10 years ago, very few people were taking self-publishing seriously. There was no info, no community. It was like this obscure hobby for weird people who would never be picked by traditional publishers. Nowadays, self-publishing is a growing industry; there’s a ton of guides, information, experts, and businesses built around it. It’s more real than ever!
When CreateSpace (later merged with Kindle Direct Publishing) was born, it was the only available option, and it made a revolution. In a few days, your book could arrive to thousands of readers! And you didn't have to turn your garage into a book storage! But now there are so many options, it’s hard to choose what’s right for you.
I believe Amazon KDP is STILL the best option for first-time self-published writers, and here’s why.
Low Cost:
You don’t pay anything upfront; your book is out there completely for free. You don’t even have to buy your own ISBN if you don't want to; you can use the free one from Amazon.
It is cheap to enter, and it's cheap to quit. Your books are printed on demand, so you don’t get stuck with 3000 copies if you suddenly decide you hate selling books. And trust me, it happens! And your book will stay on virtual Amazon’s shelves at no cost.
Inventory and Distribution:
You need to learn how to make a book. The whole book! There are so many things to learn! And the whole weight of logistics is taken off your shoulders so you can focus on the pleasant and creative side (like writing and illustrating) and important stuff like marketing and selling.
Easy Updates and Edits:
If you catch a typo or a mistake, you can fix it and the next day your book will be updated. If you suddenly decide to change your cover, you can do it at no cost. If you decide to add a QR code, dedication page, or link to your new website, it’s all possible in no time.
Why it’s important to have this flexibility when publishing your first book? Well, because making mistakes IS OK. We learn from mistakes! If you enter the market with the desire to make a perfect product, there’s a chance it will never be perfect enough to see the world. Shout out to all perfectionists-procrastinators out there!
Amazon Integration:
When you publish with KDP, you have the whole Amazon ecosystem to help you; everything is automatically connected. You can create your author page, set up and decorate your product page and start your Amazon ads right away, the same day your book is published.
Marketing Playground:
I hate Amazon as much as the next person, but the sad truth is Amazon sells at least 300 million print books every year. This is where people buy books. This is where big publishers sell their books. This is the place where you can learn SO MUCH about picture book marketing. You can spend hours and hours doing research. You can get your book literally to appear next to “Gruffalo.” How? That’s what you need to figure out before investing thousands of dollars in your first offset print batch.
You imagine it one way, but then it turns out to be something completely different. You think you know your target audience, and then they surprise you.
There are things you can learn only by doing, no matter how many hours you dedicate to study your market.
I have this book about dinosaurs. Everybody loves dinosaurs, right? I was sure it was gonna be a great hit and bring consistent sales.
And then… It didn't. In three years, I couldn't get my Amazon ads off the ground for this particular title. I was devastated in the beginning, felt like a total failure, and wanted to quit drawing, publishing, and teaching, all at once. But other books in the series did well! And I kept seeing kids getting crazy about my dinosaur book at offline events.The lesson I've learned? You need to try different things to see what's working and what's not. I accepted the low performance of my dinosaur ads. Maybe one day I will collaborate with some special dinosaur website for promotion? Maybe. But for now, I can sell it offline and still make little dino enthusiasts happy.
When is the right time to go offset?
Does it mean your book has no future as a nicely printed hardcover with a cute dust jacket, shipped for you from overseas? No! You can always take it to the next level! But don’t feel pushed to do everything at once to achieve the best results, the biggest profit, or your spot on the shelves of local “Barnes and Nobles.” Baby steps!
Here’s what I offer you to do. Consider offset printing when you can cross off half of this list:
You have sold more than 1000 of your paperbacks.
You know how to create, manage, and constantly improve your ads' performance.
You have connections in retail and you know they will accept your book in their stores.
You can predict how much time you need to get your investments back.
You already make money as an author and you can afford losing a few thousand dollars if the book doesn’t work as well as you expected.
You know how many rounds of edits you need to catch all typos and mistakes in your text and illustration.
You have a strong following and you know they will be interested in your new book.
You have a group of trusted professionals from the industry - editors, illustrators, designers, and marketers who have worked with you before and will continue working on the next book.
You have a strong marketing strategy that works for you.
You love this business and want to continue growing and learning.
If you crossed less than 5 positions - you can continue with Print on Demand until you get there! You’ve already written a children’s book; you are a children’s book author no matter how and where you print your books.