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How to Publish on Both IngramSpark and Amazon KDP

Updated: Feb 2

Step 1: Purchase an ISBN

You can purchase from Bowker (a bit pricey, but you will completely own your ISBN) or I also sell them here (I would be your publisher).


When choosing your imprint (publisher name), make sure you choose one that doesn't already exist as a publisher name - do a Google search for it.

Most of the options in Bowker are pretty self-explanatory, but here are some of the non-obvious ones that I fill out for children's books (see my video, above, for a complete walkthrough):

  • Medium: Print or E-Book

  • Format: Paperback or Hardback (if E-Book, choose Electronic Book Text)

  • First Genre: Children's Fiction

  • Second Genre: I leave this blank

  • Publication Date: I usually pick a couple of days in the future, since the publishing process usually will take a couple of days anyways (to get the files through the system in IngramSpark and Amazon KDP)

  • Title Status: Active Record

  • Target Audience: Juvenile Audience

  • Price: I usually check the box for Write for Info (No set price or free), because I don't like to commit to a price, in case I want to change it later

    • Make sure you click Done with this Price Data and then Done with UNITED STATES Market or else you'll get an error

  • After submitting, your new ISBN will be shown

  • NOTE: NEVER purchase a barcode! You can generate them for free online, and plus, you don't need them for publishing to IngramSpark or Amazon KDP anyways (IngramSpark includes it in their cover template, and Amazon KDP will put it on your cover for you)


Step 2: Format Your Files


Interior PDF:

  • Width should be your book width + .125"

  • Height should be your book height + .25"

  • For example, if your book is 8.5x8.5, then your interior PDF needs to be 8.625x8.75. For more details on why, see What is Bleed?

  • I also sell templates for Canva and Photoshop in case you don't want to do the file setup yourself

  • If you're using Canva, when you download your PDF, make sure you use these settings:

    • PDF Print

    • DO check the box for Flatten PDF

    • Do not check Crop Marks & Bleed or Include Notes

  • Your Amazon KDP interior PDF can be RGB (I recommend it for brighter colors)

  • For IngramSpark, you'll need to convert your interior PDF to CMYK, and PDF/x-1a format. You can do this on your own using Adobe Acrobat Pro (here's how) or use the free tool on my website.


Cover PDFs:

  • Two PDFs: You'll need a separate PDF for each platform - one for Amazon KDP and one for IngramSpark

  • Start with KDP: I like to start by creating my cover design for Amazon KDP, then modify the formatting for IngramSpark

  • For your KDP cover template, you can either use the KDP Cover Calculator or use my Canva or Photoshop templates.

  • If you use the Cover Calculator, make sure you create your Canva project to the width and height that the calculator gives you

  • Add guides for bleed, safe zone, and spine (see my video for a walkthrough)

  • Design front cover on the right side, and back cover on the left side

  • If you're using Canva, when you download your PDF, make sure you use these settings:

    • PDF Print

    • DO check the box for Flatten PDF

    • Do not check Crop Marks & Bleed or Include Notes

  • I like to add something like "_KDP" at the end of the filename so I know that it's the KDP-specific file

  • Create your IngramSpark cover: Go to the IngramSpark Cover Template Generator

  • Enter all your book info (see my video for a walkthrough) & submit

  • Find the template in your email, and download it

  • Open the PDF template, and look at the bottom left corner - make note of the size listed here

  • Go into Canva, and create a new project

  • Set the units to inches, and then set the width and height of the project to those specified in the bottom left of the template PDF

  • Go to Uploads, and upload the template PDF

  • Click on the template PDF to insert it into your document

  • Show rulers if they aren't shown (Shift + R)

  • Drag guides for cover edges, safe zone, and spine

  • Go to the KDP Cover project in Canva and copy everything (Cmd/Ctrl + A, then Cmd/Ctrl + C)

  • Return to the IngramSpark Cover project in Canva and paste (Cmd/Ctrl + V)

  • Position the cover and resize as needed (be sure to zoom all the way in using Cmd/Ctrl +/-)

  • If you're using Canva, when you download your PDF, make sure you use these settings:

    • PDF Print

    • DO check the box for Flatten PDF

    • Do not check Crop Marks & Bleed or Include Notes

  • I like to add something like "_IngramSpark" to the filename so I know that it's the IngramSpark-specific file

  • Important last step!! You need to convert your PDF to PDF/x-1a or you'll get an error when you upload to IngramSpark. You can either do this yourself (here's how) using the paid version of Adobe Acrobat Pro, or use the free tool on my website.


