Is it possible to create a spiral-bound version of your book with Kindle Direct Publishing?
If so, what steps must you take?
Spiral or coil binding entails connecting the pages of your book to its cover using either metal or plastic coils. This type of binding is highly durable and presents your book in a professional manner.
Pages in a spiral-bound book can easily rotate around the coil, allowing you to read with ease and without having to hold the book open.
To achieve this type of binding, a margin of roughly 1 to 1.5 cm is typically required along the spine. This option is often preferred for low-content activity books and children's books.
- So, Is it possible to create a spiral-bound version of your book with Kindle Direct Publishing?
- Why Spiral Bind Books? Do You Even Need It?
- Are Spiral Binding & Wire-O Binding The Same Thing?
- What Are The Advantages And Disadvantages Of Spiral Bound Books?
- Do You Know Where One Can Order Printed Spiral-Bound Books?
- How To Decide On What Printing Platform To Choose
- Top 6 Popular Products That Uses Spiral Binding
- Can Spiral-Bound Books Have More Than 100 Pages?
- So, You’ve Created Your Spiral Bound Book, How Do You Get It On Amazon?
- How To List Your Books Through Amazon FBA?
- References
So, Is it possible to create a spiral-bound version of your book with Kindle Direct Publishing?
Unfortunately, Amazon KDP does not currently offer print on demand spiral bound books - meaning you cannot select it as a print method when self-publishing your book.
However, you can still sell spiral-bound books on Amazon and fulfill orders through the platform by utilizing alternative methods which will be discussed in greater detail in the following sections:
Why Spiral Bind Books? Do You Even Need It?
Frequently used books such as;
- journals,
- planners,
- cookbooks,
- and workbooks
All require sturdy, functional covers and bindings that both look good and are durable. Among the most popular binding options for these projects are spiral and wire-o binding, which can be laid open flat on a desk or table for easy reading and writing.
Are Spiral Binding & Wire-O Binding The Same Thing?
Wire-O binding (also known as wire binding, double-loop, or twin loop) and spiral binding though similar are not the same. Both carry similar functions, and advantages with the main difference being that Spiral binding typically uses plastic coils, while Wire-O uses metal.
What Are The Advantages And Disadvantages Of Spiral Bound Books?
The main pros and cons of Spiral binding are;
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
| As the coil will spring back to its original shape when pulled apart or crushed, it is very durable. | The coil can easily catch some pages and cause them to tear. It is for this reason that you should get spiral binding done by a professional. |
| With spiral binding, the pages of the book can be folded over and opened 180 degrees. | Papers may not set properly because spirals are set diagonally. |
| Depending on the volume of the order, it can be manually prepared or produced by a machine. | New pages are very difficult to add once the coil is inserted for binding. |
| Several colors and sizes of coils are available to accommodate both small and large spiral bound books. | |
| A spiral bound book can contain or hold as many pages as possible, depending on the size. | |
| Spiral-bound books are good for products that use tabbed dividers, such as organizers. | |
| Compared to many other options, it is cheaper. |
Do You Know Where One Can Order Printed Spiral-Bound Books?
From the information above, we know that Kindle Direct Publishing does not offer spiral-bound books. As a result, you must look for a platform that offers spiral-bound prints outside of KDP then place them for sale Amazon.
There are a number of places that offer spiral binding. Some of the most popular being:
- Vervante
- Snowfall Press
- Lulu, and
- Mimeo
If none of the above stated platforms work for you, you may be able to find other companies offering spiral-bound books by searching on Google.
Bear in mind that they the term coil binding instead. However, both terms refer to the same process.
How To Decide On What Printing Platform To Choose
It is important to consider factors such as ease of use, processing time, quality, where your book will be sold and price when selecting your printing platform.
A few question you should ask yourself when making this decision are:
Would you like the printer to list the book for you? If so, Vevante can list your book on your behalf.
Would you like to sell the books through Amazon FBA? In order to sell the books through Amazon FBA, you will need to purchase them in advance.
Do you want merchants to fulfill the books? You need to decide whether the printer will purchase and ship the books for you or if you will do it yourself.
Is it better to sell your books on Etsy or your own website? In that case, you should:
Would you like to ship the books yourself? Is it better for you to have the printer ship your books directly to the customer?
