amazon kdp book reviews

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Is Amazon KDP Worth It In 2024?

amazon kdp book reviews

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With Kindle posting impressive numbers in the last decade, you might be thinking: Is Amazon KDP still  worth it in 2022 and beyond? 

Absolutely!

Amazon continues to dominate the ebook space with a 68% market share . New titles keep rolling out on the platform daily. In fact, in the last five years, they have increased by a whopping 264% . 

The e-com book retail giant also continues to expand aggressively worldwide, opening its print-on-demand services to self-publishers in Australia, Japan, and the Netherlands .   

Of course, the competition has increased and selling books on Amazon isn’t as easy as it once used to be but so has the volume on Kindle.

In this blog, we’ll explain why publishing books on Amazon KDP is still worth it.

How Much Can You Make with Amazon KDP?

As an author with a decent following, you can sell well over 3000 copies of your book per month on Kindle. However, beginners may find it hard to hit these numbers. In the end, it all comes down to how well you execute your book launch.

Here is a fun stat:

In October 2021, Kindle Unlimited paid out $39.8million in royalties to self-publishers . That’s just one month of royalties alone!

So what can you expect in terms of sales?

Amazon assigns a Best Seller Rank (BSR) to all authors on Kindle. The more books you sell, the lower your BSR. To make decent sales, you should aim for a BSR of less than 20k. This is very much achievable even if you are publishing a book on Amazon for the first time.

Based on different BSR ranges, the sales estimates look like these:

amazon kdp book reviews

Not bad at all, considering many people start with writing as a side hustle! 

Okay, but what about the profits?

Amazon KDP offers different royalty options to self publishers. The highest you can go is 70% if you price your ebook between $2.99 and $9.99. Most authors prefer to list their books at $6. It is considered a sweet spot in terms of pricing–customers don’t have to burn their wallets to afford a book, while you can enjoy handsome royalties on sales.

This is what you can expect in profits if you stick to the above convention: 

amazon kdp book reviews

Of course, your actual earnings can be different depending on if you outsource some of the book publishing tasks to freelancers or use tools to make your job easier . However, these can also help you scale faster and sell multiple books at one time, thus increasing your overall earnings.    

Self Publishing on Amazon – Pros and Cons

Amazon KDP is a great way to make passive income, doing what you enjoy the most–writing. However, like anything else, it comes with a few drawbacks. Let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of publishing on Amazon Kindle:

Amazon KDP benefits

There was a time when writers would chase publishing houses, hoping one of them would pick their book up. Thanks to Kindle Direct Publishing, this is no longer an issue. 

You may ask, is publishing on Amazon easy? It definitely is. 

Amazon KDP has a simple, user-friendly interface with useful prompts, demonstration videos, forums, help centers, and FAQs. Even if you’ve never published a book before, there is nothing to worry about. Amazon will guide you through the process step-by-step. You can publish your book in a matter of hours. 

As a self-publisher, you want your book to be available to the masses. This is probably Amazon’s biggest strength. No competitor comes close to its huge customer base .

Furthermore, you can select the territories you want to sell your book in with just the click of a button. You can even handpick the distributors you want to work with, right from your Kindle dashboard.

Once you’ve published your book, you can ensure it is visible to readers by using targeted Amazon Ads.

Does Amazon KDP print books? 

Publish in multiple formats

As a Kindle author, you can offer electronic versions (ebooks and audiobooks) as well as physical copies of your book. 

Amazon is essentially a one-stop shop for publishers. All you have to do is upload your manuscript, and it will take care of the rest - printing and delivering your book for you at your maximum convenience.

Higher royalties

KDP offers higher royalties than most self-publishing platforms. You can enjoy up to 70% royalties on each ebook sale. However, there are some conditions you must meet. Print books come with a fixed 60% royalty rate, unless you decide to sell your books through Amazon’s Expanded Distribution Network, in which case you get a 40% share. 

Timely payments

Amazon pays you monthly, sixty days after the closing of the sales month. For example, if you sell 10 books in January, you’ll be paid for them in March. While this makes for a long initial wait period, once you get over it, things flow smoothly. Rest assured, you’ll face no delays in the release of the payments. 

Complete control

If you have ever approached traditional publishers, you’d know about all the demands they make before agreeing to publish a book. Everything from the cover to the content of the book can be challenged. And so, until you satisfy them to the tee, you can’t really expect your book to be published.

Amazon KDP fixes these issues. As an indie author on Kindle, you have complete creative control over your book. You may work with reviewers, designers, editors, etc. but you always have the last word. 

Quick turnaround

If you have the manuscript of your book ready, you can go live with your book listing in less than 72 hours. Amazon KDP has managed to streamline the book publishing process to a few simple steps that anyone can follow. 

Access to analytics

One of the biggest benefits of publishing a book on Kindle is that you can track sales data and adjust your marketing strategy accordingly. Amazon KDP offers an easy-to-use dashboard that gives you a bird’s eye view of your daily sales, earned royalties, Kindle Unlimited activity, and much more.

This data can provide insight into what your readers are responding to and how your marketing campaigns can be tweaked to increase sales. 

Amazon KDP drawbacks

Like we mentioned earlier, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows when selling books on Kindle. The platform comes with a few challenges too. 

Here are some of the cons of publishing on Amazon KDP:

It may take some practice

While the process of uploading a book on Amazon takes a few minutes, writing and listing the book can be a harrowing task. This is especially true if you have a limited writing experience and don’t know much about how online marketplaces work. 

If you are a newbie, you will likely require assistance from other professionals like editors, proofreaders, cover designers, photographers, etc. You might even need help with Kindle SEO to optimize your listing. 

Intense competition

Amazon is massive. And while this gives self-publishers access to millions of readers, it also means you face intense competition. 

As a self-publisher on KDP, you must understand the importance of niching down and familiarize yourself with the concept of keyword research.

Lastly, you must incorporate Amazon Ads into your promotional strategies to beat your competitors. 

The 70% royalty program isn’t for everyone

A lot of self-publishers choose Amazon to reap the benefits of its 70% royalty programs not realizing that there is a criteria they need to meet before qualifying for it. 

For example, the 70% program is only for books that are priced within the $2.99-$9.99 range. If you price your book higher, you won’t qualify for it.  

Pre-orders aren’t for paperbacks

When you’re an established author, Amazon’s pre-orders are an excellent way to create hype for your book. Sadly, pre-orders on Amazon aren’t available for paperback copies. Anyone who wants a physical copy of your book will have to wait until it is published.  

Interactive content is limited

Authors publishing ebooks have the luxury of incorporating widgets and other fun stuff in their content. Unfortunately, Amazon only provided limited interactive features for ebooks. If you’re hoping to engage readers with sophisticated media then Amazon may not be the best fit for this type of execution.

Is KDP Saturated, Though?

High competition on KDP is often a concern for upcoming publishers. However, finding a profitable niche within a high-selling category, riveting cover pages, and making smart use of keywords in the title, subtitle, and description of your book can help you rise above the noise.

There is always an underserved market segment. If you can identify it and plan your book launch accordingly, you don’t have to worry about the competition. 

How Much Does It Cost to Publish a Book on Amazon?

There are no Amazon self-publishing costs. You don’t have to pay any signup or Kindle account maintenance fee. Creating a listing is also free. However, Amazon does charge you for ebook delivery and printing paperback copies of your book. All deductions are made from the royalties you receive. You can learn more about this topic here . 

How to Get Started with Amazon KDP

Here is a checklist to help you get started with Amazon KDP:

  • Kindle account
  • Amazon Author Central account
  • Digital manuscript of your book
  • Kindle listing

Having an Amazon Author Central account is not mandatory to sell on Kindle but it definitely helps with your sales. The preferred file format of the manuscript is AZW, but you can also upload your book as PDF, MOBI or EPUB.  

As for the book cover, you can design one yourself using free tools like Canva or Adobe Spark. It should be print-ready PDF only. Listings need special attention, and you must do thorough keyword research to make sure they are well optimized for Amazon search.   

How to create an account on Kindle?

Step 1: Sign up

Go to the Amazon KDP login page and click “Create your KDP account”.  Sign up with your email, password, and phone number. 

amazon kdp book reviews

Step 2: Enter OTP

Amazon will verify your Amazon KDP log-in credentials by sending an OTP to your cell phone and email address. Enter the passcode after you’ve received it.

amazon kdp book reviews

Step 3: Agree to the Terms & Conditions

Read the Terms of Agreement and click “Agree”. 

amazon kdp book reviews

Step 4: Provide Your Personal Information

Enter your name, date of birth, country of residence, and other personal information. For the Business Type field, select “Individual”, unless you are planning to publish your book under an LLC.

amazon kdp book reviews

Step 6: Enter Your Bank Details

Next, enter your bank details, including bank name, bank location, account title, account type, account number, and routing number.  

amazon kdp book reviews

Step 7: Enter Your Tax Details

Finally, provide your tax details. Amazon checks and verifies all the information, so make sure to double check everything. Sign and submit the form to complete the registration process.

amazon kdp book reviews

You should be able to use your Kindle account, right away. 

How long does KDP approval take?

All books uploaded on Amazon go through a thorough review process. This process can take up to 72 hours. Once your book passes the review stage, it will show up on the Kindle Store and be available for purchase. 

How long does it take to make money on KDP?

You can start earning on Kindle as soon as your book goes live. Realistically speaking, you can expect consistent sales after the first month, provided you have used the keywords wisely and published your book in a low competition niche. 

How Does Amazon KDP pay?

Amazon KDP pays through checks, wire transfers, and direct deposits — with the latter being the safest option of them all.

How to Succeed on Amazon Kindle

The struggle for visibility on a platform with millions of competitors like Amazon is real. You can’t expect to stroll your way.

Here are some tips to succeed on Amazon Kindle:

Find your niche

First things first, you must find a niche that has a decent audience size with relatively less competition. You can search for niches manually or use an online tool like ZonGuru’s Niche Finder .

Stay in the $2.99-$9.99 range

By pricing your ebook within the $2.99-$9.99 range, you can earn maximum royalties and make a decent income online. 

Enroll in KDP Select

KDP Select gives you access to Kindle Unlimited for 90 days. With Kindle Unlimited, you can reach out to millions of  Amazon users. They can borrow your book, and you can charge them per page.  The program also gives you access to special promotion features that help you boost your book sales. 

Bear in mind though, while you’re enrolled in KDP Select, you can’t sell your books outside of Amazon.

Leverage your social media following

If you have a social media following, you can promote your book to them. Use blogs and videos to direct them to your Kindle listing. 

Collect book reviews

Although Amazon doesn’t disclose all the variables that affect the visibility of a book on its platform, it is understood that books with positive reviews tend to rank higher in the search. Encourage people to read your book and leave a review through email campaigns. However, don’t push them.

What about Amazon KDP ads? Are they worth it?

Use Amazon KDP ads to promote your book

When you’re competing with millions of titles on a single platform, doing everything you can to grab the attention of potential customers can increase sales, including running ads. 

Running paid Kindle ads for your book using relevant keywords can help you reach new audiences on Amazon. 

Run Kindle Free Promotions and Countdown deals

You can use tools like Kindle Free Promotions to attract a wider audience by offering your book for free for five days. This option is only available to Amazon KDP Select members.

Don’t like the idea of offering your book for free? Try Kindle Countdown Deals instead!

A Kindle Countdown Deal lets publishers reduce the price of their book for a week or less without impacting their royalties. As you sign-up for Kindle Countdown Deals, Amazon will add a timer to your books to let readers know it is being offered at a discounted price for a limited time period. 

Can You Make Money with KDP Low Content Publishing?

You can make money with Kindle low content publishing, but your earnings are likely to be lower compared to if you are selling fiction or non-fiction books. However, you can make up for this gap by selling multiple low content books. Find the best-selling low content niches and see if you have what it takes to stand out in them. 

Does Amazon KDP own my book?

When publishing on Amazon KDP, the official rights of the book remain with you and Amazon only gets the license to sell and distribute it. 

Should you add a copyright page in your book?

Adding a copyright page in your book isn’t mandatory but it does provide additional protection. 

So, Is Amazon KDP Worth It in 2022?

Yes, Amazon KDP is still a very reliable source of online income with self-publishers making thousands of dollars every month. But to find success on the Kindle Store, it is essential to pick a profitable, low competition niche. This will give you a fighting chance at establishing yourself on an otherwise highly competitive marketplace.

In addition to finding a profitable niche, you should consider implementing effective marketing strategies like Kindle SEO to gain visibility and stand out amongst the competition. 

Zonguru tools can help you with that and much more. Whether you need to find a profitable book idea, look for keywords that can be the best fit for your Kindle book, or optimize your existing KDP listing, ZonGuru can help you perform all these tasks with ease. Try it out with this 7-day free trial today !

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Hammad nafees.

Amazon Consultant

Hammad is an Amazon aficionado and consultant. He loves helping aspiring and established sellers succeed on the smiling A, a term he jokingly claims he coined himself. When not busy in the trenches, you can find him contributing Amazon related content across a number of platforms, but it’s ZonGuru that he calls his home.

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I make up to $17K a month selling notebooks on Amazon KDP. Here's how I got started with zero design experience.

  • Sue Irven and her husband began selling on Amazon KDP after they were laid off during the pandemic.
  • They now make up to $17,000 a month selling designs for products like journals and coloring books.
  • Irven breaks down how to choose winning products, create designs, and maximize sales using SEO. 

Insider Today

Even before my husband and I were both laid off in 2020 because of the pandemic, we were burnt out in our respective roles. I was overworked at a dead-end job making $10 per hour, and my husband was a contract driver delivering medicine to nursing homes 6 days a week.

We knew we needed to diversify our income streams, and at the very least make more money so we could work fewer hours. So we tried out different side hustles.

At first, none of them stuck.

  • We tried doing affiliate marketing but soon realized that you need a large social media following, which we didn't have at the time.
  • We tried private-labeling ecommerce, but it's very expensive to start and the shipping times from China were horrible, especially during Covid.
  • We even thought about buying vending machines, but they were also costly, and we didn't think they'd be lucrative during a pandemic. 

During this research period, we searched "how to sell on Amazon KDP" on YouTube, and after watching a few explanatory videos, we decided to try our hand at KDP.

Now, we make $5,000 to $10,000 per month on average, and our highest profiting month so far brought in $17,000 in profit. I started making sales within my first month with only 10 designs. 

We were profitable our very first month

KDP stands for Kindle Direct Publishing. Basically, it allows you to self-publish things (notebooks, journals, planners, fitness trackers, travel logs, activity books, puzzle books, and more) through Amazon.

You design the item and list it, then Amazon sells, prints, and ships your products to the customer while you collect royalties from each sale. 

One of the best aspects of Amazon KDP is that you can put as little or as much time into it as you want; it can start as a part-time side hustle and turn into primary income.

My husband and I started selling on Amazon KDP in June 2020 and saw a profit after our very first month. KDP now serves as our full-time income — neither of us have jobs outside of KDP, but we suggest people start out doing it as a side hustle.

Researching keywords before designing is key

We try to put out around 10 designs a week — our top sellers include composition notebooks, sketch books, journals, planners, and to-do lists. We now have over 200 designs that continue to make money.

Before we create new items designs, we make sure our products are aligning with what keywords Amazon customers are searching for to maximize our chance of sales.

For example, if we search "notebooks," and see that floral notebooks are the top hits at the moment, we'll plan our designs accordingly. The research process can take an hour or days, depending on how detailed we want to be. 

You don't need an art degree or technical knowhow

We use a third-party program called Canva to create all of our covers and interior pages — one of the great things about doing KDP our way is that you don't need to have any artistic ability.

The amount of time it takes to actually make the design depends on the type of product.

"Low-content books" like journals or notebooks usually only take about 45 minutes to an hour to design because you only have to create the front and back covers.

More heavy-lift materials, like coloring books, take around 2-3 hours — to create these, we use Canva Pro, which allows us to pull from a large selection of drawings included in the membership.

