Thank you! Your video was very helpful! My first book is titled, Ballerina on Wheels - Amazing Ava's First Dance Recital. Planning on uploading next week!!! Cheers!
How do you make money this way? Do you get some percentage of sales as people buy your book? And how do you make money if going through submitting to a publisher? Do you get paid for the book outright or do you make money each time someone buys the book? Sorry for the ignorant questions - I’m just very new to all of this! Thank you!
Question for time stamp 6:02 - are you able to set the price for the paperback book to something like .01 to keep costs low and view a printed proof of our uploaded book? Than would like to change the price later once live and finished. Thank you for this information!
There will be a minimum cost, because of the printing costs. However, once it is published, there is a way to make it free or just pence. It's complicated to explain, but I'll make a video on it - probably next year. If you look up Nick Stephenson, he does some good info on this sort of thing. PS love your icon!
Thank Mew😸 will have to check him out. Got some illustrations to do before uploading. Can’t wait to get that final copy in hand! Will it be less than $5 for the paperback proof?
Very useful video Quick question: can one change the pricing of a book after publication? Don't seem to be able to find that function...yet. Thanks for your help
Hi Paul, depending what platform - you can with KDP, and my suggestion is to not put the price on the back of your book like trad publishers do, just in case you need to change it.
Hi Jules, I'm confused about something. I understand that in order to sell in retail stores or have your book in a library you need your own barcode with the price of the book on it. You have to obtain it yourself after you get your ISBN number. After you get it, you can't change your mind about the cost of your book. It should be on the back of the book when you upload the cover to Amazon on the form you are showing here. If that's the case, then you have to know what you want to charge for the book long before you see the option for how much you want to sell your book for on this form. So how do you find out in advance what percentage of the money you get for each book? Does Amazon have another page with this information on what percentage you'd get for each book you sell? It seems before you even go into this form, you need to have your copyright page typed out with ISBN number, library of congress number and all kinds of other information in addition to cost so there is no time to think twice before scrolling and clicking. This video is just what I wanted to know, but the part about knowing when to set your price confuses me.
Hi Jules, thank you for the great video. I was wondering if you could help me. I have done my pictures book on Canva. I used 6.125 by 9.25 I have been told this will be accepted by KDP . I still received a message that I need to add 0.125 and 0.25 to the sizes and stretch out the pictures. I added the size and resized it on Canva ( haven’t stretched ) Was rejected again.
I have run into a snag w/ my kids book uploading to KDP. I made it 11 X 8.5 and KDP doesn't support this size. I figured I could make it 8.5 X 8.5. I then tried resizing my front and back cover so they'd fit the 8.5 size. I actually combined them so the total width would be 17 inches. Made the whole thing a PDF and uploaded it to the cover section and it wound up being too small. And KDP doesn't seem to have a way of resizing it. This has really taken the wind out of my sails. Am I missing a step or two?
Hmm that sounds difficult. Have you saved as high resolution pdf? If it is low res in the options when you are saving your pdf, change to the highest res you can. That might fix it. Otherwise it might be a problem with the sizing, in which case make a new page at 8.5x8.5 (make sure it’s definitely inches not cm or mm) and copy and paste all ye artwork from old to new and save as a new name.
I have two self illustrated books and working on a third however despite a sample copy that looks great kdp rejects due to format errors. I’m new to adobe acrobat pro but learned enough to use it and now haw no idea how to format . I know of pdf requirement sizes and bleed . I’ve watched a million you tube videos. It is to point the stress is taking a tole.
Hi Julie. Thank you for this video. However, I was hoping you would explain how to upload your entire book. You only mentioned uploading the cover book, how do you upload the rest of the book. ? I am having problems uploading my children's book.
Hi Amallinas, you upload the inside of your book in the box marked MANUSCRIPT, where the label is 'Upload Paperback Manuscript'. It is directly above the cover upload. Hope that helps, Jules
@@momdesigns3993 So glad you've had success with a publisher. I'll revisit this video in case things have changed since I made it. Thanks for the heads up :)
If you self-publish a book on Amazon, can your book still make it to a shelf in a library or be sold in a place like Target or Barnes & Noble? If so, what would it say in place of a publisher for where it was published?
