How to Publish Your Book on Amazon: A 2025 Guide

You’ve poured your heart and soul into writing a manuscript, and now it’s finished. That’s a massive accomplishment. But what happens next? How do you get that Word or Google Doc from your computer onto the world’s biggest bookshelf, Amazon?

It might feel like a whole new mountain to climb, but it’s more of a clear, paved path if you know the route. You’ve done the creative work. Now, it’s about shifting gears into a production mindset to turn your manuscript into a product readers will actually buy.

From Manuscript to Marketplace: The Core Steps

Think of the journey from your finished draft to a live Amazon listing as a simple production line. You’re preparing your book for its big debut.

Each of these stages is essential. They build on each other to create a polished, professional book that can compete in a very crowded market.

The entire process is managed through Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). This is your command center. It’s the platform where you’ll upload your files, set up your sales page, set your price, and (hopefully) watch the sales roll in. Getting comfortable with the KDP dashboard is your first real step toward becoming a published author.

Why does everyone focus on KDP? It’s simple: market dominance. In the United States alone, Amazon commands over 68% of all ebook sales and more than half of physical book sales. It’s the undisputed king of the hill, and for self-publishers, it’s the place to be.

Self-Publishing on Amazon At a Glance

Here’s a quick summary of the key stages involved when you publish your book on Amazon KDP.

Getting these pieces right from the start saves a ton of headaches later and sets you up for a much stronger launch.

Key Milestones on Your Publishing Journey

Before you can even think about hitting that publish button, you need to knock out a few critical tasks. These foundational steps are what separate the amateur-looking books from the professional ones.

• Manuscript Formatting: This isn’t just about spell-checking. You need to prepare your document specifically for Kindle (ebook) and print-on-demand (paperback). They have different requirements, from margins to page breaks.
• Cover Design: Your cover is your most important marketing asset. It needs to look incredible as a tiny thumbnail and immediately tell potential readers what your book is about. Don’t skimp here.
• KDP Account Setup: This is the administrative part. You’ll need to get your author account registered and provide all the necessary tax and payment information so Amazon can pay you.

Nailing these fundamentals is non-negotiable for a smooth launch. While the mechanics of listing a product are similar across different industries, selling books has its own unique quirks. For a broader look at the platform, you might find our guide on how to sell successfully on Amazon useful for some extra context.

Getting Your Book Files Ready for KDP

Before you can upload anything, let’s talk about the files themselves. This is where so many new authors trip up, but getting your book ready for Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) is simpler than it seems. You have two main options: do it yourself or hire a professional.

If you’re starting with a Word or Google Docs file, you can absolutely handle the formatting yourself. The single most important thing is consistency. Use the built-in heading styles (H1 for chapter titles, H2 for subheadings) instead of just manually making the font bigger and bolder. This creates a clean digital skeleton for your book, which is essential for a smooth conversion into an ebook.

For a much better reader experience, a clickable table of contents is non-negotiable, especially for ebooks. In Word, you can generate this automatically from the heading styles you’ve already set up. This one small move makes your book infinitely easier to navigate on a Kindle.

Ebooks vs. Print Books: Two Different Formats

Here’s a hard truth: your ebook and your paperback are not the same product. They need completely different files. You can’t just upload the same document for both and hope for the best. It simply won’t work.

For your ebook, the gold standard is an EPUB file. While KDP technically accepts Word documents, they can introduce bizarre formatting glitches during the conversion process. An EPUB is designed to be “reflowable,” meaning the text automatically adjusts to fit any screen size perfectly, from a tiny phone to a large Kindle Scribe.

Your print book, on the other hand, needs a print-ready PDF. This file is static, so everything is locked in place. The text, margins, and page numbers are exactly where you put them. You’ll need to define a specific trim size (like 6×9 inches), properly configure your margins (paying close attention to the “gutter” margin on the inside edge), and make sure all your fonts are embedded correctly.

Pro Tip: Don’t forget the small details that make a book feel professional. Every book needs a clean title page with your author name and a proper copyright page. You can easily find simple, free templates for copyright language online to protect your work.

