As a bit of an informational/discussion post, I'd like to discuss my ongoing process of publishing a book using Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) for the first time. There are many steps, but I'm going to focus on Step 1 and see what others think about it.
First, you are prompted if you're interested to join KDP Select. Being that I'm selling my short stories for 99 cents a piece, I figured it would be a good way to get extra downloads because it will be offered via Kindle Unlimited as well. Another thing is that I'm choosing only to publish with KDP on this first short story. This may change in the future, but for now I've decided to go exclusive and see how it works out.
Getting Started
1. Enter Your Book Details
Book Name: For my book name I'm going with The Unicorn Eater. Since my fantasy tends to focus on dark fantasy with a darkly comedic slant, I felt like this title would show the kind of fiction I plan to produce. Unicorns are often seen as either majestic creatures for children or as easily meme-able creatures for the internet.
Subtitle: While this is optional, I'm looking to highlight the Splatter Elf brand by using the subtitle "A Weird Tale of Splatter Elf." I'll probably use this subtitle for all my shorts. If I do Splatter Elf novels later on, I'll most likely use "A Splatter Elf Novel" or something similar.
This book is part of a series: I wasn't sure what to put here since the short stories I'm releasing aren't necessarily interconnected, but they are part of the same world. I decided to leave this blank.
Publisher: I'm using the publisher name Splatter Elf Publishing just because I thought it would be easier to identify and ties into my brand. Not sure if this is the best choice, but I'm going to go with it for now.
Description: I want this to be as good as possible, obviously to attract reader. But I also don't want it to be too long since it's for a short story. I still haven't decided on this, but I'm going to probably post some of my ideas here later on before I click "Publish."
Book Contributors: I only have two other people helping me with this. My cover artist and someone helping me with graphic design for the text. I obviously want to thank them for helping me, but I was curious what I should put here from people who have done this before.
Language: English. I guess that's relatively obvious.
ISBN: Since ISBNs are optional, I wasn't sure what I should do here either. I don't know much about this, so any input would be helpful.
2. Verify Your Publishing Rights
Verify your publishing rights: I clicked "This is not a public domain work."
3. Target Your Book to Customers
Categories: I couldn't find the ideal categories for my story, so I decided to put "Fantasy-General" and "Fiction-Humorous." Those were the too best ones I could find. I didn't want to categorize it as "Dark Fantasy" because I felt that may be confusing for some people. A category "Fantasy-Comic" would certainly be helpful.
Age Range: I decided to leave this stuff blank as I wasn't sure what to put here. While I think my writing is probably PG-13, I could see with the graphic violence being a bit different for other people.
Search Keywords: I choose the following "weird, fantasy, splatter elf, unicorn, comedy, dark, short story." Maybe I should research the keywords with the best reach and change these slightly.
4. Select Your Book Release Option
I clicked "Ready to release now" but I'm still not ready. I didn't plan on having it available for pre-order though.
5. Upload Book Cover
I'm happy with my book cover, but I figured I'd wait until I release it to post it up anywhere. I know book covers are one of those things people feel wildly different about, so hopefully it works for the style and tone of what I'm going for.
6. Upload Your Book File
I went with No DRM. Although I'm not clear what all that means, it seems to indicate that choosing No DRM enables people to share the story more easily.
OK, so that's the first phase of publishing with KDP. If anyone has any feedback or thoughts about my various steps, feel free to chime in and discuss it. Thanks!
First, you are prompted if you're interested to join KDP Select. Being that I'm selling my short stories for 99 cents a piece, I figured it would be a good way to get extra downloads because it will be offered via Kindle Unlimited as well. Another thing is that I'm choosing only to publish with KDP on this first short story. This may change in the future, but for now I've decided to go exclusive and see how it works out.
Getting Started
1. Enter Your Book Details
Book Name: For my book name I'm going with The Unicorn Eater. Since my fantasy tends to focus on dark fantasy with a darkly comedic slant, I felt like this title would show the kind of fiction I plan to produce. Unicorns are often seen as either majestic creatures for children or as easily meme-able creatures for the internet.
Subtitle: While this is optional, I'm looking to highlight the Splatter Elf brand by using the subtitle "A Weird Tale of Splatter Elf." I'll probably use this subtitle for all my shorts. If I do Splatter Elf novels later on, I'll most likely use "A Splatter Elf Novel" or something similar.
This book is part of a series: I wasn't sure what to put here since the short stories I'm releasing aren't necessarily interconnected, but they are part of the same world. I decided to leave this blank.
Publisher: I'm using the publisher name Splatter Elf Publishing just because I thought it would be easier to identify and ties into my brand. Not sure if this is the best choice, but I'm going to go with it for now.
Description: I want this to be as good as possible, obviously to attract reader. But I also don't want it to be too long since it's for a short story. I still haven't decided on this, but I'm going to probably post some of my ideas here later on before I click "Publish."
Book Contributors: I only have two other people helping me with this. My cover artist and someone helping me with graphic design for the text. I obviously want to thank them for helping me, but I was curious what I should put here from people who have done this before.
Language: English. I guess that's relatively obvious.
ISBN: Since ISBNs are optional, I wasn't sure what I should do here either. I don't know much about this, so any input would be helpful.
2. Verify Your Publishing Rights
Verify your publishing rights: I clicked "This is not a public domain work."
3. Target Your Book to Customers
Categories: I couldn't find the ideal categories for my story, so I decided to put "Fantasy-General" and "Fiction-Humorous." Those were the too best ones I could find. I didn't want to categorize it as "Dark Fantasy" because I felt that may be confusing for some people. A category "Fantasy-Comic" would certainly be helpful.
Age Range: I decided to leave this stuff blank as I wasn't sure what to put here. While I think my writing is probably PG-13, I could see with the graphic violence being a bit different for other people.
Search Keywords: I choose the following "weird, fantasy, splatter elf, unicorn, comedy, dark, short story." Maybe I should research the keywords with the best reach and change these slightly.
4. Select Your Book Release Option
I clicked "Ready to release now" but I'm still not ready. I didn't plan on having it available for pre-order though.
5. Upload Book Cover
I'm happy with my book cover, but I figured I'd wait until I release it to post it up anywhere. I know book covers are one of those things people feel wildly different about, so hopefully it works for the style and tone of what I'm going for.
6. Upload Your Book File
I went with No DRM. Although I'm not clear what all that means, it seems to indicate that choosing No DRM enables people to share the story more easily.
OK, so that's the first phase of publishing with KDP. If anyone has any feedback or thoughts about my various steps, feel free to chime in and discuss it. Thanks!