How to Self-Publish a Memoir

To self-publish a memoir, you finish and edit the manuscript, make a cover and a description, choose three categories, and upload an ebook and a paperback to Amazon KDP. A memoir goes through the same steps as any other book. This post lists them in order, so you can see the whole road before you start.

What are the steps to self-publish a memoir?

1. Finish and edit the manuscript.
2. Decide whether it is a memoir or a novel.
3. Choose the name on the cover.
4. Make the cover and write the description.
5. Choose your categories.
6. Upload the ebook and the paperback to KDP.
7. Decide where else to sell it.

Each step is short. The sections below take them in turn.

How do I finish and edit it?

Finish the story you set out to tell, then read it as a stranger would. Cut what a reader doesn’t need. Then have someone who isn’t a friend or relative read it, or hire an editor. This is my advice. Family and friends know the story already, so they will fill in the gaps without noticing.

Is it a memoir or a novel?

This is my view, not a rule. If it is what happened, as you remember it, it is a memoir. If you changed events, people or places so much that it no longer happened that way, call it a novel. Don’t blur the two, because the label shapes what readers expect and what you promise in the description.

If your book names real people, changing their names may not be enough. Read my post on writing about real people in a book before you decide.

Should I try a traditional publisher first?

That is your decision, and it is not one a checklist can make for you. My advice is that a memoir by an author who isn’t famous is hard to place with a traditional publisher, and the wait can be long. Self-publishing means you decide, you keep control of the book and you can start as soon as it is ready.

What name goes on the cover?

Most memoir authors use their own name, because the book is about their life. If you want some privacy, a pen name is a choice, but a memoir with a hidden author is harder to promote. Pick one before you make the cover, because the name appears on the cover, the title page and the KDP listing.

How do I make the cover and write the description?

A memoir cover should be simple and readable as a small picture on a phone. If you pay a designer, see my post on how to hire a book cover designer. The description should say what the book is about and who it is for in a few lines, and it should be honest. KDP’s content guidelines say it doesn’t allow “descriptive content meant to mislead customers”.

How do I choose categories?

KDP’s category help page says you can select 3 categories when creating a book. It tells you to choose categories that describe your book, and says KDP may remove or change one that doesn’t match. Categories differ by format and by Amazon marketplace, so focus on the one where most of your readers are. A change can take up to 72 hours to show.

Should I print in color or black ink?

If your memoir is text only, black ink is the usual choice, and it is cheaper. KDP’s ink and paper page says “the cost for books printed in color is higher”. Standard color paperbacks also need at least 72 pages, against 24 for black ink. The page also says ink and paper type are locked after you publish. If your book has photos, look at your page count and the print cost before you decide. For the cost of the whole book, see what it costs to self-publish a book on Amazon.

How do I upload the ebook and paperback to KDP?

Create a KDP account, then add the book as a Kindle ebook and as a paperback. You enter the title, author name, description, categories, manuscript and cover, then set the price. Check the preview carefully before you press publish.

KDP can reject or remove a book that breaks its content guidelines. Its content guidelines name text that infringes others’ rights, offensive content, undisclosed AI-generated text, images or translations, misleading descriptions and undifferentiated copies of public domain books. If KDP removes a title, it tells you and you can appeal.

Where else can I sell it?

Start with KDP, then add other stores once the first version is live. My post on IngramSpark and KDP shows how the two work together.

More on memoirs

Helping a parent publish their book: how to publish a parent’s book. Helping a parent tell their story: how to turn a parent’s life story into a book. If you are still writing, read how to start writing a memoir. For a book about a whole family, see how to write and publish a family history book. Using family material: can I use old family photos in my book? and can I publish diaries, letters or messages? For the cover, see what a memoir cover should show, and once it is out, will anyone buy a memoir if I’m not famous? If a relative needs bigger type, see how to publish a large print edition. I will add more posts on memoir questions here as I write them.

What I do about it

If your memoir is finished, or nearly, and you want someone to look at it and tell you the right next step, book a free 25-minute discovery session. We will look at your memoir together and decide what to do next.

Free 25-minute self-publishing call with Chris Baird

Tell me where your book is now. You leave the call with a clear next step for publishing it.

Book your free call

Free, 25 minutes on Zoom, no card needed.