Essential File Checklist

Think of this like checking your inventory before you list a new product. A little prep work now saves a lot of headaches later. Here’s a quick rundown of what you should have ready to go:

• For your Ebook (Amazon Kindle): A validated EPUB file is best. If you must use a Word doc, double-check that it has a clickable table of contents and consistent heading styles.
• For your Paperback (Print-on-Demand): A high-resolution PDF file set to your final trim size with all margins, page numbers, and fonts correctly configured.

Once these files are polished and ready, you’re set for the next stage: building out your actual book page on Amazon. Nailing the file prep is a lot like the foundational work we talk about in our guide on how to list products on Amazon; it’s the solid base everything else is built upon. With your formatted files in hand, you’re ready to create a listing that grabs readers’ attention.

Building an Amazon KDP Listing That Sells

Your book’s Amazon page is its digital storefront, and a weak listing can kill sales before they even start. This is all about the metadata, the behind-the-scenes info that helps readers find your book and gives them a reason to click “buy.” Let’s break down the three most critical parts of your listing.

Crafting a Book Description That Hooks Readers

Think of your book description as the back cover of your book, but supercharged for online shoppers. The first few lines are everything because Amazon hides the rest behind a “Read more” link. Your opening has to be a powerful hook that immediately grabs a reader’s attention.

Don’t just summarize the plot. That’s boring. Instead, ask a compelling question, present a shocking premise, or lead with a powerful quote from the book itself. You want to spark curiosity.

Also, don’t be afraid to use a little basic HTML to make your description scannable. Simple tags like <b> for bold text, <i> for italics, and <br> for line breaks can transform a dull wall of text into an engaging, easy-to-read sales pitch.

Key Takeaway: Your goal isn’t just to describe the book; it’s to sell the experience of reading it. Use formatting to highlight key phrases, pull quotes, or create bullet points of benefits for the reader.

Choosing Keywords That Drive Discovery

Amazon gives you seven keyword slots in your KDP backend, and these are pure gold. This is how you tell Amazon’s A9 algorithm what your book is about so it can show it to the right people. Don’t just guess or use single-word terms like “fantasy” or “mystery.” That’s a surefire way to get lost in the crowd.

You need to think like a reader. What specific phrases would someone type into the Amazon search bar if they were looking for a book just like yours?

• Long-tail keywords are your best friend: Instead of “dragons,” try “fantasy epic with dragon riders.”
• Think about tropes and subgenres: Use terms like “enemies to lovers romance” or “hard magic system fantasy.”
• Include comparable authors or titles: Keywords like “books like The Hunger Games” can be incredibly effective.

A great way to start is by typing your initial ideas into the Amazon search bar and seeing what auto-populates. Those suggestions are based on what real customers are searching for right now. For a more advanced approach, our guide on keyword research for Amazon can give you a deeper understanding of how to find winning terms.

Here’s a look at the search results for “bestselling fantasy books,” which shows how covers and titles work together to grab attention.

Notice how the top results have distinct, genre-appropriate covers and clear, compelling titles that immediately signal what the book is about.

Picking the Right Categories

Finally, you get to choose up to two categories for your book. These are the virtual bookshelves where your book will live. Getting this right is critical, especially if you’re chasing that coveted bestseller tag. It’s much easier to become a #1 Bestseller in a niche category like “Military Science Fiction” than in a broad one like “Science Fiction.”

Browse Amazon to see where similar books are categorized. Look for categories that are relevant but not impossibly competitive. A well-chosen category puts your book right in front of its ideal audience and gives you a real shot at earning that bright orange bestseller flag.

Pricing Your Book and Understanding Royalties

Alright, let’s get into the part everyone stresses over: how much should you actually charge for your book? Setting the right price on Amazon KDP isn’t just about picking a random number; it’s a strategic move that directly impacts how much cash lands in your pocket after each sale. It’s a delicate balance, finding that sweet spot between what readers are willing to pay and what makes the whole venture worthwhile for you.

When it comes to ebooks, Amazon gives you two main royalty options. Understanding these is the first step to pricing like a professional.

