Obtain an ISBN, or international standard book number, for your self-published book. ISBNs are used by book sellers, libraries and other businesses to track titles; each ISBN is a unique number assigned to a specific title. You can apply for an ISBN number online through the U.S. ISBN Agency at Bowker's official application website at myidentifiers.com. Make sure you obtain a bar code to go along with your unique ISBN once your application has been processed.
Sign up for Amazon Advantage. This program allows self-publishers to list items for sale on Amazon.com. Complete and submit the online application available through the Amazon Advantage Web portal. You must submit at least one published item for sale through the Amazon Advantage program for your application to be processed. To be accepted, you must hold the North American distribution rights to the submitted work, have Internet and email access and a U.S. bank account.
Pick a list price for your book. As of 2011, the Amazon Advantage program pays 45 percent of the list price to the seller. For example, if you list your book at $10, you will receive $4.50 per sale from Amazon. Amazon pays an Advantage member for books sold during a one-month period 30 days after that month ends. For example, payment for books sold during June will be sent to a publisher in August.
Respond to Amazon orders for copies of your book. Amazon will contact an Advantage member once a week if they need to increase inventory. Log into your Advantage account through the Amazon website to respond to orders, indicating whether or not you can fulfill the order and when the Amazon warehouse can expect to receive the order. You will have to cover the price of shipping books to the Amazon warehouse.