KDP Direct Publishing: Print-on-Demand Tutorial

Okay so here’s how you actually get started with KDP print-on-demand

Look, I was literally just helping someone set up their first paperback last night while watching some random Netflix show I can’t even remember the name of, and I realized most tutorials overcomplicate this whole thing. So lemme just walk you through it like I’m showing you over coffee.

First thing – you need your manuscript ready

Your Word doc or whatever needs to be formatted correctly because KDP’s gonna turn it into a physical book. I’m talking margins, page size, the whole deal. Here’s what actually matters:

• Trim size – most people do 6×9 for books, but 8.5×11 works great for journals and workbooks
• Margins – KDP has this template generator thing on their site, use that instead of guessing
• Page count needs to be at least 24 pages for paperback, max is like 828 pages but honestly who’s printing that

The margin thing is super important because the binding eats up space. On a 6×9 book you’re looking at like 0.375 inches on the inside margin minimum, more if your book is thicker. I learned this the hard way when my first cookbook had text disappearing into the spine… not fun.

Getting your files actually uploaded

So you go to kdp.amazon.com, sign in with your regular Amazon account. Click that yellow button that says “Create” and then choose Paperback. The process is basically filling out a form but here’s where people mess up:

Title and description – You can’t change your title easily after publishing without unpublishing the whole thing. I’ve had clients who rushed this part and regretted it. Take the extra 10 minutes here.

ISBN situation – Amazon gives you a free one, just use that unless you’re planning to distribute outside Amazon. The free ISBN locks you to Amazon but honestly for print-on-demand that’s where 95% of your sales happen anyway. If you wanna buy your own it’s like $125 for one or $295 for 10 through Bowker but… I rarely tell people to do that anymore.

The manuscript upload part that everyone stresses about

You can upload PDF, DOC, or DOCX. I always convert to PDF first using Adobe or even just the “Save as PDF” option in Word because it keeps formatting consistent. KDP’s converter is decent but sometimes it does weird things with fonts.

Oh and another thing – your PDF needs to be one single file. Don’t try uploading chapter by chapter or anything creative like that.

After you upload, KDP runs this automated reviewer thing. Takes like 2-3 minutes. It’s gonna flag stuff like:

• Margins too small
• Images too low quality (needs to be 300 DPI minimum)
• Page count issues
• Weird formatting stuff

Most of these are warnings not hard stops. You can ignore some warnings but I wouldn’t recommend it because you’ll end up with a book that looks amateurish.

Cover design is where it gets interesting

You got two options: use KDP’s Cover Creator tool or upload your own. The Cover Creator is… fine for super basic stuff. I used it exactly once in 2018 and never again. It’s limiting and everyone can tell you used it.

For a proper cover you need the right dimensions which depend on your page count because the spine width changes. KDP has a cover calculator – you punch in your page count, paper type (usually white or cream), and trim size, and it spits out the dimensions.

This is gonna sound weird but I actually keep a spreadsheet of common spine widths because I got tired of calculating it every time. A 150-page book on white paper at 6×9 has like a 0.32 inch spine approximately.

Your cover file needs to be a single PDF or image that includes front cover, spine, AND back cover all in one. Plus you need bleed – that’s 0.125 inches extra on all sides that gets trimmed off. So if your cover calculator says your cover should be 12.5 x 9.25 inches, that’s already including bleed.

Wait I forgot to mention the paper and ink choices

You pick between:

• White or cream paper – cream looks more “book-like” for novels, white is better for images and workbooks
• Black & white or color interior – color costs way more to print, only use it if you actually need color
• Glossy or matte cover – matte feels more premium to me but glossy pops more on Amazon’s product images

These choices affect your printing cost which affects your royalty. Speaking of which…

Pricing and royalties – the math nobody wants to do

Amazon charges you a printing cost per book. It’s based on page count and whether you chose color or black and white. Then they take 60% of your list price for books sold on other Amazon marketplaces or through expanded distribution, or 40% for standard Amazon sales.

Wait no I got that backwards. You get 60% royalty on Amazon.com sales, minus printing costs. For expanded distribution you only get 40% minus printing costs.