HI Whitney, if you want to publish on Amazon and also sell elsewhere, you need your own ISBN, not a free KDP one. The publisher is you - or a publishing name you want to go by. Hope this helps, btw, my course goes into all this detail. Currently $99 for this month. Free preview here: julesmarrinerbooks-school.thinkific.com/courses/take/how-to-illustrate-a-childrens-picture-book/lessons/13971664-let-s-get-the-ball-rolling
It seems like Amazon is such a big market place that it would be enough to put a children’s book on there for sale, but do you find it is worth while to publish on other sites like Barnes & Nobles nook and so on? I am hoping to put my first children’s book on for sale soon and it would be cost effective to get a free isbn number, but I don’t want to limit myself if it could be profitable to sell else where. I have my written text separate from my illustrations...how do I upload pictures separately in order...do I need a special app to do this? Should I buy a copyright for my books or is self publishing it and having it online considered the same thing ? Do you find a kindle version of your children’s books as popular as a physical copy? Sorry for all the questions,but it has been a dream that I have had for so long and with everything that is going on in the world right now...I have decided that I am not going to wait....it’s time to make dreams a reality!
Hi Lisa Jean - lots of questions to answer, I'll do my best. If you take a free ISBN from Amazon, you can ONLY publish that book on Amazon, you can't supply it to B&N or Waterstones or anywhere else. You automatically have copyright for your books once you have written it (you don't buy it) all you have to do is register it on Nielsen. Lots of questions are answered on my course, which I have made $60 (instead of $375) for a few weeks while lots of people are at home. I find physical books sell better than ebooks. Hope that helps - make that dream a reality!
I recently looked at statistics and can confirm what Jules is saying about physical books selling better than ebooks. Massive difference! My first book will be out in a few months and I am not going to get a free ISBN from amazon. Amazon is not the biggest seller of kids' books apparently, although the statistics were from 2017. Many people still prefer buying from physical bookshops. Definitely buy a writing course or 2. I have so many and I keep coming back to them.
Anna Maledon Picture Book Author Thank you for answering! Good advice! Though with the world crisis right now, I think everything could change. I believe online books will be selling so much more with everyone have to stuck at home.
Hi Jules, hope you're well. I received my proof copy book today (Hooray!) and am pretty happy with the final result however my main concern was going to be the front cover I'd created as it looked blurred when I uploaded it. The final image on the front is sort of ok but still a bit blurred for my liking unfortunately. I cut out jpeg images and layered them using GIMP and then saved it as a PDF to upload, if I'd used PDF images instead of jpeg when creating it, do you think the quality would have been better? Many thanks
Yes that might have been better - it might not like the switch between jpeg and pdf. I don't know GIMP at all, have you tried looking on forums to see if anyone has a similar experience? So glad you've got your proof - it's exciting, isn't it?
@@JulesMarriner It was truly great to see my book in printed form! Disappointing about the cover although I was so happy with it's contents I could have let it slip but the cover would have always bugged me. I had a look at the forums and got some different advice. I flattened the image before converting it to PDF and compared it and it looked sharper and clearer. I've ordered another proof so lets see how it goes (fingers crossed!) Thank you so much again 😊
@@stuh1975 hello- what sort of software would I need to do this ? I would like my aunt to paint watercolour. also how would we move that from watercolour to a pdf? thanks for your time
Hi Carolyn, glad they have been helpful. I do some one to one sessions, depending on what it is. You can contact me via my website julesmarrinerbooks.com 🤓
Do you have a tutorial on if we hand write the words in the book maybe?? I don’t have anything that can add text to my moms book she’s making but I wondered if we can hand write them instead
Hello Retro Siren (great name!) yes, you can hand letter. It is becoming more and more popular these days. In fact, right on trend! Give it a go, and let me know how you get on. Make sure you choose someone with a nice hand writing style.
@@JulesMarriner thanks so much! Is it possible to maybe make a tutorial on what to do for that kind of thing as well?? ☺️ I wasn’t sure if you meant yes you had a tutorial or not haha
Hi Cathy, it could be that your image is low resolution. You need to have a high resolution one if possible - that means, if you hover over your image file on your computer, it might say '60 kb' if it's low res. High res is more likely to be '1M' or thereabouts. To make a high res, you can make your cover bigger in whatever software you are using. Try making it twice the size and make sure you save it to a high quality. If you have uploaded a high res, is could just be that Amazon is processing the information, so give it a few minutes. Hope that helps, let me know :)
A few questions if you could kindly help please. Can I upload my book in jpeg format as I'm having a few problems with the layered book cover I'd created in GIMP (could be a simple fixed problem but new to this program) also I believe Amazon only do a portrait books as opposed to landscape which I'd planned my whole book to be and finally it has double page spreads and from what I know you have to have a border around each page?? Many thanks
Hi there, I always upload as a PDF, jpegs don't seem to work for me. I've never used GIMP before, only Photoshop and In Design. I've had a look for landscape design, it looks like you can do it, you have to be a bit sneaky. Here's the link to the thread I was looking at: www.kdpcommunity.com/s/question/0D5f400001EFIHxCAP/landscape-format?language=en_US You don't need a border around each page - none of mine have borders. I make all of mine double page spreads on In Design. Hope that helps. Jules :)
@@JulesMarriner - Thank you so much for taking the time and promptly replying kindly as that helps so much! It now gives me a much better understanding and broadens my options for my design. Much appreciated😁
Hi NelliRose, you can save images for Kindle in colour. I have a version of Vincent and the Vampires in Kindle. See - www.amazon.co.uk/Vincent-Vampires-vegetarian-vampire-halloween-ebook/dp/B00BBEYCJ4/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1614759145&sr=8-1
Hi Jules, your video was extremely helpful, thank you! I do have a question regarding your "How to Illustrate a Children's Picture Book" course. I'm not doing the artwork for my book. Will this course show me how to place the artwork I receive from the illustrator? Thanks, Gina
@@JulesMarriner Hi Jules, thank you for your replay! I'm sorry I didn't see it til now. I have a book series written and my next step is to find an illustrator. I was wondering if your class would tell me how to put the book together once I have the artwork available. I'm having a hard time visualizing what KDP will ask me once I get into that portion of the process and would like to make sure I have everything they will ask for.
