Complete Amazon KDP Guide 2026 —
How to Publish Your Book Step by Step

What is Amazon KDP and Why Should You Use It?

Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) is Amazon’s self-publishing platform. It lets authors publish paperback books, hardcovers, and Kindle eBooks without going through a traditional publisher. You upload your manuscript, set your price, and Amazon handles printing, distribution, and customer service. When a book sells, your royalty lands in your bank account every month.

The platform launched in 2007 and now hosts over 3 million active self-published titles. It is the largest self-publishing platform in the world, and it gives you direct access to Amazon’s 200+ million active buyers with no gatekeeping, no minimum print runs, and no upfront costs of any kind.

Why KDP Over Other Platforms?

• Free to publish: No setup fees, no annual costs, no per-book charges until a sale happens.
• Print-on-demand: Amazon prints each paperback only when someone orders it. No inventory, no storage.
• High royalties: Up to 70% on Kindle eBooks priced $2.99–$9.99, and 60% on paperbacks minus printing cost.
• Fast turnaround: Most books go live within 24–72 hours of uploading.
• Kindle Unlimited: Enroll in KDP Select to earn extra income from KU page reads.

Go to kdp.amazon.com and sign in with your existing Amazon account, or create a new one. Before you can publish or receive royalties, KDP requires three things in your account settings:

Tax Information — Do This First

KDP is legally required to collect tax information from all publishers worldwide. US authors complete a W-9 form. International authors complete a W-8BEN. It is a straightforward online form — about 5 minutes. Many countries including the UK, Canada, and Australia have a 0% withholding rate on royalties under their tax treaty with the US.

Payment Method

KDP pays via bank transfer (EFT), wire transfer, or check. Bank transfer is fastest. US authors need their account number and routing number. International authors need IBAN and SWIFT details. KDP pays monthly — around the 28th of each month — for royalties earned 60 days prior.

Author and Publisher Information

Enter your author name exactly as you want it displayed on Amazon. You can use your real name, a pen name, or a publishing company name. Getting this right from the start saves confusion when paperback and eBook editions are linked on the same listing.

KDP lets you publish as a paperback, hardcover, Kindle eBook, or any combination. Most successful self-published authors publish all formats — but if you are starting out, which should you do first?

The honest answer for most first-time authors: publish both the Kindle eBook and the paperback at the same time. When both are listed, Amazon links them on one product page. Having both roughly doubles your potential buyers and adds credibility — many readers will not buy a Kindle version of a book if no physical edition exists.

The biggest formatting mistake beginners make is writing their entire manuscript in a standard A4 or letter-sized Word document and trying to reformat it for KDP after finishing. This creates hours of extra work. Format for your KDP trim size from the beginning.

Recommended Writing Software

• Microsoft Word (.docx) — Set your page size to your chosen trim size (not US Letter or A4) from the very first page.
• Google Docs — Free and cloud-based. Export as .docx or PDF before uploading. Same trim size rule applies.
• Scrivener — The professional standard for serious authors. Powerful organisation and built-in KDP compile settings.

Document Setup in Word for KDP

1. Page Size: Layout → Size → More Paper Sizes. Set to your trim size (e.g. 6″ × 9″).
2. Mirror Margins: Layout → Margins → Custom Margins → check Mirror Margins.
3. Margins: Use our Gutter Calculator for exact values.
4. Font: Readable serif — Garamond, Georgia, Times New Roman, or Palatino. 11–12pt body text.
5. Paragraph spacing: Turn off “Add space before/after paragraphs.” Use first-line indents (0.3″–0.5″).
6. Page numbers: Footer, starting from Chapter 1 — not from the cover or copyright page.

The trim size is the final physical size of your printed book. It affects your page count, printing cost, spine width, and how professional your book looks next to comparable titles in its genre.

Browse all supported sizes filtered by genre: KDP Book Sizes Chart →

Get the margin requirements wrong and your book either gets rejected or text literally disappears into the spine when printed and bound.

The Gutter (Inside Margin)

KDP also requires minimum 0.5″ on outside, top, and bottom edges. All headers, footers, and page numbers must sit inside these minimums.

