Your Guide to Amazon KDP: Everything You Need to Know

What is Amazon KDP?

Amazon KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) is Amazon’s platform for self-publishing books. It lets you skip the traditional publishing process and bring your work directly to readers worldwide. You write your book, upload it to KDP, and once it’s published, it's available on Amazon for purchase. When a customer buys your book, KDP prints the book, packages it and ships it out.

How Does Amazon KDP Work?

Once you’ve written your book, you create an account on KDP and upload your manuscript. KDP provides tools to help with formatting, cover design, and even marketing. You can choose to publish your book as an eBook, paperback, or hardcover—or all three if you wish. KDP keeps a portion of the sale for its services and you then receive as much as 70% of the royalties, depending on how you price your book.

How to Get Started on Amazon KDP

It’s actually quite easy. Once you set up your KDP account, you’ll need to format your book; just follow the guidelines within KDP. Additionally, you can design your book’s cover using the tools within KDP or simply upload one if you prefer to design it yourself. Enter in the title, sub-title, description of the book and set the price, then once everything is set up, you just publish your book. Soon thereafter, it will become available on Amazon for people to buy, either as a digital download or a physical copy.

The Benefits of Publishing with Amazon KDP

The biggest advantage of Amazon KDP is the control you have over your book project. Publish on your own terms—decide when to release your book, how much to charge, and where in the world you wish it to be sold. KDP provides real-time sales reports so you can keep track of how your book is performing. There's no upfront cost so it’s accessible for anyone looking to self-publish.