Kindle Direct Publishing: 11 Steps to Publish Your Book on Amazon

Publishing a book on Kindle Direct Publishing costs $0 upfront, takes 11 steps, and puts your eBook live in 24-72 hours. KDP controls roughly 67% of the US eBook market, and the entire process is self-serve, from account setup through royalty collection.

Most how-to guides stop at "upload your file and hit Publish." They skip the tax interview that costs 30% of every royalty if you miss it.

They don't show you the math that makes $2.49 the worst price you can charge. And they ignore the pre-launch checklist that determines whether your book has any momentum when it goes live.

Follow these 11 steps to publish your book on Kindle, whether you're releasing a first title or adding to an existing catalog.

Key Takeaways

• KDP is free to use. Amazon takes a royalty cut, but there are no upfront publication fees
• eBooks go live in 24-72 hours; print editions take 3-5 business days
• Complete the tax interview before uploading anything: skipping it triggers 30% withholding on all royalties
• Price between $2.99 and $9.99 to qualify for the 70% royalty tier. The "royalty cliff" makes this the most important pricing decision you'll make

What You'll Need

Before you start, make sure you have:

• An Amazon account: use an existing one. KDP doesn't require a separate account. One account per person is enforced strictly; a second account results in an instant ban.
• A finished, edited manuscript: unedited books collect permanent one-star reviews. Professional editing is cited by nearly every experienced self-publisher as the most important investment.
• A formatted file: EPUB, DOCX, or KPF (from Kindle Create). MOBI is fully deprecated. Amazon stopped accepting it in March 2025.
• A cover image: minimum 2,560 × 1,600 px JPEG, uploaded separately from the manuscript.
• A government-issued ID: new KDP accounts in 2026 require identity verification. Allow 24-48 hours for approval before your planned publish date.

Phase 1: Set Up Your KDP Account

Step 1: Create Your KDP Account

Go to kdp.amazon.com and sign in with an existing Amazon account or create one. KDP does not require a separate account, and Amazon enforces the one-account-per-person rule with no exceptions. A second account on the same device or under the same name triggers an instant ban with no appeal path.

Tip: Use the same Amazon account you use for shopping. Creating a new account when you already have one is the most common accidental ban trigger; u/shawnebell in r/selfpublish (May 2026) flagged this exact confusion for first-time authors.

Step 2: Complete the Tax Interview

Navigate to Your Account → Tax Information → Complete Tax Profile. This is the most-skipped step in the entire KDP setup, and the most expensive one to miss.

• US authors: complete the W-9 form
• International authors: complete the W-8BEN form
• Authors from treaty countries (UK, Canada, Australia, Germany): the W-8BEN can reduce withholding to 0-5%

Without completing the tax interview, Amazon withholds 30% of all royalties from non-US accounts. The withholding applies to every payment until you file. Authors from countries with US tax treaties who complete the W-8BEN can bring withholding to 0%.

Step 3: Verify Your Identity

Since 2026, Amazon requires a government-issued ID from all new KDP accounts. Approval takes 24–48 hours. Submitting the ID on the day you plan to go live will delay your publish date.

Step 4: Set Up Your Payment Method

Go to Your Account → Payment Information. Your options:

• Direct deposit (EFT): available in most countries; no minimum payout threshold. You're paid in full regardless of the amount earned
• Wire transfer: available internationally; $100 minimum per marketplace
• Check: $100 minimum, with processing fees; not available in all countries

Royalties are paid approximately 60 days after the end of the month in which the sale occurred. A sale in May arrives at the end of July.

Tip: Set up your Amazon Author Central page now, before you publish anything. A bare author page reduces click-through rates on your book listing.

Amazon's A10 algorithm treats author page completeness as a quality signal. Add a photo, bio, and author website link while account setup is fresh.

Phase 2: Prepare Your Book Files

Step 5: Format Your Manuscript

Use EPUB or clean DOCX. EPUB is the stronger choice: KDP converts EPUB directly to its native KF8/AZW3 format. DOCX goes through an intermediate conversion step that introduces formatting drift, especially in chapter headings, table of contents links, and special characters.