Hi Julia, so, I would like to publish my book through KDP. Questions: 1. Does KDP allows you to upload the paperback front cover and the back cover of the book? I heard that you can only upload internal pages of the book and not the covers. If so, can you do hardcover or just paperback? 2. How can you put a barcode on the back cover of the book and how do you obtain one? 3. What software should I use to format the book? I'm not very technological savvy. Is that easy to do? 4. Are you allowed to pick Expanded Distribution on Amazon if you also plan to use other platform like IngramSpark? 5. Do you use any other platform other than Amazon in your other children's books? 6. Do you personally choose to purchase your own ISBN? Any information will really help me. Thank you so much.
Please copy and paste the sign up agreement and read it very carefully before pushing that button. There are a few unwanted surprises in there that most people are unaware of.
I am trying to up load the pages of my book and there is no place to do this. I watched this hoping you have put that in. Where do I put in the pages not just the front cover?
Hi Betsy, when you are in the second section called ''Paperback Content' you upload your manuscript there (that's the inside pages) and the cover directly beneath it. It does take a bit of time, depending on how much is uploading, but there should be a message to say where the uploading is up to.
Hi Jules, I am now about one step away to pressing that 'Submit' button to upload my book on Amazon, however the book cover I have uploaded is pretty fuzzy and blurry. I know you get asked this question a lot but it's a PDF file at 300dpi and I have given the image a minute or two to view it but it still looks blurry. Do you have you any recommendations for me please? Many thanks
Hi there - check that the original document that you made the cover on is set up to 300dpi. When you start a new doc, it should give the option of how high a resolution to set. It could be that. Let me know if that fixes it :)
Thank you Jules! I've recreated the book cover and set it to a higher resolution. On review it still looks blurry however I've managed to get it approved and have sent for a proof copy book. Lets see how it turns out! Thank you so much for such a sterling job of assistance and inspiration with your videos! Much appreciated! 😀
@@JulesMarriner Hi Jules, I finally completed my book and sorted out all the technical difficulties regarding the front cover in the end! I finally received it in it's glorious printed form, I have it for sale and actually sold some copies too! 😃 Mission accomplished!! I just wanted to say a very big thank you for your time, advice and inspiration during my struggles as I really appreciated it! Time to start Book 2!!... All the best!
By the way, one more quick question, I am compiling my picture book including minimal text in MS Publisher. Would each image/picture have to be PDF or the whole completed book as a file be PDF? Many thanks
I am so confused on the whole cost and royalty thing? Can you explain it better or is there an in depth video. I have my manuscript and illustrations ready, and registered my copyright. Just waiting on next step.
Fight Harder, You Can Do It - what is your genre/age range etc? How are you going to print it? See if your printer has standard sizes. As for the title and subtitle, have you got any ideas for a title? Tell me what the book is about.
Have a look at this link, hopefully it will help you to decide on the right trim size (that's the exact book size once the paper is trimmed). kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G201834230 What is your gut feeling about the title? Maybe a play on the 'life lesson' words? Subtitle could be something like 'for learning about life' or similar. Does that help at all? PS my course covers a lot of what you are asking, just in case you're interested. julesmarrinerbooks-school.thinkific.com/courses/how-to-illustrate-a-childrens-picture-book
I keep getting asked to add the same extra inches to my margins but every time I do they just send me the same email asking me to change my margins. What can I do so that my children book gets approved. I’m using procreate so changing my margins is very time consuming and I’ve already done it 4x now. I don’t know what the want. I’ve called and couldn’t get any information either.
