The familiar Create Space DTP that Kindle ebook authors use to create books is going by a new name according the first edition of the Kindle Direct Publishing Newsletter, which Amazon emailed to DTP users on January 21, 2011. Kindle Direct Publishing is aimed at people who want to independently publish ebooks for the Amazon Kindle. Authors can already publish ebooks for free with Amazon's Create Space publishing platform for Kindle books, but the revamped Kindle Direct Publishing seems designed at helping authors gain a larger market for their Kindle books.
What is Kindle Direct Publishing?
According to the Kindle Direct Publishing Newsletter, Amazon's goal for the re-focused program is to "provide authors and publishers with direct access to publishing to Kindle." The January 2011 edition of the e-newsletter highlights some of the steps Amazon is taking for people who want to write and publish Kindle books.
Amazon is looking for topic ideas for future newsletters and gives an email address to send suggestions. There are new features in Amazon's Author Central, where ebook authors can monitor how their ebooks are selling. One of the most interesting tidbits for authors could be the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award, which is like American Idol for writers.
2011 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award
Authors who use Kindle Direct Publishing can enter their ebooks into the 2011 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest starting January 24, 2011. The contest will accept 5000 entries for each award until the February 6, 2011 deadline. Two authors will be chosen as winners for their fiction; there is a category for general fiction and for young adult fiction. The winners will be given a $15,000 book advance and a contract from Penguin Books.
It is not necessary to use Amazon's Kindle Direct Platform to enter the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award; even unpublished manuscripts will be considered. Only digital copies of the book will be considered, and the contest is directly connected to the Create Space publishing program through Amazon's sponsorship and through the level of support offered through the Create Space message boards.
Amazon Offers Canadian Authors a 70% Royalty Option
Canadian authors and publishers who use Kindle Direct Publishing have a 70% royalty option as of January 21, 2011. American authors and publishers already have the 70% royalty in the Create Space publishing platform. There are now two levels of royalties for both US and Canadian authors.
The 70% option is for authors with completely original content who are setting their book prices above $2.99 US dollars. The 35% option is for authors who are adapting public domain content for their books and listing the books at .99 US dollars or more.
Amazon's dominance in the ebook and ereader market was established when David Carnoy interviewed Kindle vice president Ian Freed for CNET for an August 2, 2010 article. In ""Amazon: We have 70-80 Percent of E-book Market," .Freed said that Amazon felt confident that they had "70 to 80 percent of the [ebook] market." Publishing ebooks for the Amazon Kindle is a smart move for self-publishers, and Amazon seems interested in supporting ebook authors and publishers with the changes reflected in the new Kindle Direct Publishing program.
Alex Sharp - Alex Sharp is a teacher who has been keeping Suite101 readers up to date with the latest in audio- and e-book gadgetry since 2008.
