Amazon KDP

Amazon KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) is Amazon's free self-publishing platform. With KDP publishing, authors can offer e-books, paperbacks, and hardcover books to a worldwide audience.

Authors upload their manuscript and cover, Amazon creates the product page, and for printed books it uses the print-on-demand process. Within 72 hours, the work is available globally – which is exactly what makes self-publishing on Amazon so attractive for independent authors.

Using KDP is free of charge. For printed books, the author receives 60% royalties on the remaining amount after printing costs have been deducted.

For e-books, authors can choose between 35% or 70% royalties. Success depends on the genre, the quality of the book, and your marketing activities.

• E-books: DOCX, HTML, or RTF for the manuscript, JPG/TIFF for the cover.
• Paperbacks: Print-ready PDF for the interior and the cover.
• Cover: Front, spine, and back in a single PDF file.

KDP Select is an optional program with additional marketing opportunities. The e-book must be distributed exclusively through Amazon for 90 days.

In return, the book becomes part of Kindle Unlimited, and authors are paid per page read. On top of that, promotional options such as Kindle Countdown Deals become available.