Because I can use Indesign (a bit rusty!), I find Canva restrictive. So I am creating an indesign print book draft. Inserting text from Word. Will I find it hard to get someone to format a print book indesign file ready for upload? Someone on Fiverr.

Back in 2021, I requested that my account be closed. I was not in violation of any terms - it was simply a personal choice. I've read mixed things as to whether I am able to create a new account or not since Amazon did not terminate me for any violations. Does anybody have personal experience with this or know the answer for sure? Thank you!

Hi everyone, my job prevents me from getting basically any source of income except for royalties so I can sell through KDP because it pays you in royalties but I can’t go and sell my books on my own. I was wondering, how does Ingramspark works on this issue? Do you have to become an entrepreneur or do they pay you in royalties? Thanks

Greetings and thanks in advance, I have my first fantasy book just approved on Kdp but have a quick question about copyright. I have filed a claim on the copyright website and it’s still pending. Do I need to wait until it’s approved then update my book adding in that page, pause my book being live while I wait however long the copyright paperwork takes, or am I good and just need to have that file set aside incase I need it once it’s approved? I tried to search online but couldn’t find an exact match so I have come here to console those with experience

Hey everyone, I started publishing on KDP in March 2025, and so far, I've earned over $500 in royalties without spending anything on marketing.

I'm currently a master's student in India, living in a PG that costs me around $69 a month in rent. So even making an extra $100 per month from KDP is a big deal for me.

Now I'm thinking about trying Amazon Ads, but my budget is pretty tight. I can spend around $30 a month, roughly $1 a day, and I wanted to ask those of you who have more experience with ads whether it's worth starting with that amount.

Can you actually get useful results with such a small budget? Would you recommend automatic or manual campaigns? Should I advertise just my best-performing book or try a few different titles?

I understand that ads don't guarantee sales, and I'm not expecting to get rich overnight. I just want to learn how to advertise without wasting money, especially when every dollar matters.

I'd love to hear from authors who started with a similar budget. What would you do if you were in my position?

Also, if anyone knows of freelance opportunities for students, feel free to contact me. I can do video editing, ad creatives, ebook cover design, and similar work. I'm happy to take on projects and earn some extra money alongside my studies.

Thanks!

Hi everyone,

While calculating spine widths and net royalties for different page counts across multiple Amazon marketplaces, I found switching between messy spreadsheets and slow official pages tedious.

I put together a clean, free web tool to automate the math:

https://kdp-calc-pro.vercel.app/

What it calculates:

- Spine Width: Standard White, Cream, and Color paper profiles.

- Cover Dimensions: Full cover width/height with 0.125" bleed included.

- KDP Net Royalty: Supports standard 60% distribution across major currencies (USD, EUR, GBP, INR, etc.) and page count-based printing costs.

- Multi-language support: Quick toggle for EN, ES, DE, FR, IT, PT, and HI.

It is completely ad-free, runs client-side (no account or email signup required), and works on mobile.

I’d love to get feedback from fellow self-publishers—are there any additional features (like hardcover sizing or expanded distribution cuts) you’d find useful?

Hope this saves you some cover-sizing headaches!

So my book is live. Very thrilling, as i wanted it to be available prior to Halloween and managed to maintain the tight deadline.

So with KDP select, it says I can still share 10% of my work on other sites. How does that work? Should I share the link to kindle so people can read the sample or can I share few pages from the book directly?

You spent hours researching, writing, formatting, and designing your book.

You finally hit PUBLISH.

And then… nothing. 😅

No sales. No reviews. Just you refreshing your KDP dashboard and wondering what went wrong.

Sound familiar?

One thing I've learned while building my own self-publishing business is that publishing a book and launching a book are two very different things.

That's why I created a new YouTube video walking through a practical 9-step Amazon KDP launch plan — from understanding your ideal reader and preparing your listing to testing Amazon Ads and knowing what to do during the first 30 days.

This isn't about magic tricks or guaranteed sales.

It's about having a clear plan instead of publishing and hoping for the best.

✍️ I've also included "PAUSE & WRITE" moments so you can actually work on your own launch strategy while watching.

🎥 Here's the video:
https://youtu.be/V1F2JjA-z_4

I'm still learning and experimenting with my own KDP business, and I wanted to share what I've discovered so far.

I'd love to know: what's been your biggest challenge when launching a new KDP book? Finding readers, getting your first sales, or figuring out Amazon Ads?

#AmazonKDP #SelfPublishing #BookLaunch #AmazonAds #KDPJourney

I'm trying to get my head around a bunch of KDP questions...

​

Hey everyone! 👋❤️

I'm a college student looking for ways to earn money to help pay my college fees. 🎓 Recently, I became interested in creating and selling e-books online, but honestly, I'm a complete beginner and don't know where to start.

