Amazon KDP – 15 Frequently Asked Questions (KDP FAQs)

Welcome to Low Content Profits! My name is Subha Malik and I have written this blog post to cover 15 Frequently Asked Questions about Amazon Kdp. You may find these questions helpful, especially if you are new to the Kdp business or just want to know more about this self-publishing opportunity.

Amazon Kdp is a wonderful platform for authors and self-publishers as it helps them reach millions of readers worldwide. I have been in this low content book publishing thing for the last 4 years or so! And now I am earning a full-time income from it!

So, based upon my personal experience and knowledge I will be answering these frequently asked questions about amazon kdp. The list of questions is not exhausted and I may add more questions to this list over time!

So, without further ado, let’s just dive in!

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15 Frequently Asked Questions About Amazon Kdp!

Below you will find the answers to 15 frequently asked questions about amazon kdp…

# 1 – What Does Kdp Stand For?

KDP stands for Kindle Direct Publishing which is perhaps the biggest platform for self-published authors. It helps the authors to reach directly to millions of readers all around the globe. Kdp is Amazon’s ebook publishing platform first launched in November 2007. It lets publishers and authors independently publish their books (ebooks & paperback books) directly to the kindle store.

# 2 – Is Amazon Kdp Legit?

Based upon my personal experience of almost 4 years, I can say Yes Amazon Kdp is legit! It’s a real platform owned by the world’s biggest eCommerce site i.e. Amazon. I first started with Amazon Kdp in May 2017 and I made my first $1.44 during June 2017. At that time kdp was only supporting ebook publishing. Since then I have published a lot of no content and low content books via Kdp and I am earning consistent royalties every single month.

# 3 – Is Amazon Kdp Free?

Yes, Amazon Kdp is totally free. It doesn’t cost you any month or yearly subscription. All you need is an internet connection and a PC or Laptop to get started with Kdp. As far as the publishing part is concerned, amazon kdp is free, however, if you need to advertise your book on Amazon, then you need to pay the advertising cost.

# 4 – Is Amazon Kdp Profitable?

Yes, Amazon Kdp is very profitable and you can expect a very decent monthly income from it if you manage to create some really good quality books! I can say this from my own experience as I am earning consistent monthly income from kdp for the last 4 years or so! Above all, creating and publishing books via kdp doesn’t require any upfront cost, all you need to invest is TIME!

# 5 – Is Amazon Kdp Worth It?

Yes, Amazon Kdp with the time and effort you put into this self-publishing business. However, to be successful at amazon kdp you need to hone your kdp niche and keyword research skills. The Kdp business is a 3 step process i.e. Research, Create, and Upload. If you master all these three aspects of the kdp business then you can expect success!

# 6 – How Does Amazon Kdp Work?

Here is how Amazon Kdp works;

1. You create an ebook or paperback book and publish it to KDP
2.  Kdp creates a listing for your book on Amazon
3. Readers can purchase your ebook that is instantly sent to their Kindle device
4. Readers can purchase the paperback version of your ebook. Amazon’s KDP will use their POD (print-on-demand) technology to print and ship your book directly to the reader once purchased.
5. Kdp will pay you the royalties for each ebook or paperback book sold.
6. You will get paid after 60 days – royalties earned during Oct will be paid at the end of December.

# 7 – Can I Have Two Amazon Kdp Accounts?

The short answer to this question is NO! As per Kdp’s terms of service, you are not allowed to have two kdp accounts with the same name and bank information! However, any of your family members can have a 2nd kdp account! Or you can have a 2nd kdp account for your business where the name and bank account details are different than your personal bank details.

# 8 – What Can You Sell On Amazon Kdp?

On Kdp you can sell ebooks, paperback books, and hardcover books. However, the hardcover book publishing is still in the beta testing phase, so it may not be available to every newbie author or publisher!

# 9 – How Much Can I Make On Amazon Kdp?

On Kdp, you can price your ebook between $0.99 and $2.98 to earn 35% of the sale price. 

And when you price your book at $2.99 or above, you can get 70% of the sale.

