The Writing A Book Show

Episode Summary: A behind-the-scenes look at self-publishing a first eBook on Amazon — the tools used, the step-by-step process, and an honest read on how it went.

What You'll Learn

• The main tools used to self-publish an eBook: Scrivener, Adobe Creative Cloud, and Vellum
• How Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) works and how eBook vs. paperback royalties compare
• The full step-by-step process from topic to published book
• The honest truth about how hard it was, and how sales actually went

If you've ever thought about self-publishing a book on Amazon, this episode goes behind the scenes of self-publishing How To Podcast on Wordpress.com: The Step-by-Step Guide. For the full story behind why this particular book got written, see Episode 142.

The Main Tools

Writing — Scrivener ($50): Mike's writing tool of choice for every podcast script and the entire eBook. The appeal: strong project organization via a sidebar (146 podcast episodes fit neatly under one folder), fast document creation, Google Docs-style autosave, and cloud sync across iPhone and iPad.

Design and marketing graphics — Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign: the trifecta for logos, fonts, colors, images, and mockups, via Adobe Creative Cloud ($50/month at the time).

Formatting — Vellum ($200 for an unlimited license): a Mac-only app that makes formatting eBooks and print editions simple, and genuinely enjoyable. Highly recommended.

Tip 1: proofread and edit relentlessly — get as many other people as you can to help, since your own eyes will start playing tricks on you.

Tip 2: upload to Amazon KDP first, and hold off on other platforms (Google, iBooks, Nook) until every error is fixed — that way you only have to make corrections in one place.

Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP)

KDP is where all the self-publishing magic happens — free, and packed with resources for every step of the process. Past episodes 72, 73, and 74 go into more detail on KDP and Amazon's self-publishing tools. If you're planning to write an eBook, creating a KDP account early — ideally once you know your title — lets you check for title conflicts and lock in your title while you write.

The Kindle Store is where readers buy the book; KDP is where you upload the manuscript, cover, and print version. Mike priced How To Podcast on Wordpress.com at $3.99 (about $2 in royalties per copy) and the color paperback at $15.99 (about $1.50 in royalties) — eBooks were the more profitable format.

Quick Recap of the Steps

Figure out your topic. Create a KDP account, enter a working title, and verify…

Read the complete show notes and resources on mikemurphy.ai.