You are welcome. Glad that I could help. I can relate to you in many ways as I too rebelled against my dad's mindset not wanting to end up like him. I don't have all the answers and I have not figured out the success part yet but I learned that you have to listen to that inner voice inside you and that you have to walk to the beat of your own drum not someone else's.
Glad to hear that you love writing. Here are some useful links to get you started.
Read this first for inspiration : Wall Sreet Journal Story about the author of Wool.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324678604578340752088305668.html
now that you are inspired follow the other links:
Here is the link to KDP on Amazon. On the left there is a menu with links that explain everything:
https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/help?topicId=A2M7MM0UP7PHK0
Here is the link to the Amazon tools you want to download: https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/help?topicId=A3IWA2TQYMZ5J6
Here is a link to a great set of spreadsheets that keep track of daily writing which is essential to being a successful writer:
http://svenjaliv.com/category/resources/spreadsheets/
If you want to ever try your hand at writing a novel or a screen play this is a very interesting book that talks about how to structure them in a formalistic manner that Hollywood will like and breaks it all down so that not only is it commercially successful but that it might go beyond that. It breaks down each book/screenplay into the 3 act 8 sequence format and once you understand it you will see that many books like Harry Potter series to movies follow this formula. Its only $3.00
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005DB81F2/ref=oh_d__o03_details_o03__i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Recently a girl who writes Erotica gave an AMA on Reddit. Here is the link.
http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1gwvj6/iama_successful_erotica_author_i_turn_naughty/
She also put out a how to book for $3 and the link is in the AMA. here is the link to her little e-book where she shows you how to do what she does.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DGC71ZQ/ref=oh_d__o03_details_o03__i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Might not be your cup of tea but the process is the same if you were to write something else like Romance, Sci-Fi, Fiction, Thrillers etc. She writes mainly short stories and has made over $14,000 in 6 months on the side.
This book is pretty good on kindle publishing
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BCCVCCA/ref=oh_d__o06_details_o06__i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Here is one for non fiction publishing
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AXTNY9W/ref=oh_d__o08_details_o08__i02?ie=UTF8&psc=1
This one shows you how to write a non fiction book in 21 days
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AB77M5S/ref=oh_d__o02_details_o02__i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
PM me if you have any other questions about KDP and writing.
Good luck :)