How to Publish a Book on Amazon KDP — A Straight-Talking Guide for First-Time Authors

By Karen Stanley | Mabel and Stanley Publishing

Let me be honest with you upfront: Amazon KDP is brilliant, genuinely accessible, and entirely free to use. It is also, at times, glitchy, confusing, and the kind of platform that will have you staring at the screen wondering what on earth you just clicked.

I've published 15 books of my own, the majority through KDP, and helped 80+ authors do the same. I still think it's brilliant, but I also know that, in the early days, it caused me more than a few tears! I know exactly where the process gets tricky, which bits look scarier than they are, and, crucially, which bits actually matter for getting your book in front of readers.

So here's the honest, jargon-free version. No fluff, no confusion (hopefully) ... just what you actually need to know.

What is Amazon KDP?

Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing — KDP — is Amazon's self-publishing platform. It lets you publish both eBooks and paperbacks (and hardbacks) for free, and sell them directly on Amazon to readers across the world. (The name implies it only applies to eBooks, but this is not the case.)

You keep your rights, you set your own price, and Amazon pays you royalties on every sale...less printing and distribution costs.

Amazon controls roughly 80% of the US eBook market and a significant share of print-on-demand paperback sales globally. For self-published and hybrid-published authors, it's the most important platform there is. And the good news? Your book can be live and purchasable within 72 hours of uploading (provided you get the upload right of course!)

Before You Start — What You Actually Need

Before you touch KDP, make sure you have these ready. Missing any of them will slow you down, or worse, mean you publish something you're not proud of.

A properly formatted manuscript: Your manuscript needs to be formatted correctly for the format you're publishing in — eBook formatting is different from print formatting. This isn't optional. A poorly formatted book will look terrible on a Kindle or come back from Amazon's review process with errors. If you're not confident doing this yourself, get it done professionally. It is worth every penny.

A professional cover... I cannot stress this enough. Your cover has ONE job... to make someone who has never heard of you stop scrolling and click on your book. It needs to look professional, signal your genre clearly, and work at thumbnail size (because on Amazon your cover is roughly the size of a postage stamp). A homemade cover will cost you sales. Every time.

Your book description (the blurb): This is your sales page. It needs to hook your reader, speak to what they'll get from the book, and make them feel like it was written specifically for them. Amazon allows up to 4,000 characters, and you can use basic formatting; use that space wisely.

An ISBN (if you're going the hybrid or imprint route): If you're publishing under your own imprint or working with a hybrid publisher, you'll need your own ISBN. If you're self-publishing directly, KDP will assign you a free ISBN; but be aware that this lists Amazon as your publisher of record, not you and can limit your marketing options. Worth knowing before you decide.

Setting Up Your KDP Account

Go to kdp.amazon.com and sign in with your existing Amazon account, or create a new one. It's completely free. You'll need to complete a tax interview; UK authors fill in the W-8BEN form and add your payment details for royalties. (MAKE SURE YOU ONLY EVER HAVE ONE KDP ACCOUNT! - KDP are super hot on this, and if you do have more than one account, even by accident, you can be banned for life!)

The Publishing Process

Once your account is set up, the actual publishing process has three stages: book details, content upload, and pricing.

Step 1 — Book Details

From your KDP bookshelf, click Create and choose your format — eBook, paperback, or hardcover. Then you'll fill in:

Title and subtitle — exactly as you want them to appear on Amazon. Get this right the first time because changing it later can cause complications.

Author name — your name as it appears on your cover. You can also credit contributors like editors, illustrators, or foreword writers.

Description — your book blurb. Write this carefully. It is doing a lot of work.

Keywords — this is where most authors go wrong. Your keywords are the search terms people type into Amazon when they're looking for a book just like yours. Treat them like the important piece of metadata they actually are. Research what readers in your genre actually search for and use those exact phrases.

Categories — KDP lets you choose up to three categories for Kindle and paperback versions. Picking the right subcategories can make a big difference in your visibility and ranking speed. Choose one broader category and one or two niche subcategories. If you want to change them after publishing, you can contact KDP support. (At Mabel and Stanley Publishing, we can help you to find the best categories for your book that will make it more visible and avoid competing in busy or saturated categories. This can help with ranking, bestseller status and sales.)

