The Education of a Self-Published Author: Lessons and Rewards from my KDP/Amazon Experience

De: Andrew Kavchak

Narrado por: Virtual Voice

Andrew Kavchak dreamt of being a "Paperback Writer" since he first heard the Beatles’ song on the radio back in the sixties. After spending years at his workstation drafting bureaucratic material, he retired from his career as a federal civil servant and finally had the time to adopt a new hobby. Between 2019 and 2024, Andrew wrote and self-published over twenty books using the Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) platform. His books are available on Amazon’s websites. Most of the books were published under his name. He used pseudonyms for the others.
The books are mostly non-fiction. Some of the books are historical and focus on one or more historical persons or events. A few relate to national security. Some have a hockey theme. Others are autobiographical and deal with various experiences in his life, including flunking out of an elite British boarding school in his teens and a failed romantic relationship in his thirties. The longest book is an English translation of his grandfather’s WWI memoirs. Three books are about autism, including one about parenting his younger son who is severely affected by the disorder. Another book is about his older son winning a provincial chess championship. Several are short stories that are based on actual events.
Writing and self-publishing books has been an educational experience for Andrew. It has also been a rewarding one that provided him with more surprises and satisfaction than he anticipated. By sharing some of his experiences, others, particularly those who have considered self-publishing but are undecided, may be inspired to embark on their own writing and self-publishing journey so that they too may become paperback writers.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

You don’t write a book just to get sales or make a name for yourself. You write a book to help other people get through what you’ve already gone through… and sometimes to preserve family history for generations to come.

Andrew does an excellent job telling his story across multiple seasons of his life. You can see how writing different books either preserved a moment in history or served as personal therapy along the way. That perspective alone makes this worth the read.

He also clearly explains the KDP process and helped me reset my intentions around why I write. This isn’t primarily a book about marketing or selling massive volumes, though he does explain how becoming an Amazon bestseller in your category works. Instead, this book encourages you to write… even if you never saw yourself as a writer.

If you’re interested in Amazon publishing in any format, this is a must-read.

Five stars across the board.