If you've finished writing a book and you're ready to publish it on Amazon, you don't need a fifty-page guide full of inspirational quotes and stock photos of people typing on MacBooks in coffee shops. You need to know what to do, in what order, and what to watch out for. So here it is.
Before You Upload
Your manuscript needs to be properly formatted. Amazon accepts Word documents (.docx) and ePub files. If you're using Word, keep the formatting simple — standard fonts, no manual spacing, use Word's built-in heading styles. Amazon's conversion tool handles most of the work, but it can't fix a mess. If your manuscript is full of manual line breaks and tabbed indents, the ebook version will look dreadful.
Your cover needs to be ready. Not nearly ready. Not a placeholder. Ready. A professional cover in the correct dimensions (2,560 x 1,600 pixels for Kindle) that looks good as a thumbnail. Don't upload without it.
Your blurb needs to be written. Not a first draft you'll "fix later." A proper, polished blurb that you'd be happy to show a stranger. This is your sales pitch — treat it like one.
Setting Up Your KDP Account
Go to kdp.amazon.com and sign in with your Amazon account, or create one. You'll need to provide tax information and a bank account for royalty payments. The tax bit can feel tedious, but it's a one-time setup and Amazon walks you through it. If you're in the UK, you'll fill in a W-8BEN form to avoid US tax withholding.
Creating Your Book Listing
Click "Create New Title" and choose "Kindle eBook." Then work through the three tabs:
Tab 1: Book Details. Enter your title, subtitle (optional but useful for keywords), author name, description (that's your blurb), and keywords. Take your time here. Everything on this tab affects how your book appears in search results.
Tab 2: Content. Upload your manuscript file and your cover. Use the online previewer to check how the book looks on different devices. Check the first chapter, the table of contents, and the last page. Fix anything that looks off before proceeding.
Tab 3: Pricing. Choose your royalty plan (70% for ebooks priced £1.99–£9.99, 35% for everything else), set your price, and decide whether to enrol in KDP Select (Kindle Unlimited). If you're unsure about KDP Select, read my post on Kindle Unlimited vs wide distribution.
Categories
Amazon lets you choose up to three categories. Do not rush this. Your categories determine where your book appears in Amazon's browse structure and which bestseller lists you're eligible for. Research the subcategories in your genre and choose the most specific ones that accurately describe your book.
Hit Publish
Once you've filled in all three tabs and reviewed everything, click "Publish Your Kindle eBook." Amazon will review your book — this typically takes 24 to 72 hours — and then it'll be live.
That's it. Your book is on Amazon.
What to Do Next
Don't just sit there refreshing your sales dashboard — although you will, and that's fine. Make sure you've got a plan for the first week: tell your mailing list, share it on social media, reach out to your ARC readers, and consider a promotional price to generate early sales momentum.
The launch is important, but it's not everything. The decisions you made during setup — cover, blurb, categories, keywords, price — will determine how your book performs over the coming months. If you got those right, you're in a strong position. If you're not sure, go back and review them.
Publishing a book on Amazon is remarkably simple. Publishing one that sells takes a bit more thought. That's the difference between uploading a file and launching a product.