Guides
Publish it yourself, without the expensive mistakes.
Free guides to the parts of self-publishing that trip people up. Kept current: each one shows the day its facts were last checked.
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Publishing
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Publishing on KDP, step by step
How to publish an ebook, paperback and hardcover on Amazon KDP, what you'll earn, the current rules, and the mistakes that get books bounced.
Updated 28 Sep 2026
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What self-publishing costs in 2026
What each part of self-publishing costs, from editing to ISBNs to promotion, with 2026 prices from the source, and which parts you can do for nothing.
Updated 29 Sep 2026
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KDP keywords and categories: how readers find your book
How KDP's seven keywords and three categories work, what KDP says to put in them and what it says to leave out, and how to choose them the way readers search.
Updated 29 Sep 2026
ISBNs
Distribution
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Kindle Unlimited or wide?
How KDP Select and Kindle Unlimited work, what page reads have paid over the past year, who KU suits, and how to switch either way without breaking the rules.
Updated 28 Sep 2026
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IngramSpark: when it's worth it
What IngramSpark does that KDP print doesn't, what it costs in 2026, the ISBN catch, and how to run KDP and IngramSpark side by side safely.
Updated 28 Sep 2026
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Going wide: Draft2Digital, Kobo, Apple, Google Play, Bookshop.org
Where to sell your ebook beyond Amazon, direct or through Draft2Digital, what each option costs in 2026, and the honest pros and cons of each.
Updated 28 Sep 2026
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Your ebook price in other countries: converted or fixed?
Some stores convert your price from one currency, some fix it the day you publish, some let you set each one. What each platform does and what to check.
Updated 4 Oct 2026
Protect yourself
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Spotting predatory marketing and publishing scams
The scams aimed at authors right now, the red flags they share, two real cases, and exactly what to do and where to report if you're targeted.
Updated 28 Sep 2026
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Someone is pretending to be you: author impersonation and hacked accounts
Hacked account or fake copy of you? What to lock down first, how to report a clone, and how to protect readers from scammers using your name.
Updated 12 Oct 2026
Audio
Rights
Marketing
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Book promotion sites: what they cost and what to expect
What BookBub, Freebooksy, Fussy Librarian, review services and giveaways cost, what they realistically deliver, and how to track your own results.
Updated 28 Sep 2026
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Build your email list first
Why an email list matters more than any platform, how reader magnets work, keeping your list healthy, and the Australian Spam Act basics.
Updated 28 Sep 2026
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Advance review copies: running an ARC without breaking Amazon's rules
What an ARC is, what Amazon allows when you give free copies for reviews, how Kindle Unlimited affects it, and how to run one that readers finish.
Updated 28 Sep 2026
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How to get ARC readers without paying for them
Where your first advance readers come from, how to ask without breaking Amazon's rules, and how to run the whole thing free on Bervet.
Updated 28 Sep 2026
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ARC services compared: NetGalley, BookSirens, BookFunnel, StoryOrigin and Bervet
What each advance review copy service costs in 2026 (from their own pricing pages), what you get for it, how readers read the book, and when free is enough.
Updated 29 Sep 2026
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Getting Amazon reviews without breaking the rules
What Amazon allows when you look for reviews, what it bans (swaps, family, rewards, ARC teams that drop non-reviewers), and honest ways to get more.
Updated 29 Sep 2026
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A+ Content on KDP: what it is and how to set it up
What A+ Content is, the image sizes and rules that get it rejected, and how to put one design on your ebook and paperback.
Updated 15 Oct 2026
Craft
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Covers, blurbs and pricing basics
How covers signal genre, the thumbnail test, a blurb structure that works, and how KDP's royalty bands shape your ebook, print and series pricing.
Updated 28 Sep 2026
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Finding beta readers, and getting feedback you can use
What beta readers are for, how many you need, where to find readers who fit your book, what to ask them, and how to tell a pattern from one person's taste.
Updated 29 Sep 2026
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How to write a blurb that sells the first chapter
A blurb's one job, a structure that works for fiction, two worked rewrites, and KDP's own rules for the description box, including the things it doesn't allow.
Updated 29 Sep 2026
Getting published
Print problems
- KDP says my text is outside the margins: what it means and how to fix it
- KDP says insufficient bleed, or my pages have white edges: how to fix it
- Wrong trim or page size: fixing KDP's size error and Lulu's 'book size does not match
- Fonts not embedded or faux bold errors: how to fix them for KDP, IngramSpark, Lulu and B&N
- Image resolution too low (under 300 DPI): fixing picture warnings for KDP, Lulu and IngramSpark
- My print cover is the wrong size: fixing spine width errors on KDP, IngramSpark and Lulu
- Barcode errors on your print cover: KDP's barcode area and IngramSpark's 'Barcode is Not Formatted Correctly
- Spine text not allowed: the minimum page count for spine text on KDP, IngramSpark and Lulu
- Transparency errors: KDP's unflattened layers and IngramSpark's 'Complex Image' explained
- RGB, CMYK and spot colours: fixing colour errors for KDP and IngramSpark's 'Color space used
- Ink coverage too high: IngramSpark's 240% limit, Lulu's ink warning and B&N's 'Ink Saturation Error
- Too many blank pages: KDP's limits, Lulu's two-page rule, and how to fix them
- KDP says 'Please fix the highlighted issue' but nothing is highlighted: ISBN and imprint mismatches
- Crop marks, template text and placeholders left in your print file: how to clean them out
- KDP had a problem processing your interior? Fixing corrupt, locked or oversized PDFs
- Kindle ebook cover rejected or flagged as blurry: KDP's cover rules and how to fix them
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