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Self-Publish Non-Fiction Books

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Driven Publishers

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4 contributions to Self-Publish Non-Fiction Books
Duplicating words in title and/or subtitle
@Julie Broad @Elissa Graeser Also, when I was watching your KDP Crackdown 2025 video, at 8:40 you were talking about duplicating words in the title and subtitle. That brought up an important question: I have a book that I published in 2015 on Meditation. It did well and I decided a while back that I wanted to do a 2nd edition. The 2nd edition is ready to go but your video got me confused about what to do. Here’s why: The title on the paperback version of the book is fine. It appears on KDP as ā€œMeditation for Beginners: (Subtitle).ā€ There are no duplicated words in the subtitle. It appears exactly as it does on the book cover. The kindle book title however looks like this ā€œMeditation: Meditation for Beginners (Subtitle) (How to Meditate…for Beginners, Mindfulness Book 1).ā€ Back in 2015 it was popular to add the keyword of the main niche first and then your sub-niche second on the kindle version to help it rank higher. That’s why I did that. And the other stuff in brackets is probably just additional keywords I added back then. I don’t know if the kindle book title ā€œMeditation: Meditation for Beginnersā€ will be a problem if I upload the new manuscript as it duplicates a word and it won't match the book cover title exactly because the duplicated word won't be on the book cover. However, I hesitate to publish the 2nd edition as a new title for 3 reasons: 1 – The book has over 1400 reviews on it and a 4.2 rating 2 – It ranks on page 1 of the Meditation for Beginners keyword 3 – KDP wants to put the book in Great on Kindle. They’ve just been waiting for me to fix some photo issues in the book. I’ve fixed all that now and just need to upload. If I upload the book as a new title then I’ll lose all the reviews, I’ll lose the opportunity to have the book put in Great on Kindle, and I’ll lose the books position on page 1 of the main keyword. The word count of the 1st edition is around 12,000 words and the 2nd edition word count is around 29,000 words. I know that’s more than 10% but again I wanted to opt for uploading it without publishing it as a new title to keep the reviews, the rank, and the Great on Kindle opportunity. But again, I really don’t know what to do about the current kindle title. The paperback title will match the new book cover exactly but the kindle title won’t. And the kindle title has those extra keywords.
1 like • 12d
@Elissa Graeser Thank you for your message. I have a few questions in response to your message. 1 - When you say that I can match the metadata exactly (title/subtitle, author name, publisher) I'm confused as to how I would match the title/subtitle exactly when the ebook title includes a duplicate word and additional keywords and the paperback title doesn't. So, if I were to try to match the metadata which title/subtitle would I be matching it to - the ebook or paperback version? Also, if I could match the metadata exactly I'm confused as to how everything you mentioned in point 1 happens in real time. Like, do I go to kdp and start uploading the 2nd edition as a brand new book and match the title/subtitle on the new book with the old book, AND THEN publish the 2nd edition as a new book, AND THEN unpublish the first edition, AND THEN request KDP merge the listings? BUT how do they merge the listings if I unpublish the first book? Wouldn't that mean that there's no book to merge with because I unpublished the first book? And I don't understand how I could upload a 2nd edition and unpublish an older edition at the same time. UGH! This is SO confusing. Can you please explain how exactly to do what you said in point 1....like the steps in order? The other question I'm confused about is how do I even ask KDP to merge the listings? Do I ask them that on the phone? Or by email? And when do I ask them that - while I'm creating a new listing for my 2nd edition or unpublishing my existing listing? And how do two listings of the same book exist at once so that they can merge? Also, when you say that matching the metadata results in a second edition listing that maintains the reviews of the first edition but has it's own ranking and everything else that a new title has.....do you mean that by doing this that I'd be able to keep my reviews but the book would lose it's page 1 rank and possible Great on Kindle status? 2 - I thought that the KDP rules said that you're not allowed to have two versions of the same book published at the same time?
Verify your identity
@Julie Broad @Elissa Graeser I was just watching your KDP Crackdown 2025 video. At 11:20 you talked about the 'Verify your identity" email one might receive from KDP. In the KDP Help pages under "Verify your identity" it says this: "Enter or review your information (e.g. full name, address, date of birth). The name in the Your identity section on your account should exactly match your ID." They also say that 'your account must match your government-issued ID." SOME QUESTIONS: 1 - By government issued ID they mean drivers license, correct? At least that's what I think of when I hear 'government-issued ID.' 2 - Currently in my KDP account under FULL NAME it says "Barb Homoncik". On my drivers license it says "Barbara Helen Homoncik". That is my full name including my middle name. I'm thinking that since KDP says "the name in your account MUST match your government-issued ID" that under "full name" in my account I should change it to exactly what's on my drivers license. Should I do that? Asking because I just wasn't sure if I should include my middle name even though my middle name IS on my government-issued ID. 3 - Also, in my KDP account under "Your identity" it asks for my date of birth under "other details" but I don't have it entered. My date of birth is on my drivers license so since the information under 'your identity' in KDP has to match my ID then I should enter my date of birth. Correct? 4 - If I update my name in my account and date of birth it won't trigger something in KDP where they'll send me that email to verify my identity will it? I've had my account for many years. I know in the video you said that older accounts can still get that email. It's just that I don't want editing my name and DOB to trigger something. -----Or should I just leave the info I have there the way that it is and hope that I don't get the verify your identity email but if I do then change the info before uploading my gov't ID.
Verify your identity
4 likes • 14d
@Elissa Graeser Thank you for clarifying. I understand that it's not a bad thing but honestly I'm just terrified of KDP and all the horror stories I've heard and how hard it is to get through to them even if you didn't do something wrong. Even though I try my very best to do everything by their rules they still scare me to the point of not even being able to upload books (due to fear) that I've put my heart and soul into and would be very helpful for my readers.
Free and Paid Book Promotion Sites
Just wanted to double-check that it's okay and SAFE to use free and paid book promotion sites like these https://kindlepreneur.com/list-sites-promote-free-amazon-books/ during launch. I'm asking because I've used several of these sites before during launch and never had a problem but I've heard of some people who had their account banned after they submitted to some of these sites. I'm not sure if this kind of problem can still potentially exist but wanted to check. - Thanks
1 like • 20d
@Kate Duncan Okay. That's good to know. I will definitely do that. Thank you for sharing this. I appreciate it.
0 likes • 16d
@Yna Davis Thank you Yna. This is good to know. šŸ‘
Pen name
Quick question….I just discovered that there is another author on Amazon with the exact same pen name as mine. She published her first book about a year and a half AFTER I started publishing. She only writes children’s books. I write in the health niche. Could the fact that there is someone else using the same pen name as mine be considered a problem with Amazon?
1 like • Aug 27
@Kate Duncan Okay. Thanks so much for the information. I really appreciate it. šŸ‘
1 like • Aug 27
@Julie Broad Thank you!
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