And if you chose to publish a paperback book of 120 pages (black & white paper) priced at $6.99, you will earn $1.90 as royalties per copy sold.

Now here comes the answer to the main question, how much money you can make with amazon kdp depends upon a lot of factors. Some of the factors include:

• The topic of your book(s)
• The quality of your books and cover design
• Your advertising budget or books promotion strategy
• The amount of following you have.
• The amount of your Luck (Some people get lucky and their very first book becomes a best seller, it very rare though!)

If you have an email list, a Facebook page, or a youtube channel. Then you can promote your ebook or book and make very good money. On the other hand, if you don’t have any online presence or following then you need to master niche and keyword research. And you also need to publish more books and see what sells the best!

# 10 – What Is Amazon Kdp Select?

As you can read from the kdp itself, “KDP Select is a free 90-day program to Kindle eBook. It allows you to reach more readers through Amazon and Kindle promotions. All authors and publishers, regardless of where they live, are eligible.”

When you enroll in the kdp select program, which is a 90-day term-based program, you agree to make your ebook exclusive to kdp. What this means is, you cannot distribute your book digitally anywhere else, including on your website, blogs, etc. during those 90 days. The major benefit of enrolling your ebook in the kdp select program is it lets you run 5 days of free promotion and run cut down deals (a discounted price for few days). 

# 11 – What Is Amazon Kdp Expanded Distribution?

Expanded Distribution means expanding the distribution of your paperback books through kdp’s distributors in the USA and UK to bookstores, online retailers, libraries, and academic institutions. When you enroll your paperback in Expanded Distribution, Kdp makes your book available to its distributors. And from those distributors, booksellers and libraries can find your book and order it.

Not all paperback books are illegible to be enrolled in expanded distribution as kdp has restrictions on certain trim sizes and languages. You can easily enroll a paperback book into expanded distribution, just go to the pricing page and look for the little check box next to the pricing box both in the USA and UK marketplace.

# 12 – Does Amazon Kdp Print Hardcover Books?

Amazon kdp has started printing hardcover books in early 2021 as beta testing and now the feature is available to almost all publishers and authors. Hardcover books have the same printing options except: 

• There are five available trim sizes
• The minimum and maximum page count is 75 – 550 pages

Read more about kdp hardcover books.

# 13 – How Is Kdp Cover Size Calculated?

For an ebook, the dimensions of the cover are 2560 pixels in height and 1600 pixels in width. And for a paperback book, you need to do a bit of math to calculate the cover size. As the paperback book has a front cover, a spine, and a back cover, therefore you need to have measurements for all of these.

Kdp Cover Width = Front Cover + Spine + Back Cover + Print Bleed

Kdp Cover Height = Front Cover Height + Print Bleed

Where, 

Book Spine =  No of pages x x 0.002252″ (for white paper)

Print Bleed = 0.25”

So, let’s calculate the cover size of an 8.5 x 11-inch book with 120 pages.

Front Cover: 8.5 Inch

Back Cover: 8.5 Inch

Book Spine: 120 x 0.002252″ = 0.27”

Print Bleed = 0.25”

So, based on these numbers, the cover size for our example book would be:

Cover Width = 8.5 + 8.5 + 0.27 + 0.25 = 17.52″

Cover Height = 11 + 0.25 = 11.25″

# 14 – What Size Should A Kindle Book Cover Be?

As per kdp for a kindle ebook, the cover height should be 2560 pixels, and the cover width should be 1600 pixels. The Minimum dimensions for an ebook are 1000 pixels in height and 625 pixels in width. And the maximum dimensions for a cover image should not exceed 10,000 pixels in height and in width.

# 15 – Is There A Minimum Page Count For Kdp?

Yes, kdp has a minimum limit for page count and that is 24 for all trim sizes. It means your paperback book should be at least 24 pages to be get accepted by kdp. Below are the minimum and maximum page counts for various trim sizes.

Let’s Summarize It!

In this post, I have shared my answers to some frequently asked questions about Amazon Kdp. All these questions are often asked by newbies or people who just want to start the kdp business. I hope you’ve found this post helpful!

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Subha Malik