Hi Amberiegh, it might be the way you are saving your document. You might need a bleed, and save it with the crop marks. I think something similar happened to me once, and saving it with the crop marks made the difference.
my kdp tells me i can't upload my manuscript because it needs to be 75 pages? but its a childrens book about colors. only 26 pages. how do i get around that
Hi, you video is so helpful. but i have a question. Google Book policies states that "Not permitted Images of nudity and/or sexually explicit audio descriptions with no educational, artistic, historical, or documentary value Pornographic content Sexually explicit text in any Book metadata (i.e. titles, subtitles or descriptions) Sexually explicit text, images, or audio content depicting extreme sexual acts such as acts of pedophilia or sex with animals Content that drives traffic to pornographic online services" and "Child safety Google has a zero-tolerance policy against child sexual abuse in either text, imagery, or audio. We strictly prohibit the use of Google Play to create, possess, or distribute child sexual abuse text, imagery, or audio" my story is about traumatized person who witnessed child rape in a very young age and how he is trying to heal. So would the book be against google book policies?
Toomii Ali I’m not sure, it may be against policy. You should get in touch with them directly and give them specific information about your book, that way they should be able to advise you.
Hi Tasmiha, you would need to go through the process and when you get the to the category section, choose one that is closest to your genre. There is no one specific category for children's book. It might say 'adventure' or 'science fiction' etc. Before you get to this part, you can choose your age range.
Am I getting confused over something simple? You are advising that we upload our children's picture books as a PDF, but Amazon allows us to use the "Kindle Kids Book Creator." Does the KKBC not actually help us with publishing?
HELP!!! my children's picture book is only 7 pages at the most including the cover AM I STILL ABLE TO UPLOAD IT ON KDP? it keeps telling me my manuscript need to be 24 pages? please help!!!
Hi Bernice- I think it will need to be 24 pages for KDP. If your book is 7, have you thought about printing it locally? Print shops can do a professional looking job.
@@JulesMarriner So I have a book that is 27 pages but it keeps telling me the minimum is 75. Has this gone up? Why would a children’s book have to so long?
This is so helpful to a new author like me. It is scary self publishing for the first time.
You’re right, it is scary- I remember having palpitations!! It’s so worth it though. What a feeling- to hold your very own book in your hands 😊
Thank you! Your video was very helpful! My first book is titled, Ballerina on Wheels - Amazing Ava's First Dance Recital. Planning on uploading next week!!! Cheers!
very helpful thank you
Can I say that I LOVE YoU! 💕 this is so helpful!
This is so helpful. Thank you. I will be uploading my first childrens book this week and so nervous. So new at this. :)
Your videos are certainly helpful. Quick, engaging, and informative. I appreciate your channel. Thank you.
This was helpful. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for helpful information.
Thank you for this Jules, its a great support. Am on an adventure. 🐹
Happy adventuring 😊
Thank you, I'm waiting for cover art to come back then uploading - its so exciting but terrifying too.
Your so awesome! you have help me ALOT!!! AMAZEBALLLLSS!!!
Happy to help!
This was very helpful, thank you. :)
You're very welcome!
How do you make money this way? Do you get some percentage of sales as people buy your book? And how do you make money if going through submitting to a publisher? Do you get paid for the book outright or do you make money each time someone buys the book? Sorry for the ignorant questions - I’m just very new to all of this! Thank you!
Question for time stamp 6:02 - are you able to set the price for the paperback book to something like .01 to keep costs low and view a printed proof of our uploaded book? Than would like to change the price later once live and finished. Thank you for this information!
There will be a minimum cost, because of the printing costs. However, once it is published, there is a way to make it free or just pence. It's complicated to explain, but I'll make a video on it - probably next year. If you look up Nick Stephenson, he does some good info on this sort of thing.
PS love your icon!
Thank Mew😸 will have to check him out. Got some illustrations to do before uploading. Can’t wait to get that final copy in hand! Will it be less than $5 for the paperback proof?
Thanks for the video and I love your glasses
Thank you! That's really kind. Without them I can't see much, so functional too 🤓
Thanks Ms. Mariner! More good tips!
You're so welcome! Glad it helped.
Thank you
I am trying to write a book at the moment!! So looked at you channel to help with some logistics 👍🏾
Very useful video Quick question: can one change the pricing of a book after publication? Don't seem to be able to find that function...yet. Thanks for your help
Hi Paul, depending what platform - you can with KDP, and my suggestion is to not put the price on the back of your book like trad publishers do, just in case you need to change it.