• The 70% Royalty Option: This is the one you’re probably aiming for. To qualify, your ebook needs to be priced between $2.99 and $9.99. This price window is where most indie authors live, and for good reason. It’s competitive enough to attract buyers while maximizing what you earn.
• The 35% Royalty Option: You’ll land here automatically if your book is priced below $2.99 or shoots above $9.99. Authors typically use this for short-term promotions, like a $0.99 launch special to gain momentum, or for very short works like novellas.

Think about it this way: if you price your book at $3.99 (in the 70% tier), you’ll earn roughly $2.79 per sale. Drop that price to $1.99 (in the 35% tier), and your take-home plummets to about $0.70. That’s a massive difference for just a two-dollar price change.

Calculating Paperback Royalties

Pricing a physical book is a totally different ballgame. Here, you have to factor in the actual cost of printing. KDP’s print-on-demand model means a book only gets printed when a customer clicks “buy,” so you don’t pay anything upfront. Instead, the print cost is simply deducted from your earnings.

The math is pretty straightforward:

(List Price x 60%) – Print Cost = Your Royalty

The print cost itself isn’t a fixed number; it changes based on your page count, whether you use black and white or color ink, and the trim size you chose. Thankfully, KDP provides a handy calculator right in your dashboard. You can plug in your book’s specs and play around with different list prices to see exactly how your royalty changes. It’s a bit like managing other operational costs; for a deeper dive into the platform’s fee structures, check out our complete breakdown of Amazon fees for sellers.

What About KDP Select and Kindle Unlimited?

Another huge decision you’ll face is whether to enroll your ebook in KDP Select. This is an optional, 90-day program that gives you access to promotional tools and, more importantly, makes your book available in Kindle Unlimited (KU).

With KU, you aren’t paid a flat royalty when someone “borrows” your book. Instead, you earn money for every single page a KU subscriber reads. Your payout comes from a global fund that fluctuates each month. To give you an idea, the Kindle Unlimited global fund has steadily grown, hitting nearly $60 million in July 2025. With per-page payouts hovering around $0.00419, those pages can really add up.

So, what’s the catch? By enrolling in KDP Select, you’re agreeing to sell your ebook exclusively on Amazon for those 90 days. That means no listing it on other storefronts like Apple Books or Kobo. It’s a classic trade-off: do you want wider distribution across multiple platforms, or do you want deeper access to Amazon’s massive, built-in audience of voracious readers?

You’re in the home stretch. Your manuscript and cover are uploaded, all the details are filled in, and you’re staring at that final checkpoint: the KDP previewer tool.

Whatever you do, don’t skip this part. This tool is your last line of defense, showing you exactly how your book will appear on different Kindle devices and in its final print form. This is your chance to catch any weird formatting bugs, awkward page breaks, or cover issues before a paying customer does. Seriously, take your time and click through every single page.

Once you’re positive everything looks perfect, it’s time to take a deep breath and hit “Publish.”

But here’s the thing: hitting publish isn’t the end. It’s the beginning. The real work of marketing is just getting started. A successful launch on Amazon requires a game plan, especially if you want to make the most of those first 30 days when the algorithm is watching your every move.

Your Simple Launch Checklist

A bit of planning goes a long, long way in determining your book’s initial visibility and sales velocity. You don’t need a massive marketing budget, just a few smart, coordinated moves.

Here are a few things to have lined up for launch week:

• Rally Your ARC Readers: An Advance Reader Copy (ARC) team is your secret weapon. These are readers who get your book for free before launch in exchange for leaving an honest review. Having even a handful of reviews ready to go on day one provides crucial social proof and tells potential buyers your book is worth their time.
• Prep Your Social Media Blitz: Don’t just post once and call it a day. Plan a series of posts for your launch day and the week that follows. Show off the cover, share a great quote, or even post a short video to build some real excitement.
• Carve Out a Small Ad Budget: I know, ads can be intimidating. But even a modest Amazon Ads campaign, think $10-$20 a day, can give your book a huge initial boost. It puts your book directly in front of readers who are actively searching for titles just like yours.

Why the First 30 Days Are Everything

Amazon’s algorithm pays very close attention to new things that show early signs of life. Every sale, download, and review within that first month sends a powerful signal that your book is relevant. This initial activity can directly lead to better visibility in search results and those coveted “also bought” recommendations.

