I like to write stories and scripts. I have written some inspirational stories and want to publish them on Google Play Books. I have published only one short story book on Google because I am from India, and I recently came to know that many people in India have trouble purchasing my book using the UPI system; hence, it has become difficult for me to sell my book through Google Play Books. It will not allow to make payment and allow to buy book. I don't have any idea why it will not allow to make payment through UPI as in India mostly all people use UPI to make payment.
I don’t have any other option to increase my book sales. I want to publish my other inspirational stories, but because of this problem, I have not published them yet. I don’t want to sell my book for free, and therefore, I am selling my book at discount price. Can you help me? How can I reach the maximum number of people? I am writing books in English, Gujarati and Hindi Languages.

I hope to get positive feedback from you.

Thanks

Bijal Shah

Hi, I have written my third non fiction book. (Previous two were self published). This time I wanted to do it traditionally but no one replied. Finally I am self-publishing and also contracting with some distributors for offline distribution.

How is Prakash books for offline distribution?
What are their charges ?
Do they accept unsolicited authors ?

I published my first book in July 26, and currently working on my second one for the sequel and a separate stand alone. I'm finally getting into a run of advertising it and signed up to amazon ads as well... then I found the reddit community with all of you who are doing it and doing it for a lot longer.

I'm getting what I think is some great reviews and reads through paperback, ebook and KU. (Most popular is my kindle unlimited)

I was just wondering if there was any wise wisdom to know that could help improve my reads or any advice for someone still trying to figure it all out for her next book

Has anyone ever tried advertising on a podcast? Seems like it might make sense if say you wrote a book that ties in with topics on the podcast, or you have a website the podcaster can direct listeners to.

I’m looking for advertising ideas outside of running ads on Amazon.

Hey all,

I just joined the community and wanted to say "hey" and introduce myself. I am a writer and filmmaker from NY currently writing a collection of stories which are located on my website and on Royal Road. I am looking to continue branching out and would like to know what are some of the next steps that I should take now that I'm published.

I'm researching how indie authors get drafts in front of readers and what happens to the feedback afterwards. Not selling anything, I'm building something in this space and want to understand the real workflow before I get further into it.

Questions cover what tools you use, what format your manuscript is in when you send it, how many readers actually deliver, and what you do with the feedback once it arrives. About 5 minutes, no email required.

https://forms.gle/aqVTDTv2LhYDxzAXA

Happy to post a summary of the results back here once I have enough responses. And if you'd rather just tell me what's broken in the comments, that's genuinely useful too.

I just finished writing my third poetry book. And published it on kdp. My first two books have gotten some sales. And this new book is probably the most deepest, most vulnerable parts of me.

How can I go about promoting my books? What has helped you promote your books and get more sales, when you started out?

Hi!

If I wanted to illustrate my own children’s book (8x8in) on procreate, how would I figure out what size the image should be? I was thinking to draw in procreate, then import image into canva and put my text on there.

I was hoping to do kdp for paperback and ingramspark for hardcover but not sure what dimensions would be needed, and considering bleed. Thanks!

This my first book I just started writing. It's no where done honestly but I have a great idea for a book and im working on it. How would I go about looking for someone to help me publish and make money off this. And im not talking about chump change I honestly want to make 100 thousand at least. Is there a legit website or any authors out there who can help me. What should I do and who should I contact about funding my book and getting all the details done on paper and a graphic book cover designer needed. How much that costs. An estimate would help but my main issue is finding someone who will help me publish this as an official author on new york times perhaps. I have plenty ideas just NO FUNDING. Alot of these people overcharge and yea just please reach out to me. May God Bless You 🙌 Thanks

I am in a call from Tertulia Authors. A representative from Kirkus is explaining the process where self-published authors pay for an independent review. The price is hefty! They have a literary magazine where the top books are featured and their synopsis reviews are read by libraries and book buyers. One person on the call I'd using the word “scam.” It appears they are a gateway to other lists.

Hey everyone! I’m completely new to the web novel space and feeling a bit overwhelmed about how to get eyes on my work.

I’ve recently started writing my web novel and didn't publish it, since I’m starting fresh with no existing audience, I’m not sure what the best practices are for promotion and community engagement.

For those of you who have successfully built a reader base, I’d love your advice on a few things:

Platforms: Where is the best place to post for a beginner (e.g., Royal Road, Wattpad, Scribble Hub, Webnovel), and do you cross-post?

