Amazon KDP alternative: KDP or a full-service publisher?
Nova Publishers and Amazon KDP do different jobs. KDP is Amazon's platform for uploading finished files yourself. Nova edits, designs and formats the book first, then publishes it through your own KDP account and other stores, for a fixed fee and no cut of retailer royalties.
About Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP)
Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing is Amazon's own self-publishing platform. You upload a finished manuscript and cover, set your price, and your ebook and paperback go on sale on Amazon. It's where most independent authors sell their books.
Publishing on KDP yourself
Publishing on KDP yourself means doing each step of the job on your own. You prepare an edited manuscript, a Kindle file and a print-ready PDF at your chosen trim size, an ebook cover and a full wrap for the paperback, a description, keywords and categories, and a price for each format. KDP checks the files and publishes the book on Amazon.
For an author who already has those pieces, or enjoys learning the tools, that can be a good route. Most of the work comes before upload: the editing, the cover and the interior.
Using KDP and Nova together
Working with Nova doesn't replace KDP. Nova prepares the book, then publishes the ebook and paperback in your own KDP account, so the listing, the sales dashboard and the royalties are yours.
From Launch Pro, Nova also sets your book up in your own IngramSpark account, so bookstores and libraries can order it, and adds a hardcover, an audiobook or marketing if your package includes them. If you've already published on KDP, Nova can re-edit, redesign or add formats to the book you have.
When KDP fits
- Your manuscript is already professionally edited.
- You have a print-ready cover and interior, or you can make them yourself.
- You want to handle the uploads, metadata and pricing on your own.
When full-service publishing with Nova fits
- You want one team to edit, design and format the book before it goes live.
- You want your book in your own KDP account and also orderable beyond Amazon, through IngramSpark, from Launch Pro.
- You want one fixed quote for the whole job, and someone to run the schedule.
- You'd like an audiobook, marketing or an author website handled in the same project.
What Nova puts in writing before you start
- One fixed quote for the whole project, set before work starts
- Your book published in your own retailer accounts
- Nova's ISBN by default, or your own if you prefer
- 100% of your retailer royalties, paid straight to you
- In-house editors and designers, with revision rounds set in your quote
- Your book stays live in your accounts, whatever you do next
Every Nova Publishers package includes a project manager, an editor matched to your genre, a custom cover, print or ebook formatting, an ISBN, metadata and setup in your own retailer accounts. Packages run from $999 to $5,499, and single services start at $450.
Questions about Nova and KDP
Does Nova Publishers use KDP?
Yes, Nova Publishers publishes your ebook and paperback on Amazon through your own KDP account, so the listing and the royalties are yours.
Do I keep my KDP royalties if I work with Nova?
Yes, with Nova Publishers Amazon pays your royalties straight into your own KDP account, and Nova takes no share of them.
Can Nova take over a book I already published on KDP?
Yes, Nova Publishers can re-edit, redesign or add formats to a book already on KDP, and update the listing in your own account.
Is Nova Publishers an alternative to Amazon KDP?
Nova Publishers is a full-service alternative to doing KDP yourself: Nova edits, designs and formats your book, then publishes it in your own KDP account, so you still sell on Amazon and keep your royalties.
Should I use KDP or IngramSpark?
With Nova Publishers you don't have to choose: from Launch Pro, your book is set up in your own KDP account, which sells it on Amazon, and your own IngramSpark account, which makes it orderable by 20,000+ retailers and libraries. Launch, which is ebook only, lists the book on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Apple Books.
Want the book prepared for you?
Send us your manuscript, or whatever part of it exists. We'll reply within 1 business day with a fixed quote.