KDP Picture Book Quality Review || What I wish I knew ahead of time

There is an UPDATE to this video that has the most recent published book I worked on here:
• KDP Picture Book Quali...
Sorry about the audio quality! Seems to sound best with headphones.
These are a few of the things I’ve learned to look out for while creating a KDP paperback book.
If you have any questions or solutions to these issues please let me know in the comments!
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Link to the book here!
www.amazon.com...
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Link to my other books here!
www.amazon.com...
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If you’re interested in working with me on creating the children’s book of your dreams contact me at [e-mail]
Thank you for watching and have a great day!
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Etsy store:
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My ArtStation:
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Music:
Piano & Sax by Joakim Karud / joakimkarud
Creative Commons - Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported- CC BY-SA 3.0
Free Download / Stream: bit.ly/piano-sax
Music promoted by Audio Library • Piano & Sax - Joakim K...
#selfpublishing #illustration #childrensbooks

[@EmilyAdeleArt]

Here is my most recent book review and how I fixed the mistakes I made! kzbin.info/www/bejne/oGPQeop-rrV1aNU I show the time lapse of making the cover art and title page for this book here! kzbin.info/www/bejne/iWTQn2l3mtRgeNE

[@aiartgifts]

The files can be adjusted in the author's KDP dashboard and uploaded to fix these issues. The author can see where the stripe on the cover lands and the edge of the page. Some things like the interior spine binding being white (and maybe the other issues) are unfortunately printing issues that occasionally happen and lead to a negative customer experience through no fault of the author. If all the copies were printed by the same place (at the back of the book) it may be the location where it was printed, although more likely the files. Premium color printing (which is what you're showing with this book) has a slight sheen to the 60# (100 GSM) paper which is sort of like what you find in magazines. This book might print just fine in regular color paper, but it wouldn't look as nice. Maybe a digital adustment to the files to lighten it up for those pages? Nice illustrations. I hope the book does well.

[@shohineedeb9089]

Thank you for taking the time out to share all these details with us. It is so helpful and enlightening. I am sure a lot of people would benefit from it. A big, big thank you!

[@EmilyAdeleArt]

Thank you for the info! Unfortunately I wasn't in charge of the uploading. I did make sure everything was properly centered in the template KDP gives, but I suppose that's not always enough. I did try not going as dark in the next book I did and it seems to have turned out well. Thanks for the compliment!

[@Mountainport]

Because your design (which is beautiful, by the way) goes all the way to the edge, you DO want a bleed on the interior. You will have to adjust your margins accordingly. There's a table in the help files that lists the margins for various page counts, with and without bleed.

[@EmilyAdeleArt]

I ended up fixing it in my next book! I'll be showing the difference in my next video about the books I've illustrated so far.

[@nellekx]

Hi sorry but do you mind elaborating on this? I've illustrated double page spreads for my book. Does this mean i have to add more illustration to the centre of the spread in case it gets cut? How do I adjust the margins accordingly (do you mean in kdp or in the actual illustration file)? Thanks :)

[@philoki]

@@nellekx I think it means that you have to add 0.125 bleed on the inside. This means the exported PDF will have 0.125 of the image "doubled", so when amazon applies their weird white bleed stripe of 0.125, it should cover the doubled image, so in the end the complete image without any loss is visible. I am currently dealing with the same issue and have ordered proof copies to see if it works...support isn't helpful either and this seems to be a problem for many people.

[@cresshead]

Note: being print on demand from Amazon 1. you can order a proof before you hit publish 2. post publishing you can freely update the cover PDF to fix that spine graphic 3. post publishing you can freely fix the interior content pdf to fix the dark images re print issues - on occasion the machine doing the print might not be set up 100% so you may get some white trim edges... it's annoying but happens ... still it's all FREE .. so i can't moan too much. Post publishing updates/corrections take about 3 days to process - amazon will put it in review on your kdp bookshelf until all new books to be ordered will be updated this is great for any typos you may find .. you're not stuck with 3000 error based books on a pallet!

[@EmilyAdeleArt]

Yeah I think I might have to have the author's order proofs and send them to me before publishing. Thanks for the notes :)

[@montefleming8390]

Thank you for the review! They made all the same mistakes on my paperback--the spine was frequently off by a couple millimeters.

