Are The Tools Too Difficult To Learn?

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No, the tools are not too hard to learn if you learn them one at a time. They get overwhelming when you try to learn several at once, especially several that do the same job. This post covers which tool to learn first and how to keep it from taking over your life.

Why do the tools feel so overwhelming?

You start with one tool, hear about another that does the same thing, and then a third that people say is better. Soon you have paid for three of them, know none of them well, and still have not published your book.

That was me. When I started, the tools I knew were Word and Microsoft Paint. They were poor at getting the formatting right. So I hired people, and the manuscripts and covers they sent back were not usable and needed revisions that cost more money. Next I tried what other successful authors used: Scrivener, GIMP, LibreOffice, Canva, and freelancers on Upwork and Fiverr (a freelance marketplace). It was confusing, and I wasted a lot of time and money looking for the perfect choice.

Following YouTube tutorials, I would upload a book and Amazon would reject it. Getting rejected over and over is painful. That is the feeling I want you to avoid.

Are the tools too difficult to learn?

They are if you try to learn them all at once. If you try to solve every problem at the same time, you get overwhelmed fast.

They are not if you learn one tool at a time and make a little progress every day. I know you may not think of yourself as technical. Five minutes a day is a fine place to start, and you can build the time up. Over a few weeks the steps start to flow and stop being painful. I learned this way, and then I taught my students and my virtual assistants.

Which tool should I learn first?

Formatting. Every book needs it, and it is where I see authors lose the most time.

You can outsource a cover. You can find a designer on a freelance marketplace like Upwork, or have me make one: I make AI covers checked against your category in every format. A good cover helps sell the book, and it saves you from learning Canva, which is the free option if you want to do your own.

For formatting I recommend Atticus. You write or paste in your manuscript and it exports the formats you need: EPUB for ebooks and print-ready PDF for paperbacks and hardcovers, with trim sizes set for KDP and IngramSpark (Reedsy’s review, posted 19-Aug-25). It costs $147 once, with no subscription, and works on Windows, Mac, Linux and Chromebook (Kindlepreneur’s review, updated 21-Sep-26). Kindlepreneur’s reviewer is Atticus’s co-founder, so read it with that in mind. Check the price on the Atticus site before you buy.

I started with Jutoh years ago. Today I use and recommend Atticus. There is a learning curve like any tool. If you get stuck, ask me in the comments.

How do I check my book before Amazon rejects it?

Preview it before you upload. KDP offers Kindle Previewer, a free desktop app you use while you format to make sure the book looks as intended, and an Online Previewer on your Bookshelf for one last check before you publish an ebook. For paperbacks and hardcovers the Print Previewer shows the errors you must fix before you submit (KDP Kindle Previewer help). Open the preview on a small screen size as well as a large one, and fix what it flags before you press publish. This one habit would have saved me many of those rejections.

Should I learn the tools myself or outsource them?

Learn them yourself first. You cannot hand a job to a helper if you do not know what a good result looks like. Once you know the tool, you can pass the work on and save time. See you don’t have the time to self-publish for how.

Two things I keep for myself: uploading the books, and connecting the bank accounts and cards so royalties flow to me. Hand over everything else.

If you want to go further on formatting, read how to format your book for Amazon KDP and why you should format your book yourself.

Do you feel overwhelmed by the tools? Write “Yes” in the comments. If you have never felt that way, write “No”. It helps me know what to cover next.

If you would like me to walk you through the tools step by step, see coaching with Chris.

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