@@JulesMarriner Very kind of you to get back to me, am getting to grips with it now, and your video was most helpful.
What do I choose for publishing rights?
I don't know how to create the .pdf. What size is the first page? Do I create page 2-3 on the same page? Like a long page? Or is each page separate?
Hi Jules, I'm confused about something. I understand that in order to sell in retail stores or have your book in a library you need your own barcode with the price of the book on it. You have to obtain it yourself after you get your ISBN number. After you get it, you can't change your mind about the cost of your book. It should be on the back of the book when you upload the cover to Amazon on the form you are showing here. If that's the case, then you have to know what you want to charge for the book long before you see the option for how much you want to sell your book for on this form. So how do you find out in advance what percentage of the money you get for each book? Does Amazon have another page with this information on what percentage you'd get for each book you sell? It seems before you even go into this form, you need to have your copyright page typed out with ISBN number, library of congress number and all kinds of other information in addition to cost so there is no time to think twice before scrolling and clicking. This video is just what I wanted to know, but the part about knowing when to set your price confuses me.
Hi Jules, thank you for the great video. I was wondering if you could help me. I have done my pictures book on Canva. I used 6.125 by 9.25 I have been told this will be accepted by KDP . I still received a message that I need to add 0.125 and 0.25 to the sizes and stretch out the pictures. I added the size and resized it on Canva ( haven’t stretched ) Was rejected again.
I have run into a snag w/ my kids book uploading to KDP. I made it 11 X 8.5 and KDP doesn't support this size. I figured I could make it 8.5 X 8.5. I then tried resizing my front and back cover so they'd fit the 8.5 size. I actually combined them so the total width would be 17 inches. Made the whole thing a PDF and uploaded it to the cover section and it wound up being too small. And KDP doesn't seem to have a way of resizing it. This has really taken the wind out of my sails. Am I missing a step or two?
Hmm that sounds difficult. Have you saved as high resolution pdf? If it is low res in the options when you are saving your pdf, change to the highest res you can. That might fix it. Otherwise it might be a problem with the sizing, in which case make a new page at 8.5x8.5 (make sure it’s definitely inches not cm or mm) and copy and paste all ye artwork from old to new and save as a new name.
@@JulesMarriner Thank you. I actually figured it out using Canva.
Do u illustrate then scan your pages into your computer?
Yes, but sometimes I colour digitally.
I have two self illustrated books and working on a third however despite a sample copy that looks great kdp rejects due to format errors. I’m new to adobe acrobat pro but learned enough to use it and now haw no idea how to format . I know of pdf requirement sizes and bleed . I’ve watched a million you tube videos. It is to point the stress is taking a tole.
Hi Julie. Thank you for this video. However, I was hoping you would explain how to upload your entire book. You only mentioned uploading the cover book, how do you upload the rest of the book. ? I am having problems uploading my children's book.
Hi Amallinas, you upload the inside of your book in the box marked MANUSCRIPT, where the label is 'Upload Paperback Manuscript'. It is directly above the cover upload. Hope that helps, Jules
I'm having the same problem
Shells Bells Hi there, did you see my reply to Amallinas? Hopefully that will help you too 😊
Jules Marriner it was so complicated. After three days of trying I went with a publisher. It worked out. Thank God !
@@momdesigns3993 So glad you've had success with a publisher. I'll revisit this video in case things have changed since I made it. Thanks for the heads up :)
If you self-publish a book on Amazon, can your book still make it to a shelf in a library or be sold in a place like Target or Barnes & Noble? If so, what would it say in place of a publisher for where it was published?
HI Whitney, if you want to publish on Amazon and also sell elsewhere, you need your own ISBN, not a free KDP one. The publisher is you - or a publishing name you want to go by. Hope this helps, btw, my course goes into all this detail. Currently $99 for this month. Free preview here:
julesmarrinerbooks-school.thinkific.com/courses/take/how-to-illustrate-a-childrens-picture-book/lessons/13971664-let-s-get-the-ball-rolling
Do i need an international bank account to get paid?
It seems like Amazon is such a big market place that it would be enough to put a children’s book on there for sale, but do you find it is worth while to publish on other sites like Barnes & Nobles nook and so on? I am hoping to put my first children’s book on for sale soon and it would be cost effective to get a free isbn number, but I don’t want to limit myself if it could be profitable to sell else where. I have my written text separate from my illustrations...how do I upload pictures separately in order...do I need a special app to do this? Should I buy a copyright for my books or is self publishing it and having it online considered the same thing ? Do you find a kindle version of your children’s books as popular as a physical copy? Sorry for all the questions,but it has been a dream that I have had for so long and with everything that is going on in the world right now...I have decided that I am not going to wait....it’s time to make dreams a reality!