When listing, focus on SEO

Once our design is finished, we list them on Amazon while making sure to maximize our keywords and SEO for the highest chance of sales — this is crucial because you want as many people to find your product as possible. Again, we search to see what other items are making the most sales and go from there. We also recommend pricing your items close to the average cost of similar items on the site. 

Selling digital products means very little overhead — you don't need to pay for storage for inventory, and there's no upfront cost for starting an Amazon KDP account, nor listing your designs on Amazon. Depending on the price of the item, we keep $1-$5 per sale after printing cost. 

Although there's no such thing as truly passive income, Amazon KDP is pretty close. Every design you make has the potential to make you money forever. Amazon attracts millions of buyers every single month. 

Especially in an unstable economy, we all deserve more free time at home with our loved ones and more financial security. Anybody can do KDP, from anywhere in the world — I even taught my 72-year-old grandmother how to do it for fun.

In my opinion, Amazon KDP is one of the most effective side hustles you can start at any time. Instead of "quiet quitting" or "working your wage," it's allowed us to work from home while being our own bosses.

To be sure, KDP has its downsides too

I would say the biggest disadvantage of KDP is that it's very tough to predict sales. Some days you'll make $1,500, and other days you'll make $50. As a business owner, you should expect ups and downs.

You also shouldn't expect to see success right away. It took us 10 designs before we started making sales. The more designs you have, the more chances you have to make sales. When I was teaching my grandmother, I told her not to be discouraged if she didn't sell anything in her first month. 

My best advice for new Amazon KDPers is to start early and just keep designing — it's definitely a numbers game. The more designs you have listed, the higher your chances to make sales everyday.

Sue Irven is a full-time Amazon seller and digital creator.

amazon kdp book reviews

  • Main content

Table of Contents

Why Do Book Reviews Matter?

How many reviews do i need, editorial reviews, how to get amazon book reviews, how to get reviews for your book on amazon.

amazon kdp book reviews

What good is writing a great book if no one knows that it’s worth reading?

That’s where book reviews come in.

Reviews matter. They’re a key influencer of buying behavior and provide important social proof even to non-buyers.

Just think about it: how many times have you bought a book without looking at the reviews? I can’t speak for you, but I always read at least a few reviews of every book I buy.

So how do you get more? Most important, more good reviews?

Lots of people are trying to make money off Authors’ confusion in this area, and giving out terrible, deceitful advice about getting reviews (and a few straight up scams).

That’s why I wrote this blog post.

In this guide, I’ll walk you through everything you need to know about getting reviews effectively and ethically, especially on Amazon .

If you’ve put in the effort to write a good book, then it’s worth taking the time to get honest feedback from your readers.

Quick note: I said “a good book.” All of my advice assumes you wrote a good book. I’m going to teach you how to get honest reviews, so if your book is not good, my suggestions will backfire. You’ll get reviews, but they won’t be ones you like.

1. Credibility & Social Proof

Imagine that you’re going out for a nice dinner, and you have a choice between two restaurants. One of them has two Michelin Stars, received glowing reviews on Yelp, and even has reviews on Google Maps.

The other restaurant looks nice from the outside, but it doesn’t have a website, and you don’t know anyone who’s been. You know nothing about the chef, and your only guideline for the food comes from the very basic menu posted outside the door.

Which restaurant are you going to choose?

Books work the same way.

If you had to choose, would you buy the book with 50 5-star reviews, or would you buy the one without any reviews at all?

People want to read books other people have read. If a book has a solid number of reviews, a strong blurb, and plenty of customer feedback, it’s going to do better.

Reviews are social proof. Proof that you have something to say, that you have the chops to say it, and that you can be engaging while you say it.

A book without reviews isn’t necessarily a bad book, but it also won’t have the same appeal as a book that consistently gets rave comments.

2. Influence search algorithms

You know what the third biggest search engine is?

Google is first, YouTube is second, and Amazon is third.

When people use Amazon, what they see first is determined by Amazon’s search algorithm…and reviews are a very important part of that algorithm.

Most of our authors write books not just to sell copies, but to use as a tool to market themselves . If this is the case for you, then people searching for your book topic are very important.

The better your ranking , the more likely it is that people will find your book. And the more likely it is that people find your book, the more likely you are to sell it.

3. Drive sales

Reviews won’t automatically make you a New York Times bestseller , but it will make your book more visible to potential readers.

Every review boosts your rankings, emphasizes your credibility, or entices potential readers.

And good reviews drive sales. Think about it–when you go to buy a book, what is the first thing you do?

Read the reviews.

book reviews

The more reviews you can get—assuming they are good—the better. Lots of reviews are strong social proof a book is popular, and popular books sell.

For a minimum, you should try to get 20 reviews within the first two months after your book release date. That shows your book has traction with real readers.

At around 50 reviews, you are probably good to go. Around that point, you have solidified the book as reputable and should continue to generate reviews.

A Note Before We Start: Don’t Try to Cheat Amazon

Amazon is savvy. Their algorithm is no joke, and if you try to cheat them, you will get caught. They actively look to find and remove any review that is not a real review written by a real person–and they’re very good at it.

Amazon also has a zero-tolerance policy for any review that is designed to mislead or manipulate customers. They’re not shy about removing reviews that violate that policy.

Here’s a list of things to avoid:

  • You can’t pay for reviews. This includes cash or giving reviewers a free or discounted product.
  • You can’t offer reviewers gifts in exchange for reviews.
  • You can’t exchange positive book reviews with other Authors, so don’t head to Facebook or Twitter to find review swaps.

This may seem pretty restrictive. After all, don’t most of us rely on business associates, friends, and other members of our networks to sell books? And what about giving away free review copies? Does that violate the promotional terms?

Well, there are a few caveats .

You can give away free or discounted books to potential reviewers, but you can’t tell them what to write. If they hate it, they have to be able to rant and rave to their heart’s content.

That’s why I said earlier that you have to write a high-quality book. Any free copy you give away has to be given with no strings attached.

Most of this information applies to customer reviews, but they aren’t the only kind of reviews on Amazon.

Editorial reviews are either written by Amazon editors or they come from established publications like Publisher’s Weekly or Kirkus Reviews. Official book endorsements also fall under the category of editorial reviews.

Let’s say that you are a physical therapist, and you have a colleague who is very well known in the field. If she likes your work, it would probably be better to ask her for an editorial review. That way, when people look at the Amazon listing, her review will be front and center. It won’t be buried in the middle of 45 other reviews.

Editorial reviews aren’t subject to the same kinds of restrictions as customer reviews. It’s still not ethical to pay someone to give you a review, but you can and should make the most of your connections to get these.

Step 1: Set-up For Success: Ask for Reviews In Your Book

The easiest way to get book reviews is to ask for them. What better place to do that than in the book itself?

Usually, it’s best to include a short, direct review request towards the back of the book, since good reviewers tend to read all the way to the end.

Few people realize how important book reviews are to Authors. There are probably many people who enjoyed your book and would be willing to write about it if you give them a little nudge.

There are unethical ways to ask, and you should avoid them.

For starters, don’t say, “If you really loved my book, please leave a review.” I know that Authors say this all the time, but it’s presumptuous. It’s like telling someone that their opinion doesn’t matter unless it’s glowing.

People leave reviews because they want to express their feelings. Those feelings might be more complicated than, “I adored the book.” Of course you want positive reviews, but you also have to leave space for readers who enjoyed the book but are reluctant to call it the best thing they’ve ever read.

It’s better to ask readers, “I’d love to hear your honest opinion.”

Here’s another thing to avoid: Don’t ask readers, “Can you take a minute to review my book so I can sell more copies?” This comes across as desperate.

Other people typically don’t care how many books you sell. They need a better reason to take the time to write. Try framing your request around the impact that the book had on them and the impact it could have for others.

Here’s an example: “Did this book help you in some way? If so, I’d love to hear about it. Honest reviews help readers find the right book for their needs.”

Step 2: Ask Your Network for Reviews

One of the most effective ways to get reviews is to set up a launch team .

To do this, put together a list of people who would immediately do a favor for you. You want to aim for 30-50 people.

One month before the book release, send this team a copy of your book so they can read it in advance. It’s easiest to email the book as a PDF, along with a short call to action. Here’s a sample:

Hello there!

I’m excited to let you know that my new book, [Title], launches on [date]. It’s been an amazing journey to get it completed, and I’m excited to finally share it with the world.

If you’re receiving this email, it’s because you’re someone I trust enough to (a) send a free copy of the book to in advance and (b) ask that you leave an honest review when it goes live.

Early reviews are the single most important factor in determining if a book succeeds, so I’m incredibly thankful for people like you who I can rely on to leave one.

No action needed yet. Attached is your free PDF of the book, and I’ll follow up when the book launches with a reminder to leave a review.

Thanks so much for your support. I deeply appreciate it.

Just before the book launches, use KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) to discount the e-reader version to 99 cents for the week of the book launch.

Then, follow up with your team, asking them to leave a review. You can highlight certain things that you would like reviewers to mention, but again, it’s good to emphasize that you want their honest opinion.

Also mention that your book is 99 cents, so if they’re feeling generous, they can buy a copy so their review will be verified. A verified review means that the writer purchased the product through Amazon, and they didn’t receive it at a deep discount. These matter more for your Amazon ranking.

Here’s a sample email: Hey [Name],

The day is here! My book, [Title + GENI.US link], is finally live on Amazon.

I have one simple ask:

If you were able to look at the book and enjoyed it, can you leave a short review?

Reviews should only be 1-2 sentences and should take about 30 seconds to leave (and would make a huge difference for me). If you can’t come up with one, here are some examples:

  • [Insert example review]

Finally, I wanted to give you a heads up that Amazon can sometimes block or remove reviews if they deem our digital relationship too close, or if your account is too new. This is few and far between so I’m sorry if you run into this and thank you all the more for your support!

Thanks so much for your help! I can’t thank you enough.

Best, [Author]

As you can see, this email alludes to Amazon’s “family and friends” rule. Most book reviews and sales come from word of mouth, and you will of course be asking your network for support. The key here is that you aren’t forcing or bribing people to give you good feedback.

Step 3: Set Up Your Assets to Remind Your Network

Social media is a great way to remind your network that your book is ready to be reviewed.

Use Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, or whatever social media assets you have to keep your book present in people’s minds.

For example:

  • Pin a tweet requesting reviews at the top of your Twitter feed
  • Add the book to your email signature
  • Put your book in the header of your Facebook and Twitter profiles

Step 4: Reach Out to Authority Reviewers & Top Reviewers

Amazon has a list of top reviewers who are enthusiastic and authoritative about certain areas. If you notice that someone consistently reviews books in your field, they might be a good person to reach out to.

Be cautious about contacting too many top reviewers, especially if your book isn’t in their realm of interest. No one likes spam, so only reach out with good reason.

You have to know your audience , so look at book bloggers who might have some knowledge in your area or podcasters who might be interested in your book’s topic.

Alternately, you could use a site like BookRazor to find people interested in your book. If you send them a free copy, they agree to follow up with a review.

Be aware though: cold calls have a high failure rate. We haven’t found this method as effective as tapping personal networks.

Step 5: Don’t Ignore Negative Reviews

It’s highly likely that, at some point, you will get a negative review . This is just a fact of life.

One thing to keep in mind before you get upset is that bad reviews aren’t always a bad thing. Books that only have 5-star reviews often don’t seem credible. Bad reviews can actually convince people that your other reviews are real.

There are many ways to deal with negative reviews:

  • Ignore it. There’s no upside to responding to toxic people.
  • Answer it…but be careful. Responding can be a double-edged sword. Respond in a way that addresses the issue without coming off as defensive.
  • Admit it hurts to receive a bad review, then move on.
  • Keep things in perspective. Don’t give negative reviews more weight than positive ones.
  • Consider if the negative comments have any lessons for you.
  • Try to get Amazon to take down the review if it doesn’t comply with their guidelines. They probably won’t remove it unless the person has been fraudulent or crude.

BONUS Step: Use Paid Services

Okay, I know I said that you shouldn’t use paid services. But what I meant was, “Don’t use paid services to directly buy reviews.” That’s cheating the system, and scamming Amazon isn’t a good idea if you’re trying to be a legitimate Author.

But there are paid opportunities that you can use to get the book into potential reviewers’ hands in an ethical way.

Goodreads is a social media site for book lovers. Their book giveaways are a good way to increase exposure and create hype. Goodreads requires participants to add the book to their wish list, and they also remind winners to leave reviews. They offer several packages at different price points, depending on how many promotional options you want.

BookBub features discounted books in their daily newsletters, which have more than 10 million subscribers. You can pay to have your book featured, or you can buy ad space in the newsletters. The pricing depends on how deep the book’s discount is.

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If you’re an author looking to publish your book, you have a few options. Traditional publishing is the route most people are familiar with, but it can be difficult to break into and often comes with lower royalty rates. Self-publishing, on the other hand, has become increasingly popular thanks to platforms like  Amazon KDP  (Kindle Direct Publishing). But is self-publishing on Amazon KDP the best choice for you?

Here’s what you need to know about the pros and cons of self-publishing in general and on Amazon KDP.

The Advantages & Disadvantages of Self-Publishing for Authors

Self-publishing has its own advantages such as higher royalties and less time and effort, but also disadvantages such as intense competition and the risk of financial loss. Additionally, self-publishing requires authors to become a one-man company.

Advantages of Self-Publishing

Enjoying a higher royalty rate.

One of the main advantages of self-publishing is the potential to earn a higher royalty rate. With traditional publishing, authors often receive a percentage of the book’s net profits, which can be as low as 10-15%. In contrast, self-publishing platforms like Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) offer royalty rates of up to 70% for e-books and up to 60% for print-on-demand books.

Getting It All Done in Less Time & Efforts

Self-publishing can be a much faster and easier process than traditional publishing. With self-publishing platforms like KDP, authors can upload their manuscripts and have their books available for purchase in a matter of days. There’s no need to wait for months or even years to hear back from agents or publishers.

Creative Control of Your Book

Self-publishing gives authors complete creative control over their work. They can make their own decisions about everything from the  cover design  to formatting to  marketing . This can be very appealing for authors who want to have a say in how their book is presented to the world.

Disadvantages of Self-Publishing

Immense competition.

Self-publishing has become more popular in recent years, which means there’s a lot of competition in the market. It can be difficult for self-published authors to get their books noticed in a sea of other titles. Without the marketing support of a traditional publisher, authors may struggle to get their books in front of readers.

Read More: ISBN: Official Identity of Your Book | Get Your Book Registered for Sale

Risk of Financial Loss

You must have observed authors getting hundreds of copies of their books printed and stocked at bookstores and other retailers, that’s what happens with traditional publishing. Just like launching any other product, you need to invest in its production in order to deliver it in bulk to the sellers. While this approach may have its benefits, you have no way of knowing whether you would be able to sell them, or all the money and efforts would just go to waste.

Becoming a One-Man-Company

Self-publishing means authors are responsible for every aspect of the publishing process, from editing to formatting to marketing and distribution. This can be overwhelming, especially for authors who don’t have experience in these areas. Without the support of a traditional publisher, authors may struggle to get their  books to market  and reach their target audience.

The Pros and Cons of Self-Publishing on Amazon KDP Select

The advantages of self-publishing on Amazon include global recognition, print-on-demand options, audiobook publishing opportunities, and exclusive deals for buyers. Disadvantages include limited income, the 90-day exclusivity clause, limited content choices, and possible glitches and bugs.

Pros of Self-Publishing on Amazon

Global recognition & access.

There’s no doubt in the fact that Amazon has become a benchmark in the online shopping world, and Amazon’s Kindle is apparently the primary shopping center for reading enthusiasts. It operates in 20+ nations worldwide! Hence,  publishing your book on Amazon  means you get global recognition and become accessible to readers from around the world.

Print-On-Demand

As discussed earlier, printing and distributing your book is a time-consuming and expensive feat, but it’s also necessary in order to get it out there. However, that’s not the case with Amazon KDP, it offers POD (print-on-demand) option to the authors, which means Amazon would  print your book  only when a customer would order a printed copy. That saves you from all the hassle and wasting your money!

