How to Publish a Book on Amazon KDP

The short answer

Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) is Amazon's free self-publishing service for Kindle eBooks, paperbacks and hardcovers. You create an account, enter your tax and payment details, upload a finished manuscript and cover, set a price and publish; paperbacks and hardcovers are printed when a customer orders.

Published October 2026 · By Harmony Publishing Editorial Team

What do you need before you start?

A finished, edited manuscript, laid out for the format you will sell (an eBook file for Kindle, a print-ready PDF for a paperback or hardcover).
A cover that matches the format. A print cover is one file with front, spine and back, and the spine width depends on the page count and paper.
Your book's title, subtitle, author name, description, two or three categories and a handful of search keywords.
An Amazon account, your tax details and a bank account for payment.

Platforms change their menus, formats and terms. Use this guide for the order of the work, and check the platform's own help pages for the current rules before you upload.

How to publish on Amazon KDP, step by step

Sign in to KDP with your Amazon account and complete the tax interview and payment details. Your book cannot go live until these are done.
Create a new title and choose the format: Kindle eBook, paperback or hardcover. You can add the other formats later from the same title.
Enter the book details: title, author, description, categories and keywords. Write the description for a reader who has never heard of you.
Decide on the ISBN. For a paperback, KDP can assign a free ISBN, which is used only on Amazon. If you want to sell the book through other shops and libraries, or to be the publisher of record, use your own ISBN instead (see the ISBN guide).
Upload the manuscript and the cover. For print, choose the trim size, paper colour and cover finish first, because the spine width and the cover file depend on them.
Use the online previewer and check every page: margins, images, chapter openings and the cover against the spine. Fix and re-upload until it is clean.
Set the territories and the price. KDP shows what you earn for each sale at your price, and the print cost is taken out of the paperback and hardcover price.
Order a proof copy, read it in your hands, and only then press publish. A new book usually goes through a review before it appears in the store.

The mistakes that hold a KDP book up

A cover file that does not match the spine width for the final page count.
Text or images inside the margin or the bleed area, which the previewer flags.
A title or author name on the cover that differs from the details entered in KDP.
Publishing before ordering a proof, then finding a layout error after readers have bought it.

KDP or print-on-demand through another route?

KDP is the quickest way to reach Amazon's customers, and it costs nothing to list. It is less suited to selling into bookshops and libraries, where a wide-distribution print route and your own ISBN are the usual choice. Many authors use KDP for Amazon and a second route for everything else.

If you would rather not do the file preparation yourself, Harmony can format your interior, design the cover and prepare your files for KDP.

Want Harmony to do it for you?

Harmony Publishing is a full-service self-publishing and book printing company that has published 1,000+ books for 500+ authors in 20+ countries, and authors keep 100% of their royalties. We can edit, design and format your book, prepare the files to Amazon KDP's specifications, and print it, or you can do any of those steps yourself and use us only for printing. Harmony is an independent company and is not part of Amazon KDP.

See the packages Price your printing Get a quote

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Frequently asked questions

Is it free to publish on Amazon KDP?

Listing a book on KDP is free. For paperbacks and hardcovers, the printing cost is deducted from each sale, and you pay for any editing, design or formatting you buy elsewhere.

Do I need an ISBN to publish on KDP?

Not for a Kindle eBook, which is identified by Amazon's own number. For a paperback or hardcover, KDP can give you a free ISBN, or you can use your own if you want to be the publisher of record and sell outside Amazon.

How long does it take for a book to appear on Amazon?

A new book is reviewed before it goes live, which can take a few days. Plan for the review and a proof copy in your schedule rather than a same-day launch.

Can Harmony publish my book on KDP for me?

Yes. Harmony can format the files and prepare them for KDP. See the KDP formatting and Amazon publishing pages, or ask for a quote.