Kindle Publish Report #3: 6 Tips

I survived the weekend which included a hail storm in the Hill Country and the trauma of an ebook with a few typos.

Fortunately, I found there weren't as many typos as I'd imagined in my first ebook Just One Look. Unfortunately, I wasn't at home with the computer containing the HTML file that I learned needed corrected.

Now, I am at home and am almost ready to upload a corrected HTML file to my Kindle Bookshelf, and thereby hangs a tale.

6 Kindle Publishing Insights

1. Make sure your manuscript file is accurate before you convert to HTML. If possible, proof it then set it aside for a couple of days then proof again. Better still is to get a different set of eyes to read it.


My friend Cynthia Wicklund, an ebook veteran with 4 titles published on Kindle, told me to relax, that even though perfectionism is the goal, it's usually not achievable. She reminded me of something I already knew: you'll find occasional typos in all books -- print published and ebooks whether published by the author or by a publisher.

When you're working with an HTML file, it's hard to see errors on the screen wide lines of code. That's why it's necessary to get the text file perfect before converting to HTML.

2. You use your Bookshelf webpage to manage your Kindle published ebooks. When you publish on the Kindle Digital Publishing (KDP)platform, you get assigned a Bookshelf webpage, and that's where you go to manage the ebook you publish. That's also where you go to view Sales Reports.

3. When you make any change to your book, you must Upload again. Whether you change the Product Description, the pricing, or upload a new HTML file version, you must click Save and Continue and then Upload for those changes to take place.

4. Whenever you click Upload, it will probably take as long as the initial upload for your changed book or description to show up: 24 hours to several days. It looks to me as if the more people using Kindle DTP, the longer the time it takes for a book to go live.

5. When you are waiting for changes to be live you cannot access the Edit Function. The Edit button is grayed out. You cannot access Edit until the book is live again.


6. Your book will continue to be sold even though you can't access the Edit Function on your Bookshelf for that particular book.

Tune In Tomorrow

I'll post more on XinXii, the European Digital Publishing Platform for English readers.

Takeaway Truth

With digital publishing platforms, patience is indeed a virtue.