Step 3: Upload & Publish!


First we will upload and publish to Amazon KDP because it's a little more user-friendly than IngramSpark and it will give you a preview of all your spreads so you can be sure your pages display properly.


Amazon KDP

  1. Open up your Amazon KDP Bookshelf

  2. Click Create New Title or Series

  3. Click Paperback


Paperback Details

  1. Enter your book title into the Title field

  2. Skip Series and Edition Number

  3. Under Author, enter your name

  4. In the Description box, enter your book description / summary / teaser blurb

  5. Check the box that says I own the copyright and hold necessary publishing rights [used Canva elements? Yes you can check it!]

  6. Check the No box for the explicit images question

  7. Choose a reading age range for your target age group

  8. For Primary Marketplace, if you're in the US, keep it at Amazon.com. Otherwise, choose the Amazon domain associated with your location

  9. Under Categories, click Choose Categories

  10. For the top-level category, choose Children's Books

  11. Choose a subcategory (and sub-subcategory if applicable)

  12. Check a box on the right to enter your book into that category

  13. Click Add Another Category

  14. Repeat the process to add two more categories.

  15. Click Save Categories

  16. Do not check the box for Low Content or Large Print

  17. Under Keywords, enter short multi-word phrases that customers would use to find your book (e.g., children's book about friendship)

  18. Check the box for Publication Date and Release Date are the same

  19. Check the box for Release My Book for Sale Now

  20. Click Save and Continue


Paperback Content

  1. Under ISBN, click Add Your Own ISBN

  2. Copy the ISBN from Bowker and paste it into the ISBN field (dashes are ok)

  3. Under Publisher enter your Imprint name from Bowker (Note: this must match exactly, no extra spaces, no misspellings etc!)

  4. Under Ink and Paper Type click Premium Color Interior with White Paper (do NOT select Standard Color - that will give you a page count error)

  5. For Trim Size, make sure you select the final size of the book (e.g., 8.5x8.5) and NOT the dimensions of your PDF (e.g., 8.625"x8.75")

  6. Under Bleed Settings select Bleed (PDF Only)

  7. Under Paperback Cover Finish select Glossy (unless you want it matte, but most people choose glossy. Matte can look great too though!)

  8. Click the yellow button that says Upload Manuscript

  9. Select the PDF of your inside pages that you downloaded from Canva

  10. Under Book Cover click the box next to Upload a cover you already have

  11. Click the yellow button that says Upload your cover file

  12. Make sure you select the KDP version of the cover that you saved from Canva in the Format Your Files step

  13. If you left the barcode off of the KDP cover, then don't check the box that says My Cover Includes a Barcode. Only check that box if you actually put a barcode on your KDP cover (if you followed my tutorial, then you left it off, so you won't check the box)

  14. Once the files have uploaded successfully, you can scroll down to the next section

  15. Answer the question about AI-Generated Content

  16. Click Launch Previewer

  17. Flip through the pages and ensure that all of your text is within the dotted line, and all of your spreads match up properly

  18. If everything looks good, click Approve

  19. Scroll back down to the bottom of the page. Here you will see the printing cost of your book. This is also the cost to purchase author copies (plus shipping)

  20. Click Save and Continue


Paperback Rights & Pricing

  1. Under Territories, you can keep it set to All Territories

  2. In the Pricing section, enter a starting price (I like to start around $12)

  3. Look at the Royalty column to see how much profit you will make on each book that's sold on Amazon.com

  4. Adjust your book price until you are happy with the price and the royalty amount

  5. Make sure you do NOT check the box for Expanded Distribution (we are going to use IngramSpark for that!)

  6. Scroll all the way down to the bottom

  7. Click Publish Your Paperback Book


IngramSpark


  1. Open up the IngramSpark dashboard

  2. Click Add Title

  3. Click Print Book Only

  4. Click Yes, my files are ready to upload

  5. Check the box next to Print jacket and/or cover and Print interior

  6. Click Print, distribute, and sell book

  7. Click Continue


Title Information

  1. Under Title, enter your book title

  2. Under Language, choose your book language

  3. Under Print ISBN, enter your ISBN from Bowker (dashes are ok)

  4. Check the box for I own the copyright

  5. Ensure that your book does not include any of the things listed in the pop-up box (famous people's names, trademarks, logos, etc) and then check the box next to No and click OK.

