I see a lot of authors who only want to write. They spend years crafting manuscripts and sending them to agents. Others are keen to self-publish but shy away from the necessary work. Sadly, many end up falling prey to vanity presses, often losing thousands of pounds in the process.

The truth is, being a self-published author is challenging and time-consuming. But for those of us who are willing to put in the hours to learn, it can be incredibly rewarding.

In this post, I’ll walk you through, step by step, how to upload your manuscript onto Amazon’s KDP Bookshelf.

Selling your books on Amazon is a no-brainer - it owns 60% of the ebook market. Whether you want to be Amazon-exclusive or “go wide” (distribute across multiple platforms), posting your book on KDP should be your first step.

Before we start I’m going to assume you have:

• A KDP account already set-up

• A polished, professionally edited MS (if you don’t then get it done)

  • The acceptable file types are Word or epub

• A genre-specific cover

• A high quality blurb

I recently set-up a new book, Death’s Cold Hand, in my Solomon Gray series. The following are actual screenshots from my KDP Bookshelf.