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KDP will happily publish whatever you give it, which is precisely the risk. Everything that makes a book look professional has to be done before you upload. That means a properly edited manuscript, a cover designed to work at Amazon's thumbnail size, and correctly formatted interior files. Our professional book editing, book cover design, and book formatting cover exactly this preparation, and it is the stage that most determines how your book is received.
You will need two things file-wise: a print-ready PDF for paperback or hardcover, and a properly formatted digital file for Kindle. These are different formats with different rules, reflowable text for digital versus fixed margins, bleed, and spine width for print, so they are produced separately. Our eBook conversion services handle the digital side.
Once your book is properly produced, the KDP process itself moves through five stages.
Go to Kindle Direct Publishing and create a free account, or sign in with an existing Amazon account. Complete your author and tax information and add banking details for royalties. Do this carefully, since incorrect tax information can hold up payments later.
Enter the information that becomes your book's listing: title and subtitle, author name, description, categories, keywords, and ISBN. Take your time, because several of these fields directly affect whether readers ever find your book.
Upload your manuscript file and your cover, then use KDP's previewer and page through the whole book, checking that nothing has shifted, broken, or reflowed strangely. If the preview looks wrong, fix the file rather than publishing and hoping. For print, you also confirm trim size, paper, and cover finish.
Amazon offers two Kindle royalty rates, seventy percent and thirty-five percent, with the seventy percent option applying within a set price range and subject to a delivery cost based on file size. For print, your royalty is what remains after Amazon's share and the printing cost. Price within the range of comparable books in your genre.
Once you submit, Amazon reviews your book, typically within about seventy-two hours, and then it goes live and becomes purchasable worldwide. Order author copies of print books at printing cost to check the physical result before you promote widely.
Several of the fields in Step 2 directly determine whether readers ever find your book, so they are worth getting right rather than rushing.
Description. Your book's sales pitch on the page. It is what converts a browser into a buyer, so write it with care.
Categories. Where your book sits in Amazon's store. Choosing accurately, and specifically, matters more than choosing the biggest category.
Keywords. The terms readers might search. You get several slots; use them all, and use real search phrases rather than single generic words.
ISBN. Either your own or Amazon's free one. See our ISBN guide for which is right for you; the short version is that Amazon's free ISBN lists Amazon as the publisher and cannot be used elsewhere.
Getting your book live is the beginning. Two decisions shape what happens next.
Revisit your categories and keywords periodically, since what performs well can shift over time and refreshing your metadata is one of the easiest ways to improve visibility. Gather honest reviews, which strongly affect both conversion and discoverability. And promote the book actively, because Amazon rewards books that bring their own traffic. Our book marketing covers how to do this well.
Worth considering rather than defaulting. Publishing exclusively through KDP Select brings certain promotional benefits but means you cannot sell your eBook elsewhere for the duration. Publishing widely, across Apple Books, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, and distributors like IngramSpark that reach bookstores, gives you broader reach and no exclusivity constraints. Neither is universally right; it depends on your book, your genre, and your goals.
KDP is free and open to anyone, but doing it well takes properly produced files, a cover that competes, a thoughtfully built listing, and the judgment to get the details right. Our full book publishing services handle the entire process, production through publication and distribution, across Amazon and the wider retail network, while you keep full ownership and the highest royalties. You focus on your book; we handle the platforms.
Yes, there is no upfront fee to publish through KDP. Amazon takes its share through royalties, and for print books your printing cost is deducted per sale. What does cost money is producing a professional book beforehand: editing, cover design, and formatting.
For Kindle eBooks, Amazon offers a 70 percent royalty option within a set price range (with a delivery cost based on file size) and a 35 percent option outside it. For print, your royalty is what remains after Amazon's share and the printing cost, which varies with page count and format.
Amazon typically reviews and publishes a submitted book within about 72 hours, after which it is available for purchase worldwide. Preparing the book properly beforehand takes far longer than the publishing step itself.
Not necessarily. Amazon offers a free ISBN, but it lists Amazon as the publisher and cannot be used on other platforms. If you want your own imprint listed or plan to distribute more widely, buy your own ISBN. Our ISBN guide covers the decision in detail.
It depends on your goals. Exclusivity through KDP Select brings promotional benefits but prevents selling your eBook elsewhere. Publishing widely across Apple Books, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, and bookstore distribution reaches more readers without constraints. Neither is right for everyone.
Yes. Our publishing services handle the full process, from producing professional files through to publication and distribution on Amazon and other retailers, while you keep complete ownership and the highest royalties.
Amazon has made publishing genuinely accessible, and doing it well is what separates the books that sell from the ones that vanish. For the wider picture see our How to Publish a Book guide, and whenever you want the whole process handled professionally, we will take it from here.