Hi Lisa Jean - lots of questions to answer, I'll do my best. If you take a free ISBN from Amazon, you can ONLY publish that book on Amazon, you can't supply it to B&N or Waterstones or anywhere else. You automatically have copyright for your books once you have written it (you don't buy it) all you have to do is register it on Nielsen. Lots of questions are answered on my course, which I have made $60 (instead of $375) for a few weeks while lots of people are at home. I find physical books sell better than ebooks.
Hope that helps - make that dream a reality!
I recently looked at statistics and can confirm what Jules is saying about physical books selling better than ebooks. Massive difference! My first book will be out in a few months and I am not going to get a free ISBN from amazon. Amazon is not the biggest seller of kids' books apparently, although the statistics were from 2017. Many people still prefer buying from physical bookshops. Definitely buy a writing course or 2. I have so many and I keep coming back to them.
Anna Maledon Picture Book Author Thank you for answering! Good advice! Though with the world crisis right now, I think everything could change. I believe online books will be selling so much more with everyone have to stuck at home.
Can’t you take the free isbn from KDP’s and then order your own copies and bring to the book stores around you?
Hi Jules, hope you're well. I received my proof copy book today (Hooray!) and am pretty happy with the final result however my main concern was going to be the front cover I'd created as it looked blurred when I uploaded it. The final image on the front is sort of ok but still a bit blurred for my liking unfortunately. I cut out jpeg images and layered them using GIMP and then saved it as a PDF to upload, if I'd used PDF images instead of jpeg when creating it, do you think the quality would have been better? Many thanks
Yes that might have been better - it might not like the switch between jpeg and pdf. I don't know GIMP at all, have you tried looking on forums to see if anyone has a similar experience?
So glad you've got your proof - it's exciting, isn't it?
@@JulesMarriner It was truly great to see my book in printed form! Disappointing about the cover although I was so happy with it's contents I could have let it slip but the cover would have always bugged me. I had a look at the forums and got some different advice. I flattened the image before converting it to PDF and compared it and it looked sharper and clearer. I've ordered another proof so lets see how it goes (fingers crossed!) Thank you so much again 😊
@@stuh1975 hello- what sort of software would I need to do this ? I would like my aunt to paint watercolour. also how would we move that from watercolour to a pdf? thanks for your time
@@ermilyrox - I'm not sure if you replied to me by mistake but I used GIMP design program to design the cover for a children's book saved as a PDF.
Thanks for sharing this love all your tips and help! Can you suggest another place to purchase an ISBN? About how much are they? Thanks in advance!
Hi Rachalle, which country are you in?
Jules Marriner I am in the United States
@@rachalleliedy7823 Try this link - Bowker is the official ISBN supplier in the US.
www.myidentifiers.com/identify-protect-your-book/barcode
Jules Marriner thanks so much!
Julie thank you so much! Your videos are so helpful. Do you offer one on one guidance sessions?
Hi Carolyn, glad they have been helpful. I do some one to one sessions, depending on what it is. You can contact me via my website julesmarrinerbooks.com 🤓
Do you have a tutorial on if we hand write the words in the book maybe?? I don’t have anything that can add text to my moms book she’s making but I wondered if we can hand write them instead
Hello Retro Siren (great name!) yes, you can hand letter. It is becoming more and more popular these days. In fact, right on trend! Give it a go, and let me know how you get on. Make sure you choose someone with a nice hand writing style.
@@JulesMarriner thanks so much! Is it possible to maybe make a tutorial on what to do for that kind of thing as well?? ☺️ I wasn’t sure if you meant yes you had a tutorial or not haha
Does google keyword planner has a subscription or to buy?
It's free Aruna. woo-hoo! You don't get much for free, eh?
Thank you!
You're welcome!
Can you help? When we upload the cover, the preview is blurry. What might we be doing wrong?
Hi Cathy, it could be that your image is low resolution. You need to have a high resolution one if possible - that means, if you hover over your image file on your computer, it might say '60 kb' if it's low res. High res is more likely to be '1M' or thereabouts.
To make a high res, you can make your cover bigger in whatever software you are using. Try making it twice the size and make sure you save it to a high quality.
If you have uploaded a high res, is could just be that Amazon is processing the information, so give it a few minutes.
