Beginner guide

Your first book on Amazon, start to finish.

You do not need to know anything about publishing. This page explains what Amazon KDP is, what we do for you, and every box you fill in to put your book on sale.

Checked against Amazon's KDP help pages in September 2026. Amazon changes its forms from time to time. If a label looks different, the idea is the same.

The short version

What KDP is

Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) is Amazon's free service for authors who publish their own books. You upload your files. Amazon sells your Kindle eBook, and it prints each paperback only when someone orders one, so you never buy stock.

It costs nothing to publish. You keep your rights. Amazon pays you a royalty on every sale, and for a paperback it takes the printing cost out of that sale first.

Who does what

We do

  • Research what readers search for
  • Write and illustrate the book
  • Build the Kindle EPUB file
  • Build the print interior PDF
  • Make the eBook cover
  • Build the paperback wrap cover
  • Write the title, description, keywords and categories

You do

  • Create your KDP account, once
  • Fill in the tax and bank details, once
  • Copy our details into KDP
  • Upload the files
  • Choose your price
  • Press Publish
About the free book. It is the whole book, and every page carries a "Made with Brains.biz" mark, so you can read it and share it but Amazon will not accept it. When you want to publish, unlock that one book for $9 and the same book is rebuilt with clean files. A paid plan unlocks every book.
Before you start

Have these ready

Keep these next to you. The account setup asks for all of them.

  • An Amazon login. Your normal shopping account is fine, and KDP recommends it.
  • Your legal name, home address and phone number.
  • Your bank account and routing number. KDP pays by bank transfer, not PayPal.
  • In the US: your Social Security number, or an EIN for a business. Outside the US: your tax ID.
  • A phone that can receive a code. KDP requires two-step verification.
  • A physical, government-issued photo ID, in case KDP asks you to confirm who you are.
1

Set up your KDP account

You do this once. You cannot publish until the tax step is complete.

  1. Sign in at kdp.amazon.com

    Go to kdp.amazon.com and sign in with your Amazon login. KDP uses the same email and password as Amazon shopping. If you do not have one, choose "Create your KDP account".

    Keep one KDP account. Amazon's terms allow only one KDP account at a time. Opening a second one breaks those terms.

  2. Turn on two-step verification

    KDP asks for a code by text, voice call or authenticator app before it lets you open "Your Account". You cannot switch this off. If your Amazon login is shared with shopping, shopping gets two-step verification too.

  3. Fill in your account details

    Choose a business type (individual, or a company). Enter your legal name, not a pen name. You add a pen name later, on each book. Enter your mailing address. Amazon does not accept a PO box.

  4. Complete the tax interview

    Go to Your Account, then Tax Information, then Complete Tax Profile. It asks questions and fills in an IRS form for you: a W-9 if you are a US person, a W-8 if you are not.

    The name must match your tax records exactly, the way it appears on your Social Security card or your EIN letter. A missing middle initial is enough to cause a mismatch, and KDP stops publishing if a mismatch is not fixed within 30 days.

  5. Add your bank account

    Under Getting Paid, choose "Add a bank account". Enter the account holder name exactly as your bank has it, with the account and routing numbers. KDP does not pay to PayPal.

  6. Verify your identity, only if asked

    If KDP shows an "Identity verification required" banner, have a physical ID ready. Photos of a digital ID do not work, and KDP may ask for a selfie. If you see no banner, skip this step.

Source: KDP Jumpstart, Complete your tax profile.

2

Publish your Kindle eBook

In KDP, open your Bookshelf and choose to create a Kindle eBook. There are three pages. You can save a draft at any point.

Open your book in the Brains.biz studio in another tab. Every detail below marked From your book is already written there, ready to copy.

Page 1: Details

Who the book is for, and how people find it
Language
The language the book is written in. You cannot change it later.
Book title
From your bookExactly as it appears on the cover. Title and subtitle together must be under 200 characters. Locked after publishing.
Subtitle
From your bookOptional. Also locked after publishing.
Series
Optional. Only if this book belongs to a series.
Author
The name readers see. A pen name is fine here. Locked after publishing.
Description
From your bookThe text on your Amazon page. Up to 4,000 characters.
Publishing rights
Choose "I own the copyright and I hold the necessary publishing rights".
Primary audience
Answer whether the book has sexually explicit images or title. For a children's book, add a reading age.
Primary marketplace
Usually Amazon.com. You must pick it before you can choose categories.
Categories
From your bookChoose up to three.
Keywords
From your bookUp to seven words or short phrases readers might search for.
Pre-order
Release now, or pick a later date and take pre-orders.