Step 2 — Content Upload

Upload your formatted manuscript file and your cover file. KDP will run an automated check and flag any formatting issues. Don't skip the online previewer; use it to check that every page looks exactly as it should before you move on.

For print books, you'll also set your trim size (the physical dimensions of your book), paper colour, and cover finish (matte or gloss). These feel like small decisions, but they affect how your book looks and feels in a reader's hands, so think about them.

Step 3 — Rights and Pricing

Select your territory rights — in most cases this will be worldwide.

eBook pricing and royalties: KDP offers two royalty rates for eBooks: 35% or 70%. To qualify for the 70% rate, your price needs to fall within Amazon's eligible range (£1.49-£9.99 in the UK). Price outside that range, you drop to 35%. For most authors, the 70% rate is the right choice.

You'll also be asked about KDP Select; enrolling in this makes your eBook exclusive to Amazon (you cannot sell it elsewhere) but gives you access to Kindle Unlimited readers and additional earnings from pages read.

The KDP Select Global Fund paid authors $61.7 million in February 2026 alone. Whether KDP Select is right for you depends on your wider publishing strategy.

Paperback pricing and royalties: Paperback royalties changed in June 2025 and are now tiered. Price your print book at or above approximately £7.99 in the UK, and you earn 60% of list price minus printing cost. Price it below that threshold, and you earn 50% instead.

KDP shows you your estimated royalty as you type in your price — watch that number carefully and make sure your pricing is actually profitable.

For print, there's an Expanded Distribution checkbox. This pushes your paperback out to bookstores, libraries, and other online retailers beyond Amazon. The trade-off: the royalty drops because those channels take a wholesale cut. Whether you tick this box depends on whether bookshop distribution is part of your strategy; and if it is, be clear about what it actually delivers in practice...your margins will typically be much lower.

After You Hit Publish

The actual publishing process on KDP takes 24-72 hours from upload to your book appearing on Amazon. You'll get an email when it's live.

For print books — order a proof copy before you publish. A proof costs the printing price plus shipping and lets you see exactly how your book looks and feels in the real world. If there are issues, you can update your files and republish before it goes live. There is nothing like seeing your book 'in the flesh' to catch any errors in inconsistencies.

Once your book is live, there are a few things worth doing immediately:

Request reviews - reviews are one of the strongest signals of trust. Aim to get at least 10 to 20 verified reviews in the first month.

Use Amazon's built-in Request a Review feature in your KDP dashboard and share advance reader copies with real readers before launch.

Set up Author Central — this gives you an author page on Amazon where readers can follow you, see all your books together, and read your bio. It looks professional and it's free.

A+ Content: A+ Content lets you add images, charts, and comparison tables below your description. Adding A+ Content can increase your conversion rate by 5-10% when done professionally. It's worth setting up once your book is live and selling.

The Bits Nobody Warns You About

The glitches are real. KDP can be temperamental; files that look perfect get flagged, uploads fail for no obvious reason, security codes arrive at the worst possible moment. This is not a reflection of you or your book. It is just KDP being KDP. Build extra time into your publishing timeline and don't try to upload the day before a launch. (We always upload at least a week before just in case!)

Keywords and categories are ongoing. You're not locked in to your initial choices. If your book isn't getting found, revisit your keywords and categories. This is one of the most common reasons books underperform and one of the most fixable.

Talking about your book doesn't stop at launch. This is the mistake I see most often. Authors promote heavily at launch and then go quiet. But your audience is growing all the time; the people following you today weren't there at your launch. Talking about your book isn't being salesy. It's telling people that something brilliant exists that might improve their life.

Do You Need Help With This?

KDP is absolutely something you can navigate yourself, and for some authors that's exactly the right choice. But if the formatting, the keywords, the categories, the cover, and the upload process all feel like a lot to manage while also trying to run a business or finish your next chapter — that's what I'm here for.

My Self-Publishing Academy walks you through every step with expert guidance, a comprehensive resource bank, and direct access to me when you get stuck. And my First Draft to Published package handles the whole thing for you — properly, professionally, and without the KDP-induced headaches.

Find out more at mabelandstanleypublishing.com

Karen Stanley is a hybrid publisher, writing mentor and bestselling author of 15 books. She is the founder of Mabel and Stanley Publishing and host of the Write to Publish podcast.