How to Publish an eBook on Amazon KDP (2026 Step-by-Step Guide)

Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) is still the default starting point for anyone self-publishing a paid eBook in 2026. It has the reach, the infrastructure, and — critically — the built-in search demand that your own website never will for a brand-new title. The tradeoffs are real: lower margins than your own storefront, Amazon's metadata quirks, and a review system that's nobody's favorite. But for a first book, none of that beats the discovery you get for free.

This walkthrough covers the full workflow from account setup to launch-week strategy. Plan on 2–3 hours end-to-end for your first title; subsequent books take 30–45 minutes.

What KDP actually is (and isn't)

KDP is Amazon's self-service publishing platform for eBooks, paperbacks, and hardcovers. You upload a manuscript and a cover, set a price, and Amazon handles distribution, hosting, customer fulfillment, and (for paperbacks) print-on-demand production. You get paid monthly via bank transfer or check depending on region.

KDP is not: a marketing channel that works without effort, a guaranteed audience, or a platform where exclusivity is required. You can publish on KDP and sell the same book on Gumroad, Apple Books, and your own site — unless you opt into KDP Select, which does require exclusivity (more on that below).

Step 1: Set up your KDP account and tax info

Go to kdp.amazon.com and sign in with an Amazon account (use a dedicated one if you don't want author and shopping data tangled). You'll complete three onboarding sections:

• Author information. Legal name, pen name (optional), address. The address becomes your royalty payment destination.
• Payment method. Bank transfer (ACH) is fastest in the US; international sellers get EFT or check by region.
• Tax information. US residents fill out a W-9 equivalent inside the portal. Non-US sellers complete a W-8BEN to claim tax treaty benefits (this is important — without it, Amazon withholds 30% of royalties).

Tax setup is the single step most first-time authors mess up. If your country has a tax treaty with the US (UK, Canada, Australia, most of Europe), claiming the treaty benefit can reduce withholding from 30% to 0–10%. Worth getting right.

Step 2: Prepare your manuscript file

KDP accepts several formats. In order of preference:

• EPUB (.epub) — cleanest formatting, best rendering across Kindle devices
• Word (.docx) — fine for text-heavy books without complex layout
• PDF (.pdf) — accepted but typically produces worst reflow on small screens
• HTML/MOBI — legacy, still accepted but not worth using

For an AI-generated eBook from a tool like getebook.ai, you'll typically export both PDF (for your own storefront) and EPUB (for KDP). If you only have PDF, convert with Calibre or Reedsy's free converter — it costs nothing and produces better results than uploading PDF directly.

Manuscript checklist before upload:

• Title page (book title + subtitle + author name)
• Copyright page (optional but professional)
• Table of contents (required for books over ~20 pages; EPUB auto-generates if chapter headings are properly styled)
• Dedication or acknowledgments (optional, only if they add something)
• Chapters with consistent H1 heading style
• About-the-author section at the end with one soft CTA to your site/email list
• No hyperlinks to competitor products or other Amazon sellers (Amazon strips these)

Step 3: Create a KDP-compliant cover

The hard spec from Amazon as of 2026:

• Dimensions: 1600×2560 pixels minimum (ratio 1.6:1)
• File format: JPEG or TIFF
• File size: under 50 MB
• Color space: RGB (not CMYK)
• Resolution: 300 DPI recommended, 72 DPI acceptable
• Bleed: none for eBook covers; print covers have different specs

Every AI-generated cover from getebook.ai ships at correct KDP dimensions. If you're designing manually in Canva, use their "Kindle Book Cover" template — it's pre-sized and eliminates the #1 rejection reason (wrong dimensions).

Text safety: keep all text at least 50 pixels from edges. Test your cover at thumbnail size (300 pixels wide) — if the title isn't legible at that scale, redo the typography. See our dedicated cover design guide for typography and conversion details.

Step 4: Write title, subtitle, and description

The metadata is where most first-time authors leave money on the table. KDP's search algorithm leans heavily on three fields:

• Title — the book's actual title, no keyword stuffing (Amazon cracks down on this in 2026)
• Subtitle — your keyword opportunity. Write it for search intent, not for you. Example: "A Step-by-Step Guide for Consultants Who Want to Launch Their First Digital Product in 30 Days"
• Description — 4,000 character limit, supports basic HTML. First 300 characters appear in the preview — make them count.