Key Insight: Your goal during the launch phase isn’t necessarily to rake in huge profits. It’s to generate enough activity to tell the Amazon algorithm, “Hey, people are interested in this book!” This early momentum is what sets you up for long-term, organic sales down the road.

A well-run book launch actually shares a lot of DNA with a traditional product rollout on the platform. If you want to dive deeper into creating that initial sales velocity, our comprehensive guide on executing a successful Amazon product launch is packed with strategies that you can easily adapt for your new book. With a solid plan, you can give your book the absolute best start on its journey.

Common Questions About Publishing on Amazon

Even with a solid plan, a few questions are probably still rattling around in your head. It’s totally normal. Let’s tackle some of the most common ones I hear from authors who are just getting started with Kindle Direct Publishing.

We’ll get into the details that often cause the most confusion.

How Much Does It Really Cost to Publish a Book on Amazon?

Here’s the headline number: it costs absolutely nothing to upload your files and publish a book on Amazon KDP. Zero.

Creating an account is free, and you won’t pay a dime in listing fees. Amazon’s business model is simple: they take a cut of your sales, so they only make money when you do.

But thinking of it as completely “free” is a classic rookie mistake. While you can technically hit publish without spending a penny, the real-world costs come from creating a book that people will actually want to buy.

Here are the investments you absolutely need to budget for if you’re serious about this:

• Professional Editing: This is the big one. It’s non-negotiable. A sloppy manuscript screams amateur. Costs can run from a few hundred dollars for a solid proofread to several thousand for deep developmental editing.
• Cover Design: Your cover is your #1 marketing asset, period. A professional designer might charge anywhere from $150 to over $1,000, depending on how experienced they are and what you need. Don’t skimp here.
• Interior Formatting: Yes, you can wrestle with this yourself, but hiring a pro to create a clean, professional-looking EPUB and print PDF will save you hours of headaches. This usually lands in the $50 to $250 range.

So, while Amazon gives you the platform for free, the real expenses are in making your book look and read like it belongs on the virtual shelf. A well-produced book just sells better. End of story.

Do I Need an ISBN to Publish on KDP?

This one trips up a lot of new authors, but the answer is pretty straightforward, it just depends on the format.

For your Kindle ebook, you do not need your own ISBN. When you publish, Amazon automatically gives it an ASIN (Amazon Standard Identification Number). Think of it as Amazon’s internal tracking number for everything in their massive store.

For print books (paperback or hardcover), KDP gives you a choice:

1. Get a free ISBN from KDP: This is the easiest path. Amazon provides a free ISBN you can use for your print book. The catch? That ISBN is locked to Amazon’s ecosystem. It can only be used on their platform.
2. Use your own ISBN: If you have dreams of selling your print book through other retailers, distributors, or seeing it in a local bookstore, you must buy your own ISBN. In the US, you get these from Bowker. This gives you total control and distribution freedom.

Bottom Line: Sticking to Amazon only? The free options are perfectly fine. But if you have bigger plans for your print edition, you’ll need to invest in your own ISBN.

How Long Until My Book Is Live on Amazon?

You did it. You checked everything a dozen times and finally hit that “Publish” button. Now what?

Your book goes into Amazon’s review queue. They have a team (and a lot of algorithms) that checks your files and listing to make sure everything meets their content and quality guidelines.

Amazon’s official line is that this can take up to 72 hours.

In my experience, ebooks usually fly through the process, often going live in less than 24 hours. Print books can sometimes take the full 72 hours, especially if the review team flags a potential issue with your cover or interior files. You’ll get a confirmation email the second your book is live and available for sale.

Can I Update My Book After It Is Published?

Yes! And honestly, this is one of the best parts of self-publishing on KDP. Unlike the old days of traditional publishing, your book is never permanently “final.”

Found a couple of embarrassing typos a week after you launched? No problem. Want to give your cover a fresh look a year from now? You can do that. Need to update your book description or keywords to get more eyeballs on your page? It’s all just a few clicks away in your KDP dashboard.

Anytime you make an update, whether it’s to the manuscript, cover, or your book’s metadata, you simply upload the new files and resubmit. The book will go back through that same review process (again, up to 72 hours), and the new version will automatically replace the old one. It’s a massive advantage for indie authors.