KDP Publishing 01: Define the Scope Before You Build

If you do not know what you are building, you cannot tell when the work is finished.

What You Will Produce

• Objective: Record format, operating mode, language, primary marketplace, rights territory, schedule, audience, and paperback scope as either a supported value or undecided.
• Action: Complete the eight fields in a scope decision table for a sample book.
• Evidence: One table in which every field has a value or an undecided status, a decision owner, and an evidence location.

Publishing Starts with Scope

Separate production complete, submitted, live, and project complete. This course remains prepare-only: it does not log in, upload, or submit. Unknown values are not defects when the owner and evidence location are visible.

The Eight Decision Fields

Record format, operating mode, language, primary marketplace, rights territory, schedule, audience, and paperback scope. Do not copy a marketplace, price, or territory from an example. The author must decide from the current sales plan and official screen.

Practice: Make Uncertainty Visible

Fill all eight rows. Replace unsupported assumptions with undecided, name the person who will decide, and point to the source that will settle the question. If both Kindle and paperback are in scope, keep their production evidence and final approvals separate.

Where This Fits in the Series

Closing Principle

A scope table is not an automatic go-ahead. It is a map of where the project must stop until evidence exists.

References

• Amazon KDP Help

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Series Navigation

Next: KDP Publishing 02: Build a Rights, Account, and AI Ledger