Amazon KDP

Amazon KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) is the dominant self-publishing platform, controlling roughly 67% of the US ebook market (closer to 83% when Kindle Unlimited borrows are counted). Publishing is free, and authors choose between a 35% royalty at any price or a 70% royalty for ebooks priced $2.99–$12.99. For most indie authors, KDP is not optional—it's where the majority of sales happen.

What You Get#

• Ebook publishing: Upload a manuscript and cover, and ebooks go live on Amazon within 24–72 hours. No upfront cost; Amazon takes its cut at sale.
• Print on demand: KDP Print handles paperbacks and hardcovers. Readers order, Amazon prints and ships. You receive royalties after printing costs are deducted.
• KDP Select: Optional 90-day exclusivity program (auto-renewing) that covers the digital edition only—you can still sell print and audio elsewhere. Enrolled books enter Kindle Unlimited, paying per KENP page read (~$0.0048–$0.0049 through mid-2026; $0.00482 in April 2026, $0.004888 in May 2026 per third-party trackers—Amazon publishes the fund total, not the rate).
• Audiobooks: Two separate paths. ACX (Audiobook Creation Exchange) is the human-narration marketplace for hiring or royalty-sharing with narrators. Audiobooks with Virtual Voice is a KDP-native AI narration beta—free to produce, 40% royalty, $3.99–$14.99 list price—but it is invite-only and US-marketplace only.
• Kindle Translate: An invite-only beta that produces AI translations between English and Spanish, German, French, Italian, and Portuguese at no cost. Translated editions carry a visible "Kindle Translate" label and are eligible for KDP Select and Kindle Unlimited.
• Free ISBN: KDP assigns a free ASIN for ebooks and offers a free ISBN for both paperback and hardcover. KDP-issued ISBNs register the imprint as "Independently published" and are restricted to KDP only—authors who want publishing flexibility should purchase their own ISBN.

Who It's For#

• All indie authors: KDP is the baseline. Even authors distributing wide through aggregators like Draft2Digital typically publish directly on KDP for full control of their Amazon presence.
• KDP Select authors: Romance, fantasy, and thriller authors with high read-through often earn more through Kindle Unlimited page reads than direct sales, making exclusivity worthwhile.
• Authors starting out: No upfront cost and no minimum sales requirements make KDP accessible for debut authors.

Pricing: Free to publish. Ebook royalties: 70% for books priced $2.99–$12.99 (delivery fee of $0.15/MB deducted); 35% for all other prices. Print royalties on Amazon: 60% minus printing costs at list prices ≥$9.99; 50% minus printing costs below $9.99 (changed June 2025). Expanded Distribution pays 40% minus printing costs. Audiobooks with Virtual Voice pay 40%; ACX pays 50% exclusive or 30% non-exclusive under the royalty model that opened to all creators on May 26, 2026.

Strengths#

• Market dominance: Amazon holds the largest share of both ebook and print POD sales for indie authors—no aggregator matches its direct reach.
• Higher 70% ceiling (July 2026): Amazon raised the 70% royalty price cap from $9.99 to $12.99 on July 7, 2026—the first change since 2007—which materially helps box sets, long fiction, and nonfiction priced above $10.
• Kindle Unlimited access: KDP Select is the only way to enroll in Kindle Unlimited, a major revenue stream for high-volume romance and genre fiction authors.
• No fees: Zero upfront costs and no monthly fees make KDP a low-risk starting point.

Limitations#

• KDP Select exclusivity: The 90-day exclusivity requirement means enrolled books cannot be sold in digital format elsewhere (Apple Books, Kobo, etc.) during that period—a meaningful tradeoff for authors building a wide distribution strategy.
• Print royalty cut (2025): KDP reduced print royalties for books priced under $9.99 from 60% to 50% of list price in June 2025, affecting authors who price paperbacks in the $6.99–$9.98 range.
• The 70% raise is opt-in: Books already priced $10–$12.99 stay on 35% until you change the royalty option by hand in Rights & Pricing. Amazon does not migrate existing titles for you.
• AI features are gated: Both Virtual Voice audiobooks and Kindle Translate remain invite-only betas, so most authors cannot access them on demand.
• Amazon-only distribution: KDP does not distribute to other retailers. Authors going wide need a separate aggregator like Draft2Digital alongside their KDP account.

Alternatives#

For broad multi-retailer distribution, Draft2Digital or IngramSpark handle wide distribution while you maintain a direct KDP account. IngramSpark is preferred for bookstore distribution; KDP remains unmatched for Amazon-direct reach.