  6. Under Has Artificial Intelligence been used, answer yes or no accordingly

  7. Under Authors & Contributors, enter your first and last name in the Author first and last name fields

  8. If you have any other contributors (like an illustrator) you can click Add a Contributor to add them

  9. Under Select Imprint, select your imprint name from the dropdown (if it's not there, click Add Imprint and add it) - just like in KDP, this name must match exactly what you have in Bowker.

  10. Under Subjects, click Find Subjects on the right

  11. Scroll down to Juvenile Fiction

  12. Click 3 subjects that are nested underneath Juvenile Fiction

  13. Click Add Subjects

  14. Under Select Audience choose Juvenile

  15. Under Age Range choose the appropriate age range for your book

  16. Under Grade Range choose the appropriate grade range for your book

  17. Under Full Description enter your book description / summary / teaser blurb

  18. Under Keywords, enter the same kind of keywords you entered for Amazon KDP - multi-word phrases that customers would search for to find your book. Separate them with semicolons.

  19. Click Continue.


Print Information

  1. Under Select Trim Size, select your final book size from the drop-down (not your PDF dimensions)

  2. Under Interior Color and Paper, click Color

  3. Click Premium Color

  4. Click Paperback

  5. Click Perfect Bound

  6. For Cover Finish, choose either Gloss or Matte - whichever one you chose on Amazon KDP

  7. Under Page Count, enter the number of pages in your PDF file

  8. Here you will see the print cost (the price for author copies) - but just like Amazon KDP, remember that shipping will be added on to the price when you order author copies

  9. Under Print Pricing, enter the same price that you entered in Amazon KDP

  10. Under Wholesale Discount, choose 55% (Note that when you choose 55% here, the bookstores are actually going to get closer to a 40% discount after the Ingram distributor takes a cut)

  11. Under Return, I always choose No, because I have heard horror stories of people who have had a bunch of books bought and then returned, and the author got charged for all those returns!

  12. Set the wholesale discount and return setting for the rest of the countries.

  13. Scroll down and check the boxes for I understand that I selected no for returns and I accept the prices above

  14. Check the box for Enable Look Inside the Book (it enables customers to see some of the pages in your book, making them more likely to purchase it)

  15. Do not check the boxes for Large Text Edition or Right-to-Left Content (unless your book is in a RTL language, then you will need to check the box for Right to Left Content)

  16. Under Publication Date, select a couple of days from today, because it usually takes a couple of days to get your proof back from IngramSpark and then approve it

  17. Click Continue.


Print Upload

  1. Under Print Interior, click Upload

  2. Choose your PDF of your inside pages, and make SURE it's a PDF-X file (if you used my tool to convert your PDF, then it will have _pdfx.pdf at the end of the filename)

  3. Under Print Cover, click Upload

  4. Choose your PDF of your IngramSpark cover, and make SURE it's a PDF-X file (if you used my tool to convert your PDF, then it will have _pdfx.pdf at the end of the filename)

  5. When the Continue button is enabled, click it

  6. Once the file validation process is complete, click Continue

  7. Check the box to complete the submission



What's Next?


The book will automatically go live on Amazon KDP as long as there are no errors.


Make sure you check your email, because you'll be receiving a print proof from IngramSpark. You'll need to download the PDF proof, check that everything looks good, and approve it for publishing. Once you approve it, then it will go live on IngramSpark as well, and it will be added to the Ingram catalog.


Then, you can order your author copies from either Amazon KDP or IngramSpark (or order from both, and see which one you like better!).



Marketing & Selling Your Book


Download my free Children's Book Marketing Guide & Self-Publishing Checklist for my personal advice and ideas on how to market and sell your book!

 
 
 

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