Quick answer
To publish a book on Amazon, create a Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) account, complete the tax profile, then set up your ebook, paperback or hardcover with its details, manuscript, cover and price. KDP prints paper books on demand, so you don't have to pay any costs upfront or carry any inventory; ebooks earn a 35% or 70% royalty and print books earn 50% or 60% of the list price minus the printing cost. A submitted book usually goes live in 3 business days.
Nation, an AI store builder, publishes this page. It is pre-launch, with a waitlist on withnation.ai, and it is not a book publishing service. See where Nation fits.
How to publish a book on Amazon: the short version
Amazon publishes self-published books through Kindle Direct Publishing, usually shortened to KDP. You sign in at kdp.amazon.com with an Amazon account, fill in your account, payment and tax details once, and then create each book from your KDP Bookshelf. KDP sells the book on Amazon, prints paper copies when a reader orders one, and pays you a royalty on each sale.
One book can exist in three formats: a Kindle ebook, a paperback and a hardcover. Each one is set up separately and then linked on the same Amazon page. KDP says formats are linked automatically if the author name and book title of both editions match exactly. The formats differ in ISBN rules, royalty rates and printing cost, as the table shows.
This guide covers novels, nonfiction, memoirs and poetry. Notebooks, journals and other low-content books follow separate KDP rules, covered in the coloring books guide.
How to self publish a book on Amazon, step by step
These are the steps in the order KDP asks for them. The ebook and the paperback follow the same flow; the paperback adds print options and an optional proof copy.
Create your KDP account
Go to kdp.amazon.com and sign in with an Amazon account or create one. In Account Details, choose a business type (individual or corporation) and enter the legal name of the author.
Add a bank account
KDP offers direct deposits, wire transfer or check. Amazon Payments and PayPal are not available at this time, so add a bank account under Getting Paid.
Complete the tax interview
Open Tax Information and complete the tax profile. KDP says it must receive and validate your tax identity before you can update existing books or publish new books, so do this first. Authors outside the US answer questions that generate a Form W-8. The default withholding rate is 30%, and a tax treaty between your country and the US can lower it. This is general information, not tax advice.
Enter the book details
On the Bookshelf, click Create and choose Kindle eBook, Paperback or Hardcover. Enter the title, author, description, keywords and categories. The manuscript must match the title and description you enter: for ebooks, an error message will surface in case there is a mismatch. KDP limits new titles to 2 per book format each week.
Upload the manuscript and cover
Upload the interior file and the cover, then check them in the online previewer. For a paperback or hardcover you choose the trim size, ink and paper first, and add an ISBN on this page.
Set rights, royalty and price
Choose where the book is sold, pick the royalty option and enter a list price. The price can be modified at any time after your book is published.
Order a proof, then publish
For print books, Ordering a proof is not mandatory, but it lets you check the printed copy. Click Publish. KDP reviews the book, and it usually takes 3 business days to go live on Amazon.
Free KDP ISBN or your own ISBN
An ISBN is the number that identifies one edition of a book. On KDP, You don't need an ISBN for eBooks on KDP. Paperbacks and hardcovers need one, and Each format of your book (paperback vs hardcover) needs its own ISBN.
KDP gives you two choices for print books. A free KDP ISBN is only available for paperback and hardcover books. KDP says: We'll register your free ISBN. The publisher shown on Amazon is Independently published. The catch is that a free ISBN can only be used on KDP. An ISBN you buy from your country's ISBN agency, Bowker (US ISBN agency) for US authors, costs money, but it lets you name your own imprint, and it can be used to publish the same book on other publishing services, for example a bookstore distributor.
- Choose the free KDP ISBN if you plan to sell the paperback only through Amazon and its Expanded Distribution.
- Buy your own ISBN if you want your own imprint name on the book, or plan to print the same edition through another printer or distributor.
- If you use your own ISBN, enter the title, author and imprint exactly as they are registered with the agency. If the imprint does not match, you won't be able to publish.
KDP royalties for ebooks: the two royalty options
Every Kindle ebook has two royalty options, 35% or 70%. With the lower option, your royalty is 35% of your list price without VAT, and delivery costs are not deducted. With the higher option, your royalty is 70% of your list price without VAT, less delivery costs.
The delivery cost depends on the file size. On Amazon.com it is US $0.15/MB, and KDP puts the average at $0.06 per unit sold. A text-only novel costs little to deliver; a book full of photos costs more, which can make the lower option pay better on image-heavy books.
The higher option comes with conditions. The list price on Amazon.com must sit in the band of $2.99-$12.99 on Amazon.com, and it must be at least 20% below the list price on Amazon for any physical edition. Buyers outside the eligible countries still earn you the lower rate: KDP pays 35% of the list price without VAT for each unit sold to customers residing outside the 70% territories. Books that are mostly public domain text are only eligible for the 35% royalty option.
KDP paperback and hardcover royalties
Print royalties work differently. KDP takes a share of the list price, then subtracts what it costs to print that copy: (Royalty rate x list price) – printing costs = royalty. The rate is 50% or 60% depending on price; on Amazon.com it is 50% at or below 9.98 USD, 60% at or above 9.99 USD.
