Sometimes our little monkey brains like to overcomplicate things….especially those mysterious and magical books.
When I self published my first book, it struck me that:
Writing a book is the exact same as writing a blog post!
It’s all the same stuff: Title, image (or book cover), table of contents, the actual contents. That’s it!
So if a blog post and a book are the exact same thing, then why is making a book supposedly so much more difficult?
Well it used to be difficult because you had to deal with publishers and editors and all that junk, but nowadays you can bypass all that with a simple Google Doc, and end up with a real print book!
This book was made 100% in Google Docs (including images)!
Here’s some screenshots of the Google Doc and then the final thing:
Screenshots from the regular old Google Doc this was written in.
The end result, a printed and self-published book!
It’s kinda neat to physically hold the book after writing it in a Google Doc.
Both of my books (You’re Gonna Die, and This Book Will Teach You How To Write Better)
Google Docs + Amazon = Published Book!
You can literally now use Google Docs to write a full book, then upload it to Amazon KDP which will let you sell it as a Kindle version and a physical version.
In this post I’ll take you through the full process from idea to published book.
Coming Up With The Book Concept:
I made a thing called The Death Calculator a while ago based on the idea that I’m going to kill myself when I’m 85 years old, and wanted to have a countdown timer for it:
It was a concept I started thinking about in high school in order to more accurately plan out my life (how can you know what you want to do, if you don’t know when it will end)??
As I would tell people I planned to end my life on November 17th, 2067 it would often shock them. I’d go on to explain how it’s not some weird death wish, but actually just a planned decommissioning of my life.
By the end of the conversation, most people would actually agree that it’s a good idea.
Since I’ve thought about it so long it seemed like a totally obvious thing people should do, but it wasn’t a really widely spread idea.
That’s what made me create the Death Calculator post….and I always thought it would make a great mini-book.
Now that I had a concept, I just opened a Google Doc titled “Book” and started writing down my thoughts.
The doc just contained random concepts, random arguments, and random stats on death. Slowly over time I started organizing these things in to make a book that “flows.”
The Book Size is 6″ x 9″:
I used a 6-inch by 9-inch book template (Amazon has several sizes to choose from).
If you read a bunch of books, you’ll quickly realizes that some books just suck. They could be summarized in maybe 50 pages at most.
It always pisses me off when I spend concentrated time on a book that ends up wasting my time. So when I created my own books, I wanted them to be extremely short and to the point. Basically no longer than they needed to be.
My goal was to quickly install the information in the reader and let them get on with their lives.
My first book was directly modeled on Kamal Ravikant’s book Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends On It.
I had met Kamal, and heard he published this book for free originally in an email, but then friends encouraged him to make it into a short book. He self published it on Amazon and by word of mouth became a hit success and sold many thousands of copies!
I bought the book, which at the time was under 10 bucks, and read it in one 30 minute sitting.
I thought for the money I paid the message was nice, and I very much liked the size and length of the book.
It was 6 inches X 9 inches big, and around 50 pages long.
Sure enough, I exactly modeled my first book after his:
I really liked that format, so once again I decided to self publish a 6″ X 9″ book. It’s almost more like a pamphlet 😂
The Book Cover Was Made In Google Docs:
Of course thinking of a title and cover is a big part of making a book, and almost instantly I titled it “You’re Gonna Die.”
I tried coming up with a few more titles, but I just loved that one.
As I was writing the book, I made a ghetto version of the cover in Google Docs like this:
This was just plain text and a Google Drawing I made of a person lying in a coffin.
This was supposed to be a temporary mockup as I got a better cover made, but ultimately I started liking the way it looked!
So both the front cover and back cover were made directly in Google Drawings:
As I was writing this book I wanted to try and keep almost the entire production inside of Google Docs, so I’m glad the cover was able to come out OK even though I was using very simple image software inside Google Docs (You can see all my top Google Docs tricks for writers here).
The Finishing Touches Using Fiverr:
Now formatting a book has a few simple yet weird elements you’ve gotta consider:
- Starting and end points of pages.
- Table of contents placement.
- Book page numbers.
You can totally do this yourself, but I’m personally a gigantic fan of Fiverr for accomplishing small goals like this.
So for formatting the book properly for Kindle and Print versions, I used two different people from Fiverr:
I used this gig for the Kindle version ($10).
I used this gig for the Print version ($5).
All I did was send each of those freelancers the Google Doc link to my book, and also did a File –> Download As .docx and sent them that file also.