Exclusive Deals for Buyers

Amazon KDP Select offers exclusive deals for buyers, such as free promotions, discounted prices, and access to Kindle Unlimited. This can help authors to increase their book’s visibility and reach more readers.

Audiobook Publishing with Audible

Different people have different habits and preferences when it comes to reading books. That’s why authors try to publish their books in every possible format in order to appeal to a wider audience. Amazon is the partner of Audible, one of the leading sites that feature audiobooks. Hence, by publishing your book to Amazon, you will get assisted in publishing the same as an audiobook and gain more popularity and sales!

Cons of Self-Publishing on Amazon KDP Select

Limited income.

While Amazon KDP Select offers a higher royalty rate compared to traditional publishing, it still limits an author’s potential income. Authors must price their books within a certain range to qualify for certain programs, and Amazon takes a percentage of each sale.

The 90-Day Exclusivity Clause

By enrolling in Amazon KDP Select, authors must agree to a 90-day exclusivity clause, which means they cannot sell their e-book anywhere else during this time. This can limit the author’s ability to reach readers on other platforms.

Read More: How Much Does It Cost To Publish A Book

Limited Content Choices

Amazon KDP Select has strict guidelines for content, and some genres or types of content may not be eligible for certain programs. This can limit an author’s ability to publish their book on the platform.

Possible Glitches & Bugs

Like any online platform, Amazon KDP Select is subject to glitches and bugs that can affect the book’s visibility and the author’s ability to publish their book or track their sales. This can be frustrating and time-consuming for authors.

Conclusion: Is Self-Publishing via Amazon KDP Select Best?

The decision to  self-publish on Amazon KDP  Select ultimately depends on an author’s goals and priorities. While Amazon offers global recognition, print-on-demand options, and audiobook publishing opportunities, there are also limitations and exclusivity clauses that authors must consider.

If an author is looking to reach a wider audience and take advantage of Amazon’s marketing and promotional opportunities, self-publishing on Amazon KDP Select may be a good option. However, if an author wants more control over their content and distribution, or if they want to explore other platforms, traditional publishing or self-publishing on other platforms may be a better fit.

Can I sell my KDP books elsewhere?

If an author enrolls in Amazon KDP Select, they must agree to a 90-day exclusivity clause, which means they cannot sell their e-book elsewhere during this time. However, authors can sell their print books on other platforms.

How much does a first-time author make?

First-time  author earnings  can vary widely, depending on factors such as book genre, marketing strategy, and pricing. With Amazon KDP, authors can earn up to 70% royalty on e-books and 60% royalty on print books.

How long does it take to self-publish a book on Amazon?

The time it takes to self-publish a book on Amazon KDP depends on factors such as book-length, formatting, and cover design. It can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks to complete the publishing process.

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Last updated on Jul 19, 2023

Amazon KDP: A Writer’s Guide to Kindle Direct Publishing

Kindle Direct Publishing is Amazon’s publishing platform allowing independent authors to access readers worldwide. In a matter of hours, anybody can create an author account, upload their book, and sell paperbacks, hardbacks, and ebooks through Amazon — without any setup cost. It’s unquestionably the most accessible platform for self-publishing authors.

In this guide, you’ll learn everything you need to know about the experience of publishing on KDP, from setting up your book to mastering keywords and categories . But first, let’s take a bird’s eye view and try to see how Amazon has become the go-to retailer for self-publishing authors.

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KDP ignited the self-publishing revolution

Launched concurrently with Amazon’s ebook reader in 2007, KDP opened up the publishing world. Readers could now not only buy indie ebooks through Amazon.com but also directly from any Kindle device. 

Thanks to KDP, authors of niche genres have gained access to readers that previously could have only reached through traditional publishing.

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Indie publishing’s kingmaker

This accessibility has led to multiple waves of bestselling authors who have found mainstream success through self-publishing , including E.L. James ( Fifty Shades of Grey ), Hugh Howey ( Wool ), and Andy Weir ( The Martian ). In addition, there are now countless other indie writers — especially in the romance genre — who earn significantly more than their traditionally published counterparts, thanks mainly to KDP’s favorable royalty rates .

Any author can reach over 80% of US readers 

Amazon is the largest bookstore in the world, full stop. While they don’t have the same iron grip in non-English language book markets, one retail news site suggests that in the US, Amazon held an 83% market share of ebooks in 2019 — with the remaining 17% spread between its competitors.

If you’re looking to sell books in the United States and the United Kingdom, KDP is a platform you can’t afford to ignore — especially once you see how they can help you reach readers across different formats.

Pro-tip: Get a read on your audience early by downloading this author market research checklist. 

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You can sell print, digital, and audio in one place

While many people associate “Kindle” with ebooks, that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the various versions of your book that you can publish through KDP. But let’s not gloss over the convenience of their digital publishing option…

Instant ebook publishing

Through KDP’s author platform, you can set up an account, upload a manuscript, and publish it by the end of the hour. Of course, you’ll likely want to format and edit your book to a professional standard first, but the publishing process on Amazon is otherwise very straightforward.

Once it’s live on the Kindle Store, readers can purchase your digital book and read it on their tablets, e-readers, phones, or desktop computers — just as they would any ebook published by a major press.

Guide to Kindle Direct Publishing | KDP's homepage interface

Paperbacks and hardcovers through KDP Print

Despite the ebook revolution, print books aren’t going anywhere. Several print-on-demand (POD) services are available for self-publishing authors who want a handsome paperbound edition to put in their bookcases (or, you know, to sell to paying customers). With POD, a supplier will churn out copies only when someone orders them — making this system an affordable alternative to large-scale print runs.

Kindle Direct Publishing offers a service called KDP Print ( formerly known as Createspace ), which manages print-on-demand. Authors need to upload immaculately formatted print files (different from the ebook format), after which they can start selling physical copies from their existing KDP account. 

Get in your readers’ ears with Audible

An author recites her book, and it is heard across the world.

As a one-stop-publishing platform, KDP allows authors to focus most of their efforts on a single retailer without fear of losing out on too many potential sales — plus, you’ll only have to handle taxes on your earnings made from a single source.

As you’ll learn later in this guide, it isn’t always the best idea to sell exclusively on KDP, but it certainly is convenient — and the royalties that Amazon offers can be rather sweet.

Earn royalties of up to 70%

Illustration of an author joyfully receiving her royalty check

While these percentages are by no means exclusive to KDP (you can expect similar royalties with Kobo or Apple Books), Amazon is the market leader and has effectively cemented these as the prevailing rates.

Terms and conditions apply

These royalty rates may sound pretty attractive to you, but you should be aware of certain limitations. For example, the 60% royalty on print-on-demand books will look a lot slimmer once you subtract the actual printing costs.

On the digital side of things, the premium 70% ebook royalty isn’t available in all territories and requires you to price your title between $2.99 and $9.99. So if you change your book’s price to above $9.99 on Kindle, your royalty rate will suddenly drop to 35%. This is fine for most authors (if your ebook costs more than $10, you might be doing something wrong), but if you’re selling a box set — where you bundle multiple books into a single product — you’ll be penalized. In contrast, Apple Books and Kobo have no such price ceiling.

But before you make any rash decisions and abandon the Amazon ship, it’s worth sticking around to see what other perks Amazon offers its authors.

Kindle gives unprecedented visibility to indie authors

As we mentioned at the start, one of Kindle’s big innovations is that they’ve effectively leveled the playing field for self-publishing authors 一 but what does it mean, exactly?

An algorithm-led store levels the playing field

Where Apple Books, Kobo, and other online retailers have groups of humans who choose new titles to promote (or authors whose backlist they’ll feature), Amazon doesn’t have a merchandising team 一 they let their algorithm decide which books to feature and promote.

Why is this good news? Won’t the algorithm just promote famous authors and big new releases?

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Well, actually, that’s not always the case!

It’s as if The Terminator worked at Barnes & Noble: the algorithm is a heartless book-selling machine that doesn’t get star-struck by big-name authors. It looks purely at data to determine — in its cold, calculating way — which books to put in front of more readers. Indie authors have an equal chance of seeing their book rise in its category — as long as your book page is optimized to generate pre-sales, sales, and user reviews . This may sound like a big ask, but it’s much easier than calling up every bookseller around the country and begging them to stock your book.

Guide to KDP | The Terminator as a metaphor for Amazon's Algorithms

The ups and downs of going ‘exclusive’ with Kindle

Kindle Direct Publishing offers free promotional opportunities that can be accessed through their KDP Select program. You can check out our deep dive into KDP Select for all the juicy details, but in short, they include access to:

  • Kindle Unlimited – Amazon’s subscription-based service (Netflix for books)
  • Kindle Free Promotions — Turbocharge your downloads by making your book available for free (for five out of every 90 days)
  • Kindle Countdown Deals — Run a week-long price drop that will see your book promoted in the Kindle store’s Countdown Deals section .

As you might expect, there are minor downsides to enrolling in KDP Select. To get your hands on all these delicious marketing tools, you must make your ebook exclusive to Amazon. This might sound like no big deal (after all, most books are sold on Amazon). However, Kindle’s market share isn’t as all-consuming in countries outside the US and the UK. If you aim to reach the broadest possible audience of readers, then being tied to Amazon — if only for the length of a promotion — might be less than ideal.

So far, the downsides of publishing with KDP could be best described as “inconveniences” more than anything else. But before you throw your lot in with Amazon, it’s worth acknowledging the bigger picture.

You have to be okay with enriching a global giant

Monopolies are not a good thing for consumers. As Jeff Bezos’s empire continues to absorb a bigger market share of book sales, retail, web hosting services , logistics, streaming entertainment, and groceries, we should be concerned about feeding the Amazon beast. However, as anyone who’s marveled at ordering an obscure item and watching it arrive the next day can attest, using Amazon makes things a lot easier.

Guide to KDP | Jeff Bezos presented in a mosaic, styled after Alexander the Greta

If you’re concerned that you’re contributing to the inevitable Amazon monopoly by selling through the Kindle store, you might be right. But you could also argue that there’s no way to make a living as an author without them and that selling through Amazon is a compromise you need to make, or else struggle to make a profit. If it helps, focus on the fact that Amazon has created a platform that disrupted publishing and tilted the balance of power away from ‘gatekeepers’ and towards creatives.

For some, Amazon’s patchy record of ethics might not be a dealbreaker — but it is something every author needs to consider at the very least.

If you're ready to take the plunge, strap in and head over to the next post in this guide. We'll show you the nuts and bolts of publishing your book on Amazon KDP.

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Review: Is the KDP Print-on-Demand Service Worth Using?

Last Updated on May 20, 2023 by Michael Brockbank

As a beginner in self-publishing , I was very apprehensive about Amazon’s KDP and its print-on-demand service. After all, this was my first book and I wanted it to look nice. So, how was my experience with PoD and the paperback version of my book?

Actually, it went a lot better than I had imagined. Then again, I was quite skeptical of Kindle Direct Publishing and printing a book at the beginning, which meant it wouldn’t take much to surprise me.

In any case, I found the process quick, easy, and the books themselves looked pretty good, all things considered.

Table of Contents

What is the Amazon KDP Print-on-Demand Service?

When submitting your book to Kindle Direct Publishing, you have the option to sell printed versions of your manuscript. This isn’t mandatory, as a lot of your readers are most likely going to buy the eBook version.

Nonetheless, you’re able to print copies for yourself as the author or sell them directly from Amazon.

The company uses print-on-demand platforms to produce your book. This means that your book is printed and put together when someone makes a purchase. Technically, two copies are printed from Amazon in order to keep one in stock.

The biggest difference between printing a book on-demand and traditional printing presses is cost. Not everyone has several thousand dollars to print out a large volume of books.

Print-on-demand services from KDP allow you to produce a paperback or hardcover one at a time but usually cost just a bit more than if you were to print them in quantity.

For instance, the paperback version of my book cost just under $3 to print.

What Can You Expect from Print-on-Demand and KDP?

While you might be keen on just producing eBooks, there’s nothing wrong with offering the paperback or hardcover version of your novel. For me, it’s a reminder and motivator to do more every time I look at my bookshelf.

So, is KDP worth using to generate printed copies of your book?

No Page Bleed or Color Mixing

Beautifully Printed

When I produced A Freelancer’s Tale , I was exceptionally worried about the typeface quality and cover. I’ve had bad experiences in the past with printed elements bleeding, running, and mixing colors.

However, I was pleasantly surprised by just how well the KDP-printed books came out. They had an exceptionally professional appearance in terms of print, and it was a huge relief off my shoulders.

Binding Was Well-Crafted

Another element of printing I was concerned with was the binding itself. I’ve seen some terrible glue jobs to keep the pages together with the cover.

Luckily, that wasn’t the case with Amazon. In fact, the binding came out far better than I could possibly imagine. Between the binding and the printed pages, it looks like a professional book.

If not for the fact that a publisher doesn’t have a logo on the cover, it would be nearly impossible to tell that it was self-published.

The Matte Cover Feels Amazing!

I opted to use the matte cover for the book, and I can say that it feels incredible. The cover has an almost velvety feel and it did my first book justice.

Though I think with my next book, I’m going to test out the gloss cover and see how well it comes out. If it’s even half as good as the matte, I’m sure I’ll be ecstatic.

At any rate, I was very pleased with the matte finish and hope they all come out as good as the copies I bought for myself.

Not as Expensive as I Thought it Would Be

After exploring other print-on-demand services, I was worried that using KDP would cut into my royalties. However, I found that Amazon has one of the cheapest costs for PoD.

Right now, it would only cost me $2.61 per book to order author copies. This is also the cost to print when someone buys the book through Amazon’s marketplace. Of course, you set your prices and share the sale with Amazon.

Still, the cost to print the book was much lower than a lot of places I’ve explored.

Cover Graphic Wasn’t Always Centered

KDP Print-on-Demand Mistake

The only real drawback to the printing job itself is how the graphic for the cover wasn’t always centered. I know this as I’ve compared various copies of the book, not to mention the opaque box I put on the back cover to offset the white text on a lighter background.

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  • Printing Costs Going Up on Amazon KDP

Out of the 10 author copies I received, only two were a bit off. Unless you know what you’re looking for, though, you might not even notice. Even with the off-center graphics, the books came out great.

KDP’s Cover Creator is a Bit…Wonky

The eBook version of my book uses the cover I created in Cavna …which I thought was superior. However, I had to use the Cover Creator from KDP for the paperback version.

What can I say about Cover Creator? It’s a lacking tool when compared to Canva or Photoshop.

Don’t get me wrong, I was still able to get a decent cover from KDP for the print-on-demand books. However, the tool itself takes a lot of getting used to. It handles like a shopping cart with a broken wheel.

Next time, I’ll simply do the entire graphic in Canva.

Wicked Fast Shipping

I assumed that, because of the printing process, I wouldn’t receive a copy of my book for quite some time. I was blown away when it came in the mail within three days. My friend bought a copy immediately after me and got hers within two.

From printing to shipping, it was an incredibly fast delivery.

This is another reason why I was skeptical at first. I didn’t think a quality product could be created and shipped in such short order. I’m glad I was wrong because I loved the book.

I guess that’s a testament to Amazon’s commitment to fast delivery. Though, it does make me feel a bit bad for the drivers. But that’s a story for another time.

Overall Professional Look!

My Book

Aside from just a few issues, I thought the books themselves came out very professional. From the cover print to the text on the pages themselves, I am very satisfied with what I received.

Now, this is important because you don’t want readers to get ahold of a bad printed copy. It could detract from the experience, which could make it incredibly more difficult to sell more books to that same person later on.

I can say that I was very surprised and glad that Amazon seemed to put quite a bit of effort in the printing process.

How Much Does it Cost to Print-on-Demand from KDP?

Amazon has a bit of a convoluted pricing scheme when it comes to printing books. They have both a fixed cost for smaller books and an additional per-page cost for larger novels.

The cost of your book also depends on whether you have color pages or not, which could get quite expensive the more pages you have.

