Overview

Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) lets authors and entrepreneurs upload e‑books and paperback titles straight to the Kindle Store without a traditional publishing contract. In 2024 the service adds global distribution, competitive royalty tiers and on‑demand printing, making it a practical route for sellers who want to add a low‑cost, passive‑income product line to their Amazon portfolio.

Key Points

• Instant global exposure — A title listed on KDP appears in the Kindle catalog of more than 190 countries, so a writer based in Buenos Aires can reach readers in the United States, Europe and Asia without handling international shipping or foreign‑language rights.
• 70 % royalty option for e‑books — When a paperback is priced between $2.99 and $9.99 and sold in eligible marketplaces, the author retains 70 % of the net sale price, a rate that outperforms most conventional publishing agreements.
• Print‑on‑demand (POD) model — KDP only prints a physical copy after a customer places an order, eliminating the need for upfront inventory, warehousing fees, or the risk of unsold stock; a self‑publisher in Madrid can sell a softcover edition without ever paying for a bulk print run.
• Built‑in promotional programs — Features such as Kindle Unlimited and KDP Select allow authors to enroll their books in a subscription‑based lending pool and earn money per page read, providing exposure that does not require separate advertising spend.
• Full pricing and rights control — Publishers can set list prices, update manuscript files, change categories or withdraw a title at any moment, enabling rapid price‑testing or the release of revised editions without third‑party approval.
• Zero upfront publishing fees — KDP does not charge a submission fee or a setup cost; the only expenses are the per‑copy printing charge for paperbacks and any applicable taxes, which makes the platform accessible to creators with modest budgets.
• Real‑time sales analytics — The KDP dashboard delivers daily reports on units sold, royalty earnings and geographic performance, giving sellers the data needed to fine‑tune marketing tactics or adjust pricing on the fly.