A few comments.
1) kindle KDP is good, but you need to read up on format issues for print on demand. fine detail around gutter and margin needs to be understood for a high quality product. The specific DPI you render cover artwork in, and sizing has a huge impact. Kindle can be a bit arbitrary on what they accept and what they reject for print.
2) Kindle ePub demands a different set of outcomes. Do your print hardcopy first, then modify it to make the inputs to upload. I used calibre to do all the mods, but people swear by sigil. How you index makes a huge difference. Remember ePub is flow text. All those pagerefs have to be re-calculated into logical offsets and marks, not literal paper counts.
Again, the submission system can be a bit opaque.
If you want PoD hardcopy in Australia.. Avoid kindle. The amazon trade war with Australian taxation has hit hard and they have no local printery.
I recommend Ingramspark, who can do PoD, and manage epublishing into kobo and nook and the like, and who have an agency status in amazon to sell your hardcopy. The PoD rates look competitive with the KDP ones, once you factor US delivery costs in.
(Amazon are pretty cool for worldwide rights)
Ingram demand really tight conformance on the PDF ISO specs for final output. Adobe, craptacular code though it is, will emit the legal form. Sigil and (yay!) libreoffice seem to also do this, but ymmv. Again, the DPI of your images make a huge difference to submission here. Some stuff demands 300, some demands 72 (for eprint covers)
Employ a professional editor/proofreader. They make a huge difference. Seriously, its money well spent. Some of them index too.
Kindle can be a bit arbitrary on what they accept and what they reject for print.
For e-books, too. One of my books was mysteriously blocked without justification, and after several months and attempts at escalation was just as mysteriously re-instated.
2) Kindle ePub demands a different set of outcomes. Do your print hardcopy first, then modify it to make the inputs to upload. I used calibre to do all the mods, but people swear by sigil. How you index makes a huge difference. Remember ePub is flow text. All those pagerefs have to be re-calculated into logical offsets and marks, not literal paper counts.
Again, the submission system can be a bit opaque.
If you want PoD hardcopy in Australia.. Avoid kindle. The amazon trade war with Australian taxation has hit hard and they have no local printery.
I recommend Ingramspark, who can do PoD, and manage epublishing into kobo and nook and the like, and who have an agency status in amazon to sell your hardcopy. The PoD rates look competitive with the KDP ones, once you factor US delivery costs in.
(Amazon are pretty cool for worldwide rights)
Ingram demand really tight conformance on the PDF ISO specs for final output. Adobe, craptacular code though it is, will emit the legal form. Sigil and (yay!) libreoffice seem to also do this, but ymmv. Again, the DPI of your images make a huge difference to submission here. Some stuff demands 300, some demands 72 (for eprint covers)
Employ a professional editor/proofreader. They make a huge difference. Seriously, its money well spent. Some of them index too.