So, let’s say you have a 250-page horror novel ready for print with black text on white pages. The cost would be about $3.85 per unit ($0.85 per book + $0.012 per page).

Now, that’s the price I would pay here in the States. Other regions will have varying costs. If you’re curious as to how much your book would cost, take a look at Amazon’s print-on-demand pricing .

If you want to sell printed copies of your book, compare KDP with other platforms that are available. In my experience, Amazon is definitely among the cheapest. And with the great quality of the book, it’s definitely worth considering.

Will I Continue to Use Print-on-Demand from KDP?

I was nervous enough publishing my first book. Although I was sweating a bit while waiting for the first printed copy to arrive, I’m glad it wasn’t a disappointment.

While the anal perfectionist in me is still a bit perturbed that the graphics are not always centered, the realist in me still thinks the books came out quite nicely.

Because I plan on publishing quite a few more books in the future, I’ll definitely make use of Kindle Direct Publishing and its printing service. Next time, however, I plan on releasing some hardcover books.

So, I’ll more than likely update this post once the hardcovers come in. But first I need to finish writing my second book.

In any case, yes, due to the books I’ve bought through KDP and the print-on-demand service, I’ll definitely keep using them. At least until they try to cut costs and produce a crappy product.

Never underestimate the nature of capitalism and cutting corners to make a profit.

I Was Quite Delighted with My Copies – Ish

As I said, the only true disappointment was the cover’s graphic not always being centered correctly. This isn’t necessarily a deal-breaker as you would have to know precisely what to look for. The average customer probably won’t even be able to tell the difference.

All-in-all, it was a very easy setup (not counting Cover Creator) and I had my first book in my hands within three days.

What print-on-demand services have you tried in the past?

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Amazon KDP Review – Is Amazon KDP Worth It?

Posted by Stuart Bell | Feb 2, 2023 | Business | 0 |

Amazon KDP Review – Is Amazon KDP Worth It?

Self Publishing on Amazon – Pros and Cons

Amazon kdp benefits, it’s easy, publish in multiple formats., higher royalties, timely payments, complete control, quick turnaround, access to analytics, amazon kdp drawbacks, it may take some practice, intense competition, the 70% royalty program isn’t for everyone., pre-orders aren’t for paperbacks., interactive content is limited., kdp select or not is kindle unlimited worth it, what is kdp select, so then, what is kindle unlimited, the difference between kindle unlimited and kdp select.

  • KDP Select is for authors. They can enroll in their books and reap the benefits of page reads.
  • Kindle Unlimited is a program for readers. With it, they can read as many books as they want in a month.

So, You Want to Go Wide? How Can You Win?

  • Facebook Ads directed to fans of those markets: Create ads to fans of B&N, iBooks, or Nook, and then lead them to your type of reader. This ensures your FB ads will also gain readers in those markets. Here are some market-specific tactics you should employ:
  • Get reviews: Push to get reviews for your book on those markets with the same tactics you’ve used on Amazon. I’d wager to say that one study on B&N is worth 10 on Am,azon, considering that the number of studies on B&N is much lower.
  • Create links that go to your books in those markets: Put them in your email blasts or other marketing efforts to also give those markets love.

Final Decision: Should You Enroll in Amazon KDP Select or Not?

Related posts:.

  • How Much Does It Really Cost to Self-Publish on Amazon?
  • How to Self-publish a Book: A Step-by-Step Guide.
  • How to Become a Bestselling Author
  • How to Become a Writer

About The Author

Stuart Bell

Stuart Bell

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Amazon KDP: Your 7 Step Guide to Kindle Direct Publishing

POSTED ON Aug 29, 2023

Colin Dunbar

Written by Colin Dunbar

Amazon KDP has taken the publishing world by storm.

For the first time in history, authors can self-publish a book with the click of a button – and Kindle Direct Publishing has made the process more accessible than ever.

In fact, it's pretty easy to publish your book on Amazon KDP, which is why it's caught on so rapidly, especially for those who found traditional publishing to be a roadblock in their author journey.

But, the process can be overwhelming – especially if you want to make sure you’re doing it correctly from beginning to end, from book formatting to book launch .

In this complete guide to all things Kindle Direct Publishing, we'll walk you through the process on how to publish a book using Amazon KDP, starting with how to properly format your book files.

By the end of this Kindle Direct Publishing guide , you will have your book available in the Kindle Store, and ready to get into the hands of your readers. 

Self-Publishing Company

This Guide to Kindle Direct Publishing Will Cover:

What is amazon kdp .

Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) is Amazon’s book publishing platform that can be used to self-publish a book online , which readers can purchase as an eBook or print-on-demand book. It is one of the top self-publishing companies and currently dominates the self-publishing book market. 

Amazon KDP is a major player in the publishing industry, currently holding at least 80% of the eBook market.

Thanks to Amazon KDP’s launch in 2007, modern writers are faced with an important decision when determining how to become an author . 

In fact, writers of all disciplines have enjoyed an explosion in career flexibility over the last decade or so with the rise in remote writing jobs . This explosion has led to the increase in publishing eBooks , print books, and more through self-publishing.

Authors have two choices for publishing their book: traditional publishing or self-publishing . When weighing the traditional publishing vs self-publishing options, many writers consider the higher royalty rates on Kindle Direct Publishing, and the ease of self-publishing, as there are not any competitive hoops to go through like there are with traditional publishing. 

Infographic Explaining Amazon Kdp

How does Kindle Direct Publishing work?

Kindle Direct Publishing is a platform for authors to self-publish eBooks and paperback books.

For eBooks , authors can directly upload their book files, and it will appear in the Kindle store as an eBook for readers to purchase and instantly download.

For printed books , authors upload their book files and Kindle Direct Publishing uses print-on-demand technology to print the paperback book once it's purchased; the printing costs will be subtracted from the royalties you earn from every book sold.

You can learn more about which files to use in this EPUB vs MOBI guide.

Here's how KDP Publishing works:

  • Upload your book files to Amazon KDP.
  • Publish your book to the Kindle Direct Publishing platform.
  • Readers can purchase your eBook and instantly download it to their device.
  • Readers can purchase your paperback copy and the Amazon KDP platform will use print-on-demand technology to print and ship your book directly to the reader once purchased.
  • Amazon will pay you book royalties per book sold on the Kindle Direct Publishing platform.

How Amazon Kdp Publishing Works

Benefits of publishing on Amazon KDP

There are numerous benefits to self-publishing your book on Kindle Direct Publishing. The Amazon KDP Publishing platform has helped revolutionize the publishing industry, giving authors the opportunity to make it easier to publish a book and create a sustainable book business.

These are the benefits of Kindle Direct Publishing:

  • Wide distribution. Amazon's platform is huge, which means authors can tap into global markets across the United States, Europe, and Japan.
  • Higher royalties. With Amazon, authors can earn higher royalty rates than they typically would through traditional publishing houses. Depending on the type of book you sell on Amazon , royalty rates can be as high as 60%.
  • Author rights. Even though you publish your book to Kindle Direct Publishing, you retain the rights to your book through Amazon's non-exclusive agreement.
  • Quick publishing time. Typically, with traditional publishing, books can take a very long time to get to market. With Amazon KDP, the publishing process is very quick.
  • No inventory. Long gone are the days when authors had to purchase printed copies of books upfront in order to sell them. With print-on-demand technology, books are printed as they are purchased.

Benefits Of Publishing On Amazon Kdp

Amazon KDP publishing cost & royalties

So what are the costs associated with Amazon self-publishing ? And how much do authors earn when they sell their book through Amazon KDP? How much are other books earning in your niche? What about the payment schedule?

In this section, we'll answer all those questions and more!

How much does it cost to self-publish on Amazon KDP?

It is free to publish a book on Amazon KDP. It does not cost authors anything directly. But there will likely be book production costs and marketing costs around your book.

If you are selling paperback books on Kindle Direct Publishing, the cost to print the book will be deducted by Amazon from your book royalties. This means that when you sell a paperback book, you will essentially pay for the price to print the book.

Aside from being free to publish on Kindle Direct Publishing, self-published authors typically spend money on author services to prepare their book for publishing. This includes services such as book cover design, formatting, editing, and book marketing fees.

How do Kindle Direct Publishing royalties work?

Kindle Direct Publishing pays its authors through royalty fees. There are two royalty fees to consider: the eBook royalty rates, and the paperback royalty rates.

The royalty rate for eBooks on Kindle Direct Publishing is 35% or 70%, depending on which royalty rate your book is eligible for. To see specific requirements of each, click here .

The royalty rate for paperback books is a fixed 60% royalty rate.

For each royalty rate, this means that you will receive the % royalty rate of your book's list price.

For help comparing your book's royalty rates, use our Book Royalties Calculator .

How much are other books in your niche making?

Amazon doesn't make other authors' earnings publicly available and rightfully so. But Dave Chesson has created a calculator that can predict how much a certain book is making in your niche. All you have to do is find its ABSR in Amazon and plug it in. Pretty cool!

When does Amazon KDP pay?

Kindle Direct Publishing will pay your royalties to you every month, approximately 60 days after the end of the month that your royalties were earned.

However, a caveat to this is that your payment amount must meet a minimum threshold before it is paid out by Amazon KDP. You can choose to be paid out through several options including direct deposit, wire transfer, or check.

Amazon Publishing Costs & Royalties

What is kdp select.

KDP Select is a program for authors to give Amazon exclusive rights to sell an eBook on the Kindle platform only. This means that the author's eBook will only be available for purchase on Amazon's Kindle platform, and the author is not able to use another self-publishing platform to distribute their eBook.

In exchange for exclusive rights to sell the author's eBook, Amazon provides incentives to the author, such as promotional tools, like Kindle Unlimited , and possibly higher royalty rates.

If you're considering enrolling in KDP Select, your enrollment is not indefinite, meaning you can test it out for 90 days. KDP Select enrollment lasts for 90 days, which allows authors the option to auto-renew enrollment for another 90 days, or opt out.

Amazon Kdp Formatting Guide

Amazon KDP formatting guide

Now that you're clear on exactly what Kindle Direct Publishing is, let’s get started with the formatting and publishing process.

Note : In this particular article, I'll be covering the steps to formatting your book for Amazon KDP specifically using Microsoft Word, which is one of the easiest programs to use. As the author of How to Format Your Book in Word , I've found that Word is a program that most authors already have experience using.

If you don't want to use Microsoft Word, you may wish to hire a professional eBook formatter , or another book formatting software .

Now, if you still want to do it yourself (and do it in Microsoft Word), then you'll be able to format it properly using the steps in this guide.

Format your book file

If you’re an author or writer, chances are that you’re already familiar with using Microsoft Word. If you’re one of the few people who have never used Word before, that’s okay. There isn’t a steep learning curve to using the program and you can use Word tutorial videos to get the gist.

Formatting your book in Word for Kindle is really easy. Although there are technical aspects that you should be aware of, it's really not rocket science.

You can only apply formatting as per the technical requirements of the Kindle device, which is specified by Amazon KDP itself. And to be honest, these are not complex in any way whatsoever.

When I say formatting for the Kindle is technical , I mean there are specific ways that you can do certain things and there are features you cannot use. 

For example, you cannot have text boxes in your eBook file, and headers and footers are not recognized in the Kindle device.

We'll cover how to do this in detail below.

YouTube video

Format your file for Amazon KDP

In order to publish on Amazon KDP, your book manuscript needs to be formatted for the Kindle Direct Publishing platform. Otherwise, certain errors or layout issues will occur.

In addition to formatting your Word file, which includes the text contents of your book, you will also need to create a separate cover image. 

Use these specifications for your cover image when formatting your file for Amazon KDP:

  • The cover image size should be a minimum of 625 pixels on the shortest side and 1000 pixels on the longest side. The best quality is 2,560 x 1,600 pixels
  • The file format should be TIFF or JPEG.

Amazon has introduced the Kindle Create tool , and the information for using this tool is also included in this guide. 

Using Kindle Create, you can check your Word file, add special features, etc., and then create a .kpf file that you can upload to Amazon KDP. 

If there are issues with your Word file when you preview it in Kindle Create, you will have to make the changes in Word, and then preview it in Kindle Create again.

Use the recognized Kindle styles

Pay attention to the following points if you have already applied any character or text styles to your Word file. 

Kindle does not recognize (or has limited support for) any of the following styles:

  • Auto numbering
  • Special fonts
  • Headers and footers
  • Special word styles

You can use the following formatting in your Word manuscript:

  • Indentations
  • Bold and italics

Although you can upload your Word file directly to Kindle Direct Publishing, I highly suggest you convert your Word file to a .kpf file before uploading it . A .kpf file is Kindle Create's file extension. This optimizes fonts, line spacing, margins, etc., to improve reading your eBook on Kindle devices.

Structure your book for Amazon KDP

An important step in publishing your book file to Kindle Direct Publishing is making sure you have all the necessary front and back matter formatted for your book. 

If you don't have the necessary parts, be sure to add a page in your manuscript's Word file to create the page in your book.

The five parts to include in your book structure for Amazon KDP are:

  • Copyright page
  • Table of contents
  • The body (your actual book content)
  • Back matter (acknowledgments, index, promo for other books, etc)

We’ll cover more details on these parts in the next sections. 

Add a Kindle Direct Publishing title page

The first part of your book that you’ll need in order to publish on Kindle Direct Publishing is your title page.

Your title page text will be centered with the title of your book , the author name below, and a page break inserted below the author name.

Things to review for your title page: 

  • Is your title page text centered on the page? 
  • Is your name listed below the title? 
  • Do you have a page break below the author name? 

Here is an example of a title page:

Example Of An Amazon Kdp Title Page

Include a Copyright page

You can include your copyright notice on your title page (as shown in the above example) or you can have a separate copyright page.

Your copyright page can include the following:

  • Copyright © [Year] [Author Name]
  • All rights reserved.

You can also include text as follows (or similar based on your needs):

“No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of very brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.”

Convert your Table of Contents for Amazon KDP

Using Word’s auto ToC tool will work just fine when you get your book’s structure ready to publish on Kindle Direct Publishing.

Kindle Create converts your ToC entries to hyperlinks as part of creating a ToC page in your eBook.

Follow these steps to use the Table of Contents tool in Word:

  • Place your mouse pointer at the beginning of your manuscript, after the Title page, or the Copyright page (if you don’t have a blank page after the Title page, add one for the ToC).
  • Click the References tab.
  • Move to the Table of Contents button and click the down arrow.
  • On the drop-down menu, move your pointer down and click the Insert Table of Contents option.
  • For Mac users: Choose the Custom Table of Contents option.
  • On the Table of Contents window, uncheck the Show page numbers check box. Since the Kindle device does not display page numbers, this is not required.
  • Click the Use hyperlinks instead of page numbers check box.

NOTE: This option is available in Word for Mac, version 16 only. If you convert your Word file in Kindle Create, this will be done automatically.

Screenshot Of Word Table Of Contents

Add an optional Dedication page

If you choose to, you can add a dedication page, and that will follow your Table of Contents.

You can keep it simple, like in the example page below, which shows the Dedication page for the book, The Miracle Morning for Writers .

Dedication Page Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing

Include the body

After the front matter pages, you will have your book’s body pages. This includes all of your book’s actual content, divided into chapters.

The body of your book will usually include the following:

  • Prologue (fiction), or Preface (non-fiction)
  • Introduction (non-fiction). Some non-fiction authors add a “Why I wrote this book” chapter.
  • Chapters or sections

Insert your page breaks

Always insert a page break at the end of a chapter so that the new chapter will start on a new page. Not only does this make your book formatting look clean and organized, but it improves the reader's experience.

Here’s how to insert a page break: 

  • To insert a page break, place your pointer where you want the break.
  • Click the Insert tab, then click Page Break .
  • You can use Ctrl+Enter (Cmd+Enter for Mac users) to insert a page break.

Organize your content with chapter titles

Adding chapter titles is crucial for not only formatting your book for Kindle Direct Publishing, but also for organizing your book’s content into bite-sized sections for your reader’s experience. 