Hope that helps, let me know :)
A few questions if you could kindly help please. Can I upload my book in jpeg format as I'm having a few problems with the layered book cover I'd created in GIMP (could be a simple fixed problem but new to this program) also I believe Amazon only do a portrait books as opposed to landscape which I'd planned my whole book to be and finally it has double page spreads and from what I know you have to have a border around each page?? Many thanks
Hi there, I always upload as a PDF, jpegs don't seem to work for me. I've never used GIMP before, only Photoshop and In Design. I've had a look for landscape design, it looks like you can do it, you have to be a bit sneaky. Here's the link to the thread I was looking at:
www.kdpcommunity.com/s/question/0D5f400001EFIHxCAP/landscape-format?language=en_US
You don't need a border around each page - none of mine have borders. I make all of mine double page spreads on In Design.
Hope that helps.
Jules :)
@@JulesMarriner - Thank you so much for taking the time and promptly replying kindly as that helps so much! It now gives me a much better understanding and broadens my options for my design. Much appreciated😁
Thank you for this - it is SO helpful! With color children's books, do you still do Kindle (which I am only aware it is in black & white?)
Hi NelliRose, you can save images for Kindle in colour. I have a version of Vincent and the Vampires in Kindle. See -
www.amazon.co.uk/Vincent-Vampires-vegetarian-vampire-halloween-ebook/dp/B00BBEYCJ4/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1614759145&sr=8-1
@@JulesMarriner Thank you so much!
Hi Jules, your video was extremely helpful, thank you! I do have a question regarding your "How to Illustrate a Children's Picture Book" course. I'm not doing the artwork for my book. Will this course show me how to place the artwork I receive from the illustrator? Thanks, Gina
Hi Gina - it may not be as extensive as you need, depending on what software you are using. Can you give me an idea of what you’re planning to use?
@@JulesMarriner Hi Jules, thank you for your replay! I'm sorry I didn't see it til now. I have a book series written and my next step is to find an illustrator. I was wondering if your class would tell me how to put the book together once I have the artwork available. I'm having a hard time visualizing what KDP will ask me once I get into that portion of the process and would like to make sure I have everything they will ask for.
Hi Julia, so, I would like to publish my book through KDP. Questions:
1. Does KDP allows you to upload the paperback front cover and the back cover of the book? I heard that you can only upload internal pages of the book and not the covers. If so, can you do hardcover or just paperback?
2. How can you put a barcode on the back cover of the book and how do you obtain one?
3. What software should I use to format the book? I'm not very technological savvy. Is that easy to do?
4. Are you allowed to pick Expanded Distribution on Amazon if you also plan to use other platform like IngramSpark?
5. Do you use any other platform other than Amazon in your other children's books?
6. Do you personally choose to purchase your own ISBN?
Any information will really help me. Thank you so much.
Please copy and paste the sign up agreement and read it very carefully before pushing that button. There are a few unwanted surprises in there that most people are unaware of.
I am trying to up load the pages of my book and there is no place to do this. I watched this hoping you have put that in. Where do I put in the pages not just the front cover?
i cant tell if my files are being uploaded ughhhhh
Hi Betsy, when you are in the second section called ''Paperback Content' you upload your manuscript there (that's the inside pages) and the cover directly beneath it. It does take a bit of time, depending on how much is uploading, but there should be a message to say where the uploading is up to.
Hi Jules, I am now about one step away to pressing that 'Submit' button to upload my book on Amazon, however the book cover I have uploaded is pretty fuzzy and blurry. I know you get asked this question a lot but it's a PDF file at 300dpi and I have given the image a minute or two to view it but it still looks blurry. Do you have you any recommendations for me please? Many thanks
Hi there - check that the original document that you made the cover on is set up to 300dpi. When you start a new doc, it should give the option of how high a resolution to set. It could be that. Let me know if that fixes it :)
Thank you Jules! I've recreated the book cover and set it to a higher resolution. On review it still looks blurry however I've managed to get it approved and have sent for a proof copy book. Lets see how it turns out! Thank you so much for such a sterling job of assistance and inspiration with your videos! Much appreciated! 😀
Pots7T5 You’re welcome- let me know how it turns out 😀
@@JulesMarriner Hi Jules, I finally completed my book and sorted out all the technical difficulties regarding the front cover in the end! I finally received it in it's glorious printed form, I have it for sale and actually sold some copies too! 😃 Mission accomplished!! I just wanted to say a very big thank you for your time, advice and inspiration during my struggles as I really appreciated it! Time to start Book 2!!... All the best!
Hi, how to you add the text to pictures? Where do you design the book
I use Photoshop and In Design.
How many copies you sell per month, your more successful book? Thanks
I'm not sure. It's hard to tell sometimes as I'm not the one doing the selling.
I was wondering if you were aware that upon the sign up agreement with KDP it states they own your publishing rights?
I was not aware! Thank you for that information.