[@EmilyAdeleArt]

Thanks for watching! Did you publish recently? It does seem like their quality is improving slowly

[@kahnicacole5692]

Book looks freaking adorable. How cute is this? Thanks for all the feedback and heads up!

[@EmilyAdeleArt]

Thank you so much!

[@softlyspokenstories6481]

I had the same issues with the annoying white strips around the edges, despite following the templates exactly!

[@Lambchop59]

Love ur illustrations! Simple and clean!

[@EmilyAdeleArt]

Thank you!!

[@storiesbydesirae]

Thank you for sharing. Helpful to see from the illustrators perspective

[@EmilyAdeleArt]

Thanks for watching!

[@bd4597]

Hi there. These books look like premium color - is that true? Standard color quality usually looks very washed out and does not have a gloss on the interior. I noticed your book you were showing in the start at least was glossy in interior and looked great color-wise. Nothing faded.

[@EmilyAdeleArt]

Yes. I always choose premium color for picture books.

[@nellekx]

Thanks for the informative video! Awesome tips :)

[@ShirleiBarnes]

Good video, thank you for the tips! Question. How did you work out the payment with the author? . Was it a full pay upfront for your illustration, or will you get royalties as the book sells? I don’t want to know how much just how did you both overcame this issue. Thank you in advance 😊

[@EmilyAdeleArt]

You're welcome! I try to work with each client to come up with a payment plan we are both comfortable with. Generally payments are split into thirds with an initial down payment, a halfway/all concepts complete payment, and a final payment when finished. I don't currently have any royalties contracts but they are definitely a possibility in the future.

[@ShirleiBarnes]

Thank you Emily, this helps to know how others deal with this. I like your approach. Good luck with all your illustrations 😊

[@AMBK]

Hey what paper quality do you choose? It looks like your internal pages have a nice glossy finish and are quite thick. I chose ‘premium and the paper is so thin that I can see the ink come thru from the page behind and the paper is matte like standard printer paper.

[@EmilyAdeleArt]

Premium color. I can see through the white pages of this book a little too. All of the story pages are completely filled with color though which seems to make them a lot less see-through. The thinness of the white pages is definitely something I'll have to keep in mind though for future books..

[@shelleymonkland8996]

@@EmilyAdeleArt Thank you I was wondering about the paper quality. I have been choosing the premium nearly all of my books. I have only uploaded 4 so far, but have about 15 that I will be uploading.

[@sharayprevost7122]

Hi love the vid, did you use premium color or standard color on KDP for your book

[@EmilyAdeleArt]

Thank you! I always use premium color

[@LolaCabaya]

Thanks for sharing this! Just subscribed!

[@EmilyAdeleArt]

Thanks you so much!

[@nicholasaguirre2558]

What paper and color did you use for the print? We tried standard color and it looks terrible, there is so much noise. We definitely made high quality 300dpi images which look perfect on the computer and even the output preview but the printed version looks like trash.

[@EmilyAdeleArt]

Interesting. I've never tried standard. Premium color on white paper is the only way to go.

[@nickbrummer]

Great work!

[@NeishaLinnette]

Hi!! It seems like your interior pages are thicker and glossy like your cover? I ordered the premium and all that, and ordered a Proof copy and the proof copy’s interior pages are all like regular pieces of paper and seems low quality? Are yours thick like the cover or is it thin paper as well? Thanks for this video!!!! Any advice help!

[@EmilyAdeleArt]

Thanks for watching! My interior pages are thinner as well. They might just seem thicker because both sides are completely covered in ink.

[@dmmchugh3714]

Lovely looking book. Does Amazon give an option for sewn binding ? And if we want kraft paper for the cover how can we request this ? I've purchased calendar journals from Amazon with sewn bindings and with brown, kraft-type covers.

[@EmilyAdeleArt]

Thank you! I don't know if they offer that yet for book printing and I've never made a calendar through them, but maybe you could try just printing your book pages on one of their calendar templates and upload it as a calendar even though it looks like a book? No idea if this will work, but worth looking into maybe

[@sebastianvarela5658]

Hello, huuuge question. What color profile did you use when making the illustrations? For me: I made the illustrations in CMYK from the start, I set up the book on a CMYK file in Illustrator, then i exported the PDF and the colors kept looking consistent during those stages. Once I uploaded the pdf file to KDP the colors went down drastically in saturation. I still have not received my physical copy so I hope it doesn’t look like that on the final print. Any advise or is this normal?

