Publishing on Amazon KDP is genuinely simple, which is different from easy. The upload flow takes twenty minutes; knowing what to put in each box is what separates a book that gets found from one that sinks on arrival. This is the complete walkthrough for publishing an ebook on Amazon in 2026, in the order KDP asks for things, with the decisions explained rather than just named.
Before you touch KDP: the checklist
- A finished manuscript, edited and fact-checked, as an EPUB.
- A cover sized for Amazon: 2,560 by 1,600 pixels is the recommendation, and covers must be at least 1,000 pixels on the longest side. It must be readable as a thumbnail, which is where every buyer meets it. Our cover design guide covers what makes thumbnails work.
- A book description you have written for readers, not for keywords.
- Seven keyword phrases and two categories, researched, which we get to below.
- An honest answer to the AI question, because the upload flow asks it.
The upload, step by step
- Create the KDP account. kdp.amazon.com, sign in with an Amazon account, complete tax information and payment details. Ten minutes of forms, once.
- Start the ebook and fill in book details. Title and subtitle exactly as on the cover. Author name, which does not have to be your legal name; pen names are allowed and common. The description, which is sales copy: first line does the work, because the listing collapses the rest behind a link.
- Answer the AI content question honestly. KDP asks whether your book contains AI-generated text, images or translations. If AI produced the first draft of any of it, the answer is yes, even after heavy editing. Readers never see this. The full rules, including every edge case, are in our plain-language guide to the KDP AI disclosure.
- Choose categories and keywords. Two categories and seven keyword slots. Categories decide which bestseller lists you can appear on, so specific beats broad: a big fish in Cozy Animal Mysteries beats plankton in Mystery. Keywords are phrases buyers type, not single words: fill all seven slots with phrases like beginner watercolor techniques rather than art.
- Upload the manuscript and cover. EPUB in, then use the online previewer on more than one device size. Broken tables, giant images and widowed headings all show up here, before readers pay to find them.
- Set the price against the royalty tiers. The table below is the whole game. Most nonfiction ebooks land at 4.99 to 9.99; going lower buys visibility with real money.
- Press publish, then wait. Review usually completes within 72 hours. Then the real work starts, because publish is a beginning, not a launch.
The royalty structure, plainly
| List price | Royalty | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| 2.99 to 9.99 dollars | 70% | Minus a delivery fee based on file size; keep images lean |
| Below 2.99 or above 9.99 | 35% | No delivery fee, but the rate drop dwarfs it |
| KDP Select enrollment | Adds Kindle Unlimited page-read income | Digital edition exclusive to Amazon while enrolled |
After publish: the part nobody budgets for
A live listing with no reviews and no traffic sells nothing, and this is where most first books quietly end. The honest minimum: a handful of early readers who agreed to review before launch, one channel you actually use pointed at the book, and patience measured in weeks. Wider distribution questions, including whether to sell direct alongside Amazon, are covered in our guide to selling ebooks online.
And if the manuscript is the missing piece, that is the part Bookbind compresses: a planned, written, designed book with a cover and a valid EPUB, made from one sentence with your approval at every step, ready for exactly this upload flow.
Arrive at the KDP upload screen with everything this guide asks for, already made.
Try this idea freeNo card needed. You approve every step before anything is written.