Printing cost is a fixed charge per book plus a charge per page. A black-ink paperback in a regular trim size costs 1.00 USD per book plus 0.012 USD per page on Amazon.com, and a black-ink hardcover costs $5.65 (fixed cost) plus $0.012 per page; $9.25 for 300 pages. KDP sets a minimum list price to ensure the royalties you earn are always enough to cover the cost to print your book, and the maximum on Amazon.com is 250 USD.
KDP's own worked example is a regular-trim, black-ink paperback sold on Amazon.com: (0.60 x $15) - $5.00 = $4.00. Each extra page adds to the printing cost, so a longer book needs a higher list price to keep the same royalty.
KDP Select: what the exclusivity means
KDP Select is a free 90-day program for Kindle eBook only. When you enroll, the ebook is automatically included in Kindle Unlimited (KU), and it becomes eligible for Free Book Promotions and Kindle Countdown Deals (KCD). Kindle Unlimited royalties come from a shared pool: KDP sets the size of the KDP Select Global Fund each month, and will only pay you for the number of pages read the first time the customer reads them. Enrolled ebooks are also eligible to earn 70% royalty for sales to customers in Brazil, Japan, Mexico, and India.
The price is exclusivity. During the term, the ebook can only be distributed through KDP and public libraries, so you cannot sell it on Apple Books, Kobo, Google Play or your own website. Paperbacks are not affected: you can continue to distribute print, video, audio, or other formats of your title elsewhere. Enrollment is automatically renewed unless you opt out before the term ends, so turn off automatic renewal if you want to sell the ebook elsewhere later.
Expanded Distribution for paperbacks
Expanded Distribution offers your paperback to distributors that supply bookstores, online retailers, libraries, and academic institutions. It is free to enroll, but it pays less: the royalty is 40% of the book's list price minus printing costs. Hardcover books are not eligible for it.
Enrolling does not mean a store will stock the book: enrollment doesn't guarantee it will be accepted by distributors or ordered by a particular bookseller or library. Distributors also turn down some content, such as paperbacks with frequent lined or blank pages, for example journals, notebooks, planners. If you want shelf space in a bookstore, read the guide on getting into bookstores.
When KDP pays royalties
KDP pays royalties monthly, approximately 60 days after the end of the month in which the sale was reported. Sales in January are paid at the end of March, sales in February at the end of April, and so on. Expanded Distribution sales take longer: 90 days for Expanded Distribution.
For a US bank account, direct deposit has no minimum payment threshold, so even a small month is paid out. Wire transfers have a minimum, 100 USD for Amazon.com sales.
How to publish a book on Amazon for free
KDP provides free and simple tools to self-publish your book. Printing is paid out of each sale, so you don't have to pay any costs upfront or carry any inventory. A book can go from finished files to a live Amazon page without paying Amazon anything upfront.
The costs that remain are the ones you choose: editing, cover design, your own ISBN instead of the free one, proof and author copies, and Amazon ads. A writer who formats the manuscript, designs the cover and takes the free ISBN can publish for nothing. The cost of publishing guide breaks down what each of those services usually costs.
Where Nation fits
Nation
Category: an AI store builder
Nation says one description of what you make builds the store, then agents handle orders, customers and delivery and run ads, content and social posts, with you approving the work. It does not publish or distribute books, so it is not part of this guide.
Limits today
- Status: pre-launch, with a waitlist on withnation.ai.
- Pricing and fees: not announced yet.
- Shopper marketplace: no shopper marketplace has been announced.
- Track record: no independent reviews or public stores yet.
Nation publishes this page. Every KDP rule on it comes from Amazon's own Kindle Direct Publishing help pages.
Describe what you makeQuestions about publishing on Amazon
Is it free to publish a book on Amazon?
Publishing a book on Amazon through KDP can cost nothing: KDP provides free and simple tools to self-publish your book. For print books, KDP subtracts the printing cost from each sale, so you don't have to pay any costs upfront or carry any inventory. You pay only for services you choose, such as editing, cover design, your own ISBN or author copies.
How much are KDP royalties?
KDP royalties are 35% or 70% for ebooks, depending on the option and the price, and 50% or 60% of the list price minus printing cost for paperbacks. In KDP's own paperback example, (0.60 x $15) - $5.00 = $4.00. Expanded Distribution sales pay 40% of the book's list price minus printing costs.
How do I sell ebooks on Amazon?
To sell an ebook on Amazon, create a Kindle eBook on your KDP Bookshelf, upload the manuscript and cover, and set a list price. You don't need an ISBN for eBooks on KDP. Price it in the band of $2.99-$12.99 on Amazon.com to be eligible for the higher royalty, then decide whether to enroll it in KDP Select.
Do I need an ISBN to publish on Kindle?
You do not need an ISBN to publish a Kindle ebook: You don't need an ISBN for eBooks on KDP. A paperback or hardcover needs one, and KDP offers a free ISBN that can only be used on KDP and lists the publisher as Independently published. Buy your own ISBN to use your own imprint or print elsewhere.
How long does it take to get a book on Amazon?
Getting a book on Amazon through KDP usually takes 3 business days after you click Publish, while KDP reviews the files and details. Ordering a proof copy first adds printing and shipping time. Royalties arrive later: KDP pays approximately 60 days after the end of the month in which the sale was reported.