[@EmilyAdeleArt]

I did have some funky things happen when I accidentally exported in RGB once, but it fixed itself when I exported in CMYK. My assumption would be that there was something else off in your export settings but I'm not entirely sure. I've done this a couple times but I'm certainly no KDP expert! I really hope it was just a preview issue and your print turns out okay!

[@anab1872]

Emily, I have a question about the colors. Did you use RGB or CMYK for the paperback version?

[@EmilyAdeleArt]

I always use CMYK for anything print

[@MarioDoodles]

Hi...i followed ur advise...and still its very dark on a few paged. Not sure how much more i have to brighten the darker scenes. A question. Fo u know what CMKY profile i have to choose for interior pages ?

[@EmilyAdeleArt]

In procreate I just choose "Generic CMYK Profile". It's possible that your screen is not showing perfectly accurate colors so when it's printed it will look darker or different from what you thought. This is a worry of mine as well and I am trying to fix it.

[@nope5791]

QUESTION! Is the KDP "page count" determined by the physical actual number of paper/pages in the book or is the page count the final "number" that you use on the pages? For example, having a book that says, "24" is the last page of the story will really be only "12" physical pages in theory.

[@EmilyAdeleArt]

The front of the page is "1" and the back is "2" and the front of the next is "3" and so on. Those page numbers are what you go by. Hope that makes sense!

[@anab1872]

I also didn’t get about the pages at first. Front cover is not included into pages, then you open your book & see the single title page which is technically page 1, next you will see double spread pages that are 2-3, 4-5, and so on until 22-23, and the last single page is 24, then goes the back cover.

[@sunnygirl5820]

@@anab1872 Thank you!

[@kinkskoilsnmelanin4334]

Great info! Thanks for sharing!

[@EmilyAdeleArt]

Thanks for watching!

[@shadowweaver3693]

Thanks for these tips!

[@EmilyAdeleArt]

You're welcome! Will have another to review very soon!

[@sharayprevost7122]

Also I absolutely love your book ❤️

[@MarioDoodles]

is there calculator for the inner pages ? I saw only one for cover....

[@EmilyAdeleArt]

The inner pages will just be the size you chose for the book + .125 mm bleed on all edges

[@MarioDoodles]

@@EmilyAdeleArt oh thanks...and margin how big ?

[@EmilyAdeleArt]

@@MarioDoodles kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/GVBQ3CMEQW3W2VL6

[@sarahlavelle1856]

I am about to self-publish a picture book on KDP and on the wesbite it says they will not produce a book with a spine that has less than 79 pages. Is that correct? Bookstores in my area are not willing to stock picture books without spines. What is your advice?

[@EmilyAdeleArt]

Unfortunately I think this is true right now. If you want text on the spine you may need to go through another printer like Lulu or Ingramspark. Good luck!

[@loyallabradors]

This is so helpful!

[@EmilyAdeleArt]

Glad to hear it!

[@Rosalee9703]

what about the quality of the inner pages? I selected premium, received my first proof, and the pages look like I printed from my own printer. Thin and flimsy. It's very disappointing. Anyone else?

[@EmilyAdeleArt]

Yeah the pages are a bit thin, but for a free service they're not bad and the print quality seems to be getting better from what I've noticed. There are other print on demand sites, like IngramSpark I believe, that give more options for page thickness if you want to shop around.

[@zoeygrace7037]

Hi ,please where can I find the templates for a colouring and picture book. And what application can I use

[@EmilyAdeleArt]

kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G201834230 Here is the KDP site where you can download templates. It looks like people also make and sell templates, but you might have to search for those. Do you mean what application can you draw in? I use Procreate on my iPad, but there are also some free drawing apps for phones, tablets, and computers you can search for.

[@loricalass4068]

Very helpful. Thanks.

[@EmilyAdeleArt]

Thanks for watching!

[@zehrazain1086]

Beautiful illustrations there

[@EmilyAdeleArt]

Thank you!

[@leonelvilela5531]

Hi, where in KDP I can select landscape or portrait?

[@EmilyAdeleArt]

Do you mean for the dimensions of your book? On the second page after you've clicked the "Create" button on your KDP bookshelf there is a section called "Trim Size" where you choose what dimensions your book will be.

