Guides

Self-publishing guides, with numbers.

Practical answers from book production: formulas, tables, sources. No fluff.

  1. write a book with ai

    Writing a Book with AI in 2027: KDP's AI Rules, Quoted and Explained

    Can you write a book with AI and sell it on Amazon? KDP's AI rules word for word, AI-generated vs. AI-assisted, Apple, D2D, copyright and weekly title limits.

    10 min readUpdated Read the guide
  2. self publishing software

    Self-Publishing Software 2027: The Tools for Every Step, with Prices

    Self-publishing software step by step: writing, editing, cover, formatting, EPUB, keywords. Scrivener, Vellum, Atticus, Canva, Kindle Create and Bookfairy.

    9 min readUpdated Read the guide
  3. self publishing costs

    Self-Publishing Costs in 2027: Every Expense With Market Prices and a Worked Example

    Self-publishing costs line by line: editing, cover, formatting, ISBNs, proofs and marketing at market prices, plus a worked example for an 80,000-word novel.

    9 min readUpdated Read the guide
  4. print ready pdf

    Print-ready PDF for your book: bleed, CMYK, fonts and PDF/X explained

    How to make a print-ready PDF for a book: KDP vs IngramSpark, bleed, 300 dpi, CMYK, 240% ink limit, PDF/X-1a explained, plus a checklist.

    8 min readUpdated Read the guide
  5. kdp a+ content

    KDP A+ Content: modules, image rules and what Amazon rejects

    KDP A+ Content explained: 17 modules, five per page, image rules (RGB, under 2 MB), what Amazon rejects, and a five-module layout that works for most books.

    7 min readUpdated Read the guide
  6. how to write a book blurb

    How to write a book blurb: five parts, two examples and Amazon's rules

    How to write a book blurb in five parts, with a thriller and a self-help example, plus Amazon's book description rules: 4,000 characters, HTML, what's banned.

    8 min readUpdated Read the guide
  7. how to publish a book

    How to Publish a Book in 2027: A Step-by-Step Guide to Self-Publishing

    How to publish a book in 2027: editing, cover, formatting, ISBN and uploading to Amazon KDP, IngramSpark and Apple Books, with fees and royalties.

    10 min readUpdated Read the guide
  8. how to create an epub

    How to Create an EPUB in 2027: One Ebook File for Amazon, Apple, Kobo and More

    How to create an EPUB step by step: what KDP, Apple Books, Google Play, Kobo and B&N accept, reflowable vs fixed layout, and how to validate with EPUBCheck.

    9 min readUpdated Read the guide
  9. how to come up with a book title

    How to come up with a book title (and a subtitle that gets found)

    How to come up with a book title: five title patterns with examples, how a subtitle carries your search terms, KDP's title rules and what copyright covers.

    7 min readUpdated Read the guide
  10. book formatting software

    Book Formatting Software 2027: Ten Tools for Print PDFs and EPUBs Compared

    Book formatting software compared: Vellum, Atticus, InDesign, Affinity, Scribus, Reedsy Studio, Kindle Create and more. Prices, platforms, print PDF, EPUB.

    9 min readUpdated Read the guide
  11. book cover template

    Book cover template: how a full wrap with spine, back and barcode is built

    Book cover template explained: back, spine and front in one print file, KDP and IngramSpark specs side by side, barcode area, ebook and audiobook sizes.

    8 min readUpdated Read the guide
  12. book cover maker

    Book Cover Maker 2027: Free and Paid Options for Print and Ebook

    Book cover makers compared: Canva, KDP Cover Creator, BookBrush, 99designs and Bookfairy. Prices, spine, back cover, barcode and use outside KDP.

    8 min readUpdated Read the guide
  13. bisac codes

    BISAC codes explained: how to choose subject codes for your book

    BISAC codes explained: what they are, how many to choose, five example books with their BISAC and Thema codes, and how it all relates to KDP categories.

    7 min readUpdated Read the guide
  14. best book writing software

    Best Book Writing Software 2027: Seven Options with Prices

    Book writing software compared: Scrivener, Atticus, Reedsy Studio, Sudowrite, Squibler, Novelcrafter and Bookfairy. Who writes, what it costs, what it exports.

    9 min readUpdated Read the guide
  15. best ai for writing a book

    Best AI for Writing a Book in 2027: Five Ways Compared

    Which AI writes a book? Sudowrite, Squibler, Novelcrafter, a general AI chat and Bookfairy compared: what each produces, fiction or non-fiction, how you pay.

    8 min readUpdated Read the guide
  16. amazon keywords for books

    Amazon keywords for books: how to fill KDP's seven boxes, with an example

    Amazon keywords for books: what goes into KDP's seven keyword boxes, what Amazon prohibits, how to find search terms, and a filled-in example.

    7 min readUpdated Read the guide
  17. kdp spine width

    KDP Spine Width: How to Calculate It for Your Paperback Cover

    Calculate your KDP spine width from page count and paper type, then get the full cover size with bleed. Formulas, a worked example and common mistakes.

    7 min readUpdated Read the guide
  18. how much does it cost to edit a book

    How Much Does It Cost to Edit a Book? Rates per Word in 2026

    How much does it cost to edit a book? Per-word rates from Reedsy and the EFA, a 60,000-word example and a six-pass edit for a fraction of the price.

    7 min readUpdated Read the guide
  19. how many words in a novel

    How Many Words in a Novel? Word Counts by Genre and Pages per Book

    How many words in a novel? Average word counts by genre from Amazon bestseller data, how many pages that makes in print, and why pages are a poor measure.

    7 min readUpdated Read the guide

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