Embedding Fonts

When exporting as PDF, all fonts must be embedded. In Microsoft Word: Options → check “ISO 19005-1 compliant (PDF/A)”. Our KDP Paperback Formatter handles this automatically.

Your cover is the single most impactful factor in whether a browser becomes a buyer. A bad cover can sink a genuinely great book. A great cover can make a mediocre one sell.

KDP Cover Technical Requirements

• Kindle eBook cover: JPEG or TIFF, minimum 625×1000px, ideal 1600×2560px (1:1.6 ratio), max 50MB, RGB colour
• Paperback / Hardcover: PDF, full wrap cover (front + spine + back), exact dimensions for your trim size and page count
• Image DPI: Minimum 300 DPI for print

Cover Design Options

1. KDP Cover Creator (free) — Basic templates. Good for testing, not for selling competitively.
2. Canva (free tier available) — KDP-sized templates available. Good for budget-conscious authors.
3. Professional designer ($150–$500+) — For competitive categories or series, a professional cover pays for itself in sales.

The Thumbnail Test: Resize your cover to 150×230 pixels and look at it honestly. Can you read the title? Does the genre communicate immediately? If it is unclear at that size, it will cost you sales.

Once your manuscript is formatted and cover is ready, uploading to KDP is straightforward. Log into kdp.amazon.com, click “Create a New Title,” and work through three sections:

Section 1: Book Details

• Title and subtitle — Include your main keyword in the subtitle if it fits naturally.
• Description — Up to 4,000 characters. Supports limited HTML (bold, italic, headings).
• Keywords — 7 keyword fields. Strategy covered in Step 8.
• Categories — 2 categories. Strategy covered in Step 8.

Section 2: Content

• ISBN — Free KDP ISBN or your own
• Interior type — Black and White or Full Colour. Cannot be changed after publishing.
• Trim size — Must match your manuscript exactly
• Manuscript and cover upload — Your PDF files
• Book Preview — Always launch and check every single page before proceeding

Section 3: Pricing

• Royalty plan — 35% or 70% for eBooks; paperbacks are automatically 60%
• List price — Your price for each marketplace (US, UK, EU, etc.)

Category Strategy

KDP lets you choose 2 categories at upload, but you can request up to 10 total by contacting KDP support after publishing. The counterintuitive strategy: do not always choose the most obvious category. “Mystery → General” competes against 200,000 titles. “Mystery → Amateur Sleuths → Female Detectives” might compete against 2,000. Find the most specific sub-category where you can realistically reach the top 100.

Keyword Strategy

• Use phrases, not single words. “cozy mystery small town amateur detective” beats “mystery” every time.
• Do not repeat your title or subtitle words — Amazon indexes those automatically.
• Research first. Type your genre into Amazon’s search bar and study the autocomplete suggestions.
• Never use competitor author names — Amazon prohibits this and suppresses your book.

For paperbacks: price at approximately 2.5–3× your printing cost. A 300-page novel with $4.45 printing cost, priced at $12.99, earns $3.34 per copy (60% of $12.99 = $7.79 minus $4.45).

Before clicking publish, order a physical proof copy of your paperback. A proof is an actual printed copy — identical to what buyers receive — available at cost price before it goes live. Screens lie. Common problems invisible on screen but obvious in print:

• Text printing lighter or darker than expected
• Margins feeling tight when the book is physically bound
• Cover colours shifting — screens use RGB, printers use CMYK
• Chapter headings printing on the back of a page instead of starting fresh on a right-hand page
• Typos your eyes have skipped forty times during digital review that jump out on paper

Proof copies cost your printing cost plus shipping — typically $8–$15 all in. Spend the money every time before going live.

After you click Submit for Publishing, KDP reviews most books within 24–72 hours. Kindle eBooks are often live within 24 hours. You receive an email when your book goes live.

After Publishing — First 72 Hours

• Share your Amazon listing on social channels, email list, and author website
• Request honest reviews from beta readers or early supporters
• Set up Amazon Ads — even $3–$5/day significantly increases early visibility
• Visit author.amazon.com and claim your Author Central page — add photo, biography, and website link
• Monitor your category ranking — this is when launch momentum matters most for long-term ranking

Free KDP Tools — All in One Place

Every tool mentioned in this guide is available free at KDPFormatters.com. No signup, no download, no watermarks.