MOBI is dead. Amazon stopped accepting MOBI uploads in March 2025. Any guide still recommending MOBI is out of date.

Accepted formats in 2026:

Core formatting rules:

• Use Heading 1 style for chapter titles: this is how Kindle generates the navigational table of contents. A broken TOC can trigger "quality critical" review flags that suppress visibility.
• Use Normal style for body text; apply all formatting through styles, not manual font changes
• Insert page breaks (Insert → Page Break) before each chapter, not repeated Enter presses
• Remove headers, footers, and page numbers from the manuscript. Kindle handles them automatically
• Do not embed your cover image inside the manuscript. Upload it as a separate file

Formatting tools:

Always run Kindle Previewer on your formatted file before uploading. Check mobile and tablet views separately, as formatting errors that look fine on desktop often break on phone screens.

Step 6: Design Your Cover

Your cover has roughly 0.2 seconds to communicate genre and quality to a reader scrolling search results. Genre conventions are non-negotiable: a cozy mystery cover looks nothing like a literary fiction cover. Readers recognize genre cues instantly; a cover that doesn't match will lose them before they read the title.

eBook cover specs:

• File type: JPEG (preferred for file size)
• Minimum size: 2,560 × 1,600 px (portrait 1.6:1 ratio)
• Maximum file size: 50 MB
• Upload separately. Do not embed in the manuscript.

Cover creation options:

• KDP Cover Creator (free, built-in): technically functional; visually signals "self-published" to readers who know what to look for
• Canva (free/Pro): workable for non-fiction; risky for genre fiction without strong genre knowledge
• Professional designer: Reedsy marketplace, 99designs, or Fiverr Pro: $50 (budget) to $500+ (professional). Consistently cited by experienced self-publishers as the single highest-ROI investment.

For print covers: you'll need a flat PDF combining front cover, spine, and back cover, 300 DPI minimum, with 0.125" bleed on all edges. Use the KDP cover calculator to get the exact spine width for your page count.

Phase 3: Upload and Configure

Step 7: Enter Book Details and Metadata

From the KDP Bookshelf, click "+ Create" and select your format (Kindle eBook, Paperback, or Hardcover). Fill in:

Title and subtitle: must match the cover exactly. Avoid keyword stuffing, claims like "bestseller," or any reference to competing authors.

Book description: treat it as a sales page, not a plot summary. KDP supports HTML formatting tags (<b>, <em>, <br>, <ul>, <li>) and using them matters. IngramSpark notes that metadata including descriptions "play a critical role in discoverability and sales."

Write the description before upload day. It requires real copywriting effort.

7 backend keyword slots: fill all 7 with long-tail phrases (2-3 words minimum), not single generic terms. "Epic fantasy for teen readers" earns more visibility than "fantasy." Keywords are updatable anytime post-publication, so you can iterate.

2-3 categories at setup: choose from the KDP browse tree; avoid "ghost categories" that aren't actually browsable by shoppers. After your book is live, contact KDP support to request up to 10 categories total: 7 additional browse shelves. Virtually no beginner guide covers this.

Tip: The 10-category expansion is real and underused. Email KDP support after your book goes live, name the specific BISAC categories you want, and request placement. Most authors use 2-3 of the 10 slots available to them.

Step 8: Upload Your Manuscript and Cover

• Click "Upload eBook manuscript" and select your EPUB, DOCX, or KPF file
• Upload your cover image separately. It goes in its own upload slot, not inside the manuscript file
• After upload, use the inline Kindle Previewer in the KDP dashboard to spot-check the final rendering on different device sizes

Common rejection reasons to avoid:

• Incorrect margins or trim size (most common for print titles)
• Missing embedded fonts (print)
• Broken table of contents links
• Images below 300 DPI (print)
• Missing 3mm bleed on print covers
• Bonus content exceeding ~10% of total length without a TOC listing (the "10% rule")

Step 9: Set Pricing, Royalties, and Rights

The royalty cliff:

At $2.49, you earn ~$0.87 per sale (35% × $2.49). At $2.99, you earn ~$2.09 per sale (70% × $2.99 minus ~$0.06 delivery fee). That's a $1.22 difference per sale from raising the price $0.50: a 140% increase in per-sale earnings.

