How to Publish Your Book on Amazon KDP, Step by Step

Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) is free to use, prints your paperback only when someone orders it, and puts your book on Amazon in a few days. The screens can feel like a lot the first time, so this guide walks through them in order: what to have ready, what to click, and what to choose at each step.

Before you start, have these ready

• A finished, proofread manuscript. Upload your book only when you would be happy for a stranger to read every page.
• Your title and subtitle, spelled exactly as they appear on your cover.
• A book description of a few short paragraphs that tells a reader why they need this book. It should sell the book, not just summarize it.
• A cover. A paperback needs a full wrap (back, spine and front in one PDF). A Kindle eBook needs a front-cover image.
• An ISBN decision: take KDP's free ISBN, or use one you bought yourself (see Step 4).
• Your tax details (a US author needs an SSN or EIN) and the bank account where royalties should be paid.

Step 1: Set up your KDP account

1. 1Sign in at kdp.amazon.comUse your regular Amazon account or create a new one. Many authors keep a separate account just for their writing ministry or business.
2. 2Complete your account detailsOpen Your Account and fill in the author or publisher information, the bank account for payments, and the tax interview. KDP will not pay royalties until the tax interview is finished, so do it first.

Step 2: Export your print-ready files from ChosenPages

1. 1Paperback interiorOpen your book in ChosenPages, choose Export, and under Print-ready pick "KDP 6″ × 9″ PDF" (Author plan and above). The file is sized to 6 × 9 inches with no bleed and 0.75-inch margins on every side, more than KDP's minimum inside margin for most books.
2. 2Kindle eBookChoose Export EPUB. An EPUB reflows to fit every Kindle screen, which is what KDP wants for a text-based eBook.
3. 3Read the files yourselfOpen the PDF and scroll every page. Check chapter starts, page breaks and anything you typed in a hurry. It is much easier to fix things now than after a printed proof arrives.

Step 3: Create the paperback and fill in its details

1. 1Go to your BookshelfClick "+ Create", then choose Paperback. KDP opens the first of three tabs: Paperback Details.
2. 2Language, title and subtitleType the title and subtitle exactly as they appear on the cover. Add the series name and number if the book is part of a series.
3. 3Author and contributorsEnter your name the way you want it shown on Amazon. Add illustrators, editors or co-authors under Contributors.
4. 4DescriptionPaste your book description. Short paragraphs read best on a phone, and the first two lines matter most because that is all many shoppers see before tapping "Read more".
5. 5Publishing rightsChoose "I own the copyright and I hold the necessary publishing rights" for your own original work.
6. 6Keywords (up to seven)Think like a reader typing into Amazon's search bar: "devotional for women", "Christian testimony memoir", "bedtime Bible stories". Short phrases of two or three words work well. Do not repeat words already in your title, and never use other authors' names or claims like "bestseller".
7. 7Categories (up to three)Pick the most specific categories that honestly fit, such as Christian Living, Christian Devotionals, or Religious Fiction. A narrow, accurate category helps the right readers find you.
8. 8Audience and releaseAnswer the adult-content question, then choose to release now or schedule a date. Click "Save and Continue".

Step 4: Upload your paperback content

1. 1ISBNChoose "Get a free KDP ISBN" or enter your own. The free ISBN lists "Independently published" as the imprint and can only be used on KDP. If you want your own ministry or imprint name to appear as the publisher, buy ISBNs from Bowker before this step.
2. 2Print optionsFor most Christian nonfiction, memoir and devotionals: black & white interior on cream paper (white paper suits books with photos). Set the trim size to 6 × 9 in to match your ChosenPages export, choose "No Bleed", and pick a matte or glossy cover finish.
3. 3ManuscriptUpload the KDP 6 × 9 PDF you exported in Step 2.
4. 4CoverUpload a print-ready full-wrap cover PDF, or build one with KDP's Cover Creator. The spine width depends on your page count, so download a template from KDP's Cover Calculator after your interior is final. Very thin books cannot have spine text.
5. 5AI-generated content questionKDP asks whether you used AI tools to create any text, images or translations. Answer honestly. The section on AI below explains what counts.
6. 6Launch PreviewerKDP checks your files and shows every page as it will print. Fix anything it flags (text too close to the edge, missing fonts, low-resolution images), upload again, and preview again until it approves. Then click "Save and Continue".

Step 5: Set your rights and price

1. 1TerritoriesChoose "All territories (worldwide rights)" if you wrote the book and own all the rights.
2. 2Primary marketplaceChoose Amazon.com if most of your readers are in the United States.
3. 3List priceType a price and KDP immediately shows your printing cost and royalty for each marketplace. A paperback royalty is a percentage of the list price minus the printing cost, so look at what you actually earn per copy, not just the percentage. Compare your price with similar books in your category.
4. 4Expanded Distribution (optional)This makes your paperback available to bookstores and libraries outside Amazon, at a lower royalty. Many Christian authors use IngramSpark for bookstores instead, since stores order more readily from Ingram.

Step 6: Order a proof copy before you publish

On the pricing tab, choose to request a printed proof. You pay only the printing cost and shipping, and the copy is marked as a proof. Read it cover to cover with a pen in hand. Check the spine lines up, the cover colors look right, and nothing is cut off at the margins. Fix and re-upload anything you find. A proof is the single best way to catch what the screen hides.

Step 7: Publish

When the proof looks right, click "Publish Your Paperback Book". KDP reviews new paperbacks in up to 72 hours, and you'll get an email when the book is live. It can take a little longer for the book page to appear in Amazon's search and in other countries' stores.

Step 8: Add the Kindle eBook

1. 1Create it from the same titleOn your Bookshelf, use the option to create the Kindle eBook for your paperback so the two editions link on one Amazon page. Most details carry over.
2. 2Upload the EPUBIn Kindle eBook Content, upload the EPUB you exported from ChosenPages, then check it in the online previewer as a phone, tablet and Kindle.
3. 3eBook coverUpload a JPG or TIFF of the front cover only. KDP's ideal size is 2,560 pixels tall by 1,600 pixels wide.
4. 4KDP Select (optional)Enrolling makes your eBook part of Kindle Unlimited and adds promotion tools, but the eBook must be sold only on Amazon for each 90-day term. Your paperback is not affected.
5. 5Price and royaltyKDP offers a 70% or 35% royalty. The 70% option applies within KDP's eligible price range (starting at $2.99). Pick a price and KDP shows exactly what you earn. Then click "Publish Your Kindle eBook".

Step 9: After your book is live

• Claim your book on Amazon Author Central (author.amazon.com) to add your photo and bio, and link your other books.
• If the book is part of a series, set up the series so readers can find the next book.
• Order author copies at printing cost for church events, book tables and signings.
• Ask friends, family and your church to leave honest reviews. Never pay for reviews or swap free books for them: Amazon removes those reviews and can take action on your account.

A word about AI and KDP

KDP separates two kinds of AI use. "AI-generated" means an AI tool created the actual text, images or translation, even if you edited them afterward, and KDP requires you to say so when you publish. "AI-assisted" means you created the work yourself and used AI to brainstorm, edit, refine or check it, and KDP does not ask you to disclose that. Either way, you are responsible for everything in your book.

“Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.”

Habakkuk 2:2 (KJV)