[@leonelvilela5531]

@@EmilyAdeleArt Thank you Emily. I meant for portraits you normally have the height smaller than the width but on the trime size page guidelines I only see measurements with height bigger than width suggesting that is a portrait type of book. Does it make sense? 🤔 Am I missing something?

[@EmilyAdeleArt]

@@leonelvilela5531 For paperbacks I saw a few options when I just looked of the width being larger than the height underneath the more common sizes. You can also choose a custom size. However.. if you are trying to create a hardcover book they currently only have portrait style options for book dimensions.

[@leonelvilela5531]

@@EmilyAdeleArt Thank you

[@danmamo5849]

What a great video. Brilliant!!!

[@EmilyAdeleArt]

Thank you!

[@bubbledoodle]

Thank you for sharing your experience! Can you tell me what size of book is that in the movie?

[@EmilyAdeleArt]

Thanks for watching! This is an 8.5 x 11 book.

[@bubbledoodle]

@@EmilyAdeleArt thank you❤️

[@antoniodossantos5960]

Thanks Emily 🌎

[@EmilyAdeleArt]

You're welcome 🙂

[@howtoadventures1273]

my kdp wont accept that i only have 26 pages, how were you able to upload it? i have a PDF as well. it still says that it needs to be 75 pages. help!!! please!!

[@EmilyAdeleArt]

Are you trying to make a hard cover? They don't print hard cover under 75 pages yet but they should do paperback.

[@OrwellsCharityFriday]

I uploaded one a paperback but they said it must be 74 pages. Please what can I do?

[@OrwellsCharityFriday]

That means aside from 74 pages books you can't have a paperback

[@EmilyAdeleArt]

@@OrwellsCharityFridayI'm sorry. I'm definitely not an expert so I'm not sure what the issue is. I don't know what the max number of pages for paperback is, but as long as it's over 24 pages it should print paperback. My only guess is there is something off with your settings. Maybe there is something selected that shouldn't be. Good luck!

[@OrwellsCharityFriday]

@@EmilyAdeleArt it's Paper back not hard cover

[@JJ-up8gj]

How much do you charge for illustration for a 25 page book?

[@EmilyAdeleArt]

It's hard to say because it's really dependant on a lot of factors. If you wouldn't mind emailing me at [e-mail] we can discuss everything in more detail so I can come up with an appropriate quote for what you're specifically looking for.

[@katiahale1004]

Hello ! I charge 15$ an illustration if you are interested

[@Geniuso-Mind_33.]

Wow that is great idea 👍👍 thank you very much

[@RS-mw7mp]

I don't think a kid minds any of that

[@EmilyAdeleArt]

You're probably right lol

[@Kay-xs1nj]

Hiii, i am a u university student that loves reading and writing and so i want to be able to write a book online and sell so i can share my idea and also to make a profit to help myself. Can you help me?

[@EmilyAdeleArt]

I have yet to publish my own book, but if you're looking for an illustrator or just have general questions you can email me at [e-mail] :)

[@Kay-xs1nj]

@@EmilyAdeleArt Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. I will definitely email you tomorrow. Thanks again.

[@OCUBOX]

Best to do ebook with KDP and print elsewhere...And not with GLUED spine. Why are kdp printers so idiotic. Books like these you STAPLE or thread. Not GLUE. But of course your dumb production process is more important, than actually using the right method for the kind of book you're printing...this is what I detest about the KDP system. Luckily I've found a MUCH better printer, not IngramSpark either, more expensive, BUT you'll have books that look like you'd get from a traditional publisher, not POD type abominations... Don't get me started on the INCONSISTENCY of their production method anyway...as they say, you get what you pay for.

[@EmilyAdeleArt]

Yeahh.. they do seem to be improving, but I agree it's not the most professional option. What printer do you use?

[@OCUBOX]

Hey Em, can't recommend them at the moment, as I'm waiting for a personal print from them. Maybe check back in? Keep it up! @@EmilyAdeleArt

[@AsexualiseMyAsexualLife]

Really helpful. I subscribed. Thanks.

[@EmilyAdeleArt]

Thank you!

[@AsexualiseMyAsexualLife]

@@EmilyAdeleArt you're welcome. Great thumbnail.