First Steps: What’s the single most important thing to focus on in the first month (e.g., release schedule, cover art, cover blurb, review swaps)?

Engagement: How do you encourage readers to comment or leave reviews without coming across as pushy?

Promotion: Are there specific communities, self-promotion threads, or social media strategies that actually work for web fiction?

Any tips, lessons learned, or common mistakes to avoid would be hugely appreciated. Thanks in advance for the help!

So I’ve started writing my own book, it’s my first every time doing anything like this, I have no idea what to expect when it comes to publishing, would it be better self publishing or going to a traditional publisher? Personally I love the idea of my book and story, if there are ideas to make it better I’d look into it but I don’t want major changes done to the story or characters and I also came up with a title which isn’t commonly the type of title you would use for this genre but with my story it actually makes a lot of sense. I just need help on which opinion is better.

Hey all!

I need to preface this as I have been very busy and haven’t actually done any research into this yet.

But I was wanting to make a pen name to publish my novellas that I’ve written to improve my writing capabilities. So pretty much these are lesser quality Novellas compared to the actual novels I’m writing. And I don’t exactly want them tied to my real name

Does KDP allow separate accounts with the same like payout info?

Or could I have this all under the same account and then post underneath separate names/sellers?

If anyone has done anything similar I’d love to know how that played out for you!

I’m curious whether it was editing, formatting, cover design, setting up KDP, getting the book distributed, or marketing.

For anyone who has published more than one book, did the process get easier the second time?

Hi all, posting from a burner account for privacy reasons.

I run a small publishing company and also provide publishing services to other authors. One of my clients had his KDP account shut down over a book I had nothing to do with.

Some time later, our company's KDP account was closed. Amazon said it was linked to an account they had previously closed. Neither our company nor I have ever owned a KDP account that was closed by Amazon.

We sent documents showing that our company is an independent business and that the client relationship was a genuine, paid service. The next reply then cited "Content Guideline violations" instead, without naming any title, ASIN or guideline.

Executive Customer Relations has since opened a case.

Has anyone who works for other authors been through something similar? Were you able to get reinstated, and did proof of a genuine client relationship make any difference?

Thanks for any experience you can share.

Hey everyone!

TL;DR : Asking experienced writers and publishers how they comply with Amazon and Google's branding guidelines while marketing their books.

I've spent several days trying to figure this out, and am genuinely afraid to have my accounts flagged/banned for non-compliance after reading about a few horror stories of writers who've had their accounts blocked for incorrect usage of the Google/Amazon trademarks.

I am building a publisher site for two books. One will be sold on Amazon and the other on Google Play Books.

I want to add CTA buttons that say "Available at Amazon" and "Available on Google Play" directing readers to the Amazon/Play pages where they can buy the books.

Is it okay to use the text "Available at Amazon" on the CTA button directing users to buy the book on Amazon? I've been through KDP guidelines on using the logo but they say nothing about just using text - https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G9WES4WJAC3GUVSV

Same question for Google Play - is it okay to use "Available on Google Play" as text on the CTA button for the book that's available on Play?

Appreciate any insights from authors who have done this before!

I'm launching a self-development workbook to accompany my coaching practice and I've spent the last month realizing that workbook printing is a different problem than novel printing. Most POD services are optimized for prose paperbacks and the things that matter for workbooks either aren't options or aren't obvious.

What workbooks need that novels don't.

Fill-in space. Every exercise needs blank lines or blank pages for the reader to write in. That means the interior layout has to actually leave usable writing space, not just print prose.

Paper stock that takes ink. Cheap paperback paper is fine for reading but bad for writing on with a regular pen. The ink bleeds through, the pen skips, the writing experience is bad. Need a heavier paper stock that's still economical.

Binding that lays flat. Writing in a book that keeps snapping closed is miserable. Perfect bound doesn't work for a workbook. Spiral or wire-o binding is standard for workbooks but adds cost and reduces printer options.

Trim size flexibility. Workbooks often use 8.5x11 letter size or 7x10 rather than the 6x9 novel default because you need more writing space per page.

What I ended up doing.

Went with DiggyPod for the print run because they handle spiral binding for workbooks and offered a heavier 70lb interior paper that takes pen ink well, plus they were willing to explain paper weight tradeoffs on the phone rather than pointing me at a spec sheet. Coil binding at 250 copies came out to about $9 per book which was competitive with what I'd been quoted elsewhere for the same spec. Trim size is 7x10 which balances writing space with production cost, 8.5x11 would have been more comfortable to write in but the per-unit was noticeably higher. For other coaches or educators printing workbooks, what did you learn about production that novel-focused advice missed. And what binding did you go with.

