KDP

Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) is Amazon's self-publishing platform that lets authors and publishers publish e-books and print-on-demand paperbacks for sale through the Kindle Store and other Amazon marketplaces. Introduced in 2007, KDP enables independent authors to reach a global audience without traditional publishing. In 2018, CreateSpace was integrated into KDP Print, consolidating print publishing under the same system.

Authors upload manuscript files and cover art, select territories, set pricing, and manage rights and metadata. For e-books, KDP distributes to Kindle apps and devices in multiple markets. Print books are published through KDP Print, a print-on-demand service that handles production and global distribution. The platform provides formatting tools and guidance to optimize layout for Kindle devices.

KDP offers two royalty options. The 70% royalty applies to eligible e-books priced within the supported range in many territories, minus delivery costs. The 35% royalty is available in all other territories or when the price or formatting does not meet the 70% criteria. Authors can adjust prices and participate in promotional programs such as temporary price reductions.

KDP Select is an optional enrollment that provides access to Kindle Unlimited and Kindle Owners’ Lending Library in exchange for exclusive Kindle distribution for the enrollment term (initially 90 days, with automatic renewals). Royalties from page reads are calculated from a global fund and allocated based on pages read and overall share of the book.

Rights and policies: authors retain most rights to their works, while KDP enforces content guidelines and copyright protections and prohibits infringement or misleading metadata.