Martin from Reedsy named this the "royalty cliff": "Amazon offers you a 70% royalty rate on ebooks priced between $2.99 and $9.99. Outside that range, it drops to 35%. That gap between 70% and 35% is often called the royalty cliff and it has a pretty significant impact on how you may choose to price your book."

Royalty tiers:

Sales outside the 41 eligible territories always earn 35% regardless of list price.

Recommended pricing strategy:

• $2.99: minimum for the 70% tier; standard entry point for series Book 1 or debut non-fiction
• $3.99-$9.99: standard indie range; most genre fiction lands here
• $9.99+: drops to 35%; justified only for established authors or high-perceived-value non-fiction
• $0.99 permanently: signals low quality; use only for limited promotions or as a deliberate series-Book-1 loss-leader

KDP Select and Kindle Unlimited: a genre decision, not a platform decision

KDP Select enrolls your eBook in Kindle Unlimited for a 90-day exclusive term. Amazon pays per page read (KENP). At March 2026 rates of $0.004692 per page, a 300-page book earns ~$1.41 per full KU read, but only if the reader actually finishes it.

That's the key: KU works for genre fiction because readers finish books. It underperforms for non-fiction. Martin from Reedsy is direct:

"Non-fiction tends to underperform on KU. Readers will borrow, skim the first few chapters, feel satisfied that they've got everything out of it, and put it down. You get paid per page read, so a borrow that results in 10 pages being read isn't really worth that much."

Key details on KDP Select:

• Exclusivity applies to the eBook only; the paperback or hardcover can be on IngramSpark simultaneously
• The 90-day term auto-renews. Set a calendar reminder to opt out before the renewal date if you plan to go wide
• You can enroll after initial publication, not just at launch
• After each 90-day period, you can disenroll and distribute the eBook to Apple Books, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, and Google Play via Draft2Digital or direct accounts

As u/RyanKinder in r/selfpublish noted (May 2026): "KDP Select should be weighed heavily on whether or not it seems right to the author. Saying everyone should do it as if it is a one size fits all is not the case. 3 months can be a long time to lock up an ebook on a digital platform after launch."

DRM (Digital Rights Management): Set at upload time: you cannot change it after publishing. As of January 20, 2026, Amazon allows DRM-free eBooks in EPUB and PDF format.

Jenna Moreci is candid about the practical effect:

"I have always clicked yes, apply digital rights management and all of my books have been pirated. So, I don't know how much DRM does. I honestly don't know if clicking yes or no makes any difference at all." (Jenna Moreci on YouTube)

Step 10: Enter Your 7 Keywords

Back in Book Details (or before reaching pricing), fill all 7 backend keyword fields with long-tail phrases. These are what Amazon's search algorithm indexes; they do not appear on the public listing.

Rules:

• Use 2-3 word phrases, not single terms
• Focus on what readers actually type: "dark romance series," "cozy mystery with cats," "business strategy for founders"
• Do not repeat words already in your title or subtitle. KDP already indexes those
• Do not use competitor author names or book titles
• Keywords are updatable anytime. Test and iterate based on what drives sales

Amazon's A10 algorithm (2026) treats the keyword field as a tag cloud. A single word like "fantasy" barely uses the slot. "Epic fantasy series for adults" captures a specific reader intent.

Phase 4: Go Live and Launch

Step 11: Publish and Execute Your Post-Launch Checklist

Click "Publish Your Kindle eBook." Your book enters Amazon's review queue and goes live in 24-72 hours. Print editions take 3-5 business days.

Uploading is not launching.