Here’s how to format your book’s chapter titles for Amazon KDP using Word:

  • Select your first chapter title .
  • Set the alignment to Center .
  • With your chapter title selected, right-click the Heading 1 style button on the Styles toolbar.
  • Choose Update Heading 1 to Match Selection . All your chapter titles will now have this style throughout your Word file.
  • Using the Heading 1 style for the chapter titles in your book will display in your Table of Contents (ToC) and enable your reader to navigate through your eBook.
  • Remember to insert a page break after the last sentence of each chapter.

Add graphic images for Amazon KDP

If you are publishing a non-fiction book to Kindle Direct Publishing, you will probably have graphics in your book. These graphic images can include infographics, charts/graphs, or photos. 

IMPORTANT! Don’t just copy and paste an image from another program into your Word file.

Here’s how to properly insert images into your book using Word:

  • Click the Insert button
  • Click Picture  
  • Select the image from the location on your computer’s hard drive

You do not need to include your cover image in your Word manuscript file. Your cover image will be added automatically when you publish your eBook, and it will be uploaded separately.

Amazon Kdp Publishing Guide

KDP publishing guide: 7 steps to success

Now that your file is properly formatted for KDP, it's time to start the publishing process!

In this section, we'll cover the steps to upload your book file to Kindle Direct Publishing, and self-publish it on the platform.

1. Convert your Word file with Kindle Create

Once your book’s Word file is properly formatted and ready to go, you can convert the Word file using Amazon’s newly launched Kindle Create. 

Here are the steps to complete the Kindle Create Setup:

  • Download Kindle Create here (Windows and MacOS versions are available)
  • Install Kindle Create (it takes only a few minutes).
  • If you're ready to convert your file to Kindle Create, when the window below displays, click the Finish button.
  • If you're not ready to convert your file, first click the Run Kindle Create checkbox (uncheck the box) and then click the Finish button. You can then open Kindle Create later, when you're ready to convert your file.

Screenshot Of Amazon Kindle Create Setup

To convert your Word file in Kindle Create, open it and follow the easy prompts:

  • After your file is uploaded, the following window will display.
  • Click the Continue button.

Screenshot Of Amazon Kdp Create Import Screen

  • On the next window, click the Get Started button. Be ready for some exciting things… You should see the following window, displaying your eBook:

Screenshot Of Amazon Kdp Ebook Screen

  • Choose the chapters you want included in your Kindle eBook (these will display in your Table of Contents), by checking or unchecking the Select boxes on the Suggested Chapter Titles pop-up window.
  • Click the Accept Selected button when you are finished.
  • On the left-hand Contents nav bar, you can quickly move to the relevant section (chapter) in your eBook, by clicking on the relevant thumbnail.
  • On the right-hand Text Properties nav bar, you can choose different formatting elements to use in your eBook. NOTE : Depending on the element you choose, the following message will display at the bottom of the Text Properties area: “Tables, Separator, Footnotes, Inline Images, and Lists cannot be edited or formatted in Kindle Create yet.” If there are any errors with any of the above, they will need to be fixed in your Word file, and you will then need to upload the file to Kindle Create again.
  • After you have selected the chapters you want included in your eBook, you should preview them.
  • Click the Preview button (top right of the window).
  • Note the Inspector window on the left…On the Inspector , you can change the device you want to preview your eBook in. The options are: Tablet (portrait and landscape), Phone, or Kindle E-reader.
  • You can choose a theme for your eBook, on the Theme option (right-hand nav bar). After you have chosen the theme, click the Select button.
  • You also have the option to add special elements to parts of your eBook, using the Common Elements feature.
  • When you're satisfied with the look of your eBook, you can publish it. This does not publish your eBook to Kindle Direct Publishing, but creates the .kpf file and you can upload that file to Kindle Direct Publishing, instead of your Word file.
  • If you click the Publish button, and your file has not been saved, a reminder window will display that your file has not yet been saved. Click the OK button on this window to first save your file.
  • After your file is saved, click the Publish button again (top right).
  • Choose the location where you want to save your .kpf file, and then click the Save button. Your saved file will now be available to upload to Kindle Direct Publishing.

2. Prepare to self-publish your book on Amazon KDP

Once your file is properly formatted and converted, you can self-publish your book to Amazon KDP.  Before you open the Kindle Direct Publishing site, be sure you have all the necessary files and information needed to complete the process. 

Here is the information you will need to self-publish your eBook on Amazon KDP:

  • Your formatted Word file or your Kindle Create file
  • Book title and subtitle (if you have a subtitle)
  • Your cover image (2,813 x 4,500 pixels)
  • Your book description (4,000 characters or less, including spaces)
  • Know the category for your book
  • Keywords (choose up to seven); double keyword phrases count as one keyword, e.g. self-publishing is considered one keyword
  • Your financial information (for your royalty payments)

Have the above available in a text file, then you can just copy and paste when you upload your information and files.

Got everything?

Let’s publish…

3. Start the steps to self-publish on KDP Publishing

Self-publishing a Kindle eBook on Kindle Direct Publishing is really easy. It takes a few minutes to fill in your details and upload your files. Then within 12 hours (for English language books), your Kindle eBook will be live in the Amazon Kindle Store.

When you have all the information and files discussed in the previous section, you’re ready to publish your eBook to Kindle Direct Publishing. 

There are two main steps when you upload your eBook files ( Amazon refers to these as steps, but they are more like sections ).

4. Enter your book details

If you already have an Amazon account, you can use your existing login details to log into Amazon KDP here .

After you log in to your Kindle Direct Publishing account, the main dashboard will display. If this is your first Kindle eBook, the dashboard will be empty.

Amzon Kdp Options

Step one: Click the Kindle eBook button on the left of the window.

NOTE: Open your text file where you have all your book details then you can just copy and paste your information.

Step two : Choose the language your book is written in from the Language drop-down menu.

Step three : Type your book title in the Book Title field.

Step four : If you have a subtitle , type this in the Subtitle field.

Step five : If your book is part of a series, type the series name and number in the relevant Series fields.

Step six : Enter the edition number in the Edition Number field. If this is the first edition, you can leave this blank.

Step seven : Type your name in the Primary Author or Contributor field.

Step eight : Type your First and Last name, and choose the Title of Author. If you don’t enter your name here, your name will not display on your book’s page on Amazon. If you want to add the name/s of people who also worked on (or contributed) to your book, click the Add Another button.

Step nine : You will be able to add the first and last name of any of the following:

  • Foreword (the name of the person who wrote the Foreword)
  • Illustrator
  • Introduction (if someone other than you wrote this)
  • Narrator (for audiobooks)
  • Photographer

NOTE : If someone else designed your book cover, you can add their name as the Illustrator .

Step ten : Copy and paste or type your book's description in the Description field.

Step eleven : If you are publishing a public domain book, read the What’s this? pop-up.

Step twelve : If you’re publishing an original work that you wrote, click the second radio button, indicating that it’s not a public domain work.

Step thirteen : The next section is your keywords. These are the terms (keywords) prospective buyers will use to find your eBook in the Kindle Store.

You can enter up to 7 keywords – double keyword phrases count as 1 keyword, e.g. self-publishing and self publishing is considered 1 keyword.

Step fourteen : Click the Set Categories button, and choose the category for your book.

Amazon defines a category as the section of the Kindle store where users can browse to find your book.

Screenshot Of Amazon Kdp Category Selection

Amazon has a whole labyrinth of categories and there is a science to choosing the right ones. To determine what categories to place your book in, we recommend a tool called Publisher Rocket .

Step fifteen : If your book has a specific age group (e.g. children’s books ), choose the Age Range using the relevant Minimum and Maximum drop-down buttons.

Similarly, choose the U.S. Grade Range if this is applicable to your book.

Step sixteen : If you are ready to go live with your eBook, click the first radio button ( I am ready to release my book now ).

Step seventeen : If you’re not ready, and want to make use of Amazon’s pre-order service , click the second radio button: “ Make my book available for pre-order.” 

5. Upload your files

If this is your first time self-publishing on Amazon KDP, I highly recommend that you read the Help icon message on the next window.

Step one : Choose the option you want by clicking the relevant radio button.

Step two : Click the Browse button and select the Word file (.doc or .docx), or the Kindle Create file (.kpf) of your eBook on your computer’s hard drive, and upload it.

A message will display after your book file is uploaded.

Kindle Direct Publishing Manuscript Screenshot

Step three : Click the Launch Cover Creator button.

A note on your book cover design : If you haven’t had a professional cover created, you can make use of the Cover Creator tool in Amazon KDP. Since having a professional, quality book cover is extremely important, especially as a self-published author, you should seriously consider hiring a professional book cover designer .

Step four : If you have your cover image available, click the Browse for image… button. Click the Save changes and continue button.

Step five : Click the Browse button, select your cover image on your computer’s hard drive, and upload it.

Step six : You now have the option of previewing your Kindle eBook.

If you created your .kpf file using Kindle Create, you can skip this step, as you will already have previewed your eBook.

Step seven : Click the Launch Previewer button.

If you’re satisfied with your eBook, you can click the Save and Continue button.

Alternatively, if you see something that’s not quite right, you can fix the error in your Word file, and re-upload your file again.

Once all of the tasks in Step 1 are completed, you can move on to…

6. Establish rights and pricing

The second part to publishing your book on Kindle Direct Publishing is focused on your author rights and the pricing of your book, as well as a few other logistics. 

This second section to self-publish on Amazon KDP includes these steps: 

  • Verify your publishing territories
  • Set your pricing and royalty (more on this below)
  • Kindle Matchbook
  • Kindle Book Lending
  • Optional – KDP Select Benefits

You can decide if you want to enroll in the KDP Select program after you weigh some of the pros and cons. 

What are the benefits of KDP Select?

  • You earn higher royalties
  • You maximize your book’s sales potential
  • You can reach a new (wider) audience

You have the option to select only certain territories to sell your book in, but I advise you to choose Worldwide rights (why leave money on the table, right?).

Click the relevant ( Worldwide rights – all territories ) radio button.

7. Set your book’s price on Amazon KDP

Amazon recently rolled out its new service, KDP Pricing Support , which at the time of writing this article, is in beta. However, you can check to see what other books similar to yours are priced at.

For example, the following was presented for one of my books:

Amazon KDP Pricing Support (Beta): “Based on historic data for KDP books similar to Never Give Up! , a list price of $2.99 (USD) in a 70% royalty plan maximizes author earnings.”

  • Click the View Service button to check the pricing for other books similar to yours.
  • At the bottom of the graph, you have the option of accepting the suggested price, or declining it, and returning to the page you were on.
  • If you don’t accept the suggested price, you will return to the Rights and Pricing page, and you will need to enter your List Price manually.
  • Scroll down, view all the currency prices, and check the exclusions.
  • Book Lending allows your customers to lend your book to friends and family, after they have purchased it, for a period of 14 days.
  • If you are satisfied with everything, you can click the Save and Publish button. If you’re not ready to publish your eBook, click the Save as Draft button.

On your dashboard, you will see that the status of your eBook is now In Review , and you cannot access your book details.

That’s it – your book is now uploaded and published to Amazon KDP. 

Congratulations – you’re now a self-published author on Amazon KDP! 

Your Kindle eBook is now published to Kindle Direct Publishing. It will take about 12 hours (if your book is in English) to be live in the Kindle store (about 48 hours for non-English books).

After everything is uploaded to Kindle Direct Publishing, you will receive an email confirming that your book is available in the Kindle Store.

The next step is to go forth and start optimizing your Amazon Author Central Page.

It doesn’t matter how many books I self-publish, this is always exciting – waiting to receive the email. I suggest reading the mail, and even checking out the links within the mail. Then, order your author copy on Amazon KDP.

How to order author copies on Amazon KDP

Now that you're a published author, it's time to order author copies on Amazon KDP and have your paperback book sent directly to you.

Your book must be in the “Live” status in order for it to be eligible as an author copy, so make sure it's “Live” in Kindle Direct Publishing first.

Once it's “Live,” follow the process listed below.

Here are the steps to order author copies on Kindle Direct Publishing:

  • Go to your “Bookshelf” and locate the paperback you want to order a copy of.
  • Click on the “Order Author Copies” link in the menu (it looks like this: …)
  • Enter how many copies of your book that you want to order.
  • From the drop-down menu, the Amazon marketplace closest to your shipping address.
  • Click “Proceed to Checkout.”
  • In your Amazon shopping cart , complete your order.
  • Your book copies will be printed and shipped to you.

It's a wonderful feeling to add your printed book copy to your own personal bookshelf!

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That's it – you're done! While it was a lot of steps and information to go through, I told you it wasn't rocket science.

Now that your book is uploaded to Amazon KDP, it's time to start marketing on sites like BookBub to attract some readers from around the world!

What questions do you still have about Amazon KDP?

amazon kdp book reviews

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Self-Publishing On Amazon: Pros and Cons of Using KDP

Amazon's KDP Platform continues to turn ordinary everyday people into best-selling authors, homeowners, and full-time travelers, all from self-published book sales and royalties. But how do you know if this is the right path for you? Read on as we tackle the fine print in this blog, AKA all the pros and cons of self-publishing on Amazon.

Self-Publishing On Amazon: Pros and Cons of Using KDP

Under the traditional publishing model, authors would put months or even years of work into their manuscripts without any guarantee that the work would actually be published. This is no longer the case. Thanks to the internet, anyone with a laptop and Wi-Fi can produce helpful quality content, publish their work for free, get paid directly for their work, and reach a massive global audience. Factor in how quickly artificial intelligence can speed up the outlining and writing process, and there's no reason not to get started on your publishing journey today.

Let's take a look at the pros and cons of becoming a self-published author and getting your book on Amazon through the lens of actual self-published authors who started their writing journey by reading a blog post just like this one.

Note: If you want to find out how thousands of happy folks discovered how to leverage Amazon's publishing platform to earn true income on virtually autopilot every month, sign up for our free webinar . We'll show you the ins and outs of publishing on Amazon to start earning money online.

Self-publishing on KDP

Comparing Amazon KDP and Traditional Publishing

If you're considering publishing a book, you have two main options: self-publishing or traditional publishing. One is a golden ticket to publish a book on your own terms; the other is a winding road that just might get you lost.

One of the most popular self-publishing platforms is Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). Let's compare self-publishing and traditional publishing to help you decide which option is best for you.

With traditional publishing, you'll be working with a publishing house and a literary agent who will have a say in the editing, cover design, and distribution of your book. While they will also provide guidance and support, you'll ultimately have less control over the final product.

With Amazon KDP, you have complete control over the entire publishing process. You can create your own cover design , formatting, and pricing, for example. You'll also have the final say regarding all editorial decisions. 

Even after you get your book published, you can go back and submit a new manuscript as you build reviews and gather feedback from your readers. This just isn't possible if you choose to publish through the traditional route.

One of the biggest advantages of self-publishing on Amazon KDP is the higher royalties. With traditional publishing, authors typically receive royalties of around 10% of the book's price (if that). With Amazon KDP, authors can receive up to 70% of the book's price, depending on factors such as the book's price and the country it's sold in.

These royalties are directly deposited to your bank account each month, whether you're writing and publishing new books or not. That's the definition of a true passive income.

To help you accurately estimate your potential earnings, we offer a Kindle Direct Publishing royalty calculator . This useful tool allows you to input different variables like your book’s price and number of pages, providing a clearer insight into your expected royalties.

Distribution

Traditional publishing houses have established relationships with bookstores and other distributors, which can make it easier to get your book into physical stores. However, self-publishing on Amazon KDP gives you access to Amazon's massive distribution network, which can help you reach a wider audience. You also have the chance to publish your book in several formats, which equates to more happy readers and more money in your pocket. 

Pros of Self-Publishing on Amazon

Amazon is highly respected in the publishing world, but every self-publishing platform has its advantages and disadvantages. Here's a list of pros that come with Amazon self-publishing to help you make sure you're making the right decision.

