The lure of being a published author is seductive. (And Kindle X makes it easier to be seduced, but more about that at the end of this post.)

I write but I’ve been looking for a more passive income and my search led me to eBooks – Kindle to be exact. If you’re like me and would like to add another stream of income, you really should consider publishing on the Kindle. I gave some really good tips in my last post about why you should write an eBook even though you’re a blogger or have another business you’re focusing on.

But this post is a bit different. It is not just about writing an eBook, it is about being a publisher. There is a difference between being an author and being a publisher. One secret people are rapidly beginning to discover is that lot of money can made from publishing eBooks online.

This is a secret that the traditional publishing houses discovered decades ago and one you can now profit from, thanks to how easy it is to put up an eBook.

One huge advantage you have over those traditional establishments is that you do not need to spend a fortune printing a book. You just get your story written, format it for the platform you want to use (in this case, the Kindle), get a nice cover image done and upload it. Once you get approval, you’re good to go.

Of course I’m aware that it’s not as simple as that even though it is as straightforward. So what I’m going to do is take you through the points I mentioned. At the end of this, you should be able to publish your first Kindle book – if you haven’t already done so.

Also, I am focusing on Fiction. You know why? Because fiction is HOT. It has always been hot, but now people are making a killing in that niche. The romance fiction industry alone generated over $1.358 billion in sales in 2010 alone. Yes, you read that right, it is billion. And in U.S Dollars. You can get the full stats here.

So don’t turn your nose up at fiction okay? You could be working away a millionaire at the end of the year and I’m not just saying. Google ‘Amanda Hocking’ if you need further convincing. Okay, let’s get on with this.

Get your story written

unwrap yourself and read on...

Right. This is where a lot of people are going to freeze. Writing fiction is not for the faint-hearted. It requires skill and talent. But you can learn it. This will take a lot of your time.

Now, I don’t want you to freeze just because I said ‘write fiction.’ You’re reading this blog because you know that you have that extra something needed to scale through a problem and I will show you how to get around this ‘problem’ in a moment.

If you are a talented writer, by all means flex your fingers. But even if you are not a talented writer, I urge you to try writing. While you are trying though, there are a few things you can do to make sure you get a story that will sell.

• Read a few books on the Kindle Top 100 (focus on the genre that interests you): If you visit the Kindle bestsellers list Kindle bestsellers list you will find the books that are selling really well on the Kindle Store. There is one column for the Paid Books and another for the Free books.

Download some of the free and maybe one or two of the paid. Read them to see which one is interesting to you. There will be a common element in all these that made them hit the bestselling list.

• Next read the reviews to discover what the readers really want: This is really important because readers will tell you what made the story worth reading, what they liked about it and what parts they did not really enjoy. This should help you know what you’re dealing with and is a free way to sample your target market.

• Write your story: This is only if you really believe that you can write. No, you do not have to be Edgar Allan Poe, or John Grisham; if you can write a good story then go ahead and do so. It is good for the soul. However, if you can’t write or you don’t have the time to do so, pay attention to the next points.

• Hire a ghostwriter: I’ve already mentioned that I’m a ghostwriter and I know it sounds like one, but this really isn’t a shameless plugin. Okay, maybe a little. But honestly there are some really great ones out there who are willing to write really wonderful stories for you at affordable rates.

This is actually what a lot of internet marketers are making use of with great success. You can find a ghostwriter in the following places:

• Elance
• Craigslist
• ODesk
• Freelancer.com
• iWriter

• There is another alternative and that is to buy already written stories: This is one I don’t hear a lot of people talk about. Probably because a lot of people didn’t know about it. You can actually buy the rights to stories that have already been written and there are so many good stories out there waiting for you. I’ll show you where you can get the information you need to do that in a moment.

Format your story

Since we are talking about Kindle books, it is really important to get your written story formatted for easy reading on the Kindle or you will just put off your reader. A ticked off reader could mean a bad review. Bookmark that. There are several ways you can get your Kindle book formatted and I’ll list a few here.

• Get a good Kindle formatting software: this is what I do for my clients. I have an account with Kinstant Formatter and it works like a dream. It has a lifetime payment of $27 and you can format unlimited books. They plan to make it an annual payment but they haven’t as far as I know. And if you get in before that happens, the change shouldn’t affect you.

• Learn how to do it yourself: If you’re not interested in shelling out $27 to get your Kindle book formatted, you can actually do it yourself with the word processor you’re using. Formatting your Kindle book with Word is quite straightforward. This also falls into the alternate method I’ll tell you about at the end of this post.

Get a nice cover image done

For this, you basically have three options. You could:

1. Outsource this to an expensive graphic designer and get a great cover, or
2. Outsource it on Fiverr and get a maybe good cover (if you want to hit it the first time with your Fiverr outsourcing, check BestofFiverr.com; you will get some honest reviews there;
3. Do it yourself. I’m sure you can see a theme running through this post. I am quite a fan of DIY. And no, you do not have to be a graphic designer to create a wonderful cover and you can do it for less than $5. I just did one while I was working on this post and it didn’t take me 10 minutes. It’s for an erotic romance novel though so I won’t put it here; if you want to take a peep, click this link. I warn you though, it’s X rated .

Upload your novel

Okay, that’s 4 steps but this is the fun part…there’s this sexy little tool called KDP. It’s Amazon’s own wonder tool for publishing novels to Kindle. It’s called Kindle Direct Publishing.

KDP makes it remarkably easy to publish your novels and it is free. Make sure you take a look at their content guidelines before you go publishing.

Using KDP is as simple as uploading your ebook, previewing it through a previewer provided by KDP and clicking publish. The KDP folk take it from there. Check here for everything you need to know direct from Amazon.com…check the left sidebar too so you don’t miss out on anything.

So that’s it. Now I want to tell you about that alternate method I mentioned which also has a lot of DIY stuff incorporated. This is for busy marketers who want to build a Kindle empire. I understand if you’re not into empire building, which is why I gave you almost everything you need to publish your book.

But if you want to turn this into a real income stream, you can’t afford to publish just one book. You need much more than that and you need them in a hurry.

Well, Meg Duffy figured that out and she made over $8,000 in the month of March alone. She put together a package showing you exactly how she did it, which I think is incredibly generous of her. From going through her stuff I learned so much that I went ahead and created my eCover.

This is what you can expect to get:

• You will learn where to find already written novels/novellas and how to get the rights to them (legally).
• How to create stunning eCovers for less than $5 (remember the one I created?)
• How to get your book on the bestsellers list (this one is really delicious)
• Places you can send your book to for great reviews.

A lot of marketers are excited because what she teaches is remarkably easy and yet I would never have thought of it in a million years. Before reading her stuff, I was busy reveling in being a ghostwriter (the money is not bad, believe me). However, $8,000 in one month? Wow! I want me some that.

If you are thinking of getting serious with the Kindle you really need to get your hands on this. I will NEVER recommend to you something I’ve not tried or something I cannot stamp my name to, if I have to do that. What I’m saying is that this is the real deal. You can read this and put it to practice immediately.

This is the link.

Treat this like gold because it has the potential to turn to that in your hands.

Right. I’ve had fun writing this post and I think it’s one of my longest on this blog. Do you think you’re ready to publish on the Kindle? What is holding you back? Please leave a comment.

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