Well, I was all prepared to tell you how I published to Kindle, how easy it was (and wasn’t), and just what the process was. Then I went over to the amazon.com site to make sure I had the terminology right and found out they have just changed it all up. They’ve added several steps I did not have to take, and since it will be a while before I publish again I can’t say I know how to do it anymore.

But I bet it’s even easier now.

First, you need an amazon.com account and for that you need a credit card. That is the most basic step necessary for Kindle publishing.

Next, go to the amazon.com website and scroll down to the very bottom of the screen to Make Money With Us and click on Self-publish with us. Go down to the Kindle books section. Click on learn more. Then click on Getting Started & FAQs with the Kindle Publishing Guide. Read everything with a link. Everything. Then scroll back up and click on the video tutorial. Then, finally, look at the announcements and click on the “New”First-Time Publishers link from December 2. This is what is new to me, but if you will follow it step by step you will probably bypass what was my most difficult task—getting the book formatted properly.

Alert. Most of the problems I had with formatting my book came from the fact that I have been working in Microsoft Works. For best results you need to be in Microsoft Word from the very beginning. What looked perfect in my works document was degraded bit by bit every time it was translated from one platform to another. We got it fixed, but it caused unnecessary anxiety and time.

So, easy. Just go look at their NEW FIRST-TIME PUBLISHERS link from December 2 and follow their instructions.

Your book is published within three days. You can later go in and republish it if something has gone wrong, but this takes your book off the market for a period of time ranging from the three days to much longer, depending. If you make mistakes or want to change the book description or the price or the author name, again, you can go in and change it.  And if you end up really unhappy, or for some other reason don’t want the book up anymore, you can unpublish it. The one thing that remains is that anyone who bought your book will still have access to it.

Like Kirstie Alley and losing weight, if I can do it then you can do it.

WHAT I READ THIS WEEK— Ghost Seas by Steven Utley and Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett. Here is the link to Steve’s short story collection  www.amazon.com/Ghost-Seas-ebook/dp/B000R7GAEQ .

Photos by Roxanne Rix.

My Kindle book is a romance titled The Cowboy’s Baby. www.amazon.com/The-Cowboys-Baby-ebook/dp/B003UYUVZC.

Find Gretchen Rix on  facebook, and follow me on Twitter at  http://twitter.com/GretchenRix.  Check  out my interview on Kindle Author from November 9.