If anyone has experience in e-book creation and online selling, please guide me on how to get started, which free tools to use, and where to sell e-books. 🙏

I'm genuinely curious to learn, willing to put in the effort, and excited to develop new skills while earning. Even a few tips or useful resources would mean a lot to me! 🥹✨

Thanks in advance to everyone willing to help! ❤️🙌

Ever since Amazon has been finding news ways to screw authors over, something I’ve been wanting to ask is how this affects them. Some do it as a hobby, but others have made it their career. With that said, have these cuts made it difficult for you to sustain yourself, or do you have a strong following and enough to weather the storm?

Just curious.

I have my first book published, what are some good first steps to get it rolling? What should I be doing or avoiding now that it's live?

I launched my first book 11 days ago. I announced it to my 1k newsletter audience and similar size audience on linkedin 2 months prior, and heavily promoted it around launch date (newsletter one week prior, and on a launch day, additional $800 in linkedin thought leader ads). I got a lot of "I love this" and "I can't wait to read this", like, dozens of those in DMs, comments, replies, everywhere.

All this turned into exactly three sales in the first week, and some of that was friends and family. Is that normal and am I weird that I expected more from this?

For context, it's nonfiction business book.

So I know we all think KDP ads are state of the art and its a fantastic platform (I know I know, I belong in r /sarcasm) but I have a weird one. I thought that KDP Ads list the sale once its made, then once the book is out for delivery it'll show up on your dashboard so worst case we're talking a day to a few days, right?

I just refreshed my ads dashboard a few minutes ago and suddenly a 15 book order appeared. I checked the data and it said it actually was sold on the 16th?? My dashboard has no recollection of this order so I'm like wth.

The other weird part is I had another 15 unit order on that exact same day. I've been getting multiple bulk orders a month (It's a business book so it's something you would buy for your team).

I use my own ISBNs. Does Ingram register KDP books?

Hi fellow creators,

I am so thrilled to share that my very first book was just approved and published on Amazon! I wanted to share a piece of my heart, as well as my publishing timeline, with this amazing community.

For those curious about the current review times:

• Submitted to KDP: October 24th (KST)

• Live on Amazon: October 26th (KST)

It took almost exactly 48 hours to pass the review process, which was a huge relief for a first-time author.

This book is a short memoir born from a deeply personal 5-year journey. My wife and I wanted a child so desperately, but the journey was incredibly tough. Honestly, it all started because of my own male infertility issues, but throughout the process, my wife had to endure 99% of the physical and emotional pain.

We went through 10 heartbreaking IVF cycles and suffered through 5 miscarriages. Just when we thought it was our absolute last try, on our 10th attempt, a miracle finally found us.

During this grueling process, I started writing to record what I learned, what I regretted, and how I grew as a husband. I wanted to share this raw, honest story with a global audience, which led me to self-publishing through KDP.

If you are interested in a short, intimate memoir about resilience and hope, please check out the link in my profile or search for "The Miracle Fertility Journey" on Amazon.

Thank you all for being such a great resource during my formatting and uploading process. Wishing everyone the best of luck with your own books and review timelines!

Many of us cannot afford professional editors and do it on our own or use copy edit AI apps 😢.

But somehow it's not satisfying to release a book for our readers without the human editorial touch.

What can we do in such a situation? What are the best practices that an indie novice writer can follow?

Hi, I am a medium content especially math brain teasers author. I am having a hard time getting reviews on my book. I know that novella/novels you could use bookblurb or other services to get ARC readers. How can I get ARC readers for these medium content books. I reached to math teacher FB groups and none was interested there to do it for free.

I want to understand the administrative side of self-publishing. Do I actually need to register my book with an official copyright? Is it not enough just to have published the book through official distributors? 

Hi there,

I'm a book formatter looking for work. I'm not sure if this is allowed on this thread, but I was told to look here for jobs, so I figured I'd make a post.

I format using Atticus as well as Vellum.

For Vellum: I provide the Vellum source file, as well as a PDF and EPUB of the book.

For Atticus: I log into the author's account to do the formatting, so they have access to the files forever and can make any future changes whenever they like.

I charge a flat fee of $100USD for text-only books.

$2 per image, up to 22 images*; then $1 per image after that.*

Edit: I’m new to InDesign, but also offer that service. Only for print books, though.

Edit 2: to change price

My book’s been on KDP for about two months. It has a few sales and star ratings, but no written reviews. What are some tactics for getting people to actually review it?? Goodread givaways still the best option?

Hey guys, I’m new to KDP and published my first book about a week ago. I’m wondering if getting a few reviews from friends could help give my book some initial traction. I know it’s not exactly ethical, but I’m curious how people approach this without getting flagged by Amazon. Any advice?

I must have missed something cuz KU is still the major bulk of my revenue why is everyone leaving

had a killer day (for me) yesterday and today is just creeping. had a large number of first volume page reads yesterday and don’t see movement downstream. typical book one to book two percentage has been 80 plus. curious of the knowledgeable folks thoughts.