How to self-publish on Amazon

Is self-publishing on Amazon worth it?

For most authors, yes. Amazon sells most of the ebooks bought in the US and a large share of print books, and listing your book costs nothing. But Amazon only sells the book. It doesn’t edit, design or market it for you, and a book with a weak cover or no reviews can sit unseen. It’s worth it if you invest in the book itself and plan how readers will find it. For the full process from manuscript to launch, see our guide on how to self-publish a book. Below, we cover how to self-publish a book on Amazon, one step at a time.

Have everything ready before you start. KDP saves your progress, but with your files in hand you can finish in one sitting.

• Ebook manuscript: a Word file (DOCX), an EPUB, or a file made in Amazon’s free Kindle Create tool. Self-publishing on Kindle only needs this file and a cover.
• Print manuscript: a PDF set to your trim size, the finished page size, such as 6 x 9 inches, with extra margin, called bleed, if any art runs to the edge.
• Ebook cover: a JPG or TIFF of the front cover.
• Print cover: a single PDF with the back cover, spine and front cover, sized to your final page count. KDP’s free Cover Creator can build a simple one.
• Your book description, categories and keywords, ready to paste in.

Go to kdp.amazon.com and sign in with an Amazon account, or create one. You must be 18 or older, and you can have only one KDP account.

• Complete the tax interview. It’s a short questionnaire about your tax status. US authors enter a Social Security number or employer identification number (EIN), and authors outside the US complete a treaty form that can lower the tax withheld. Amazon won’t pay you until it’s done.
• Add a bank account for direct deposit. Direct deposit has no minimum payment, while checks and wire transfers do.
• Set up payment for every marketplace you sell in, including stores outside the US.

The first of KDP’s three setup tabs is Book Details. It controls how readers find your book.

• Title and subtitle: exactly as they appear on the cover. A nonfiction subtitle can say what readers get.
• Series and edition: add a series name and number to link the books together on Amazon.
• Author name: your name or pen name, used the same way on every book.
• Description: up to 4,000 characters. Open with a hook, then tell readers what they’ll get. Our free book description generator gives you a draft to start from.
• Publishing rights: confirm you own the rights, or mark it as a public domain work.
• Audience: the reading age for children’s books, and whether it contains adult content.
• Keywords: up to seven phrases readers type, such as “cozy mystery with a cat.” Don’t repeat words already in your title.
• Categories: up to three per format. Specific categories are easier to rank in than broad ones.

The second tab is Content. Settings differ for ebooks and print books.

• Ebook: upload your manuscript and cover, and choose whether to apply digital rights management (DRM), which limits copying.
• ISBN for print: use KDP’s free ISBN, which works only on KDP and lists your publisher as “Independently published,” or enter your own.
• Print options: choose the ink and paper (black and white on cream or white paper, standard color or premium color), the trim size, bleed or no bleed, and a matte or glossy cover.
• AI question: KDP asks whether AI created any text, images or translations in your book. Answer honestly. Using AI only to edit or brainstorm doesn’t need disclosing, and the answer is never shown to readers.

Paperback or hardcover?

Start with the paperback, since it’s cheaper to print and sells well in most genres. KDP also prints hardcovers, but in fewer trim sizes than paperbacks, so check your size first. Many authors add a hardcover through IngramSpark to reach bookstores and libraries.

• Use the online previewer. Check every page for layout problems, blank pages and text too close to the edge.
• Order a printed proof of your paperback before you publish. You pay only the printing cost plus shipping, and it shows how the colors, margins and spine look on paper.
• Order author copies at the same low price to sell at events. They don’t count as sales.
• Fix, then upload again. Changes are free, and you can update your files as often as you need. After you publish, each update goes through Amazon’s review again, usually within 72 hours.

The third tab is Pricing. It decides how much you earn on every sale.

We checked these rules against Amazon KDP’s help pages in September 2026. Amazon changes its terms from time to time, so confirm on KDP before you set your price.

• Printing comes out first. A 300-page black-and-white paperback costs about $4.60 to print, which is why a $9.98 price earns so little and $14.99 earns more than ten times as much.
• KDP Select: enrolling your ebook makes it exclusive to Amazon for 90 days at a time. In return it’s in Kindle Unlimited, where you’re paid for pages read, and you can run price promotions. Print books aren’t affected.
• Expanded distribution: offers your paperback to other stores and libraries, at a lower royalty. Many authors use IngramSpark for this instead.

Click Publish, and Amazon reviews your book. It usually goes live within 72 hours, though print books can take a little longer.

• Pre-orders: you can list an ebook for pre-order up to a year before release. Readers can order early, and the book is delivered on release day. You’re paid after the book is released.
• Publish each format separately. The ebook, paperback and hardcover are set up one at a time, and Amazon links them on the same page, usually within a few days.
• Plan launches of several books. Amazon limits how many new titles one account can publish each day, so space them out.

Publishing puts your book on Amazon. These tools help readers find it.

• Author page: claim your page through Amazon Author Central, with a photo, bio and all your books in one place.
• A+ Content: add images and comparison charts to your book page from the Marketing tab in KDP.
• Amazon Ads: start with a small daily budget, target books like yours, and stop any ad that spends without selling.
• KDP Select promotions: if you’re enrolled, run a limited-time discount or a free promotion to reach new readers.
• Reviews: ask early readers to leave an honest review. Reviews help shoppers decide.

• Monthly, about 60 days after the month of the sale. Sales in January are paid at the end of March. Expanded distribution takes about 90 days.
• Kindle Unlimited page reads are paid on the same schedule.
• Direct deposit usually arrives within a few business days of the payment date.
• Check your reports in the KDP dashboard, which show sales and page reads as they happen.

• Disclose AI-generated content, as described in step 4. Not doing so can get books blocked.
• Public domain books earn only 35% on ebooks unless you add substantial original content, such as a translation or new notes.
• Your book details must be accurate. Don’t put other authors’ names, brand names or misleading claims in your title or keywords.
• Quality matters. Books with formatting errors or misleading content can be removed, and readers can report them.
• One account per person. Using more than one account can get all of them closed.

1. Price your ebook between $2.99 and $12.99, and at least 20% below your print price.
2. Price your paperback at $9.99 or more if the page count allows, to earn 60% instead of 50%.
3. Study the top 20 books in your category before you choose your cover and price.
4. Buy your own ISBN if you plan to sell the print book outside Amazon.
5. Make your opening pages strong, because shoppers read them in Amazon’s Look Inside preview before they buy.
6. Claim your author page on the day your first book goes live.

Common mistakes

• Publishing without a professional edit or cover.
• Pricing a paperback at $9.98 instead of $9.99.
• Choosing broad categories where the book gets buried.
• Skipping the tax interview, which holds up payments.
• Launching with no reviews and no plan to reach readers.

How to self-publish on Amazon: FAQs