So grydscaen is an indie published book series. I work with an indie publisher and I also publish short stories from the series using Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing. So I wanted to talk a little about both of those processes for a moment.
Lets start with grydscaen: insurrection which was the last book published. I type the manuscript using MS Word and give it some formatting with margins and chapter headings as well as informational pages and a dedication. I also draw the cover art in black and white pencil and colour it. Then there is editing and proofreading which I do about 2-3 times before turning the manuscript over to my publisher. This process has taught me how to format a book which helped with the Amazon Kindle published works.
The publisher provides back the initial galley in PDF format for the manuscript and then the front and back cover using my design and outline. Each of the grydscaen books includes back matter, an author photo and a book summary as well as ISBN and Library of Congress registration as well as copyright paperwork. The initial galley is provided back to me of the interior and also the cover for paperback and hardback. I review the galley for any errors. Usually I get one round of error corrections but that is sometimes not always the case I may get more. Since I do all the editing and proofreading of the book before turning it in most of that is done so the only things caught in the galley are minor typing errors.
The galley goes back and forth a few times until it is ready and then there is an approval step. The cover is layed out based on my coloured illustration and the layout that matches the branding that I set for the books. Each book has a highlight colour based n the manuscript binder.
Once the galley is approved there is about 7 days until I get my author copies so that I can check the actual product. Once that is set I approve that and the books are made available online at Amazon, myy publisher’s website and other places. The books are available in hardcover, paperback and about 3 weeks later in ebook format.
For the Kindle published books I am responsible for the manuscript, the format, the cover, the editing, the proofreading, the layout and the price. The publisher sets the prices for those books but I set the books that go through Amazon KDP at .99 cents and free on Kindle Unlimited. The Kindle books are also in different languages like French and Japanese because my publisher only deals with English and Spanish.
Since my publisher controls the price I can’t make my books .99 cents but I can do it on Amazon KDP. I found the KDP process easy since I already knew how to layout a book. KDP converts the file to Mobi and then you are on your way. Now if formatting is not your thing or cover design you can hire people to help get that done. I wanted to do it myself because I could so I did not worry about that. Some people also hire editors and proofreaders. That is available to you if you want. I was an English major in college so I feel I can edit accordingly and can do it myself. Sure, maybe one day I will hire an editor but I don’t want them changing my story too much.
All in all the Amazon KDP process took about 2 hours getting all the book information in there. You can also buy an ISBN and get a copyright on the materials. Whatever is your fancy. I wanted the Amazon KDP books: A Storm’s Coming, Rogue, Le Paria, Une Tempete Arrive, Arashi ga kuru, and Read Only Memory to be available on Kindle so I was fine with those few stories being restricted to that venue. I have coverage through grydscaen: tribute so there was no issue.
All in all you have to be self motivated to publish as an Indie author. Doing the cover, manuscript, layout and other jobs to get a book published can take time. Go with your heart. It is pretty easy to do I found. So publish away my friends.
Amazon, Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing and Amazon KDP are copyright their respective owners.
