Plain-language guides to self-publishing platforms
Platform guides and step-by-step how-tos that take you from finished manuscript to a published book. Platform rules change, so confirm details on each platform's own pages. These guides are independent and not affiliated with any platform.
Platform guides
Each platform guide explains what the platform is for, what to prepare before you upload and the trade-offs worth knowing.
Print and ebook platforms
Amazon KDP
Ebooks, paperbacks and hardcovers on Amazon. What to prepare and what to weigh up.
Read the guide Platform guideIngramSpark
Wholesale distribution for print and ebooks. Who it suits and what to prepare.
Read the guide Platform guideBarnes & Noble Press
Print and Nook ebooks on Barnes & Noble. What to prepare and what to weigh up.
Read the guide Platform guideLulu
Print on demand with many formats and direct sales. Who it suits and what to weigh.
Read the guide Platform guideDraft2Digital
One upload, many ebook stores. Who it suits and what to weigh before you choose it.
Read the guideEbook and audio stores
Apple Books
Ebooks and audiobooks for Apple device readers. What to prepare and what to weigh.
Read the guide Platform guideGoogle Play Books
Ebooks and audiobooks on Android and the web. What to prepare and what to weigh up.
Read the guide Platform guideKobo Writing Life
Ebooks and audiobooks on Kobo. Who it suits and what to prepare.
Read the guide Platform guideACX Audiobooks
Audiobook production and sales on Audible and Amazon. What to prepare and what to weigh.
Read the guideStep-by-step how-to guides
How to Self-Publish a Paperback on Amazon KDP
Eight steps from finished manuscript to a live paperback, with the checks that prevent a rejected upload.
Read the guide · 20 min PricingHow to Price a Book and Work Out Your Royalty
The royalty formulas for paperback, hardcover and ebook, with worked examples you can repeat.
Read the guide · 10 min Cover designHow to Size a Paperback Cover and Calculate the Spine
The spine and cover size formulas, a worked 6 x 9 example and a briefing checklist for designers.
Read the guide · 10 min FormattingHow to Prepare Your Interior PDF for KDP
Page size, margins, bleed, fonts and a pre-upload test, so the first upload is the only one.
Read the guide · 15 min MarketingHow to Write a Book Description That Sells
A four-part structure for a description that holds attention, plus the formatting KDP accepts.
Read the guide · 15 min MarketingHow to Choose Categories and Keywords for Your Book
A research routine for categories and keywords that readers actually use.
Read the guide · 15 min BusinessHow to Track Book Sales Across Platforms
A monthly routine for collecting every platform's report into one summary.
Read the guide · 15 min Getting startedHow to Choose a Print-on-Demand Platform
The questions that decide where to publish, with a way to compare earnings side by side.
Read the guide · 10 minHow to use these guides
Read them in order if you are publishing your first book, or jump to the stage you are stuck on. Each guide opens with a quick answer, lists the key facts, gives numbered steps and ends with questions authors ask most. Where a calculation is involved, the guide works an example by hand and points to the free tool that does it for you.
How we keep the guides accurate
We read platform figures from official help pages, date them and link to them at the foot of each guide. Where a platform does not publish a rule, we say so. Every guide is reviewed at least every six months and whenever a platform changes its rules. See the editorial policy for the full process, and the platform rules page for every figure and its source.
Prefer short reads on one topic? Browse the blog. Want to calculate instead of read? Open the free tools.