How to Publish on Amazon KDP: Ebook and Paperback, Step by Step

Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) lets you publish an ebook and a printed book on Amazon without a publisher and without upfront cost. The dashboard looks simple, but almost every field is a decision that affects how readers find your book and what you earn. If you know the steps in advance, you will have every file and every piece of copy ready when you upload.

All terms in this guide reflect the situation as of 2026. Amazon updates its terms regularly, so check the current details in the KDP Help Center before you commit.

Your account and the tax interview

Sign in at kdp.amazon.com with an Amazon account or create a separate one for your publishing. Before you can publish, you add your personal details, a bank account for payments and your tax information.

The tax interview is a questionnaire that establishes whether US tax is withheld from your royalties. US authors typically complete a W-9; authors outside the US typically complete a W-8BEN and may qualify for a reduced rate under a tax treaty. Either way, you report your royalty income where you are taxed.

Metadata: title, description, keywords, categories

Metadata is everything Amazon knows about your book before anyone reads a line. It decides which searches your book appears in and whether the product page converts browsers into buyers.

• Title and subtitle: exactly as they appear on the cover. A subtitle may clarify the genre, but stuffing it with search terms breaks KDP's content guidelines.
• Series: if the book belongs to a series, add the series name and number so Amazon links the volumes.
• Description: the product page copy. Only the opening lines show before readers click to expand, so put your hook there.
• Keywords: seven fields for terms readers actually search for, such as setting, character type or mood. Do not repeat words already in your title or categories.
• Categories: choose up to three from Amazon's catalogue. Narrow beats broad: a small, well-matched subcategory gives more visibility than a crowded general one.

Pricing and royalties

Ebooks come with a choice of two royalty rates. Paperbacks follow a fixed rule, minus printing costs.

Delivery costs depend on the file size of your ebook, so an image-heavy book costs noticeably more at the 70% rate than plain text. For paperbacks, printing cost depends mainly on page count, trim size and whether the interior is in colour; KDP shows your royalty for each marketplace as you set the price.

The best way to set a price is to compare: look at what ebooks and paperbacks of similar length in your subgenre cost, especially those from other self-published authors. A debut rarely sells on a high price. For paperbacks, printing cost sets a floor below which you earn no royalty at all.

KDP Select and Kindle Unlimited

KDP Select is an optional programme for ebooks. Enrolling commits you to selling the ebook exclusively through Amazon for 90 days at a time; enrolment renews unless you opt out. In return, the book is included in Kindle Unlimited, and you are paid for pages read, counted as KENP (Kindle Edition Normalized Pages). Select also gives you promotional tools such as limited free-book days.

Exclusivity applies only to the ebook. You remain free to sell your paperback anywhere. Whether Select pays off depends heavily on genre: in genres with many voracious readers, such as romance, fantasy and thrillers, Kindle Unlimited matters far more than for literary fiction or non-fiction.

Print files, cover and ISBN

For the ebook you upload a manuscript file, such as an EPUB or a Word document, plus the cover as an image. You do not need an ISBN; Amazon assigns its own identifier, the ASIN.

For the paperback you need two PDFs: the typeset interior at your chosen trim size and the cover as one piece covering back, spine and front. KDP's cover calculator and template generator give you the exact dimensions, including spine width, from trim size, page count and paper. Bleed is 0.125 in. KDP offers a free ISBN for paperbacks; the imprint then reads “Independently published”, and the ISBN can only be used on KDP. If you want your own imprint and other channels, buy your ISBN from Bowker in the US or Nielsen in the UK.

1. Export the interior as a PDF with embedded fonts
2. Note the page count and get the dimensions from the cover calculator
3. Build the cover with bleed and a clear area for the barcode
4. Upload both files and check every page in the online previewer
5. Order a proof copy before you hit publish

Once you click publish, Amazon reviews the book before it goes live. That usually takes a few days (as of 2026). If something is flagged, for example a title that differs between the cover and the metadata, you receive a message with the reason and can correct the details.

For trim sizes, paper and spine width in more detail, see paperback trim size, binding and print.

Frequently asked questions

Does it cost anything to publish on KDP?

Uploading and publishing are free. For paperbacks, printing costs are deducted from each sale's royalty. Proof and author copies are charged at printing cost plus shipping (as of 2026).

Do I need an ISBN?

Not for the ebook. For the paperback, KDP offers a free ISBN that only works on KDP. Your own ISBN makes sense if you want to publish under your own imprint and distribute through other channels as well.

Can I make changes after publishing?

Yes. You can update files, description, keywords and price at any time. A few details, such as the trim size of a published paperback, cannot be changed afterwards; for those you create a new edition.