You've got the idea. Maybe a draft outline. Now you're working out what kind of book it is, who it's for, and what shape it'll take. The work at this stage is all upfront thinking — done well, the writing and publishing become much easier.
Decisions and research before you put a word on the page. Start by understanding the landscape, then validate your idea against the market, then sort out the legal basics. Curated from our library of 181 guides.
Plain-English KDP 101 — what you can publish, how royalties work, and what the platform expects.
Read the guide →The complete walkthrough for first-time authors — choices, costs, timeline.
Read the guide →Honest comparison of control, royalties, and timelines so you pick the right path.
Read the guide →UK-specific KDP setup, royalties, tax, and the steps before you upload anything.
Read the guide →Complete breakdown — editing, cover, formatting, ISBNs — and what you can skip.
Read the guide →Every term you'll meet — ARC, bleed, trim, gutter, royalty — in plain English.
Read the guide →How to validate a book idea in 5 hours — comp titles, BSR-to-sales, review velocity. Don't write 90k words in a dead genre.
Read the guide →The 2-hour avatar exercise — build a one-page profile of who your book is for. Drives every marketing decision from cover to keywords.
Read the guide →How titles drive Amazon discovery — fiction vs non-fiction patterns, the subtitle leverage most authors miss, how to test before committing.
Read the guide →When you need one, when you don't, KDP rules, and how to manage multiple identities without burning out.
Read the guide →What protection you automatically have, when to register, and what the © line should say.
Read the guide →UK fair dealing is narrower than US fair use — what's actually safe to quote.
Read the guide →The honest answer: almost never without a licence. Here's why and what to do instead.
Read the guide →Once you have any draft — even rough — drop it into the KDP Readiness Score and find out exactly what KDP will reject before you spend on formatting.
Most successful indie authors spend 3-5 hours validating the idea (genre, comps, target reader) and another 3-5 hours on a one-page beat sheet — about a working day total. Spending months on planning before writing is usually procrastination disguised as preparation.
Not for Kindle ebooks — Amazon assigns an ASIN. For paperback you need an ISBN; KDP gives a free one if you don't bring your own. UK authors can buy ISBNs from Nielsen for £89 (single) or £164 (10-block) if they want broader distribution.
Most first-time authors should publish under their real name. Pen names help when writing across very different genres, protecting day-job privacy, or restarting after a failed series. They add admin overhead — separate Author Central, newsletter, brand.
Find five close comp titles in your specific sub-genre. Check their Amazon Best Seller Rank (BSR), review count, and series structure. If your comps are in the top 25,000 BSR range and have steady review velocity — your idea has a market. If you can't find five comps, the genre is dead or too niche.