A day later I got both of the documents back, perfectly formatted and ready for upload!
In fact both of them came back perfect the first time, and I didn’t need to make any changes at all.
Uploading Kindle + Print Versions to Amazon:
I had everything I needed now, and it’s time to upload the book to Amazon:
- Title.
- Book cover.
- Kindle file (.epub)
- Physical book file (.pdf or .docx)
https://kdp.amazon.com is where you do all of this.
It’s funny because the actual technical side of getting a book uploaded is super easy….I mean you don’t need much to upload.
However, the hard part of making a book is coming up with concept, outline, linking it all together etc…
My buddy Chandler Bolt runs a pretty big company called Self Publishing School that guides people through the process.
My books have both been very very short, so they’re not too difficult to wrangle, but I could DEFINITELY see if you’re writing a novel or longer book, how having a support team around the project would help.
Here’s a bunch of the settings I personally used on Amazon, and how it looks in the backend:
I made some sample versions of how the book looks in Google Docs:
Kindle Version: Google Doc Kindle Sample.
Print Version: Google Doc Print Sample.
The Kindle version doesn’t really need page formatting, so it can be whatever size.
The Print version needs to be properly formatted so it fits the 6X9 template.
You can re-upload the book with changes anytime:
The greatest thing about the current state of self-publishing is that you can publish a book that’s imperfect, and update it over time.
So when I got my first version of the print book, I went through and marked it up with changes I wanted.
I simply made those changes in the file and re-uploaded it to Amazon.
Now all the books purchased after that will be updated. It’s almost like writing a blog post where you can edit it anytime.
In fact, Amazon will actually TELL YOU when someone finds a mistake in your book, and allow you to fix it with one click!
On my first book people would occasionally find formatting or grammar errors, so they could report it on Kindle. Amazon just sends you a quick notification like this, and you can usually fix the error with a single click:
Amazon sends you a notification like this, and you can usually fix the error with a single click.
Being able to edit a book anytime takes off so much of the pressure for the book to be absolutely perfect and set-in-stone forever like a traditionally published book.
Hope this inspires one of YOU to amplify your voice with a book, even with simple tools like Google Docs and a free Amazon account :)
Sincerely,
Neville Medhora – Author
P.S. You can see the final book listing here.
Hi,
Thank you for sharing. I discover KDP not long ago and I wonder if you know another company that could offer equivalent service.
I kind of doesn’t want to use amazon.
Thank you,
Sarah
I have purchased your 2 books. They are so beautiful. Thanks for sharing your knowledge in this post. I am inspired by you. With much love. https://www.facebook.com/samchooks/posts/3548209725224186
This book helped me get married. I read this post a little over a month ago to learn how to write a book quickly using Google Docs. A month later I got married to the love of my life. I’m going to die and want to live whatever time I have on this planet with her. If we’re lucky to have children, she’ll make a great mom and partner “in crime”.
Thank you, Neville!
Congrats David!!
FYI, this might be the best comment I’ve ever got 😂
Been a huge fan since I read about your water bottle selling experiment a few moons ago. Like many of the commenters, I have toyed with the idea of creating a book. A few questions if I may…
Keep on the great work!!
Bro!
You’re always a source of simplified life inspiration for me.
Now it’s like why haven’t I written a 50 page book yet!?!
About how many words did you end up squeezing in there?
Love your stuff, I use your content upgrade idea for lead magnets… used your how to write an about me post as my about me guide.
I always know I can turn to you for immediate actionable solutions.
Ty 🤙
Thanks Ty, this is maybe a great time to start, you’ve got the template on how to get started and all the tools are free, no more excuses :)
Hopefully I can still send you a bunch of actionable stuff!
Wow. Congrats, man.
Because being able to complete a book means you can hold on to a line of thought and reach its logical end.
Yes, that was really the hardest part. I thought it’d be super easy to put these thoughts down into a book, but it turned out all my thoughts weren’t very clear on it, and this helped really put it into a logical form :)
Thank you Sudheer! Hope you enjoyed seeing this process :)
Really inspiring to see how simple of a process this was. I was pretty mystified by the whole book publishing process but this route doesn’t seem so bad.
Thank you Neville.
Thank you Irwin, yes I’m so glad this process is getting easier. Hopefully it encourages some other people to put out books :)
Hi Neville
I love your copy all the time I read your email all the time And this post is just amazing.