Example: My 6×9 book with 200 pages, black and white interior, costs about $3.65 to print. If I price it at $12.99, I make roughly $4.14 per sale on Amazon.com ($12.99 x 0.60 = $7.79, minus $3.65 printing = $4.14).

KDP shows you a royalty calculator right there during setup so you can play with pricing. I usually aim for at least $4-5 profit per book for it to be worth running ads later.

Proofing your book before going live

After you upload everything, KDP shows you a digital previewer. It’s… okay for catching obvious problems but it doesn’t show you exactly how the physical book will look. Colors might be off, the paper texture matters, all that.

You can order a proof copy for just the printing cost plus shipping. Do this. I cannot stress this enough. I’ve probably saved myself from two dozen embarrassing mistakes by ordering proofs.

My cat knocked over my coffee on a proof copy once and honestly it made me realize the paper quality was too thin for that particular journal project, so even accidents can be useful I guess.

The proof takes maybe 3-5 days to arrive if you’re in the US. Check everything: margins, image quality, color accuracy, spine alignment, back cover text. I literally sit there with a checklist like a weirdo but it works.

Actually publishing the thing

Once you approve everything, you click “Publish” and Amazon takes 24-72 hours to review it. They’re checking for content violations, copyright stuff, quality issues. Most books get approved automatically within 24 hours unless you’re publishing something in a sensitive category.

After approval your book goes live on Amazon. It’ll show as available in 3-5 business days usually but sometimes it’s faster.

Oh and another thing about expanded distribution

There’s this checkbox during setup for “Expanded Distribution” which puts your book in libraries, bookstores, and other retailers. Sounds great right? Eh.

Your royalty drops to 40% minus printing, and in seven years I’ve made maybe $300 total from expanded distribution across all my books. It’s not nothing but it’s not a goldmine either. I still check the box because why not, but don’t expect much.

Common mistakes I see all the time

People upload low-res images and wonder why their book looks pixelated. Needs to be 300 DPI minimum, I already said that but it’s worth repeating.

Wrong margins so text gets cut off or disappears into the spine. Use KDP’s templates, seriously.

Pricing too low. I get wanting to be competitive but if you’re only making $1 per book, you can’t afford to market it. You’re just donating your time to Amazon at that point.

Not ordering a proof. Then they get a 1-star review because there’s a typo on page 47 that could’ve been caught.

Forgetting about the back cover. Some people design gorgeous front covers and then slap some ugly text on the back. The back cover sells the book too, put some effort there.

What happens after you’re live

Your book shows up on Amazon just like any other book. People can order it, Amazon prints it when someone orders, ships it to them. You don’t handle any inventory or shipping, that’s the whole point of print-on-demand.

You can make changes after publishing but it requires republishing which takes another 24-72 hours for review. Your book stays live during this but the new version won’t show until approved. Don’t make changes unless you really need to because it’s kind of a hassle.

Sales reports show up in your KDP dashboard. Royalties are paid like 60 days after the end of the month, same as ebooks. They gotta wait to make sure there’s no returns I guess.

One more random thing about formatting

If you’re doing a book with lots of images – like a cookbook or photography book – seriously consider using InDesign or Affinity Publisher instead of Word. Word is fine for text-heavy books but it’s terrible with image placement and formatting complex layouts. I spent three hours once fighting with Word on a coloring book before I gave up and switched to Affinity. Took 30 minutes there.

Also if you’re doing journals or planners with interior pages that repeat, you can create like 10 master pages and then just duplicate them until you hit your target page count. Way faster than designing 200 unique pages.

The actual time investment

First time doing this? Budget like 4-6 hours to figure everything out, format your manuscript properly, design or commission a cover, upload everything, and order a proof. After you’ve done it once, subsequent books take maybe an hour or two tops because you know the process.

I can set up a new journal in under an hour now because I have templates ready to go and I know exactly what KDP wants. It’s really just filling out the form and uploading files at this point.

Anyway that’s the gist of it. KDP print-on-demand isn’t complicated once you do it the first time, it just has a learning curve. The key is not rushing the setup part and definitely ordering that proof copy before you tell the world your book exists.