Page 2: Content

The files
Manuscript
From your bookUpload the EPUB file.
Digital Rights Management
Your choice. It limits copying of the file. You can change it at any time.
Kindle eBook cover
From your bookChoose to upload a cover you already have, then upload the cover image file.
AI-generated content
RequiredAmazon requires you to say when the text, the images or a translation were created by AI. Books made with Brains.biz are AI-generated, so answer yes, for both text and images. This stays true even after you edit the book yourself.
ISBN
Not needed for a Kindle eBook. Leave it empty.
Preview
Choose Launch Previewer and page through the book on a phone, a tablet and a Kindle. It also checks the file for problems.

Page 3: Rights and pricing

Where it sells, and for how much
KDP Select
Optional. It puts your book in Kindle Unlimited, where you are paid for pages read. In return the eBook must be sold only on Amazon for 90 days, and it renews unless you opt out.
Territories
Choose "All territories" unless you have a reason not to.
Royalty
Choose 35% or 70%. On Amazon.com the 70% option needs a price between $2.99 and $12.99.
List price
Set it in your main marketplace and let KDP convert it for the others.
Publish
Choose "Publish Your Kindle eBook". You cannot change the book while it is in review.

Source: KDP Jumpstart, Content guidelines.

3

Add a paperback (optional)

The same book can also sell in print. Amazon prints each copy when it is ordered.

The paperback cover is built for you. A paperback needs a wrap-around cover: back, spine and front in one PDF. Brains.biz builds that file and sizes it to your book, because the spine width follows the page count and the paper. Download Paperback cover (wrap) from your book page, upload it under Cover, and check it in Print Previewer. Rebuild the files after any edit, so the cover matches the new page count.

Page 1: Details

The same as the eBook

Copy the same title, subtitle, author, description, categories and keywords. The title must match the cover exactly.

Page 2: Content

Printing choices and files
ISBN
Choose Get a free KDP ISBN for the simplest start. It can only be used on Amazon, and your publisher shows as "Independently published". Buy your own ISBN only if you plan to sell the print book elsewhere.
Ink and paper
A common choice is black ink on cream paper for novels and white paper for guides. Illustrated books need a color option, which costs more to print. You cannot change the ink later.
Trim size
From your bookPick the same size you chose for the book. The interior PDF is built for that size. Locked after publishing.
Bleed
Choose No Bleed. Your interior PDF is built with margins on every side.
Cover finish
Glossy suits children's books and guides. Matte suits novels.
Manuscript
From your bookUpload the interior PDF.
Cover
From your bookChoose to upload a cover you already have, then upload the paperback cover PDF. It is built to the size on your book page. The file leaves a white box at the bottom right of the back cover, 2 by 1.2 inches: KDP prints the barcode there. Check the result in Print Previewer.
AI-generated content
RequiredAnswer yes for text and images, the same as for the eBook.
Preview
Launch Previewer is required for print. Fix anything it flags before you continue.

Page 3: Rights and pricing

List price
KDP shows the printing cost as you type. At $9.99 or more you earn 60% of the price minus printing. Below $9.99 you earn 50% minus printing. KDP will not let you price below the printing cost.
Expanded distribution
Optional. It offers the book to bookstores and libraries at a 40% royalty. Coloring books and journals are not accepted.
Proof copy
Before you publish, you can order up to five printed proofs at printing cost plus shipping. They are marked "Not for Resale". Worth doing for your first book.
The numbers, if you want them
  • A paperback needs at least 24 pages.
  • Spine text is only printed on books of 80 pages or more. Shorter books get a plain spine, and the paperback cover we build follows the same rule.
  • Example from KDP: a 300-page black and white book at $9.99 earns about $1.39 a copy. At $9.98 it earns about $0.39, because the rate drops from 60% to 50%.
  • Coloring books can be rejected as Kindle eBooks. Publish them as paperbacks.

Source: Ink and paper options, Paperback cover, Paperback royalties, Cover calculator.

4

After you press Publish

Most of this is waiting.

Review

Amazon reviews the book. It is normally live within 3 business days, though Amazon calls every timeline an estimate. You cannot edit it while it is in review.

Live

Your Bookshelf shows Draft, In Review, Publishing, then Live. The Amazon page can take up to 72 hours to appear in search.

Getting paid

KDP pays monthly, about 60 days after the end of the month a sale happened.

You can change the description, keywords, categories and price after publishing. Changes other than the price go back through review. KDP allows 10 new titles per format per week.

Source: Publishing timelines.

!

Mistakes that get books blocked

Amazon checks books with software and with people.

Stuffing the title

The title field holds only the title on your cover. Adding extra search words there, such as "best gift for kids", gets books rejected.

Details that do not match

The title and author you type in KDP must match the ones inside the book file and on the cover.

The wrong keywords

Do not use brands you do not own, other authors' names, or Amazon program names such as Kindle Unlimited.

Skipping the AI question

Amazon requires you to disclose AI-generated text and images. Answer it truthfully on every book.

Ready to make the book?

Your first one is free. We write it, illustrate it and hand you the files.

Start free See example books