My top Questions
1. HOW TO BECOME A CONTENT WRITER WHEN I’M totally SUCKS ON ENGLISH
2. How to Develop good writing skills
3. How to know my writing skills are payable or not?
4. Please check my recent article and tell me How my writing skills are Click Here
4. I’m stuck ass in the jungle of morons I’ve no money for joining any course my question is to how to improve my writing skills
Please read my article and please give me feedback
A feedback from you eyes would be life changing Naviel
Hey Denny thanks for the kind words!
I can’t review everyone’s copy on the web, but I LITERALLY DO THIS ALL DAY inside of our members area here!
https://members.copywritingcourse.com/subscriptions/
…if you join I’m happy to review all your copy (also you get other professional copywriters on it too) :-)
Awesome & inspiring! I’m a cartoonist… see any issues inserting images in the google doc? think the formatting concerns can be handled quickly by a fiverr editor?
Hey Eric, there wasn’t much of a problem actually. You can simply drag-n-drop images directly into the Google Doc, and all the formatting is handled by the Fiverr editors!
Hello Neville,
You know what? Guess I should read the whole thing and maybe even the comments before I ask me to explain further what I don’t understand about your technique to me, in “five easy steps” or something like that. Sorry. Didn’t mean to sound sarcastic.
William
Bahahaha, yeah definitely read the post before asking! It’s all pretty much laid out there, and I also did another post about it last year right here that even shows some stats of the sold book!
https://copywritingcourse.com/how-to-self-publish-a-book/
Ok Neville, how exactly did you write a book 100% in Google Docs? To get an answer, does my question have to be more specific, or can you just lay out the steps for me?
Hahaha…I see your other comment :)
Very inspiring. I have one question that bothers me. How can you make sure those guys on Fiverr don’t steal your book and publish it themselves?If it takes a few clicks to publish a book and it is difficult to prosecute remote workers, stealing seems to be easy to me also.
Hey Gabriella, I only use Fiverr people with lots of positive reviews. I’m sure if they were stealing your work and publishing it they would get called out very quickly.
It’s not something I was extremely concerned about.
Gabriella, I wondered the same thing! Thanks for asking the question. Neville has a good point – using highly rated Fiverrs would definitely be top of my criteria.
Hey Sandra, yeah if you stick with highly rated people I doubt it’ll generally be a problem :)
A very impressive little book, Neville! I gotta call a Farm State agent and buy a “Last Expenses” insurance soon… But seriously, I have to (1) buy your book and (2) get busy publishing a little book myself. A question: My manuscript includes a dozen quotes from other books… Who should I turn to in order to get the quotes attributed and permission-affixed?
Hey Tad glad this inspired you to write a little book!
I’m no expert, but I believe so long as you credit the quotes to the correct author/book I don’t believe it’s a problem to include small quotes.
I would just move ahead and do it (just always credit the authors) :-)
Great Post Nev!
I toyed with publishing a few kindle books on Amazon back in the day and while it wasn’t a roaring success by any stretch it was a fun learning experience. Plus I randomly still get sent some royalties every few months from Amazon.
Your story has inspired me to have another go at it and write some simple books for people who want to learn to make money from filmmaking or photography. Currently I just blog about filmmaking and photograhy tips on my website. I especially like that on your cover of ‘this book will teach you how to write better’ you say it’s short. This removes the pressure from the Author to make a long book full of filler content and also informs the reader not to expect a 600 page manifest.
Cheers!
Hey Aaron yeah it is kinda fun to get royalties from Amazon every month (I posted some screenshots of my earnings in my previous self publishing post).
You definitely should make some more content on films and photography….or even better create some YouTube videos on it too!
My mom has always wanted to write a book but it just seemed too complex to start. Will now set her up with a document like this and tell her to start. Thank you for the inspiration Neville!
That’s great Kerry! A simple Google Doc is a great way to get her started. You can simply insert images, create drawings, and even update the doc from your phone.
Best of luck on your moms book journey!
This was very informative. I like that you even created the book cover in Google Docs. Would you do this again or hire someone else to design it for your next book?
Thanks Eric! I liked doing the book alllll in Google Docs…but in the future I’m totally open to using 99Designs or some freelancer on Fiverr or UpWork for the cover.
Actually my first book I let people vote on a fancier cover and title, but the simpler cover and title won:
I’m a fan of simplicity, so I might even make the next book all in Google Docs again :)
Dammit, Neville…once again you have reminded me that I am procrastinating and making excuses for not getting sh*t done while pretending that taking copywriting courses and reading (admittedly excellent) copywriting books is forward progress.
