What Is Amazon KDP? Self-Publishing on Amazon, Explained

Amazon KDP — Kindle Direct Publishing — is Amazon’s free self-publishing service. You upload a manuscript and a cover, set a price, and your book goes on sale on Amazon as a Kindle eBook, a paperback or a hardcover, usually within a few days. Amazon prints each copy when it is ordered, and you are paid a royalty on every sale.

How KDP works

• You keep control: you choose the title, cover, description, price, and where to sell.
• Amazon prints on demand: there is no stock to buy. The printing cost of a paperback or hardcover is taken out of each sale.
• You are paid a royalty: around 60 days after the end of the month in which the sales happened.

Formats and royalties

A free KDP ISBN can only be used on KDP, and the book shows “Independently published” as its publisher. Work out a royalty for your book.

What it costs

Publishing is free. There is no set-up fee, no subscription and no charge per title. What you may choose to pay for is outside KDP: editing, a professional cover, proof copies, and advertising. The full list.

What you need to publish

1. A KDP account with your account details, bank details for payments and a tax profile.
2. A manuscript — DOCX, KPF or EPUB for eBooks; a print-ready PDF for paperbacks and hardcovers.
3. A cover — your own design, or one made with KDP’s free Cover Creator.
4. Book details — title, description, up to seven keywords and your categories.
5. A price for each marketplace.

KDP asks you to tell it about AI-generated content — text, images or translations — when you publish. AI-assisted content (where you wrote it and used a tool to help) does not have to be disclosed.

KDP Select, optional

Enrolling an eBook in KDP Select puts it in Kindle Unlimited, where readers borrow it and you are paid per page read, in exchange for 90 days of eBook exclusivity to Amazon. Pros and cons.

Publishing is the start, not the finish

KDP puts your book on Amazon. It does not put it in front of readers. Millions of books compete in the same search results, and a new title with no sales history rarely surfaces on its own. That is what the book page, reviews and Amazon ads are for — ads are set up from the same KDP Bookshelf, under Promote and Advertise.

Common questions

What is Amazon KDP?

Kindle Direct Publishing, Amazon’s free self-publishing service. It lets authors publish Kindle eBooks, paperbacks and hardcovers and sell them on Amazon, with printing done on demand and a royalty paid on every sale.

Is Amazon KDP free?

Yes. There is no fee to publish. For printed books, the printing cost is taken out of each sale instead of being charged up front.

How does KDP self-publishing work?

You create a KDP account, upload your manuscript and cover, add a description, keywords and categories, set a price, and publish. eBooks go live within about 72 hours; paperbacks within about 72 hours on Amazon.com and up to 5 days elsewhere.

Do I need an ISBN for KDP?

Not for eBooks, which get an Amazon ASIN. For paperbacks and hardcovers KDP gives you a free ISBN, or you can use one you have bought.

Can I publish an AI-generated book on KDP?

KDP requires you to disclose AI-generated content — text, images or translations — when you publish. AI-assisted content, where you created the work and used AI tools to help, does not need to be disclosed.

How much does KDP pay?

Up to 70% of the list price for eBooks priced $2.99–$12.99 on Amazon.com, and 60% of the list price minus printing for print books at $9.99 or more (50% below). Royalties are paid about 60 days after the end of each month.