I am delighted to share that I am now a self-published author on Amazon! I have published two children’s books — the counting book “One to Ten” and “ABC First Workbook”. Here is what this process looked like for me and what I have learned.

My journey began a decade ago when I wrote a children’s fairy tale. Rediscovering it recently sparked the idea to bring it to life with illustrations and share it with the world. That’s when I stumbled upon Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). Illustrating the story presented its challenges, making the book “One to Ten” a sort of trial run.

KDP, the platform by Amazon, allows authors to publish and market their books, with Amazon handling order processing, printing, and delivery. This streamlined process captivated me. The dashboard is user-friendly, you fill in the information, upload files, wait for approval, and that is pretty much it!

One notable perk is Amazon’s provision of ISBN (The International Standard Book Number) at no cost, although with the caveat of exclusive selling on their platform. In the UK, obtaining an ISBN independently would come with a hefty £91 price tag, a significant consideration given my plans for multiple book releases.

I also liked the option to order a Proof of Print for proofreading and visual checks before publishing. However, my enthusiasm waned when I faced with the limited printing options offered by Amazon:

The only printing options available on Amazon KDP

“One to Ten” is designed for shared reading with 2–3-year-olds, necessitating durability. Unfortunately, Amazon’s paper is notably thin, similar to office-grade paper. Additionally, the absence of options for glossy or matte pages is disappointing, with the choice only extending to the cover.

I ordered Proof of Print twice on separate occasions and also placed an order as a customer to see what the real copy would look like. Here is what I have got:

Three copies of my first book, all look a bit different

The first proof of print was pretty decent with precise trimming. However, the thin paper and the colour reproduction are something I didn’t quite expect. As I later found out, Amazon removes embedded colour profiles resulting in unpredictable hues.

Mindful of the colour profile removal, for the second proof of print I adjusted images for improved shades, yet the improvement turned out to be quite marginal. While the overall colour in the book remained vibrant, the illustration featuring the number 7 saw the deep dark blue of the night sky transform into a mundane black in print, which was upsetting.

That black sky is supposed to be deep dark blue

I also noticed another drawback in the form of unevenly trimmed pages. Despite incorporating proper trim margins in the layout, it failed to rectify the issue, as echoed in customer complaints on Amazon.

Unevenly trimmed pages on the second proof copy

Last but not least, the third copy I ordered after publishing the book as a customer came with well-trimmed pages, so it wasn’t too bad after all!

The customer copy is looking good

The sheer satisfaction of holding my 100% self-created product fueled my determination. Despite that Amazon’s print quality is lacking, I decided to pivot my approach. While influencing print quality might be beyond my control, shaping the content remains within reach.

This decision led to the creation of my second book, “ABC First Workbook” – a comprehensive workbook guiding children through the art of writing letters, honing hand control on designated lines, and offering a delightful colouring experience. As a rewarding conclusion, children are presented with a certificate!

So once again I ordered a proof of print followed by a customer copy to spot potential errors and compare the two. Just as with the first book, these came with white margins from trimming, though the customer copy was certainly cropped better:

Despite that, I really loved the book and it delighted me as a creation.

This experience made me conclude with the following:

• Steer clear of complete background fill for bleed areas.
• Develop content for books with an awareness of the characteristics of thin pages.
• Workbooks, colouring books and activity books (for children and adults alike) probably suit best for Amazon’s printing capabilities.

If you have any questions or thoughts, feel free to share them in the comments section :-)