Martin from Reedsy: "The act of uploading a book is not the same as launching it. Getting your files all loaded up to Amazon is just the beginning of the process, not the end of it." (Martin from Reedsy)

Post-publication checklist:

• [ ] Check the live Amazon listing: description renders correctly, Look Inside preview works, categories appear as expected
• [ ] Set up or update your Author Central page. Add photo, bio, and link all books under your name
• [ ] Email KDP support to request additional category placements (up to 10 total from the default 2-3)
• [ ] Ask your ARC team to post their reviews now that the listing is live
• [ ] For print: order a proof copy at cost before going wide. Screen proofing misses color accuracy, spine readability, and paper feel

Jenna Moreci is direct on proof copies: "Sometimes you receive a proof and it sucks. Do not skip this step." (Jenna Moreci)

Building an ARC team before launch: One debut author on Reddit built 134 ARC readers with 67 resulting reviews, crediting that foundation with their first-month sales momentum. Books with zero reviews at launch face a near-impossible cold-start problem; pre-launch reader outreach is the most reliable solution.

Amazon Advertising (AMS): Start with $3-$5 daily budgets to test keyword targeting before scaling. IngramSpark noted the most common pitfall: "lots of clicks, few sales, unclear targeting." Knowing your audience and matching ad keywords to actual buyer intent matters more than budget.

Recommended Tools

Troubleshooting Common Issues

My book was rejected - what went wrong?

Cause: The most common rejection reasons are cover size or bleed issues, formatting errors (broken TOC, manual spacing, missing embedded fonts in print), and bonus content exceeding the ~10% rule.

Fix: Read the rejection email carefully. KDP includes a specific reason. Fix the flagged issue in your source file, re-export, and re-upload.

Run Kindle Previewer before resubmitting. For embedded font errors, Kindlepreneur (@Kindlepreneur) published a step-by-step thread specifically on resolving KDP's embedded fonts submission error.

My royalties are lower than expected

Cause: Your book is priced outside the 70% tier, you're selling into territories that only qualify for 35%, or delivery fees are higher than you expected.

Fix: Verify your price sits between $2.99 and $9.99 for eligible territories. Use the KDP royalties calculator to model expected earnings per sale. For print, note that Amazon reduced print royalties on books under $9.99 from 60% to 50% in June 2025.

My book isn't showing in Amazon search

Cause: New listings take time to index. Keyword slots may be using single-word generic terms instead of long-tail phrases. Categories may be "ghost" categories that aren't actually browsable.

Fix: Allow 72 hours before expecting search visibility. Update all 7 keyword slots to 2-3 word phrases that match actual reader search behavior. Confirm your categories are legitimate browse categories (not ghost categories).

After your book goes live, contact KDP support to request up to 10 category placements.

My formatting looks wrong on Kindle devices

Cause: DOCX formatting drift post-conversion, manual spacing instead of paragraph styles, or headers not set using Heading styles.

Fix: Recreate the file as an EPUB using Reedsy Studio (free, browser-based) or Calibre. Re-run Kindle Previewer and check mobile view specifically.

On r/selfpublish, u/Mountain_Shade described spending 3 months writing, then 5.5 more months on editing, formatting, and publication prep combined. Formatting takes longer than most first-time authors expect.

I enrolled in KDP Select by accident - can I leave?

Cause: KDP Select auto-renews at the end of every 90-day period unless you opt out before the renewal date.

Fix: Go to your KDP Bookshelf, find the enrolled title, and click "Manage KDP Select Enrollment." Opt out before the auto-renewal date. The enrollment ends at the close of the current 90-day period; you cannot exit mid-term.

I'm not seeing royalties from international markets

Cause: If you haven't completed the W-8BEN form, Amazon withholds 30% of royalties from non-US sales regardless of which country you're in.

Fix: Go to Your Account → Tax Information and complete the W-8BEN. Authors from US tax treaty countries (UK, Canada, Australia, Germany) can reduce withholding to 0-5% by completing the form and entering their tax identification number.

Start With the Next Book

Publish the book. Then write the next one.

The pattern is consistent across Reddit, YouTube, and every experienced self-publisher who weighs in on long-term income: back catalogs compound, single titles plateau.

"Deep niche research and strategic KU can beat expensive ads every time." (u/Hot-Chemist1784 in r/selfpublish)

The investment is a second book in the same genre, not a bigger ad budget on the first.

The 11 steps above get Book 1 live. The catalog is what builds the business.