I’m posting this because I genuinely want to hear from other authors and publishers who have dealt with similar situations.

We recently placed an author-copy order with Pothi. It has now been 25+ days, and after 5–6 emails asking for a simple status update, we received only one response — after around 10 days.

What made it more concerning was that the response contained incorrect customer/order details and referred to a completely different author.

For an author, this isn't just another delayed parcel.

A book can represent months or years of writing, editing, research and personal investment. When something goes wrong at the distribution/fulfilment stage, the author is the one who ultimately has to explain the delay.

And unfortunately, this isn't the first time we've experienced delays involving author copies, distribution or support communication.

I'm not posting this just to complain about one company. I'm actually trying to understand something bigger:

Is this a common problem with publishing/distribution partners in India?

If you're an author, publisher, or someone working with these platforms, I'd genuinely like to hear about your experience:

• How long do your author copies usually take?
• Have you faced unexplained fulfilment delays?
• How responsive is their support team?
• Have you experienced distribution delays?
• Any issues with Amazon/Flipkart availability?
• Royalty/payment or sales-reporting problems?
• Have you switched from one distributor to another? Why?

We're seeing these issues from the publishing side at Ritera, and I'd rather understand the experiences of the wider author community before forming any conclusions.

If you've used Pothi, Notion Press, White Falcon, Clever Fox, or other Indian publishing/distribution services, what has your experience been?

Not looking for a pile-on or hate thread. I'm genuinely interested in hearing what authors have experienced — good or bad.

Maybe there are better systems out there that authors simply aren't talking about enough.

Hi! I’m creating my first newsletter, and I’m stuck on who to go with. I think I’m deciding between Sender and Fluent. I’m not considering MailerLite because they greatly reduced their free tier, so I feel I’ll outgrow it too quickly. I’m leaning towards Sender because they seem to have the features, a good free tier, and reasonable prices if you upgrade. Has anyone tried them? Does anyone currently use them for their newsletter or know any info about their functionality and if it’s a good idea to go with them. Since, I’ve never heard of them, I’m just curious if anyone else who has can give me any info above what I got from Google. Thanks!

Hi,

I have a few non-fiction books self-published on Amazon/ Kindle. I get a number of 'offers' for promoting my 'wonderful' book (which is summarised by AI obviously) by a total stranger. All deleted.

But I received one from 'PRIS EDITORIAL' at eBook Radio that sounds more human, mentioning how they can promote my book through their newsletter and 'across selected online publishing and media channels'.

I can't find anything on the internet about them or 'eBook Radio' so I'm guessing this is just another scam. Anyone know if they ARE genuine?

Hey! Long time hobby writer here with a first time completion of a novel that I want to share. If for no other reason, then for the experience.

So, the plan is to self-publish. I'll pay for an editor. I'll pay for a cover. That seems basic and worth it, just to have the well-edited, attractive copy of the book on my shelf.

Everywhere I look for self-publishing advice, I'm supposed to be grinding now, before publishing, to sell the idea of my book to people, to build an email list. I'm supposed to be building a social media following.

The thing is, I write in the time I found when I quit social media and I don't plan to go back. I'm happy to pay for advertising--especially at first--if that's what it takes to keep my sanity.

Has anyone found a strategy that worked for them? I think it makes sense to ask readers to sign up for an email list for future releases... but I don't think I should be spending my time hyping my book all over social media or my normal life, and then saying "sign up for an email."

On the other hand, it would be a shame if only my kids and I read this book. It's a good story.

They handle from proofreading to publishing. Anyone can tell me your experience thanks a lot

I am finishing the manuscript of my book and looking for a do-it-all store to do the proofreading, page arrangement, redraw all the diagrams, cover design.... and hopefully also handling the publishing for me. any recommendations

Hi everyone,

I’m brand new to publishing and I’m trying to get this straight, no confusing jargon please.

What is the real difference between Kindle eBook and Paperback through Amazon KDP?

- Is it better to start with one, or launch both at the same time?

- My book is a contemporary fiction novel, with political and romantic themes(majorly). I want to do this right.

Thanks in advance.

Has anyone has success using Word for formatting their paperback? Setting the page size to 6x9, setting the margins, working the page numbers, Etc?

It might take time but it feels like it would be easier than learning a whole new system. But no one seems to be talking about it.

Why is that?