How to Publish an Ebook on Amazon KDP: The Complete Guide for First-Time Authors

From manuscript to a page that sells: a real step-by-step, with Amazon's rules, the mistakes that get books rejected, and the decisions that matter most.

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What KDP Is (and Why It's Worth It)

Kindle Direct Publishing is Amazon's system for publishing books without going through a publishing house. You keep your rights, set your price, and receive royalties directly.

The financial detail that changes everything: books priced between $2.99 and $12.99 earn 70% royalties — outside that range, it drops to 35%. That means a $4.99 ebook leaves $3.49 per sale straight in your account.

On top of that, KDP offers: Kindle Unlimited (pay per page read), print-on-demand paperbacks (no inventory), and access to an audience that already buys books inside Amazon.

The Three Formats You Can Publish

The biggest trap: PDF doesn't work as an ebook on Amazon, because the text doesn't adapt to the screen. Use EPUB or DOCX.

Step 1 — Write and edit the content

This step determines the outcome more than any other, and it's the one nobody wants to do properly.

Recommended length: between 10,000 and 25,000 words. Long enough to deliver real value, short enough to maintain quality from start to finish. Books under 5,000 words get flagged as low content; above 40,000 words becomes hard to edit well.

Editing is mandatory. AI-generated text often has technically correct grammar and poorly constructed sentences. Before publishing:

1. Read the entire manuscript;
2. Add real examples and your experience;
3. Verify every statistic and claim — AI invents numbers with total confidence;
4. Remove generic AI tone ("Firstly", "Moreover", "In this sense", "It's worth noting that");

Step 2 — Format the file

Formatting errors are the most common cause of visual rejection.

For eBooks:

• Use Google Docs, Word, or similar;
• Readable font (Georgia or Times New Roman, size 11–12);
• Insert an automatic table of contents;
• Export as EPUB (best result) or .docx (KDP converts automatically);
• Don't export as PDF — Amazon doesn't accept PDF as an ebook.

For paperbacks:

• Dimensions: 6×9 in (nonfiction) or 8.5×8.5 in (illustrated books);
• Margins of at least 0.5 in on all sides, with a larger inner margin for the spine;
• Required pages: title page, copyright page, and table of contents.

After upload, use the KDP Previewer to check how the book looks on Kindle, tablet, and phone. Review every preview before publishing.

Step 3 — Create a cover that sells

The cover is the number one driver of clicks. Books with generic or obviously machine-generated covers sit at the bottom of search results.

Technical specs:

• JPG (not PNG) or TIFF;
• Minimum resolution: 1600 × 2560 pixels (1:1.6 ratio, the Kindle standard);
• No small text, no blur, no stock-photo mustaches.

Practical tip: most AI image generators produce square images. Generate the background art, then add the title and author name in a design tool (Canva, for example) — don't trust AI typography, it distorts letters.

Step 4 — Fill in the metadata (the invisible part that sells)

This is the work nobody does, and it defines your visibility.

Title — the most important element. It must contain the word your reader searches for. Generate 10 options and mentally test which one gets clicked.

Subtitle — complements the title with measurable specificity: "The complete guide to...", "Updated 2026", "Over 50 practical examples".

Description (blurb) — this is your sales page, not a summary. A structure that works:

• Open with a question or statement that hits the reader's pain;
• List 5 main benefits as bullet points;
• Describe who the book is for (ideal reader profile);
• Include a closing call to action;
• 300 to 500 words.

7 keywords — fill every slot with long-tail phrases. Use Publisher Rocket or Amazon's own search suggestions.

2 categories — the more specific, the less competition. Choose only specific ones, not the generic parent.

Step 5 — Upload

1. Go to kdp.amazon.com and sign in;
2. Click Create and choose your format (Kindle eBook or paperback);
3. Fill in title, subtitle, author, description, keywords, and categories;
4. Upload your manuscript (EPUB or DOCX);
5. Upload the cover;
6. Check everything in the previewer;
7. Set the price and publish.

Amazon's review takes 24 to 72 hours. Sometimes it's faster.

The AI rule nobody explains properly

AI changed this: since September 2023, KDP requires disclosure of AI-generated content. What must be declared:

Three things you need to know:

1. Disclosure is internal. Readers never see it. It doesn't affect royalties or ranking;
2. Amazon doesn't reject books for being AI. It rejects for quality problems, duplicate content, or misleading metadata;
3. What gets your book removed is failing to disclose. Amazon combines automated detection with human review, and undisclosed titles are being pulled more frequently.

And one detail nobody mentions: purely AI-generated content is not copyrightable in the US. To claim copyright, you need substantial human authorship — arrangement, editing, original outlines. If you're serious about this, reserve time to rewrite passages in your own voice.

Pricing tips that work

• $2.99 to $4.99 is the range most first-time authors use, and it keeps the 70% royalty;
• Don't go below $2.99 — outside that range you drop to 35% and readers still perceive it as too cheap;
• KDP Select lets you also earn from pages read in Kindle Unlimited. It works very well in genres with high page-read ratios (romance, fantasy, horror);
• A $0.99 launch for the first 3 to 5 days generates early sales and reviews, which boost visibility. Then raise to your final price.

The mistakes that get books rejected

1. PNG cover or resolution below 1600×2560 — Amazon requires JPG/TIFF;
2. Omitting AI disclosure;
3. Misleading metadata — a title promising something the book doesn't deliver;
4. Duplicate content — the same book in multiple languages with the same slug;
5. Uploading a PDF as an ebook;
6. Books under 25 pages — tend to get negative reviews for lack of content;
7. Covers with illegible thumbnail text — the cover appears tiny in search results.

Final checklist before publishing

• Title contains the main keyword
• Subtitle adds measurable specificity
• Description is a sales page (300–500 words)
• 7 long-tail keywords filled in
• 2 specific categories selected
• JPG cover at 1600×2560 with legible text
• Manuscript in EPUB or DOCX
• AI disclosure completed correctly
• Copyright page included (paperback)
• Table of contents working in all formats
• Price between $2.99 and $12.99
• Reviewed in the KDP Previewer at every screen size

Conclusion

Publishing on Amazon KDP remains one of the most accessible ways to turn knowledge into income. It requires no publisher, no upfront investment, and feedback arrives within days.

What separates people who make money from people who publish and forget isn't the number of books — it's the care on the three points that matter: content with real editing, a professional cover, and metadata designed for conversion.

The first book is the hardest. Once you master the process, each subsequent publication takes hours instead of weeks — and the difference between the two is exactly what separates a hobby from a business.

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Sources

• Como Publicar eBooks na Amazon — Como publicar livros gerados por IA 2026
• Aprenda Ganhar Dinheiro — Como criar ebook com ChatGPT para o KDP
• AI Tools Compared — Best AI Tools for Amazon KDP Publishing 2026
• Inkfluence AI — Best AI Book Generator for Self-Publishing 2026
• Rework — Best AI Tools for Authors in 2026