The description formula that works:

1. Hook — one-line promise or provocative question
2. Who this is for — name the reader explicitly
3. Bulleted benefits (6–10) — what they'll be able to do
4. Credibility — one sentence on why you're qualified
5. Call to action — "Scroll up, click Buy Now, and…"

Step 5: Keyword and category research

KDP lets you choose 2 categories and 7 backend keyword phrases. These decide where Amazon surfaces your book in browse navigation and search.

Category research: use Publisher Rocket ($97 one-time) or free alternatives like KDSPY. Target categories where the #10 book has under 5,000 monthly sales — you can realistically rank in the top 10 of those. Avoid "Business & Money > Entrepreneurship" and other mega-categories unless you're a known brand.

Keyword research: the seven keyword phrases (up to 50 characters each) are not just single words — use long-tail phrases like "lead magnet ebook template" or "first course launch guide." These match against buyer searches. Don't waste slots on words already in your title or subtitle.

Step 6: Pricing and royalty structure

KDP's official royalty policy defines two tiers:

• 35% tier: you earn 35% of list price. Available at any price from $0.99 to $200.
• 70% tier: you earn 70% of list price minus a delivery fee (~$0.06 for typical books). Restricted to $2.99–$9.99 and to eligible regions (US, UK, EU, Japan, Brazil, others).

For most authors, $4.99–$7.99 in the 70% tier is the optimal pricing. You earn ~$3.40 per sale at $4.99, vs. ~$1.75 at $4.99 in the 35% tier. The math favors the 70% tier unless you're pricing a short ($0.99–$2.99 lead-magnet tripwire) or a premium book ($14.99+).

See our pricing strategy guide for when each tier makes sense.

Step 7: Review and publish

Before clicking "Publish," do these final checks:

• Preview the book in the KDP Previewer. Check phone, tablet, and Kindle Paperwhite views. Look for broken chapter headings, stranded images, or inconsistent typography.
• Spell-check the metadata. Typos in the subtitle or description are embarrassing and cost sales.
• Double-check the AI disclosure. KDP's 2024 content guidelines require you to disclose whether content is AI-generated, AI-assisted, or fully human-written. Answer honestly — it's a private tag, not shown on the product page.
• Set the release date. Same-day publishing is fine; scheduled releases up to 90 days out also work and generate a pre-order page (useful for email-list launches).

Review typically takes 24–72 hours. First-time authors sometimes see longer review windows. Books flagged for manual review can take 7–10 days.

Step 8: The first-week launch playbook

Amazon's algorithm weights early-window velocity heavily. What happens in the first 7 days determines your long-term discoverability. The launch checklist:

• Day 0 (launch day): Email your list. Subject line: "I published a book." Keep it personal — not a sales page.
• Day 1–3: Price at $0.99 (35% tier) for a 72-hour launch window. This inflates unit velocity and boosts Amazon ranking.
• Day 1–7: Ask 20–40 people personally for reviews. Not your entire list — specific, named humans. The ask: "I'd value your honest review on Amazon."
• Day 4: Raise price to launch price ($4.99–$7.99 for most). Velocity dips but margin recovers.
• Day 7: Run a BookBub Featured New Release or similar paid promo if budget allows.

Don't run paid Facebook/Google ads in the first week unless you know what you're doing. Organic + email + targeted review asks outperform paid ads for most first-time authors.

Common KDP rejection reasons (and how to fix them)

• Cover dimensions wrong. Must be at least 1600×2560. Canva template or getebook.ai cover handles this automatically.
• Title/subtitle contains promotional claims. Words like "Bestseller," "Free," "Limited Time" are not allowed. Fix and resubmit.
• Duplicate or near-duplicate content. Amazon checks against previously published books. If you re-publish content with minor tweaks, expect rejection.
• Missing table of contents. Required for books over a certain length. Add it — EPUB generates automatically from properly styled headings.
• Links to non-Amazon products. External URLs in your book (your website, email signup) are allowed; direct links to competing eBook retailers are not.
• AI disclosure missing. Since 2024, every upload asks about AI involvement. Skipping or misrepresenting this can trigger manual review.

KDP is a surprisingly forgiving platform once you've gone through the workflow once. The first book takes 2–3 hours of learning the interface; every book after that takes under an hour. Combine KDP's distribution with your own storefront for direct-sale margins, and you've got a durable eBook business that compounds with each title you add.