@@JulesMarriner section 5.4or near there
By the way, one more quick question, I am compiling my picture book including minimal text in MS Publisher. Would each image/picture have to be PDF or the whole completed book as a file be PDF? Many thanks
You should submit the whole book as a pdf. :)
Thank you again Jules, you have been so helpful. I should be nearly there now! 😃
If I got the free ISBN number from Amazon, and I buy my own ISBN can I change the feature?
Not as far as I know - you'd need to re-upload.
I am so confused on the whole cost and royalty thing? Can you explain it better or is there an in depth video. I have my manuscript and illustrations ready, and registered my copyright. Just waiting on next step.
How are you publishing? Through a publishing company or via Amazon? or self publishing with print copies that you purchase?
@@JulesMarriner I think I am going to go with Barnes and Noble Press
How many pages will they let you use to put in your book?
Upwards of 32.
Can you help me? My work is with an illustrator, and she asked for the book size? I don’t know what size to use... Also, with the title and subtitle
Fight Harder, You Can Do It - what is your genre/age range etc? How are you going to print it? See if your printer has standard sizes.
As for the title and subtitle, have you got any ideas for a title? Tell me what the book is about.
Jules Marriner Age 5-10 , print it via amazon kdp, it’s about a life lesson, and I’ve added my children in it ...
Jules Marriner I’m still struggling for the title and subtitle...
Have a look at this link, hopefully it will help you to decide on the right trim size (that's the exact book size once the paper is trimmed).
kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G201834230
What is your gut feeling about the title? Maybe a play on the 'life lesson' words? Subtitle could be something like 'for learning about life' or similar. Does that help at all?
PS my course covers a lot of what you are asking, just in case you're interested.
julesmarrinerbooks-school.thinkific.com/courses/how-to-illustrate-a-childrens-picture-book
Jules Marriner thank you so much, I will take a look at it after work
I keep getting asked to add the same extra inches to my margins but every time I do they just send me the same email asking me to change my margins. What can I do so that my children book gets approved. I’m using procreate so changing my margins is very time consuming and I’ve already done it 4x now. I don’t know what the want. I’ve called and couldn’t get any information either.
Hi Amberiegh, it might be the way you are saving your document. You might need a bleed, and save it with the crop marks. I think something similar happened to me once, and saving it with the crop marks made the difference.
@@JulesMarriner can I do that On procreate?
my kdp tells me i can't upload my manuscript because it needs to be 75 pages? but its a childrens book about colors. only 26 pages. how do i get around that
Hmm not sure. Can you tell me the dimensions and other choices? Ie colour, paperback etc
Background music too loud love x
Thank you for the feedback - it was one of my early videos, I'll see if I can edit it. :)
Hi, you video is so helpful. but i have a question. Google Book policies states that
"Not permitted
Images of nudity and/or sexually explicit audio descriptions with no educational, artistic, historical, or documentary value
Pornographic content
Sexually explicit text in any Book metadata (i.e. titles, subtitles or descriptions)
Sexually explicit text, images, or audio content depicting extreme sexual acts such as acts of pedophilia or sex with animals
Content that drives traffic to pornographic online services" and "Child safety
Google has a zero-tolerance policy against child sexual abuse in either text, imagery, or audio. We strictly prohibit the use of Google Play to create, possess, or distribute child sexual abuse text, imagery, or audio"
my story is about traumatized person who witnessed child rape in a very young age and how he is trying to heal. So would the book be against google book policies?
Toomii Ali I’m not sure, it may be against policy. You should get in touch with them directly and give them specific information about your book, that way they should be able to advise you.
@@JulesMarriner thank you!
What is the category for children book
Hi Tasmiha, you would need to go through the process and when you get the to the category section, choose one that is closest to your genre. There is no one specific category for children's book. It might say 'adventure' or 'science fiction' etc. Before you get to this part, you can choose your age range.
@@JulesMarriner thanks dear Julie. I was thinking the same.
Am I getting confused over something simple? You are advising that we upload our children's picture books as a PDF, but Amazon allows us to use the "Kindle Kids Book Creator." Does the KKBC not actually help us with publishing?
You can use either. KKBC is very helpful.
HELP!!! my children's picture book is only 7 pages at the most including the cover AM I STILL ABLE TO UPLOAD IT ON KDP? it keeps telling me my manuscript need to be 24 pages? please help!!!
Hi Bernice- I think it will need to be 24 pages for KDP. If your book is 7, have you thought about printing it locally? Print shops can do a professional looking job.
Hi Bernice, Yes, the minimum pages are 24 for KDP.
@@JulesMarriner So I have a book that is 27 pages but it keeps telling me the minimum is 75. Has this gone up? Why would a children’s book have to so long?