Before choosing a publishing platform or printer, ask one question: who do you want to read your book?

You might want a family keepsake, copies to sell at an event, or a book people can order online. Those aims can lead to different choices, and sometimes more than one route makes sense.

For readers buying online

Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing platform, or KDP, lets authors publish print books and Kindle eBooks for sale through supported Amazon stores. The stores and formats available depend on the book and its publishing rights. Print-on-demand means books can be produced as orders are placed.

Words In Print can help you prepare the manuscript and cover files, book description, categories and pricing, and guide you through setting up your own KDP account. Your account lets you manage your titles and receive royalties directly.

For copies you want to hold and share

Once a print book is live, the author can order author copies through KDP at printing cost, with delivery and applicable taxes added. The print cost depends on your book’s size, page count and print options. You can choose a quantity that suits you and return to order more, subject to Amazon’s limits.

Author-copy purchases don’t earn an Amazon royalty. They are different from readers buying through the public retail listing, where eligible sales earn royalties under KDP’s rules. Author copies can be given away or resold directly.

Amazon offers paperback printing in Australia. Australian authors can order paperback proof and author copies through Amazon.com.au for delivery to an Australian address.

For a private print run

A private printer may suit a book intended for family, direct sales or a particular event. Discuss the quantity, size, paper, colour, binding and delivery requirements, then review a quote and proof before ordering. A public Amazon listing isn’t required.

For wider distribution

IngramSpark offers print-on-demand and distribution through a network of retailers and libraries, with printing in Australia. It can make a title available to order; individual bookshops and libraries decide whether to list or stock it.

Availability and promotion are different

A listing makes it possible to buy your book. Helping readers notice it takes further work. Amazon offers Author Central and promotional tools, including optional paid advertising. Publishing on a platform does not guarantee sales.

Begin with your readers, then compare the practical options for your book.