Free to Use

The KDP platform is completely free to use, which means you can upload and publish your book on Amazon without any upfront costs . This is a significant advantage for new authors who want to test the waters before investing money in their publishing venture.

The platform will take a small portion of your book sales to cover printing costs, but the platform is upfront about these costs ahead of time and lets you choose which types of paper or what format you'd like to sell the book in, allowing you to minimize the printing costs and maximize your take-home royalties. You also get to price your Kindle book however you'd like and are free to change your mind or update the price whenever you’d like. 

Creative Control

With KDP, you retain complete creative control over your book, author brand, and images. You can create your own book cover , formatting, and layout and make changes to your book at any time. This means you can experiment with different book covers or book descriptions to see what resonates the most with readers.

Higher Royalties

KDP offers higher royalties than traditional publishing. You can earn up to 70% in royalties for eBooks priced between $2.99 and $9.99. This means you can earn more money per book sold than you would with a traditional publisher, and the royalty percentage is guaranteed.

Kindle Unlimited

KDP Select is a program that gives readers access to Kindle Unlimited, a subscription service that allows them to read an unlimited number of digital books from a growing library for a monthly fee. By enrolling your book in KDP Select , you can earn a share of the Kindle Unlimited fund in addition to your paperback, hardcover, and eBook sales, which can increase your monthly revenue.

Print-on-Demand

KDP offers print-on-demand (POD) services, which means you can sell paperback copies of your book without having to print a large quantity upfront, as traditional publishers may require. This is a great option for authors who want to offer a physical copy of their book to readers.

With this print-on-demand service already built into the platform, you'll never have to worry about delivery costs or inventory. All you need to focus on is publishing and meeting the demands of your target audience.

Global Audience

As one of the biggest online retailers, Amazon has a global reach. This means that without having to do anything extra, your book can potentially reach readers all over the world. You might have a big audience of target readers in Japan or Germany that you never would have realized!

Book Promotion

KDP offers several marketing tools and book promotion tools, such as Kindle Countdown Deals and Amazon Kindle Advertising , which can help you increase your book's exposure and boost sales. You can also choose relevant categories and keywords to help readers find your book in the online market. You retain full control over your monthly budget and Amazon book marketing strategy .

Sometimes, Amazon will even pick books to offer exclusive deals for, and although these deals might affect the list price, they do NOT affect the royalties you're entitled to. Amazon WANTS you to succeed and sell more books, so they constantly use their algorithms to help boost author sales. 

amazon kdp book reviews

Cons of Self-Publishing on Amazon

While self-publishing on Amazon can be a great option for many authors, it's not for everybody. Here are some things to consider when using KDP:

Exclusivity Clause

When you enroll in KDP Select, you must agree to an exclusivity clause that requires you to sell your eBook exclusively through Amazon. This means that you cannot sell your eBook on any other platform, including your own website or other online retailers and apps like through the Google Play store. This can limit your potential audience and revenue streams.

The benefits of using KDP Select are that you get to essentially promote your book for free, saving you time and money on marketing, and more and more readers are signing up for this membership by the day. 

Upfront Costs

While it is free to publish your eBook on KDP, there may be upfront costs associated with self-publishing on Amazon depending on which tasks you'd like to outsource. These can include editing, cover design, formatting, and marketing expenses.

If you're confident in your own skills or have the time to sharpen them a little bit, then this isn't a problem!

Competition

With millions of eBooks available on Amazon, competition can be fierce. Depending on which niche you’re in, it can be difficult to stand out among the crowd and get your book noticed by readers. You might need to invest time and effort into marketing and promoting your book to increase your chances of success.

The good news is that most self-published authors have no problem using Amazon's marketing tools to reach new readers, and we teach our students exactly how to do it. 

Paid Only Reviews

One of the biggest cons of self-publishing on KDP is that Amazon has limited the ability to review your book to only those readers who paid for the book. This can be frustrating when trying to build up a base of solid reviews and market your books, but there are ways to get visibility outside of the Amazon platform without breaking any of their terms and conditions. 

We teach our students how to do this ethically and efficiently.

Real-Life Stories of Successful Authors Who Publish on Amazon

People around the world are learning they can tap into these online platforms and the power of KDP to launch an online publishing business without dealing with literary agents or traditional publishers. But educating yourself is a big part of the process.

That’s why we created our AI Publishing Academy (AIA), a Kindle self-publishing course —to teach people just like you that they can become an author and make money from self-publishing online.

Here are some testimonials from rock-star students of our Amazon publishing webinar. Some of them saw massive success in less than 90 days!

“Thank you so much, AIA. You gave me the push to complete my book! Just finished the workshop! My book ‘What’s Wrong with American High School’ has been the #1 new release in the ‘high school’ category of Kindle and was the #12 bestseller in the high school category last night!” – Ramya N

“Made my first money with my ‘guaranteed profits’ zero cost book, and my first real book just finished being written and will launch soon!” – Jai K

“Went through your workshop and created a book. I checked KDP and got about $150+ in 3 days for it. Small gains but still a win for a book that cost me $0 and a few hours of my time.” – Jasmine

“I did the guarantee profit workshop last month. Wrote my ebook and didn’t pay for anything . I made a profit today! I know it’s not as big as most income reports, but I’m still proud of my accomplishment. Currently turning it into an audiobook.” – Angel

“This was my usual month in 2021 [ $10,902.71 ]. I can’t thank you enough… You are awesome, and your Audiobook Income Academy is definitely the Special One. I am a self-education geek and former coaching marketing specialist, so believe me, I know what I am talking about. You changed my life...It’s not only about the money, though… We closed our debts, made a perfect room for our kids, and helped our family members and friends. I had vision correction surgery on both eyes, and now I can see without glasses after 28 years!!! So, I could only thank you and hope this post will inspire AIA students to follow the course and find their way to success.” – Kostya C.

These people started with no experience writing a book . Let that sink in. If they can do it, so can you. You don’t need a college degree in business to get started. All it takes is the motivation to ditch the 9-to-5 or diversify your income streams and try something new.

Our free workshop will teach you step-by-step how to make money through Amazon’s KDP. You’ll also be part of a group of other self-publishers, all working toward the same goals.

Start Your Self-Publishing Journey Today!

Now that your eyes have been opened to the pros and cons of using Amazon’s KDP, you have a choice to make. Do you want to go the historical route and publish traditionally or self-publish?

Would you rather...

  • Deal with an old-fashioned publishing house that takes so long to publish your book that it’s like watching paint dry or control your own schedule?
  • Be forced to listen to the mass-market opinions of publishing executives when it comes to your book cover or have complete artistic flexibility?
  • Let the publishing houses dictate your title and ideas, or publish as many books as you'd like on the topics that interest you?
  • Get royalty percentages that are so small you need a microscope to see them or watch your passive income build up to a full-time income (or even more)?
  • Try to figure everything out on your own or join a community of everyday people who have published books time and again to create a new life for themselves?

Maybe it’s time to try something new.

Sign up today for our free webinar , and you'll have a library of self-published books making money for you in no time.

We'll coach and guide you through every step of the way. 

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The Pros And Cons Of Amazon KDP Select Exclusivity For New Authors

Amazon KDP Select Pros and Cons

What are the KDP Select pros and cons? Enrolling in Amazon KDP Select means you must grant exclusive selling rights to Amazon for your Kindle ebook version.

Before I start my Kindle Direct Publishing review (KDP), you need to know that you have two options.

You can use the standard Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) and then optionally enroll in KDP Select.

Although only one word is different, it makes an enormous difference in how you can publish, promote, and sell your Kindle ebook .

What is the difference between KDP and KDP Select?

There are no restrictions when you publish a Kindle ebook or a print-on-demand paperback with Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP).

You can sell your ebooks anywhere you like with other ebook retailers or from social media and your website.

Some call this open-publishing. It is the model most traditional publishing houses use. It allows you to market, promote, and sell your ebooks or books anywhere you wish.

You can use any book promotion tools you like, such as free ebooks, giveaways, or contest prizes for any version of your ebook.

You can self-publish your books on Amazon KDP and also independently publish with Draft2Digital, Smashwords, or any other self-publishing service . Then you can have your ebooks on sale with any other online ebook retailer.

With Amazon KDP, there are no restrictions on any versions of your book.

You are free to make your ebook available for sale on all Amazon Kindle stores, as well as any other ebook retailer such as Apple, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, plus many more.

There are no restrictions on your list price other than KDP’s minimum ebook price of $0.99. But if you want to, you can offer your ebook for free, in part or in full, on any retailer or your website or blog.

If you enroll in Amazon KDP Select , there are several restrictions . There are many considerations you need to think about before you click one little tick box and enroll for 90 days when you publish your ebook from your KDP Bookshelf.

Before you do, you should consider the following self-publishing on Amazon pros and cons. Then you can decide which selection is best for you and your e book sales.

Amazon KDP Select pros and cons to consider

Major pros of kdp select.

KDP Select is not a publishing choice. It is a book promotion choice you can make.

Here are some of the benefits of the program.

A small potential increase in royalties because your book will be eligible for 70% royalty earnings on sales made to customers in Brazil, Japan, India, and Mexico.

Once you upload and publish your ebook and enroll your book in KDP Select, your book  will be automatically available to Amazon Kindle readers who are subscribed to Kindle Unlimited (KU) in the US, UK, Germany, and France.

With your ebooks in Kindle Unlimited, you will earn royalties under the Kindle Edition Normalized Pages (KENP)  program.

You will be paid royalties from the Select Global Fund based on the number of pages customers read.

But the royalty rate is usually lower than what you would receive for regular Kindle ebook sales to customers.

You can participate in Kindle Countdown Deals.

You can offer your ebook for free on Amazon stores for 5 days in each 90-day enrollment period.

This can help you with your book promotion.

You don’t have to be concerned with maintaining different versions of your manuscript for different publishing platforms because your ebook is exclusively available for sale on Amazon.

The enrollment period is for only 90 days.

So you can opt out very easily if you change your mind.

Major Cons of KDP Select

You cannot publish or offer your Kindle ebook title for sale with any other retailer or publishing service provider. Amazon demands a strict 100% exclusivity to your ebook title.

You cannot offer more than 10% of your ebook’s content anywhere. This even includes social media and your own website or blog.

You cannot offer your ebook for free in any form or on any other platform. You can only do it on Amazon stores during your 5 free ebook days. These are part of your 90 days Amazon KDP Select enrollment.

Readers and book buyers who use retailers other than Amazon will not be able to purchase your ebook.

You will be at the whim of any changes Amazon could make to the program or rules during your enrollment period.

If you are already open-published, you will have to completely remove your ebooks from sale from all other ebook retailers.

Removing your books listed on other ebook retailers can be a long and tedious process. Some retailers can be slow to act on an aggregator’s request to remove your ebooks.

Amazon KDP reviews other online retailers for new titles enrolled in Select. If it finds your title on another retailer, you will receive a strongly worded warning email.

If you have this problem, you will have to contact your aggregator or the ebook retailer direct to try to solve the problem as quickly as possible. Otherwise, your ebook could be removed from Select, or worse, your account could be suspended.

Your earnings from Kindle Unlimited will be from a monthly pot determined by Amazon .

You will have no control at all over the pricing and royalty return for your ebook on Kindle Unlimited (KU). But you will still receive 70% royalty for ebook sales.

Scammers are still rife on KU. As soon as Amazon closes one door, the scammers find another way to profit. At the same time, it can cast a shadow over reputable authors.

Sometimes, Amazon’s efforts to solve the problem of scammers have resulted in legitimate Amazon KDP Select authors being accidentally penalized. Or worse, having their titles removed or their KDP account suspended.

This was well reported when authors had their books removed from sale for putting their table of contents at the end of the book instead of at the front.

You have all your eggs in one basket and cannot exit for 3 months.

If you enroll in KDP Select, your enrollment will automatically renew for a further 90 days.

Be alert and uncheck the auto-renew tick box well before the next renewal date if you do not want to continue.

It’s your choice

If you understand the KDP Select pros and cons of self-publishing ebooks on Amazon, you can make an informed decision.

It’s a choice between exclusive or unrestricted to suit your ebook marketing plan.

For some authors, Amazon KDP Select with Kindle Unlimited is a good choice. It can work well for a new title. It also makes ebook marketing easier.

You only have one sales channel that you need to promote, and you can use Amazon keywords and categories to boost your sales chances.

Amazon has the largest ebook market share by a long-distance due in part to the popularity of the Kindle device.

If you want a simple way of self-publishing and selling your ebook title, KDP Select is a quick, easy, and effective way to do so. Many Kindle authors choose this option.

One other issue to understand, though, is that you cannot opt-out of Kindle Unlimited.

If you want to avoid a reduced royalty rate from KU subscription readers, then KDP Select is definitely not for you.

But be aware that Amazon is a huge company.

If you have a problem or need assistance, it can often take some time to get help. Working to solve issues with KDP support can sometimes be slow and frustrating.

If you want your ebook to be available to potential readers on other retailers and in countries where Amazon Kindle does not have a store, you might want to think about open-publishing with Smashwords or Draft2Digital .

Another advantage of going wide is that you can experiment. Perhaps you would like to try a different cover design or change your book description on other retailers.

Also, you are in full control of your ebook promotion, promotional tools, and selling prices.

If you want control of your publishing, you need to consider the benefits of going wider with KDP and open publishing.

Every self-publishing author and small press has to make the decision to use KDP Select. It will be based on whether it will deliver a definite sales and earnings benefit.

For others, such as dedicated  indie authors,  publishing independence is a big issue. So granting exclusivity is a step too far.

If you are new to self-publishing, you should read the terms and conditions of KDP Select . Then do your research before deciding if KDP Select serves your publishing needs appropriately.

As long as you understand the KDP Select pros and cons, you can make the best choice for you and your publishing needs.

Related reading: Can You Opt Out Of KENP Kindle Unlimited With KDP Select?

About The Author

Avatar for Derek Haines

Derek Haines

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Amazon KDP PPC Advertising Is Quite Awful, Yet Very Useful

84 thoughts on “the pros and cons of amazon kdp select exclusivity for new authors”.

Avatar for Rodney King

How to I cancel my KENP membership on Amazon. I want to remain enrolled in Kindle Select but no longer wish to be enrolled in KENP, as I believe it depresses my Kindle and hard-copy sales..

Avatar for Derek Haines

You can’t cancel KENP while you are enrolled in KDP Select. The only way to exit Kindle Unlimited and KENP earnings is to cancel your enrollment in KDP Select.

Avatar for Sam Hayes

Hi Derek, I’m considering publishing my ebook with KDP but I have one question: Is there a way to opt out of Print-On-Demand feature? I have no interest in POD and only wish to publish the ebook as I already have a supply of books. In reading the terms of the agreement, Amazon states that I grant them the right to print my books on demand, which I won’t allow. If there is a way to only agree to the ebook version please let me know. Thanks.

You don’t need to opt-out of POD with Amazon KDP. Simply don’t publish in POD. Publish your ebook only, and all is fine.

Avatar for Doreen

I will soon be ready to publish my eBook. I have two questions at the moment: 1: if I prepare my content in pdf format can I upload it to KDP? I prepare the content using Canva and then publish to pdf. [From what I have just read I have decided Not to use the Select version].

2: Will using KDP allow me to add hyperlinks in my content?

You can use PDF for an ebook, Doreen according to KDP help: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G200634390

But I would recommend using docx or epub for better results.

Yes, you can add hyperlinks to an ebook. But I’m not sure they would work in a PDF file. Again, better to use docx or epub.

Thank you. One further issue:

Can I use PowerPoint to supply the ebook content to KDP?

I ask this because I am using Canva to develop the content and I have noticed that I can publish from Canva to PowerPoint. In fact I have tried it and it works and also allows me to add in my hyperlinks. I dont see where Canva allows me to publish to Word. I wouldn’t want to do this anyway because of the pictures, colours, and page enhancements that Canva allows me to use which I don’t think would translate very well in Word.

Simple answer. No, you can’t use a Powerpoint file to publish on KDP.

