Create one free KDP account, finish the tax profile, then add each book in three
screens: details, content, and rights and pricing. Does any of it cost money? Amazon
says it does not: KDP is free and offers no fee-based services such as editing or book design. Before anything goes on sale, KDP needs
a complete tax profile, which Amazon must validate before you can publish a new book or update an existing one. Once you press publish, the book goes live in
up to 72 hours on Amazon.com, up to 5 days for print in other marketplaces, and up to 6 days for print from an account with no previous book.
The longer version
Before you open KDP
KDP publishes what you give it, so the work happens before you sign in. Have these ready:
- A finished, edited manuscript. Changing a live book is possible but slow, and early
readers see the first version.
- A cover for each format. An ebook needs only a front cover. A paperback needs a full
wrap (back, spine and front) sized to its page count.
- A decision about formats. Ebook only, ebook and paperback, or hardcover too. Each
format is set up separately on the same Bookshelf.
What that preparation costs is covered in
how much it costs to self-publish.
Step 1: Set up the account
Sign up at kdp.amazon.com with an Amazon login. You may hold
one account at a time, and may not open another after Amazon terminates yours. Every pen name lives inside that one account, so don't
open a second account for a second name.
Then complete two parts of the account:
- The tax profile. KDP requires a complete tax profile, which Amazon must validate before you can publish a new book or update an existing one. Authors
outside the US complete it too. A US tax number isn't needed to finish it, but without
one, treaty-reduced withholding doesn't apply.
- Payment details, so royalties have somewhere to go.
Step 2: Kindle eBook Details
From the Bookshelf, create a new Kindle ebook and fill in:
- Title, subtitle and series. These are part of the product, so don't stuff keywords
into them.
- Author name. Your own name or a pen name.
- Description. This is the sales copy on the product page.
- Keywords and categories. These decide where readers find the book. See
how many keywords KDP allows and
which categories to choose.
Ebooks don't need an ISBN. Amazon gives the Kindle edition its own ASIN.
Step 3: Kindle eBook Content
Upload the manuscript as Word (DOC/DOCX), EPUB or Kindle Package Format (KPF), among others. Upload the cover.
Then open the previewer and page through the whole book, not just the first chapter.
Formatting faults tend to show up in tables, images, scene breaks and the table of
contents.
Step 4: Rights and pricing
Two decisions here change what the book earns:
- Royalty and price. Kindle ebooks earn 70% inside the $2.99–$12.99 band, 35% outside it. The
band is a cliff, not a slope. A price one cent outside it halves your royalty. The
arithmetic is in
how much Amazon takes from a book sale.
- KDP Select. This is optional. Publishing on KDP doesn't require exclusivity, but
enrolling in Select does. Each term lasts 90 days, renewing automatically unless you opt out. During it
there can be no digital distribution of the book anywhere else, including your own website or blog; print is unaffected. Whether that trade pays
depends on genre; see
should indie authors use KDP Select?
Then publish. The book goes into review, and the Bookshelf shows its status until it is
live.
Step 5: Add the paperback (optional)
From the same Bookshelf entry, create a paperback. It repeats the three screens, with
these differences:
- An ISBN is required. KDP's free ISBN is offered for paperback and hardcover only, registered to “Independently published”, and it can't
be used with another printer. If you might also print through IngramSpark, read
KDP ISBN vs your own ISBN first.
- Interior and cover must be built for print. The cover is a single wrap sized to the
page count. Trim size, paper and ink choices set the printing cost.
- Print royalties are smaller than they look. Paperbacks earn
60% of list price minus printing cost at $9.99 and above, 50% below it. Order a proof copy before you publish.
Common exceptions
- First books can take longer. A print book from an account with no previous book can
take longer than later ones. Low-content books such as journals have had much longer
review queues.
- Live is not the same as searchable. A new book can be on sale before it shows up in
Amazon search results, and changes to a live book take time to appear.
- Nobody sells KDP as a package. KDP itself is free. A company offering an "Amazon
publishing package" for a fee is a third party, however it brands itself. See the
Scam Watch pattern on
Amazon-branded publishing packages.
- Amazon is one store. Without KDP Select, the same ebook can be on sale elsewhere at
the same time; see
can I publish on Amazon and other stores?
Sources
- Amazon KDP Help: Complete Tax Profile; supported ebook manuscript formats; Timelines;
ebook and print royalty pages; Get an ISBN.
- KDP Terms and Conditions (last updated 27 September 2024): the one-account rule and
KDP Select exclusivity.
Platform facts are quoted from the AuthorAZ record for
Amazon KDP. Verified 15 October 2026.