KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) is Amazon's free self-publishing platform, letting anyone upload and sell an ebook or print-on-demand paperback directly on Amazon, with no upfront cost. It's the most widely used self-publishing platform, largely because Amazon is where the majority of self-published book sales happen.
This is part of the Complete Guide to Self-Publishing.
KDP handles the technical side of getting your book listed and sold on Amazon: it hosts your files, generates your product page, processes sales, and pays out royalties. It also offers print-on-demand for paperbacks (and in some cases hardcovers), so you can sell a physical edition without any upfront printing cost. See Print-on-Demand Explained.
KDP itself is free to use; there's no fee to create an account or upload a book. Amazon takes a percentage of each sale (structured as a royalty rate, not a flat fee), and for print books, the cost of printing each copy is deducted from your royalty. You're only ever paid after a sale happens; there's no upfront cost to list a book.
For ebooks, KDP offers two royalty options: a lower rate (historically around 35%) with fewer restrictions, or a higher rate (historically around 70%) that comes with pricing requirements (your ebook generally needs to fall within a specific price range) and, if you enroll in KDP Select, exclusivity to Amazon. For print books, royalties are calculated as a percentage of list price minus the printing cost. Exact royalty structures and rates can change, so check KDP's current terms directly before finalizing your pricing.
KDP lets you select categories (which determine where your book appears in Amazon's browsing structure and bestseller lists) and keywords (which affect search visibility). Choosing these well is its own skill, and getting them wrong can mean your book is essentially invisible to the readers most likely to want it.
KDP doesn't edit, design, format, or market your book; it's purely a publishing and distribution platform. All of the preparation work, editing, cover design, interior layout, proofreading, happens before you ever open a KDP account. See the Complete Guide to Book Editing and Complete Guide to Book Cover Design and Interior Layout.
If any part of your book, text, cover art, or translations, was created using an AI tool, KDP's current policy requires you to disclose that during the publishing workflow. This applies even to AI-generated cover art on an otherwise entirely human-written book. The disclosure isn't shown to shoppers, but misrepresenting it is treated as a policy violation separate from the content itself. Confirm the current requirement directly in KDP before publishing, since this policy has evolved and is likely to keep evolving.
Getting Ready to Publish on KDP?
Entrada Publishing can help prepare your manuscript, cover, and interior files so they're ready for KDP (or any other publishing platform) before you upload.
Yes, there's no cost to create an account or upload a book. Amazon takes a percentage of each sale as a royalty structure, and print books have printing costs deducted from the royalty.
Ebook manuscripts are commonly uploaded as Word documents or EPUB files, which KDP processes for Kindle. Print books require a separately formatted, print-ready interior file. Check KDP's current requirements directly, since accepted formats can change.
Not necessarily. KDP offers a free ISBN for print books, though using your own purchased ISBN gives you more flexibility if you plan to distribute beyond Amazon later. See What Is an ISBN, and Do You Need One?
No. KDP is a publishing and distribution platform only. Editing, cover design, and formatting all need to be done before you upload to KDP.