If you are a small publishing house or a self-published author, you know just how important it is to make a sale. Amazon makes a very good marketplace for eBooks. When you sell your book on the website, you will have an easy time reaching readers who are interested thus you will manage to make sales effortlessly.
However, there has been plenty of confusion about ITIN and ISBN numbers, especially for publishers and authors who are outside the US. Most people are confused about whether these numbers are needed when publishing an eBook on Amazon for sale.
Is an ISBN needed?
When publishing your eBook on Amazon, this number is not needed. It is also not needed in case you wanted to publish on B&N. But if you are planning to publish the eBook on Apple’s bookstore, then this number will be needed. However, if you have the number, you can still enter it when publishing on Amazon, but it is not compulsory.
Is an ITIN number needed?
When setting up a seller account with Apple or B&N, then this is a requirement. But setting up an Amazon DTP account does not need the number.
Now we’ll detail how you can sell your eBook through the three retailers that sell more eBooks than any others.
Selling eBooks On Amazon
Step1: Create an account
You need to have an Amazon KDP account. You can use kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/signin to create the free account.
You don’t have to create another account if you already have one; you just have to use your current account details. Set up your payment options to receive from your ebook sales.
After signing up, you can access your Bookshelf, and it is here that you get to see eBooks you have already published. It will, of course, be empty if you have no books. From the ‘Reports’ section, you can check the performance of download sales for your titles. In the ‘Community’ section, you can join or access the knowledge base and user forums.
Step 2: Add details of your eBook
You can do this from your Bookshelf under the ‘Add a new title’ button. Some of the things that you will be required to enter include the book basics like the description, title, book contributor or author and edition number.
Publishing details will also be required where you need to clarify things such as publication date, the publisher and the language. You will also need to give details on publishing rights, upload a product image, book content and browse and search.
To get the best results with your eBook, remember to upload a high-quality cover under the product image. You can use JPEG or TIFF files for this, but ensuring that you upload the right sizes and clear image.
Also significant when filling in the details is the ‘browse and search’ category. The choices you make under this category can have a great effect on the promotional opportunities. Sometimes you do not need to choose popular and generic categories; a niche category can be all you need to get a top bestseller status on Amazon.
Step 3: Upload the content
When uploading the contents of your eBook, you can choose whichever format you want. You can use plain text, Adobe PDF, Word, zipped HTML and Mobipocket. Word doc and PDF tend to be more popular formats, but they might not be that reliable when they are converted. You might want to avoid these formats if your content has photos, tables, and graphics and other kinds of imagery. If you are not very sure about what format is best for your book, you can get samples and guides on Amazon DTP websites, so you don’t take chances.
The most suitable format happens to be Mobipocket majorly because this format maintains the look of your content even after conversion. Therefore, you can be sure to have an eBook that has a professional look and one that is bound to attract sales. You can find software to help you create files that are unique and meeting every one of our preferences.
After uploading the book content, the DTP will convert it into a Kindle friendly format. You can enjoy a preview of the eBook that has been converted right from your computer.
Step 4: Set your book price
The next step to selling your book on Amazon is to choose your royalty options and content rights. You can set the pricing under ‘Rights and Pricing’ section. You have 35% and 70% royalty options. The price that you set for the book will determine the option that you qualify.
The 70% option pays you 70% of the book selling price. It has a lower delivery fee for every sale, but to enjoy the option, your book must fall between the price range of $2.99 and $9.99. For books that are priced higher, then the 35% royalty option is what you get. Make sure that you set the pricing reasonable to sell the book for what it’s worth.
Step 5: Publish and sell the eBook
Before the book is published, you must agree to the terms and conditions simply by ticking the relevant box and then you can go ahead and select the ‘Save and Publish’ button. As soon as you click, your eBook will be queued. The fact is that all eBooks must be approved for sale by Amazon staff and yours will join the queue awaiting approval.
The approval process can take anywhere between 24 hours to 48 hours. Amazon will notify you of the approval via email, and your book will now be up for sale!
When awaiting approval, you cannot make any changes to the eBook content you have already submitted. You can only make changes after it is approved or rejected. It helps to be very sure of the quality of your submission before publishing to keep rejection disappointments at bay.
Your book is now selling so sit back, be patient and reap the fruits of your labour!
