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Publishing Your Own Book on Amazon KDP: A Gentle First Look

ByRuth Abernathy

If you have always liked to write, there is a simple way to put your words in front of readers: publishing your own book through Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing, often called KDP. It won’t make most people rich. But a short, useful book could, over time, bring in a few dollars a month toward a small bill, such as a $10 or $15 streaming plan. That is an estimate, not a promise.

What KDP is

KDP is Amazon’s free service for publishing your own eBooks and paperbacks. Amazon says the service is free to use. For paperbacks, books are printed only when someone orders one, so you don’t pay printing costs up front. Those costs come out of your earnings instead.

How the money works

Here is how KDP explains it on its help pages, as of October 2026:

  • eBooks: you choose a 35% or a 70% royalty. To use the 70% option on Amazon.com, your list price must be between $2.99 and $12.99. A small “delivery cost” based on the file size (15 cents per megabyte in the US) is taken out of 70% sales.
  • Paperbacks: you earn 60% of the list price on Amazon.com when the book is priced at $9.99 or more, minus the printing cost. KDP’s own example: a 333-page paperback priced at $15 earns about $4.00 per copy after a $5.00 printing cost.
  • Payday: royalties are paid monthly, about 60 days after the end of the month of the sale. Direct deposit is the faster way to be paid.

So a $3.99 eBook at 70% earns a little under $2.80 per copy. Five or six sales a month might cover a $15 bill. Many books sell fewer than that, and results vary a great deal.

What could you write?

Books that solve a small problem tend to be easier to explain to buyers. A few ideas:

  • A family recipe collection, written up clearly.
  • A how-to guide for a skill you know well, such as canning, fishing knots or bird feeding.
  • Local history of your town, using sources you are allowed to use.
  • A short story collection or a book of poems.

Getting started, step by step

  1. Write your book in a word-processing program, such as Microsoft Word or the free Google Docs.
  2. Ask a friend or family member to read it and point out typos.
  3. Go to kdp.amazon.com and sign in with your Amazon account, or create one.
  4. Fill in your tax information and bank details. KDP asks for these before it can pay you.
  5. Click to create a new Kindle eBook or paperback, then follow the screens: title, description, your file, a cover and a price.
  6. Use the free Cover Creator in KDP if you don’t have a cover designer.

Watch out for publishing scams

Be careful with companies that promise big earnings from self-publishing and then sell you an expensive course or “publishing package.” In July 2026, the Federal Trade Commission settled a case over a self-publishing program’s earnings claims. The FTC’s advice: ask for proof of any income claim, be wary of reviews from people with a stake in the company, and read the refund terms before you pay. You don’t need to pay anyone to use KDP. Report anything suspicious at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

Taxes and benefits

Book royalties count as income. KDP sends US authors a Form 1099-MISC by January 31 when royalties pass a small threshold. If you are self-employed, you may owe self-employment tax; see the IRS Self-Employed Individuals Tax Center. If you are under full retirement age and get Social Security, earnings can affect your benefits, and some other benefits (SSI, Medicaid, housing help) have income rules too. This is general information, so please check your own situation with the Social Security Administration or a tax professional.

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