It also means the difference between a book that sells and one that disappears comes down almost entirely to preparation: whether your files are properly produced, your cover works, and your listing is set up thoughtfully. This guide walks through the whole process, and flags the details that actually matter.
Before you upload: get your book ready
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 manuscript 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, and our free spine width calculator gives you the print cover dimensions from your page count.
The KDP process
Once your book is properly produced, the KDP process itself moves through five stages.
1. Create your KDP account
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.
2. Set up your book details
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.
3. Upload your files
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.
4. Set your price and royalties
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, and use our free royalty calculator to see what each price leaves you per copy.
5. Publish
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.
The listing fields that affect discoverability
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. Our free title and blurb workshop builds one section at a time against each store's limits.
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. Our free keyword planner checks all seven slots against the character limit and against your own title.
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.
Publishing is the start, not the finish
Getting your book live is the beginning. Two decisions shape what happens next.
After you publish
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; our guide to how to get book reviews covers the legitimate ways. And promote the book actively, because Amazon rewards books that bring their own traffic. Our book marketing services cover how to do this well.
Should you publish only on Amazon?
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.
Or let us handle it
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.
Frequently asked questions
Is it free to publish on Amazon KDP?
How much do authors earn on Amazon?
How long does it take for my book to go live?
Do I need my own ISBN for Amazon?
Should I publish exclusively on Amazon?
Can you publish my book on Amazon for me?
Get your book on Amazon, properly
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.