Writing a book and Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) – Part 1: Getting started

Watch the January 2022 vlog on YouTube!

        Amazon.com provides good help and resources for its Kindle Direct Publishing. But Amazon amends its policies often and without notice, so check whatever is current. In the series "Writing a book and Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP)," I recount the book creation process from start to finish, but it is not a comprehensive how-to or a guide to using KDP. Instead, I highlight milestones and advice to keep you moving forward. I hope to inspire you to begin your book creation process, stay organized, and navigate the obstacles I encountered. If you prefer, read the scripts of the videos in the blog at uduforu.com.

        I refer to my first KDP self-published book as an example throughout the series. I chose the book title "Hip Replacement Adaptive Equipment and the Sport of Recovery: A Patient's Perspective" due to limited title availability. In addition, I thought using keywords in the title would help the book show up in search results. Book titles are surprisingly complicated. In the series, I will call it My Hip Book to simplify the reference.

Now for Part 1: Getting started

        Self-publishing a book is a multilayered process with as many obstacles. The manuscript is the essential layer, though. Without it, there is no book. Defining goals helped me create my manuscript, plan the finished book, and overcome self-doubt. After analysis, I concluded My Hip Book needs to be a patient perspective with short, concise videos. You can embed videos in e-books, so my goals are to create an e-book and videos that play in it. Unfortunately, the obstacles piled up so thick I almost gave up numerous times. A new list of goals and obstacles emerged as I was weeding through, forcing me to stop or backtrack. The list included unfamiliar terminology, acquiring new stuff, learning curves, and money.

        People say, "Goals should be well defined and realistic."

        I say, "Oops! I have never done any of the things needed to accomplish my goals!"

        A goal journal helped me keep track and stay on task – get the free "uduforu Goal Journal Page" under "downloads" at uduforu.com!

        People say helpful and unhelpful things, though. A recurring obstacle is not getting delayed or discouraged by "what people say." Ignore any "why bother" attitude you get and exclude its source from conversations about your goals.

        Hype videos on YouTube and cheap how-to books on Amazon are incredible sources of "what people say" misinformation. The videos often inspire the books, and Amazon KDP is the subject of many money-making schemes. These sources push you to act now and figure it out as you go. They also fail to mention you should understand the local, state, and federal laws about home-based businesses. But when you have a book to sell, you have a home-based business. Businesses must pay taxes, have operating licenses, and have a permit or two. You may qualify as a business if you earn more than $400 in a year with a hobby. A friend of mine sold stuff on eBay and owed back taxes with penalties. To avoid a costly mess, pay to consult an accountant if you are uncertain.

        That aside, YouTube and Google are excellent places to begin gathering information. My Hip Book required me to collect a range of skills unrelated to its subject or writing. In general, writing requires lots of research. I love doing research, but it is a minefield of distractions, especially YouTube. In any case, you must find answers to questions to gather the information you need.

        So, learn to ask questions. If you find answers that are not helpful, you need to ask better questions. You will discover new questions and answers along the way. Start with, "What do I need, to do, or learn?" and "Where do I find it, or help?" Write or type notes to keep track and address new topics. If you can keep track of everything in your head, the objective is too easy, or you underestimate the workload required. Do not be surprised when a new goal interrupts the current process. Make to-do lists and stay organized. I was excited to cross out steps and get closer to publishing my e-book with videos!

        Getting the word soup out of your head and into a readable manuscript requires writing and revising. The manuscript must then be groomed into the proper tense, tone, plotting, and pacing. My Hip Book also needed precise picture placement and page formatting. Crafting the manuscript into its final form is a daunting task. Before you publish your work, you need to hire professional help: to proofread and edit the piece, genre-friendly test readers, design a book cover, and more. Of course, re-writes are in the mix, too.

        I include links below in the video description to some writing resources I like. Remember to give credit to sources and be mindful of copyright and trademark issues. Contact their appropriate office if you want to include real people, places, and organizations in your writing. For example, in My Hip Book, I never mention the name of the surgery program or the hospital. To avoid a legal nightmare, I wrote my book about that thing at that place, not the Name Surgery Program at the Name Hospital.

        Managing expectations is a constant obstacle. At the top of its list is making money – the best expectation to adopt is that you will not. You will spend money as you create and continually spend money advertising after publishing. So why am I being such a downer? Because there needs to be a balance to the hype traps. Do the work because you want to, not because you believe it will make you rich. In the end, do not let monetary disappointment overshadow your accomplishments. But if the money rolls in – Bonus!

        I sometimes got overwhelmed and intimidated by the tasks before me, or my thoughts spun in place, and I could not proceed. Recognizing when to take a break, retrace steps, or switch to a different task helps prevent burnout. Resist urges to force progress or abandon your goal – resume the pursuit when you are in a better mental space. Talk to friends and family, watch a movie – binge-watch the whole genre, do whatever you need to, no matter how long – days, weeks – to reset your attitude and continue. Observe and listen to what is around you. The time away may reveal new insights and perspectives.

        As you overcome self-doubt, get organized, and navigate more obstacles, the creative process becomes a part of you. At first, the process runs you, but there will be a turning point when you start running the process. The decisions you make have consequences and need to be grounded by forethought. Do not give in to impatience when the finish line is in sight! Using shortcuts will waste time when you need to fix the careless mistakes they enable. Not fixing errors is a choice, but you will know you did not do your best, and a do-over may be expensive or not possible. Instead, focus on maximum quality and publish your book like a boss.