace, paperback, eBook or title, and time period within approximately 60 days after the end of the month in which the sale took place.
8. Quick Production
KDP offers authors a shortcut to getting their books across to their audience unlike the conventional method of publishing that requires time, and of course, patience.
Interestingly, self-publishing on Amazon Kindle takes a few minutes, and your book will see the light of the day in the Kindle store within a day.
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9. Pre-ordering Option
Another advantage of self-publishing on Amazon is that it offers an option of making your ebook available for preorder thereby giving you enough time to advertise your book prior to the release date, especially if you already have a large audience that you want to promote this book to.
10. Print-on-Demand Service
The last but not the least advantage of self-publishing an eBook on both the digital and the printed version.
So, if you get your eBook in a printed version, for instance, the cost of printing will be subtracted from the royalties.
Cons Of Self-Publishing On Amazon – Explained
Having seen the advantages of self-publishing on Amazon, let’s take a look at the disadvantages.
1. Restricted Reach, Content, And Income
Although some genres thrive with KDP Select, there are other genres such as romance that don’t as Amazon places stringent measures on them.
Furthermore, if you enroll in KDP Select, your book can only reach so far because posting more than 10% of your content anywhere else online whether your personal blog or part of a Wattpad story is considered violating your agreement.
This means that your friends and family who may be more comfortable getting your books elsewhere can’t.
Again, have you ever asked yourself what happens if someone, for some reasons, boycotts Amazon?
2. Lack Of Built-in Marketing Strategy
Unlike traditional publishing where the publisher helps you with a marketing strategy, you are saddled with such responsibility when self-publishing as a KDP author, and worst still, there is no built-in marketing approach.
You will agree with me that the most important thing after publishing your book is to get people to buy them, and sadly, this happens to be one of the most difficult things to do.
3. The 90-Day Exclusivity Clause
Unfortunately, once you publish any digital item on Amazon, you are placed on a 90-day exclusivity period, and during this time, you can’t sell your digital copy elsewhere.
4. Inconsistency In The 70% Royalties
Before we proceed to talk about inconsistent payment of the 70% royalties, note that you must include your book in KDP Select if you intend to get high royalties, and doing this will affect your revenue.
How? Users can borrow the book instead of buying it, and when this happens, you will be paid on a per-page read basis, instead of the complete price of the book.
Having said that, if you decide that the effort and time expended into your book is worth above the $9.99 limit placed by Amazon, then you won’t get the 70% royalty.
Also, if you put the price of your book between $2.99 and & $9.99 to get the 70%, if someone orders the paperback version of your book, you will bear the cost of delivery.
5. Highly-Competitive Marketplace
Since KDP is free and available for everyone, it will be difficult for your eBook out of the numerous e-Books to be noticed, and even worse, getting those first reviews that help boost your ebook sales.
Worst still, you are only allowed to give a review if you bought the book.
Being a highly-competitive marketplace, your best bet would be to make financial plans specifically for running Ads that will gain your book visibility.
How To Self-Publish On Amazon – Explained
Having finished the manuscript, and you want to self-publish on Amazon, this is what you should do:
Step 1: Create an account on Amazon KDP, and include a new Kindle ebook.
Step 2: Write the title and description of your book.
Step 3: Enter the information of the author.
Step 4: Confirm your publishing rights.
Step 5: Select your categories, keywords, book release option, age range, and DRM rights.
Step 6: Upload your book and book cover, and choose your pricing and royalties.
Step 7: Click publish, and your book will appear in the Kindle store within a day.
Alternatives To Amazon
If you are in search of other platforms through which you can self-publish, some of them are listed below:
1. Apple iBooks
2. Google Play
3. Barnes & Noble Nook
The Verdict
Having seen the pros and cons of publishing an eBook on Amazon, you may be wondering what my take is on it.
Personally, I’d say that if you only aim to share information you know and turn that into revenue, I suggest you settle for consulting, coaching, or creating a video course. This way, you can sell for a much higher price point than an eBook.
Doing is worth it, though, if you have some free time and think that being able to say that you have books published on Amazon can assist advance your credentials or career.
If you can leverage the clicks and views that your eBook obtains to promote another endeavor, self-publishing on Amazon is also worthwhile.
Do you maintain an email list or a newsletter? Include a freebie in your book and ask for an email address in return.
Conclusion
This article gives you an insight on the advantages and advantages of publishing an eBook on this giant online marketplace (Amazon), how to self-publish on it, other platforms through which you can self-publish as well as our final verdict on this topic.
That being said, it’s safe to refer to it as an expository one.
Do you have questions? Feel free to ask in the comment section.
