But times are changing and a low profile is not putting off thousands of would-be, talented authors. And Kindle’s deal is simple; anyone can self-publish via Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) - authors keep control of the rights, set the price, design the cover, edit and proofread their work and can make changes to their book, or its price, at any time. It’s free to self-publish and authors earn a 35 per cent royalty rate for books below £1.99 or 70 per cent for books priced between £1.99 and £9.99. Once you’ve uploaded your treasured manuscript, it can be available to the world within 24 hours and even translated into multiple languages.