Avatar for Phil Fretwell

I’m getting ready to publish a book, and have an audio version on my website of chapter 1. If I pick KDP Select, will this audio version of chapter 1 fall under the “no more than 10%” rule?

I don’t believe so, Phil. KDP Select restrictions only apply to ebooks. But it might be worth a check with KDP support, just to be sure.

Avatar for Noemia & Lane Poole

Hi, We are new to KDP. We just translated a book written by our pastor to Portuguese. It seems that most markets give 70% for eBooks, but Brazil only gives 35%. We are considering KDP Select to increase our royalty to 70% for Brazil. We have also published a paperback translation on KDP for the same book. Does enrollment in KDP Select place any restrictions on our paperback edition? Also, do you know if KDP publishes paperback books in Brazil? Thanks, Noemia and Lane

No, KDP Select does not affect print books. It’s only for ebooks.

As for paperback sales to Brazil, I’m not sure. Perhaps you should contact KDP support and ask.

Hi Derek, Thank you for your response. This information is very helpful. Noemia and Lane

Avatar for Mark King

In the sign up process; giving bank information, SS # a safe process? Should I have any concerns with giving them this. I understand it is for tax and deposit but skeptical of everything these days. This is my first attempt at this. Many questions. Thanks for your insight on the different KDP accounts

Amazon needs your bank information to pay you for your book sales. So yes, it’s necessary. Amazon pays into my bank account every month and I have had no problems at all over many years.

Avatar for Karen Copeland

I have published three books with Amazon and the paperback versions were always available on ‘Amazon.ca’ within 24-48 hours. However, with my most recent book, on the ‘Amazon.ca’ website it is listed at “Temporarily out of Stock”. When I questioned Amazon, they first told me it normally takes 5-7 days to be available. Well, after 8 days of waiting, I queried again and was told that it would take 30 days. I was also told that they could not guarantee that my book would be available on their Global Store site.

While on the ‘Amazon.ca’ site, I noticed that many books are also listed as “Temporarily out of Stock” and wondered what is going on. I realize that your advice is targeted mainly toward KDP versus KDP Select, but wondered if you might happen to know what might be causing this delay in publication.

I find that Amazon is quite helpful if you have issues with book formatting etc. but they have been quite unhelpful on this issue. I get the feeling they’ve changed their policy on foreign authors but don’t want to come right out and say it.

Thank you so much in advance!

I’m sorry Karen, but I can’t really help you with this issue. It sounds like a specific problem with ‘Amazon.ca’ but I’m not familiar with how it works compared to the US site. I know there are differences in each region, and with Amazon UK in particular. All I can suggest is keep in touch with Amazon, and hopefully, it will get its act together for you.

Avatar for KAREN COPELAND

Derek, thank you for getting back to me so quickly. I really appreciate it.

Avatar for Meredith

Thank you for this article. Amazon “suppressed” my ebook so I just cancelled the enrollment in KDP Select. It expires in a month. That means after the expiration date of the KDP Select period, then I can then sell my ebook on my website and with the same ISBN?

Yes. Once your KDP Select enrollment expires, you are free to sell your ebook anywhere.

Avatar for Jennifer Hill

Can I build a facebook page to promote my books if I am in KDP Select? I have paperback and ebook. I would like to provide the link to my Author page on Facebook. Is that acceptable under the terms of KDP Select. I would not be posting any content, just cover photos and links.

KDP Select only affects your ebook. But as long as you use “Checkout to another website,” you will have no problem at all.

Avatar for Steve

Great information! You warned that you cannot opt out of Kindle Unlimited. Is that a part of Select only and what are the ramifications of not being able to opt out of Kindle Unlimited? Thank you!

Avatar for Hogarthkramer@gmail.com

Are there file size constraints with select? I’m writing non-fiction with a lot of photos and the file size will likely be well above average.

You can have a large file size. But be careful. You will be charged a delivery fee by Amazon which will reduce your earnings on each ebook sale.

Avatar for Lona Metzner

L.C.Metzner My historical work is complete. I wish to Open Publish on KDP. Would like to be contacted by KDP reps. Contact info : lonametzner at verizon.net

I’m self-publishing, not looking for a publisher. My historical work provides the reader the Prehistory of Planet Earth and the life lived upon it, the Ice Ages, the Upper and Lower Paleolithic eras, the Neolithic era, the Bronze and Iron Ages, the early civilization of Sumer (Iraq), Babylon, Egypt, and Chinese, Indian, African, Minoan and Mycenean civilization, and Meso-American civilization. It provides the world’s human beings with their Human History from the beginning of History and on into our modern era. My manuscript contains 2,390 pages, 1,119,000 words. And I’m too limited on space here to adequately describe this complete, comprehensive Human History. My fully proofread, fully edited manuscript is ready to be launched. (The early Greeks and Etruscans, the Roman Republic, the Roman Empire and all the Roman Emperors, the Egyptian Pharaohs, beginning with Menes (3150 – 3050 BC) and ending with the last Egyptian Pharaoh, Queen Cleopatra VII, who, along with Mark Antony committed suicide in 30 BC. The Fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476, and the Fall of Byzantium (the Eastern Roman Empire) on Tuesday, May 29, 1453, when Ottoman Sultan Mehmet entered Constantinople and turned the main cathedral, St Sophia, into a Muslim mosque. I could go on, but I believe you get the idea……

Avatar for Jim Rocki

I published my ebook through amazon.com KDP Select program. I know I fall under the 90 day restriction for my ebook.

However, can I publish my book in Paperback with another publisher while enrolled in KDP Select?

KDP Select doesn’t affect print books.

Avatar for cupcakeninja

so…question. First off, im thinking of publishing my crack fic on kindle. Reason why is I was contacted by someone at Webnovel.com saying they enjoyed it and wanted to contract it. Thing is, i hear they can “suggest” what i write, hire someone else to write it for me if i dont comply, have the rights to sell the story anywhere they want, delay my pay up to 3 months, and if the contract is terminated i have to pay back all earnings i made during the contract. So not ideal. Which is why im here. Now, for my question, i want to know if i can put only a “first volume” on kindle? I read here that i cant sell or publish anywhere else while under contract, but what extent does that apply to? Does the exclusivity apply to the “story” or the “title”? And if only the latter, can i continue the latter volumes under different titles, therefore not having the entire story under the exclusivity deal? I want old readers to be able to continue the story for free as i write it, while after finishing a volume put it up on kindle and only have new readers pay if they want to.

It’ll be essentially the same “series” but different “books.” So if i go with kindle does it mean they get exclusivity to the whole story or just whatever “book” i chose?

KDP Select exclusivity only applies the individual ebook title. It does not apply to a series unless you enrol each book.

Avatar for Etete Ufot

Can i publish two or more e-books at a time on KDP select? If so, will my royalties be treated separately?

Avatar for Sunny

Excellent article! Useful info provided in a concise, easy-to-understand text. Thank you.

Avatar for Becca

I think this was slightly touched on already but I need clarification. I’ve had the WORSE time getting KDP to accept my paperback layout. Continually having to make changes to margins over and over. They accepted the ebook version right away. My question is, can I have my paperback version printed by a different publisher? If so, which one would you recommend? I no longer am interested in Amazon.

You could try Lulu or Blurb.

Avatar for Barron

Hello, I have a question and hope someone may help me. I am ready to upload a book written by myself on Amazon KDPS. I wonder if I have chosen to use KDP Select, may I also have the freedom to publish my book in form of paper if in case a publisher wold like to publish it in normal printed book? Am I only supposed to give the copyright of e-book to Amazon KDPS but not other copyrights?

KDP Select does not affect your print book version. You are free to do as you wish. As for your ebook, you are only granting exclusive sales right to Amazon for 90 days. Amazon does not ask for any other rights to your book. When your 90 day period expires, you are free to re-enrol or leave the exclusivity. If you choose to leave, you are then free to do whatever you please with your ebook.

Avatar for erica walters

Am I able to promote with select on my website that leads buyers to the amazon link?

Yes, of course, you can.

Avatar for Gordon Buttars

I am looking into KDP and went to their website and logged in using my Amazon account. I ended up at the agreement terms. As I read through it, it sounded like the Select terms described in this post. How do I know If I’m getting KDP or KDPS without getting tricked into Select?

You won’t get tricked, Gordon. When you publish with KDP, there will be a very clear checkbox to enrol in KDP Select. Just don’t click the box that says, Enroll.

Avatar for JB Rowley

‘You cannot offer your book for free in any form or on any other platform.’ Just seeking a clarification with this one. I thought KDP Select authors were permitted to offer free copies of their ebooks in some circumstances such as for review purposes and as promo incentives. Perhaps I am wrong about that?

Yes, you can send copies of your ebook direct to reviewers. But you can’t offer more than 10% of your ebook online. This would include promotions on your website or a book promotion site.

Avatar for Shonah

Hi, I’m very new to all of this and opted for KDP Select while I learned the ropes. I’m not sorry about this as it gave me breathing space which I desperately needed. I have a very important question, once I opt out of KDP Select, will my book automatically be enrolled in KDP Direct?

Yes, Shonah. When you opt out of KDP Select, your book returns automatically to the normal KDP listing.

Avatar for Vic

Can you publish a box set on Kindle Select even though the books included are published wide?

I can’t say for sure, Vic. It used to work, but I haven’t tried for some time now.

But in my case, I combined two novellas into one new book, so it is not quite the same as a boxed set.

Avatar for Laura Cole

Relevant info, thanks! I wasn’t aware that KDP Select was an auto-renewal program. I must have agreed to it and forgotten. Now I’m stuck until June 16 before I can go to Draft2Digital, but that’s fine; the book needs a new cover anyway.

BTW, great website. I love the look and ease of navigation.

Avatar for Sourav Sahay

Apart from sharing the royalty, do I have to pay anything to anyone if I opt for KDP/KDP Select?

Avatar for Stephanie Orsini

Not a dime.

Avatar for DonM

More reasons from DonM: 1) I had people order books from AMZN in Jan 2019. They received books w/ covers from 2.2 yrs ago. 2) I had people order books from AMZN in Jan 2019. They received AN OLD INTERIOR file. 3) I had a significant deposit in Dec 2018. It STILL hasn’t appeared on my KDP account page, 40d later, and a several “where is the deposit” info please emails. 4) Emails go unanswered for days at a time.

I will say one nice thing -> depending on how you work through the “help” page, you can find a “call me” button. I did actually receive a phone call, talked to someone who sounded over seas, and when he could not answer my question he did route me to the state side support queue. I did end up talking to at least a knowledgable person in one of the Carolina’s (I asked her, she was cololcated w/ the print facility on the east coast).

Avatar for Dick McBain

This is the worst of the worst. I have been using CreateSpace for ten years without a problem, and now that they have so called merged with KDP, it is a nightmare. I have tried for weeks to get several covers through their poor system, and still to no avail. When an earlier one went through, it was skewed terribly, and so was the interior pdf file. I have gone to Ingram Spark.

Avatar for Liam Manning

Hi. I’d like to reiterate the question from Debra W. If I leave KDP Select after the 90 day period, are all book rights restored to me? Many thanks.

You don’t lose your book rights to KDP Select, Liam. Only the right to sell your book anywhere other than Amazon. Once you are out of KDP Select, you are free to sell your book using other retailers.

Reasons not to use KDP from personal experience: 1) 60 day delay imposed on former CreateSpace authors who were migrated, while CS had a 30d royalty payment delay 2) KDP has shipped my book with an old cover on multiple occasions via Amazon 3) Authors cannot create a “branded cover” and sell the book themselves, books must be published through Amazon, which effectively eliminated this personal revenue stream 4) KDP reporting has little to no granularity past a 90d threshold.

Avatar for Debra W.

So if we try “Select” for 3 months, and then leave, we retain all rights? Sounds like zero downside to giving it a try for a newbie like myself. Also, if we set up our manuscript for paperback printing is the Kindle e-book different formatting that I myself need to take care of? Thank you! Debra

Avatar for Ruth Rathband

I have gone wide with publishing my debut novel, after a year exclusively with Amazon. However, I am also writing a series in a different genre and am wondering about trying this exclusively with Amazon in the first instance whilst still leaving my first novel wide. Can I do this?

Yes, you can do that. Trying exclusive for 90 days is often a good idea for a new title. It might help get you some reviews and KU page reads.

Avatar for Zaina

The paperback my friend and I wrote has two authors. Is there an option to include both authors names on KDP?

Yes, you can add two authors on KDP.

Avatar for Murry Page

Since Kindle Select applies only to eBooks, how does Amazon know that a purchaser that downloads a book is from Mexico or any other country? My market is primarily Mexico for English speaking foreign nationals. The do not have an .mx email address

Amazon tracks sales and downloads using geo-targeting. As there is an Amazon site for Mexico, it is very easy. If there is no Amazon site for a country, sales are recorded to Amazon.com. Or in some cases, like in Europe, to the nearest site.

Avatar for L. M. Lacee

Quite informative although this seems incorrect where you state. “so you will have no control at all over your pricing for your ebook on KU”

Being in Kindle Unlimited for my Dragon’s Gap series I have found I have all the control I desire over the pricing of my books. I assume everyone on KU have the same freedom to change their books pricing as it suits them also.

You can change your ebook price in KDP but that doesn’t control your KU royalty. That depends on how much Amazon allocates to the KU pot each month. But yes, your ebook price will show to KU readers, but that is not what they will pay to read your book.

Avatar for R. L. Link

I have three books that I published with CreateSpace and they are selling in paperback and Kindle format on Amazon. First of all, I think that Amazon and CreateSpace treats their authors pretty well. I have no complaints. But regardless how one feels about Amazon, you can play with them, or starve trying to sell your books elsewhere, Amazon is the biggest outlet for selling books by far and away. I just enrolled in Kindle select and it has been going well. People are reading a lot of my pages. I will have to wait and see how much of the pot I get before I know how profitable it is, but getting people to read my books is the name of the game. I did not enroll right away when I first started publishing my books and held out for many of the reasons that the author has stated, but in the real world most of them were not keeping me from selling books. Anyway, ninety days is worth a try for me. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll go back to how I was doing it before.

Avatar for Gem Cano

Thank you for this article! Very helpful! KDP has some terms written upon signing up, but they were so vague and terse!

Avatar for Madhumita

Hi I have published my first book recently it’s doing fine so far but I wish to keep my book free on kindle how should go about it . Also can I publish my already published book through Amazon kindle ?

No, you can’t keep your ebook free on Kindle. When you enrol in KDP Select, you can only offer your ebook for free for five days during each 90 day enrollment period. As for a previously published book, it can be published again on Amazon Kindle. But you must be sure that you have all the necessary rights to do so.

Avatar for Ssemugoma Francisco

In cases where the author has no Bank Account, (e.g. When the author comes from a 3rd world country like Uganda in which the Banks therein are not approved) does KDP uses Western Union or Paypal as a means of payment to the author?

Avatar for Ozellis Miller

I have three books on amazon and I know there selling because I had people buy them right in front of me but still haven’t seen a single payment yet? To whom it may concern

Ozellis Miller

Have you checked your sales reports on your KDP dashboard?

Avatar for Bev Robitai

If you can’t give an acceptable bank account number, Amazon accrues your royalties until they reach $100 US (or equivalent) then they post you a check. By snail mail. Madness, but there you go. They haven’t yet taken to using Paypal like any intelligent international company would.

Avatar for gudul babu

Can I sell my hard copy elsewhere after selecting kindle select?

Yes, you can. KDP Select only applies to Kindle ebooks.

Thanks a lot man for your pronto reply :), I have one more question though, the 90 days period you have mentioned, after that period can I change it back to normal KDP and then publish it on other platforms?

Yes, you certainly can.

Also, should I remove those contents from my blogs as well? or its ok to keep them online?

With KDP Select, you are restricted to having less than 10% of your book content being available anywhere. This includes your blog or website.

Avatar for Kim Pinkney

Where would you recommend getting the paper and hardback books made?

Avatar for Tony

It seems since I have listed my ebook with ul my sales have dropped. Is this common?

