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.
- Open the metadata editor
- Set: title, author(s), language, publisher, description, series name + position, subjects/categories, publication date, ISBN (optional)
- The description is your sales pitch — 150-300 words, hooks in the first sentence, no spoilers
Step 4: Validate
Every store runs EPUBCheck on upload. If your file has errors, it gets rejected or renders incorrectly. Run the validator before uploading anywhere. Enable auto-fix to repair the three issues it can safely fix automatically — incorrect mimetype, a missing container.xml, and a missing language declaration.
Step 5: Compress
Amazon charges $0.15/MB in delivery fees (deducted from your royalty). A 10MB file costs $1.50 per sale. Run the compressor — typical savings are 30-70%. A 10MB file becomes 3-5MB. That saves $0.75-1.05 per sale.
Step 6: Distribute
Amazon KDP (Kindle)
Upload EPUB directly at kdp.amazon.com. Amazon converts to their internal format. Select 70% royalty for $2.99-9.99 books (with delivery fee), or 35% for other prices (no delivery fee). KDP Select requires 90-day exclusivity — skip it if you want to sell everywhere.
Apple Books
Upload via Apple Books for Authors (formerly iTunes Connect). Accepts EPUB only. 70% royalty, no delivery fees. Requires a Mac or access to the web portal.
Kobo Writing Life
Upload EPUB at kobowritinglife.com. 70% royalty for $2.99+, 45% below. Strong international readership, especially Canada, Europe, and Japan.
Aggregators
Draft2Digital and Smashwords distribute to multiple stores from one upload (Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple, libraries). They take 10-15% of the list price. Worth it to avoid managing 5+ dashboards.
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
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