Is it okay with you if the printer bundles the book with another item such as a bookmark?
Top 6 Popular Products That Uses Spiral Binding
- Cookbooks
For cookbook printing, spirals are commonly used to reduce the amount of counter space needed for viewing a recipe. The unnecessary pages can easily be flipped back around the coil so that you can see only one page at a time instead of a two-page spread.
- Calendars
Due to their ease of use and ability to hang flat, spiral bound calendars are extremely popular.
- Employee Training Manuals/Handbooks
In training manuals, spiral binding is the best binding option since it is easy to reference and takes up little space.
- Photo Books
Due to spiral binding's ability to turn pages easily and open to a full 360 degrees, your information and images won't be buried in the spine, making it a perfect choice for printing photo books. In photo books, you should keep in mind that if your image is full page or spread across two pages, you will lose part of the image when the coil and hole punches are used.
- Sales Catalogs
In addition to their many benefits, spiral bound sales catalogs are easy to manage, which makes them perfect whether you are on the go or attending meetings. Furthermore, the pages are easy to turn, so you can show them off to potential customers with little resistance.
- Coloring Books
Spiral binding is another good choice for coloring books because it lays flat on the table and takes up less space. Instead of having to color with a 2-page spread open, you can fold the pages back upon themselves so that you're only viewing one page at a time, which makes the product thicker and more sturdier because all the pages are beneath the page you're coloring.
Can Spiral-Bound Books Have More Than 100 Pages?
This will depend on the size and thickness of the paper for your book, along with the capacity of the largest coil available. There is no definite maximum number of book pages that can be spiral-bound.
Binding coils have a maximum diameter of 2" and can accommodate a block with a diameter of up to 1.75". With average thick papers, a coil of 2" diameter can accommodate more than 900 pages.
So, You’ve Created Your Spiral Bound Book, How Do You Get It On Amazon?
Seeing that you can’t upload your spiral bound book through Amazon KDP directly, you will have to use the global distribution option on whatever platform you decide to create the book on to list it on Amazon for sale.
Your royalties payments will then be controlled by the listing platform, though your sales would be coming from Amazon and whatever other platforms you opt to list your book on.
Alternately you could order your books from the platform then sell the physical books yourself through Amazon FBA.
How To List Your Books Through Amazon FBA?
The first thing you will need to do is set up an Amazon Seller Account.
There are multiple types of accounts available so, be sure to read through the details of the different accounts before selecting the best one for your specific needs.
Once you have your account set up, you’ll have some decisions to make before listing your books.
These include:
Make A Plan For Fulfilling Orders
Want to handle shipping, packing, and inventory yourself? Or would you rather Amazon handle all of this for you? Amazon allows e-commerce sellers two ways to fulfil orders:
You can store inventory, pack, and ship books independently using Merchant Fulfilled Network (MFN).
Amazon Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) - You ship books to an Amazon Fulfillment Center, and they handle the rest. Amazon Fulfillment by Amazon also handles packing, shipping, customer service, and returns.
You can also obtain the Prime badge for most offers by using FBA to ship your products. The Prime badge signifies fast, free shipping for many Amazon customers.
Set The Price Of Your Book
The price of a book varies according to a number of factors, including its type and condition. Keep an eye on what other book sellers are asking for, and adjust your prices accordingly.
You can adjust your prices at any time.
Once you have all this figured out, It’s time to go ahead and list your books.
Listing Your Books With An Amazon Seller Account
The simplest way to list books for sale is to go directly to the product page and search for the titles. To do this, follow these steps:
- In the Amazon search bar, type the ISBN code of the book. Enter the title manually if the book was published before 1970.
- Then click "Sell on Amazon" on the product listing page.
- Enter the SKU here. You can specify the SKU, or Amazon will create it for you if you leave it blank.
- Choose your price. Simply click the button to match the lowest price.
- Please enter the total quantity. It is set to one unit by default.
- Select the condition. It is essential to be truthful about each book's condition.
- Choose your fulfillment channel (FBA or MFN - explained above).
That’s it! Amazon will review your book. Once approved you’ll be off to the races.
References
Publishing a Print Book For Global Distribution | Lulu