Alas, it is not.
Looking for and pitching to clients who are willing to let me write for them, then writing for them, and then getting better and better as I write more and more (and probably mess up more than once)…that would be actual forward progress.
Oh and I’m 51, so I guess I better get a f***ing move on because apparently the clock is ticking. Oy.
You still got more time then I been alive (32) or more. And I pissed away the first 5 pooing and crying 😉
Very true! I used my death calculator to show:
So that’s 28+ more years of life, that’s A LOT!!
Hey Chris, glad this was a reminder!
Just remember you don’t have to be perfect….in fact if you watch me (or anyone) actually write stuff, you realize how frustrating and slow the process can be.
You can actually watch me write this very post here:
I think putting stuff out CONSISTENTLY is very important, so maybe dedicate yourself to putting out 2-4 small pieces of content in the next 30 days, and then it becomes a habit you get better and better at.
Best of luck Chris!
Neville – Thanks for your response and advice…much appreciated.
And I will definitely watch your writing session video…I’m confident it will be entertaining and informative!
Thank you Chris! I hope the current videos are entertaining and informative…and will try my best to continue that :)
Hey Neville..
Who sorted all the ISBN stuff out for you? Is that something Amazon does?
How many have you sold thus far?
Hey Arthur!
So Amazon definitely will provide you with an ISBN number, but maybe 8+ years ago I bought a 10-pack of ISBN numbers from https://www.myidentifiers.com/
…I just used those for this particular book!
I feel like you’ve called me out Neville…have plenty of ideas running around in my head (not much use if I don’t share then with the world ; )….simply put no more excuses…and thank you so much for sharing
GOOD! Hope this shows you that it’s super simple to write a small book, and no pressure at all since you can easily update it :)
Nev, you, Dan and the team at Kopywriting Kourse, inspired me to publish my FIRST ever book, based on interviews from my Dad the Best I Can podcast!
It’s 88% finished….good thing I have that shaming deadline to force me to get it done!
Appreciate you guys!
Rob
P.S. I read ‘You’re Gonna Die’ in 1 sitting, it’s super motivating to make you get out there and LIVE!
Thank you Rob…we’re still holding you to it!
All your content is written, you just need to upload it now, so get it done….we’ll be holding you to it :)
This post cuts right to the chase and makes publishing both simple and easy. I remember back when I was first publishing books. Very messy, had all those monks sitting around, year after year, acting as scriveners. Ink stains over everything, used goose quills littering the floor. Then I met Johnny Gutenberg, great guy. He showed me how to set movable type and, bingo!, I was off and running. Publishing was never the same after that. Now we have Google Docs and Amazon KDP and Neville to show us how to use them. No more ink stains, no more goose quills, and let me tell you, the geese are a whole lot happier.
Bahahahha….yeah that Gutenberg dude is so old school with his printing method 😀
Hi Neville. Great content as usual. Just check the Amazon description think there is a typo. “This book brings YOUR through …,,,”
love your work man. Tx for the inspiration.
Oh wow you’re right….correcting it now, good eye!
This is awesome Nev. Well done. I hadnt realised it was so ‘easy’
Yeah it really is getting more simple all the time. Some of the tools are still a little jaanky like Amazon’s cover builder, but overall this really is simple as uploading a file and filling out the details of the book.
Hope to see your book out soon!
You’re such a Genius!
Why thank you Joy! Hope this helps you put out a book too :)
This is so inspiring. I just created my kdp account and will get on it. I wanted to ask if you could make the google doc template available? Even if it’s for a couple of dollars. I’d buy.
Hey Keli in the post I give out these samples of them so you can see what they’re like!
I made some sample versions of the how the book looks in Google Docs:
Kindle Version: Google Doc Kindle Sample.
Print Version: Google Doc Print Sample.
Hope those help 😀
Bonjour Neville!
I love how you make things simple and share it with others!
just bought it on amazon.
Romain from New Caledonia
Thank you Romain! Glad this was easy to understand, my goal had been accomplished :)
This is inspiring. I’m definitely gonna implement this. I have a couple of books I’m working on.
Thank you for making the process so simple.
Hey thanks Navick! Hopefully you end up putting out a couple of books quickly thanks to this :)
Great breakdown of how this works. Very inspiring to see this can be done for so cheap. Thank you!
You’re welcome Reed, I definitely wanted to spread the word about how simple the process is, because so many people think it’s far more complex!