How to Write and Publish Low Content Books on KDP

In today’s fast-paced technology and social media world, artists and creatives often look for new and exciting ideas to create and share their content. A recent phenomenon that has been steadily rising in the past few years is the writing and publishing of low content books.

What are Low Content Books?

Online sites like Amazon and other book sharing websites are full of low content books, which are incredibly simple to write and publish. Such books can include colouring books, planners, workbooks, quotation books, activity books, journals, and more. Unlike typical fashion, as seen in fiction and non-fiction books, these books are not word count heavy and often focus more on the graphics. This frees content writers from the expectations of writing 10k to 100k words for their latest fictional romance novel or non-fiction self-help book. However, you are still free to do so in your own time. Low content books provide ease of creation due to their lower word count, leading to quick and effective content creation. This article will guide you through creating and publishing common content books thoroughly and efficiently. Let’s take a look.

Understanding Amazon KDP

There are millions of books available for purchase on Amazon. It is important to note that these books do not just appear out of nowhere, but rather a team of professional writers and publishers work tirelessly to ensure the successful execution of this task. Most authors and content writers use Amazon KDP in some capacity to publish their books on Amazon. Amazon offers aspiring writers the freedom to use the platform to put their work online, both in ebook and print format. Moreover, Amazon will also print it out and ship it to the buyer upon successful purchase of your book. Of course, this whole process is done for a certain payment. The person buying the book pays for the book and the added cost of printing and shipping. Once your book is sold, you are entitled to a certain percentage of the money. The amount of money you make is based on the pre-decided cost of the book after subtracting the cost of printing the book and taking out Amazon’s share of the percentage. So, in a nutshell, Amazon offers writers the ability to use their platform to publish original books, including the printing and shipping of said books. This provides a unique advantage to content writers and well-deserved bragging rights for having a published book on Amazon.

Finding Inspiration for your Low Content Book

It is always best to do lots of research before beginning any creative endeavours. Writing low content books is no different. Visiting public libraries and local bookstores is a no brainer, as they tend to have extensive catalogues of all kinds of books. Moreover, websites like Pinterest, Goodreads, Audible and even Amazon can help you find motivation and define your direction. Please note that while it is perfectly acceptable and even encouraged to use other people’s work as inspiration, you must steer clear from blatant plagiarism and copying someone’s work entirely. Such actions can have unwanted consequences, including a total publishing ban from Amazon KDP. Moreover, it is morally and ethically unacceptable.

While researching your low content book, look for ideas regarding the chosen topics and how the text is formatted. When using Amazon for your research, feel free to utilize their’ look inside’ section, which enables you to see a preview of the book. Looking at the preview will help you know the format and the size of the book. Another crucial step is to read reviews of the books you are exploring. Reading reviews will bring certain shortcomings to your attention that you can address in your book and inform you of the things readers seem to enjoy most about those particular types of books.

Another way to do your research effectively and quickly is to use programs like Publisher Rocket, a software that aids in research across various books and genres. They also provide certain data like suggestions for ideas and Amazon searches for a particular topic. When you find something you like, you can start to decide how you will emulate it. Keep in mind that Publisher Rocket and other such software are not free to use, and if you are a beginner, it might weigh heavy on your pocket. It is best to wait until you are already publishing and selling your work before you start using these services.

Producing your Book

The first step before you even start creating your book is to decide the size of your book. Amazon KDP offers various book sizes for publishing. Based on the type of book you are writing, you might want to choose a particular size. This is where the aforementioned research comes into play, helping you understand and decide what size will best suit your book type and genre. You may also view all size options at Amazon KDP. Another step you will need to make a decision on is whether your book should be black and white or in colour. The difference is in the cost, as coloured books will naturally cost you more when printing, which means you will have to increase the book’s retail price to balance out the cost.

Once you have successfully concluded your research and decided on the kind of low content book you wish to create, you may move on to design assets. If you are able to, you can create or design your templates and images. However, a much quicker and simpler alternative is to use online resources to look for pre-designed graphics and templates. For instance, if you are creating a journal for dog lovers, one google search will help you find all kinds of canine imagery. If you want to create a planner, you are just one quick online search away from hundreds of thousands of free and paid planner templates.

Once you have successfully concluded collecting your assets, you can use software to place everything together. Book authors and professional writers often use software like Adobe InDesign. You may also use a program like Affinity Publisher if you are looking for a cheaper and more easy-to-use option. New publishers who are inexperienced with graphic layouts and complicated graphic design software often use simpler programs like Microsoft Publisher to create their low content books. Regardless of your choice of program, ensure that the size and dimensions you have chosen are already selected in the software’s settings before you start your work.

Once you have placed the needful in your desired layout, you can export the project in a PDF file format.

Publishing your Low Content Book

Before publishing your book, make sure to go through it thoroughly, erasing any errors and rectifying spelling mistakes or image formatting issues, as they greatly lower the quality of your book, making it look unprofessional. Once you are satisfied with the changes you have made, you may now proceed to publish your book.

Make an Account

The first step to publishing your book is to create an account on Amazon KDP. This will also require your personal information, payment methods and billing information.

The Bookshelf

After completing the above step and filling out all your profile information, you will visit the Bookshelf. The bookshelf tool helps you keep track of all your books, including all past books that you have published and the new ones you wish to add to your account. Think of it as a dashboard for low content books on your Amazon account. It will range across print books and ebooks alike. If you want to create a paperback, you must click on the option that says ‘Create New Title’ and the (+ paperback) button. This will show you a screen with all paperback details.

Paperback Details

On the aforementioned screen, you will need to fill out the particular information, including the author name, the description of your book, the title of your book and certain keywords. Keywords are the search terms that readers and buyers will use to look up your book online. You will also select the genre or the category of your book in this section. Once you have filled out all the details on this page, you can save them and move on to the next section.

Content for Paperbacks

On the next screen, your book will be assigned an ISBN number free of cost. This helps keep track of all your low content (or other fictional/non-fiction) books. Here you will also need to select the size of your book and the type of paper and cover you want. You will also be uploading your PDF file here. If you need help designing a cover for your book, you can utilize the cover creator provided in this section. After you are satisfied with all your uploads, save all changes before proceeding to the next section.

Rights and Pricing

For this section, you will be asked to decide a price for your book. When you enter or select your chosen price, you will be able to see the profit you will be making from the sales once the book cost and Amazon cost has been subtracted.

 

Reviewing

You must keep in mind that the book you upload will go through a reviewing process before it is put up on Amazon. They will contact you to inform you whether your book has been approved or if that is not the case. If your book is not approved, look for issues like spelling errors, formatting issues or copyright infringement. If your book gets approved, you will be notified through an email once it goes live. You may then share the link with your family, social media and close friends.

So to conclude, writing low content books is a great way to publish your work quickly and profitably. It is a practice that becomes easier with time. You can make it even simpler for yourself by saving the template of your book and reusing it to create your next one. So now that you know how to do it, good luck and happy writing!