u/LVLamont

Seeing communities like this has inspired me to start one of my own, ReadersWritersAuthors.

Hopefully I can provide the same respectful space for healthy discussion as seen here in r/writing.

Seeing communities like this has inspired me to start one of my own, ReadersWritersAuthors.

Hopefully I can provide the same respectful space for healthy discussion as seen here in r/writing.

Little advice to give you a headstart. If you're publishing on Amazon, you'll need to start a publishing page through KDP through your current Amazon. It does NOT expose your regular information, as long as you use a pen name. So you NOT have to create a separate Amazon.

For eBook you'll need to combine your book into something called an 'Interior File'. That's everything that comes after the cover. And you'll also need a cover page, which should be a PNG. So an the INTERIOR FILE and COVER PAGE.

Paperback is a little more difficult. You will need page numbers, page breaks for every chapter, no bleed margins, and a different format for cover photo. Now the cover photo for paperback can be a really BISH. The way I did it is I waited until Amazon had my interior file. Once that is done Amazon will tell you (based off your pages) how big your cover photo is expected to be. Take a Word document, change it to landscape mode, change the document to the expect 'Height' and 'Width' that Amazon told you your cover photo is expected to be, insert the cover picture, stretch it to fill all gaps (shouldn't be far) and save it as a PDF. Paperback on Amazon requires both the interior file AND the cover to be a PDF. Once you launch Preview Launcer your cover should fill perfectly within their margins. You will know if the cover is wrong because Amazon won't let you continue unless it's corrected.

Only other thing I can tell you is ENROLL IN KDP SELECT. It locks you into a 90-day "can only sell eBook on Amazon" thing but it does not lock your paperback. You can still sell your paperback anywhere. And when the 90 days is up you can sell your eBook anywhere.

Why is KDP Select important? Because it allows people who subscribe to Kindle Unlimited to read your book for free and you get paid PER PAGE. It isn't much, but anytime someone reads your book for the first time, you get paid per page.

So with Amazon you could essentially be getting paid by Kindle Unlimited page reads, eBook retail sales, and paperback sales.

One last thing, paperback is Print-On-Demand, so you pay NOTHING. Amazon takes the cost of printing the book out of the price you list it for. My book was around 670 pages. It cost $9.02 to print. I priced it at $19.99. I make $3-4 per book. Obviously, your book will be different, but this was just an example.

Hope this helps!

Little advice to give you a headstart. If you're publishing on Amazon, you'll need to start a publishing page through KDP through your current Amazon. It does NOT expose your regular information, as long as you use a pen name. So you do NOT have to create a separate Amazon.

For eBook you'll need to combine your book into something called an 'Interior File'. That's everything that comes after the cover. And you'll also need a cover page, which should be a PNG. So an the INTERIOR FILE and COVER PAGE.

Paperback is a little more difficult. You will need page numbers, page breaks for every chapter, no bleed margins, and a different format for cover photo. Now the cover photo for paperback can be a really BISH. The way I did it is I waited until Amazon had my interior file. Once that is done Amazon will tell you (based off your pages) how big your cover photo is expected to be. Take a Word document, change it to landscape mode, change the document to the expect 'Height' and 'Width' that Amazon told you your cover photo is expected to be, insert the cover picture, stretch it to fill all gaps (shouldn't be far) and save it as a PDF. Paperback on Amazon requires both the interior file AND the cover to be a PDF. Once you launch Preview Launcer your cover should fill perfectly within their margins. You will know if the cover is wrong because Amazon won't let you continue unless it's corrected.

Only other thing I can tell you is ENROLL IN KDP SELECT. It locks you into a 90-day "can only sell eBook on Amazon" thing but it does not lock your paperback. You can still sell your paperback anywhere. And when the 90 days is up you can sell your eBook anywhere.

Why is KDP Select important? Because it allows people who subscribe to Kindle Unlimited to read your book for free and you get paid PER PAGE. It isn't much, but anytime someone reads your book for the first time, you get paid per page.

So with Amazon you could essentially be getting paid by Kindle Unlimited page reads, eBook retail sales, and paperback sales.

One last thing, paperback is Print-On-Demand, so you pay NOTHING. Amazon takes the cost of printing the book out of the price you list it for. My book was around 670 pages. It cost $9.02 to print. I priced it at $19.99. I make $3-4 per book. Obviously, your book will be different, but this was just an example.

Hope this helps!

You got this!

I believe in you!

Little advice to give you a headstart. If you're publishing on Amazon, you'll need to either create a separate Amazon account or start a publishing page through KDP through your current Amazon. If you start a publishing page with your current Amazon (the one you use to shop) it does NOT expose your regular information, as long as you use a pen name. So you not NOT have to create a separate Amazon.

For eBook you'll need to combine your book into something called an 'Interior File'. That's everything that comes after the cover. And you'll also need a cover page, which should be a PNG. So an the INTERIOR FILE and COVER PAGE.

Paperback is a little more difficult. You will need page numbers, page breaks for every chapter, no bleed margins, and a different format for cover photo. Now the cover photo for paperback can be a really BISH. The way I did it is I waited until Amazon had my interior file. Once that is done Amazon will tell you (based off your pages) how big your cover photo is expected to be. Take a Word document, change it to landscape mode, change the document to the expect 'Height' and 'Width' that Amazon told you your cover photo is expected to be, insert the cover picture, stretch it to fill all gaps (shouldn't be far) and save it as a PDF. Paperback on Amazon requires both the interior file AND the cover to be a PDF. Once you launch Preview Launcer your cover should fill perfectly within their margins. You will know if the cover is wrong because Amazon won't let you continue unless it's corrected.

