Publishing and professional handoff
Prepare the manuscript, package the work honestly, choose a route, and help the right readers find it.
How to prepare a manuscript for submission
Double-spaced, twelve-point, one-inch margins, 250 words a page — plus the word count your category expects, a one-page synopsis, and a final audit.
How to choose a book cover that sells the genre
Match your category's visual dialect, then test at thumbnail size. Half of Reedsy's 2025 cover projects landed between $630 and $1,200.
How to write a book description that sells the read
One person, one concrete cost, one question you refuse to answer, in about 150 words — how to write back cover copy that sells the read.
How to publish your first book
Two roads: KDP pays 70% on ebooks priced $2.99–$12.99; agents cite $5,000–$25,000 debut advances, 18–24 months to shelf. Costs, royalties, break-even.
How to publish a book on Amazon
Amazon KDP pays 70% on ebooks priced $2.99-$12.99 and 60% on print at $9.99 and up. A $4.99 ebook nets $3.28 a sale. Here is the path and the numbers.
How to find readers for your book
Books reach readers through a few named channels, each with its own rule. How to fit them — and why a backlist beats a launch-day spike.
How to market a book when nobody knows you
Borrow rooms that already have readers, then convert a thin slice into a list of your own. What works with no platform, and what to skip.
How much money can you make writing a book?
Median US book income was $2,000 in 2022; $15,000 for full-time traditionally published authors; $275,000 in the top decile. Where the money sits.