Avatar for Troy Johnson

Would you consider boycotting Amazon’s bookstore to save the publishing industry? I pose the question here because one more big “Con” that was not mentioned was the fact that giving Amazon exclusivity increases their power bringing them closer to monopoly. Indeed, as far as ebooks are concerned they are effectively a monopoly now.

Avatar for Nikki Colder

Can I offer my Amazon paperback book to my local library for patrons to BORROW if I am enrolled in Kindle Select?

Yes you can. KDP Select does not affect paperback books, only books.

Avatar for Lyle Royer MD

EXCELLENT guidance. As a newbie(2novels & looking at self pub), your article allowed me to conclude DO NOT DO Amazon select, yet–but rather find and proceed with a hired, self publishing expert. THANK YOU!

Avatar for Robbie Cheadle

Thank you for this very interesting and informative post.

Comments are closed.

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My first book is in the hands of Amazon KDP Publication. I wasn't sure who to go to or what I needed to do. Amazon KDP Publication kept coming up when searching online. The chat box came up and I decided to just find out some information. I ended up signing up with them and I have not been disappointed. They have been upfront about costs, and they have been very helpful, taking all the confusions about how to publish a book. They have worked with me and answered all my questions.

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  • Print length 16 pages
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Navigating delays. What to do when Amazon kdp review takes too long

by geekLemons | 3:42 pm

Introduction

Self-publishing a book on Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) has empowered countless authors to share their stories with the world. However, one common frustration that authors face in this process is the wait time for book approval. While Amazon KDP generally strives to review and approve books promptly, there are instances when the approval process takes longer than expected. In this article, we’ll explore what to do when you find yourself in this situation and how to make the most of the waiting period.

  • Understand the Normal Review Time

Before jumping to conclusions about your book’s delay, it’s essential to understand the normal review time on Amazon KDP. Typically, the review process can take anywhere from 24 hours to several days. Delays are not uncommon, especially during peak publishing times or if there’s a high volume of submissions. Patience is key.

  • Check for Errors

Review your book carefully for formatting, content, and technical errors. Books with formatting issues or glaring errors may take longer to approve. Amazon KDP has specific formatting guidelines that you should follow to ensure a smoother approval process. Correct any identified issues and resubmit if necessary.

  • Contact Amazon KDP Support

If your book’s approval process is taking significantly longer than usual and you’ve double-checked for errors, it’s time to reach out to Amazon KDP support. They can provide insights into the status of your submission and any potential issues causing delays. You can contact them through your KDP dashboard or by email.

  • Be Patient and Prepare for Promotions

While waiting for approval, take the opportunity to plan your book’s launch and marketing strategy. Prepare promotional materials, including book descriptions, keywords, and cover images. You can also build excitement by sharing teasers on social media or your author website. The more you plan, the smoother your book’s launch will be once it’s approved.

  • Consider Pre-orders

Amazon KDP allows you to set up pre-orders for your book. If your approval is taking longer than expected, you can use this feature to start building anticipation among your readers. Promote the pre-order link and encourage potential readers to reserve their copies. This can help generate early sales and reviews when your book is finally published.

  • Utilize Other Publishing Platforms

While Amazon KDP is a popular platform, it’s not the only one. Consider publishing your book simultaneously on other platforms like Apple Books, Barnes & Noble Nook, or Google Play Books. Expanding your distribution can reduce your reliance on a single platform’s approval process.

  • Stay Informed About KDP Updates

Amazon KDP occasionally updates its policies and procedures. Stay informed about these changes by regularly visiting the KDP website or participating in author forums and communities. Understanding the platform’s latest requirements can help you avoid common pitfalls that might lead to delays.

  • Keep Records and Communicate Clearly

Throughout the approval process, keep records of your communications with Amazon KDP support. Be polite and clear in your inquiries. Maintaining a professional and courteous tone can go a long way in receiving prompt and helpful responses.

While waiting for Amazon KDP book approval can be frustrating, it’s essential to remain patient and proactive. Review your book for errors, contact support when necessary, and use the waiting time to prepare for a successful book launch. By following these steps and staying informed about the platform’s policies, you can navigate delays with confidence and eventually see your book published for readers to enjoy. Remember that persistence and preparation are key to a successful self-publishing journey.

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How to Write and Sell eBooks on Amazon With Kindle Direct Publishing

S o you've written a book. You've crafted the next great novel, collected your experiences into a memoir, or gathered experts' experiences in a new way. And now you want to get it out there. It's time to learn how to publish an eBook on Amazon with Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP).

KDP is Amazon's self-publishing tool, and it's a simple way to take your book, turn it into a Kindle file, and start selling it on Amazon. This tool will help you sell your book and pay out the royalties on each sale. It's a great way to write and sell a book, especially if you don't want to pay a fortune to print a hard copy.

But getting through the Kindle Direct Publishing process can be a bit intimidating. So we'll walk you through exactly how to sell an eBook on Amazon.

1. Fire Up Kindle Direct Publishing

Once your book is written, you'll need to head over to the KDP website and sign in with your Amazon account. The first time you sign in, you'll see the terms and conditions.

It's a good idea to read through all of these. There's information on royalties, payments, distribution, and other things you should know. The terms and conditions also reference KDP's Pricing Page , which you'll want to review as well. It contains information on royalties that you'll need to know later—we'll go over that information in a moment.

After clicking Agree , you'll see the KDP dashboard. If you get the error message "Your account information is incomplete", click Update Now to add your address, bank account, and tax information.

Once your account information is up-to-date, you can start writing, creating, and selling your Kindle books!

2. Create a New Kindle Book as an Amazon Seller

To create a new Kindle book, click the + Create button.

You'll now see the Kindle eBook Details screen, the first of three sections you'll need to fill in before selling an eBook on Amazon.

Go through each field and enter the relevant information. Here are the sections you'll need to complete:

  • Book title (and optional subtitle)
  • Series information (optional)
  • Edition number (optional)
  • Primary author
  • Additional contributors (optional)
  • Description for your Amazon page
  • Publishing rights (owned or public domain)
  • Primary audience (and optional reading age)
  • Primary marketplace
  • Amazon Kindle categories
  • Keywords (up to seven)
  • Pre-order status (optional)

Think carefully about the title, description, keywords, and categories. These are the primary ways that people will find your Kindle book. The description is especially important, as you'll need to include important keywords to help people find your book when they're searching Amazon. Use these fields to your advantage to convince people that your book has value to them.

Everything you need to know about writing and selling books on Amazon, including how to showcase them properly, can be found on KDP University and its publishing guides . Give it a read before you write your description or do anything else as an Amazon author.

3. Format and Upload Your Kindle eBook

After saving your book's details, you can upload your manuscript. But before you do so, consider using Kindle Create (a free downloadable app) to format your manuscript.

It's one of the best pieces of software for getting your eBook ready to sell on Amazon. It automatically detects chapter breaks, adds a table of contents, and lets you format your book with flourishes like drop caps and block quotes.

To download Kindle Create, head to its home page and click Download for Mac or Windows . The app will walk you through opening and formatting your document.

Once you're happy with how your Kindle book looks, hit the Export button in the top-right corner of Kindle Create. This will export your manuscript as a KPF file that you can upload into KDP with ease.

If Kindle Create doesn't work for you, look for alternatives. Formatting your book with Atticus , for example, comes with lots of perks that Amazon's solution lacks.

Whether you use Kindle Create or not, you can upload a DOCX, PDF, MOBI, or other file directly into KDP. Click Upload eBook Manuscript and select your file.

KDP will upload and process the file, and you'll see a notification when the processing is done. With some manuscripts, you can also check potential spelling errors identified by KDP.

Once your manuscript has successfully been uploaded, it's important to check the preview to see how it looks. Scroll down past the section where you upload a cover and click Launch Previewer .

You'll then see a preview of what your book will look like on a mobile device. Use the buttons on the sides of the displayed device to scroll through your book and make sure everything looks good.

Check chapter titles, formatting like drop caps and block quotes, links, and anything else that's more complicated than plain text. If you find an error, you'll need to fix it in Kindle Create or whichever program you used to create your manuscript.

You can also use the dropdown in the top-right of the page to preview your book on different devices—it's a good idea to make sure it looks alright on all three options: tablet, phone, and Kindle eReader. Be sure to check your table of contents, too, to make sure chapters are correctly linked.

If your book is looking good, click Back in the top-left corner to head to the previous screen and continue setting up your manuscript for sale on Amazon.

Adding DRM to Your Kindle Book (or Not)

At the top of the Content page, you'll see the option to enable DRM (Digital Rights Management) on your Kindle book. If you choose to enable DRM, your Kindle book will be locked to a single purchaser.

They won't be able to share it unless they remove the eBook's DRM , which many people don't know how to do. But they can still lend it for a limited time using the Kindle lending program or buy a copy of the book as a gift.

Disabling DRM means people can do whatever they want with your book. Which option you go with is up to you as an author and seller, so if you disagree with Amazon's use of DRM, you can choose not to use it.

Adding a Cover to Your Kindle Book

In the Kindle eBook Content tab, you'll see a section called Kindle eBook Cover . You can use the tools here to create or upload your custom cover.

Select Upload a cover you already have (JPG/TIFF only) to upload a cover you've already designed. Don't forget to check out our tips on designing and making a book cover if you decide to go this route.

To use KDP's tools for creating your own cover, select the first option and click the Launch Cover Creator button.

As you'll find out, Cover Creator has a lot of terrible stock images. But if you can find one that doesn't stand out as awful stock photography, you can tweak it to make a great cover for your Kindle book. Alternatively, you can upload better images.

Here are a few of KDP's suggested designs.

As you can see, they're not stellar. But by browsing images and tweaking colors and fonts, you can actually come up with something halfway decent.

Of course, you're always going to get better results by hiring a professional. Using a service like Fiverr to hire a freelance designer, or using one of the top eBook cover design services , is a great way to have an expert design your book cover so that it sells well on Amazon's competitive market.

4. Price Your Kindle eBook for Sale

Before leaving the content page, you can add an ISBN to your book if you have one. However, Kindle books don't require them, so you probably won't need to worry about this.

However, if you start looking into how to write and sell a printed version of your book on Amazon, you will have to learn about normal and KDP ISBNs . If you're still not sure, check out KDP's help page on ISBNs .

Back to setting up your eBook, when you hit Save and Continue , you'll go to the pricing page. The first thing you'll have to choose is whether you want to enroll in KDP Select. This is an important choice, so we'll talk about it in detail.

What Is the Difference Between KDP and KDP Select?

If you enroll in KDP Select, your book is automatically included in the Kindle Select Global Fund, Kindle Unlimited, and the Kindle Storyteller contest. All this will increase exposure for your book—even more so with the exclusive access you get to KDP promotional tools for eBooks . It also lets you earn bonuses and higher royalties.

But there's a key requirement you'll need to meet to be eligible for KDP Select. You will have to agree to sell your book exclusively on the Kindle store, which means you won't be able to sell it on any other eBook store—not even your own website.

You're basically trading exclusivity for the potential of increased earnings from your eBook, though you can still sell a print version elsewhere. There's no guarantee that you'll earn more by taking this path either.

If you weren't planning on selling the digital version elsewhere, you have nothing to lose by signing up. Keep in mind, however, that you can of course choose 70 percent royalties for a long list of countries, that's without signing up to KDP Select. Whatever the case, you can remove or re-enroll your books in KDP Select whenever you want.

Kindle eBook Royalty Options

Once you've decided on whether you'll enroll your book in KDP Select, you can move on to the rest of the pricing options.

You'll first need to let KDP know your primary marketplace, and if you hold worldwide or territorial distribution rights. Unless you're licensing your content, you probably have worldwide results. But you should read about KDP's eBook distribution rights anyway.

Now comes an important choice: your royalty level. You can choose to earn either 35 or 70 percent royalties on your book. Most people will choose 70 percent because... well, you get more money.

But it's important to realize that there's a big restriction placed on books at this royalty level: they have to be priced between $2.99 and $9.99.

Most authors probably won't have a problem with this. Short books, however, or large ones like textbooks, might suffer from being priced in this bracket.

You also have to pay a download cost per book, which depends on the size of the file. When you enter a price into the List Price box, you'll see this cost under the heading "Delivery".

If you have a very large book, this can cut into your royalties, and you may want to choose the 35 percent option. This will probably only apply to massive books with large images, but it's worth keeping in mind.

Setting the Book Price

After choosing your royalty level, you can set the price of your book. If you chose the 70 percent royalty level, you're limited to between $2.99 and $9.99. If you chose the 35 percent level, you can choose almost whatever you want. Note, however, that you can't set a book to be free.

Choosing the right price for your Kindle book is going to depend greatly on the subject matter and target market. Unless you're an established author, you'll probably want to price it toward the lower end of the spectrum.

Revisiting KDP's Terms and Conditions

The final step in the pricing section, and the whole publication process, is to read the terms and conditions again. Just click the link to access the document.

Here KDP also informs you that your title will be available for purchase within 72 hours. After spending ages writing it, you finally get to sell your book on Amazon.

Saving Your eBook as a Draft

If you're not quite ready to publish your book yet, you can save it as a draft with the Save as Draft button. You'll now see your book in your dashboard, where you can open it or change further options.

5. Sell Your Kindle Book on Amazon

Once you're done with all of the above steps, you're ready to publish your eBook on Amazon. Just hit Publish Your Kindle eBook at the bottom of the page, and Amazon will handle the rest.

As already mentioned, it can take a few days for your book to hit the shelves on the Amazon store. But that's all there is to using Kindle Direct Publishing.

The process is actually very easy, especially when you consider how difficult it used to be to write and sell a book. Now, you can just hit a few buttons, and your book is off to the digital printing press.

As an official published author, you can now start promoting your book, going on international book tours, and booking talk show interviews (possibly). The sky's the limit.

Kindle Direct Publishing: Get Published and Sell Books

If you're looking into how to write, publish, and sell an eBook on Amazon, KDP is your best bet. The straightforward interface, bevy of options, and simple pricing scheme make it great for aspiring authors and long-time pros alike.

It's not the only way to get your book out into the world, but because Amazon has cornered the market on eBooks, it's one of the most viable options for individuals. With Kindle Create and the KDP Select program, you can take advantage of Amazon's resources to make the best book possible, and get paid for it.

How to Write and Sell eBooks on Amazon With Kindle Direct Publishing

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Anyone else book got stuck "In Review" on KDP?

Steroidz

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I submitted my book last Friday (March 13th) and from my past experience, it usually takes about 4-12 hours for Amazon to publish kindle books. It's been more than 48 hours since I've submitted my book and it is still stuck "In Review". Anyone else experiencing something similar?  

Patty Jansen

This happens if there are content issues with the book. For example copyright questions, for example, if there is more than one author name on the cover like a multi-author box set. Those always take longer, and KDP always email you to ask for your right to publish. If this is not the case, email them and ask.  

notjohn

This seems to be happening a lot lately, especially to public domain and low/no-content books.  

Thank you for reaching out to us. Unfortunately, we're experiencing a temporary delay in publishing some titles. We're working to solve this issue as quickly as possible and appreciate your patience. As soon as your book is Live, you will be notified via email. Click to expand...

vdobbins29

Amazon, my documents is “in review”, I can find no need please check and reply, thank you. Author, Vicki dobbins.  

ImaWriter

We aren't Amazon. If you have a question for them, the way to contact them is through your KDP account.  

KiwiSelfPublisher

Yes can take 2-4 days and thats only week days. They dont seem to be working weekends.  

Becca Mills

To prevent spreading out off date info, please begin a new thread, rather than bumping an old one. Locking this one.  

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  25. Anyone else book got stuck "In Review" on KDP?

    #1 · Mar 16, 2020 I submitted my book last Friday (March 13th) and from my past experience, it usually takes about 4-12 hours for Amazon to publish kindle books. It's been more than 48 hours since I've submitted my book and it is still stuck "In Review". Anyone else experiencing something similar? Salar Naveed Save Like Sort by Oldest first