Brought to you by The Goof Off Club
Our book on Amazon.
This is the whole publishing path for our own book, written out: the exact words that go in every Amazon box, the size and page count, the price, and the four steps in order. Follow it top to bottom and the book is on Amazon.
Not on Amazon yet. The day it goes live, this button points straight at the listing.
What goes in each Amazon box
Copy each one and paste it straight into the matching box on Amazon.
Book title
The Adventure Hat
Type it exactly like this. Amazon will not let you change it after it is published.
Subtitle
A Goof Off Club story, painted from real days
Amazon calls this the subtitle. It is what shows under the title in search.
Author
The Goof Off Club
Add Aaron Miller, Jason Fraser and Chrissy Buechler as contributors underneath.
Description
A hat comes out of the closet and the day goes wherever it wants. The Adventure Hat is a true story, painted in watercolor, about goofing off on purpose — standing in the rain at the old stones, riding on the top deck, talking to strangers who don't stay strangers. Every page is a real day, painted by hand. The last page is blank on purpose: it's for yours.
Paste this into the Description box. Keep the blank-page line — it is what makes people buy it.
Keywords
family adventure book; watercolor picture book; true story picture book; keepsake family book; road trip book for kids; goof off club; make your own book
Amazon gives you seven keyword boxes. Put one phrase in each box, no semicolons.
Categories
Juvenile Nonfiction > Family > General · Travel > Pictorial · Crafts & Hobbies > Papercrafts
Amazon only lets you pick a few. These three are the closest fit.
The numbers Amazon asks for
- FormatPaperback and hardcover, both printed on demand
- Size8.5 × 8.5 inches (square)
- Inside pages48 painted pages, color, on white paper
- BleedNo bleed — our paintings sit inside the margins
- ISBNTake Amazon's free one. You do not need to buy your own.
- List price$39 — Amazon's printing cost is roughly $18 to $28
- Where it sellsAmazon.com, plus expanded distribution turned on
The four steps, in order
Step 1
Make the two files first
In the desk, open Proof copy and save the file pack. You get the inside pages PDF and the cover PDF, both already the right size. Do not start the Amazon form until you have them.
The cover size depends on the page count. If you add or remove pages later, the cover has to be made again.
Step 2
Open kdp.amazon.com and click Create
Sign in with a normal Amazon account, then choose Paperback. Fill in the title, subtitle, author and description from the list above.
Do not upload anything until Amazon says your tax questions are complete, or the book gets stuck.
Step 3
Upload the inside pages, then the cover
Pick 8.5 × 8.5 inches, white paper, color interior, no bleed, matte cover. Upload the inside PDF, then the cover PDF. Amazon takes a few minutes to check them.
Click through every single page in Amazon's previewer. This is the step people skip and regret.
Step 4
Set the price and publish
Amazon shows you the printing cost. Put $39 in the price box for the public listing. Order our own copies as author copies — those are sold at printing cost.
Review takes up to 72 hours. Changing the inside pages afterwards starts a new review.
Doing this with your own family book?
Same path, your story. Make the pages first, then follow the slow version of the tricky parts.