Only other thing I can tell you is ENROLL IN KDP SELECT. It locks you into a 90-day "can only sell eBook on Amazon" thing but it does not lock your paperback. You can still sell your paperback anywhere. And when the 90 days is up you can sell your eBook anywhere.

Why is KDP Select important? Because it allows people who subscribe to Kindle Unlimited to read your book for free and you get paid PER PAGE. It isn't much, but anytime someone reads your book for the first time, you get paid per page.

So with Amazon you could essentially be getting paid by Kindle Unlimited page reads, eBook retail sales, and paperback sales.

One last thing, paperback is Print-On-Demand, so you pay NOTHING. Amazon takes the cost of printing the book out of the price you list it for. My book was around 670 pages. It cost $9.02 to print. I priced it at $19.99. I make $3-4 per book. Obviously, your book will be different, but this was just an example.

Hope this helps!

You got this!

I believe in you!

Little advice to give you a headstart. If you're publishing on Amazon, you'll need to either create a separate Amazon account or start a publishing page through KDP through your current Amazon. If you start a publishing page with your current Amazon (the one you use to shop) it does NOT expose your regular information, as long as you use a pen name. So you not NOT have to create a separate Amazon.

For eBook you'll need to combine your book into something called an 'Interior File'. That's everything that comes after the cover. And you'll also need a cover page, which should be a PNG. So an the INTERIOR FILE and COVER PAGE.

Paperback is a little more difficult. You will need page numbers, page breaks for every chapter, no bleed margins, and a different format for cover photo. Now the cover photo for paperback can be a really BISH. The way I did it is I waited until Amazon had my interior file. Once that is done Amazon will tell you (based off your pages) how big your cover photo is expected to be. Take a Word document, change it to landscape mode, change the document to the expect 'Height' and 'Width' that Amazon told you your cover photo is expected to be, insert the cover picture, stretch it to fill all gaps (shouldn't be far) and save it as a PDF. Paperback on Amazon requires both the interior file AND the cover to be a PDF. Once you launch Preview Launcer your cover should fill perfectly within their margins. You will know if the cover is wrong because Amazon won't let you continue unless it's corrected.

Only other thing I can tell you is ENROLL IN KDP SELECT. It locks you into a 90-day "can only sell eBook on Amazon" thing but it does not lock your paperback. You can still sell your paperback anywhere. And when the 90 days is up you can sell your eBook anywhere.

Why is KDP Select important? Because it allows people who subscribe to Kindle Unlimited to read your book for free and you get paid PER PAGE. It isn't much, but anytime someone reads your book for the first time, you get paid per page.

So with Amazon you could essentially be getting paid by Kindle Unlimited page reads, eBook retail sales, and paperback sales.

One last thing, paperback is Print-On-Demand, so you pay NOTHING. Amazon takes the cost of printing the book out of the price you list it for. My book was around 670 pages. It cost $9.02 to print. I priced it at $19.99. I make $3-4 per book. Obviously, your book will be different, but this was just an example.

Hope this helps!

You got this!

I believe in you!

I am L.V. Lamont and I recently published Volume I of my debut novel, Remnants from Ravenwood: Whispers and Ruin. The first volume is 22 chapters of a massive 114 chapter novel that I spent 5 months writing and 2 months editing. It was quite the project. I originally began in July 2025, but then quit my job at the end of August to write full time. I was finished just after Thanksgiving and started editing immediately. I edited 2-3 chapters a day, every day, until late January. I'm happy to say that despite the book's length I don't regret a thing and am planning to release Volume II in 5-6 weeks. And I did it all on Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing!

The hardest part of writing a book is momentum. I spent years opening up a blank Word file, writing, and deleting. And that is the first lesson. Don't delete. Keep everything. An idea you hate now might be an idea who wish you'd saved later. Also, do yourself a favor. If you have a notepad option on your phone, use it to write down every random idea you think might be good for the book. Don't do it later. Do it now. I have a text message that sends to myself. Whenever an idea pops in my head I text it to myself. That same principle goes for ideas, characters, and lore dumps. Don't destroy. Store. I spent years thinking about my book. Then, I finally got up the courage to start writing. By that time I had so many ideas I couldn't help myself. What started as a plan for 35 chapters soon became 65, and by the time I was done I was staring at a 114 chapter MONSTER. Yeah, it's not the most sellable debut novel, but it's everything I wanted to say in my story. Don't compromise your vision. Store every thought you have and review it later. Oh, and one more thing. Never stop taking in inspiration. Watch movies you never thought you'd watch. Play video games. Open a book you have no business reading. Never stop feeding your brain. You might be surprised at what pops out. Good luck writers!

I am L.V. Lamont and I recently published Volume I of my debut novel, Remnants from Ravenwood: Whispers and Ruin. The first volume is 22 chapters of a massive 114 chapter novel that I spent 5 months writing and 2 months editing. It was quite the project. I originally began in July 2025, but then quit my job at the end of August to write full time. I was finished just after Thanksgiving and started editing immediately. I edited 2-3 chapters a day, every day, until late January. I'm happy to say that despite the book's length I don't regret a thing and am planning to release Volume II in 5-6 weeks. And I did it all on Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing!