How to Self-Publish an Ebook

You have a manuscript. You want to sell it. Here's the production pipeline — formatting, cover, metadata, validation, distribution — with specific tools and settings at each step.

Step 1: Format your manuscript as EPUB

Stores accept EPUB. Some also accept DOCX or PDF, but they convert internally and the results are unpredictable. Control the output by creating the EPUB yourself.

• From Word/Docs: Export to DOCX, then use Calibre or Pandoc to convert. Use heading styles (Heading 1 for chapters, Heading 2 for sections) — the converter builds the table of contents from these.
• From Markdown: pandoc ch*.md -o book.epub --toc --epub-cover-image=cover.jpg
• From existing PDF: Use the PDF to EPUB converter. Works best with text-based PDFs; scanned pages need OCR first.

See the full EPUB creation guide for detailed instructions.

Step 2: Design a cover

The cover is the single biggest factor in whether a browser clicks your book. Requirements:

• Dimensions: 1600 x 2560 px (Amazon KDP standard). Portrait, 1:1.6 ratio.
• Format: JPEG or PNG, RGB color space, under 2MB
• Text: Title and author name must be legible at thumbnail size (120px wide)

Options: hire a designer ($50-500), use Canva templates, or generate an AI cover from a text description (Epublys Pro). Then add the cover to your EPUB.

Step 3: Set metadata

Metadata is what stores display: title, author, description, categories, keywords, ISBN. Get it wrong and your book is invisible in search.

1. Open the metadata editor
2. Set: title, author(s), language, publisher, description, series name + position, subjects/categories, publication date, ISBN (optional)
3. The description is your sales pitch — 150-300 words, hooks in the first sentence, no spoilers

Step 4: Validate

Store checks and rendering differ. Use EPUBCheck and the destination previewer to check the file before submitting it. Run the validator before uploading anywhere. Enable auto-fix to repair mimetype problems and a missing language declaration when the package can be read.

Step 5: Compress

KDP's delivery fees depend on the royalty option and marketplace. Check the current terms for your book before pricing it. If images dominate the file, compare a compressed copy at reading size; do not trade away necessary detail just to reduce bytes.

Step 6: Distribute

Amazon KDP (Kindle)

Upload EPUB directly at kdp.amazon.com. Amazon converts to their internal format. Check the current royalty, delivery-fee and KDP Select exclusivity terms against your distribution plans before enrolling.

Apple Books

Upload via Apple Books for Authors (formerly iTunes Connect). Check the current submission requirements and royalty terms in its author portal before publishing.

Kobo Writing Life

Upload EPUB at kobowritinglife.com. Check the current price thresholds and royalty terms in your account before setting prices.

Aggregators

Draft2Digital and Smashwords distribute to multiple stores from one upload (Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple, libraries). Compare their current distribution fees, supported stores and payment terms with managing each store directly.

Common mistakes

• Skipping validation: KDP silently reformats broken EPUBs. Your carefully designed layout becomes a mess. Validate first.
• No table of contents: Stores require a functional TOC. Pandoc and Calibre generate one from headings.
• Wrong metadata: Misspelled author name, wrong language code, empty description. These fields are how readers find you.
• Pricing too low: $0.99 signals "not worth reading" to many buyers. $2.99-4.99 is the sweet spot for fiction. Non-fiction can go higher.

Related

• How to create an EPUB file
• Add a cover to your EPUB
• Compress large EPUBs
• Send EPUB to Kindle