Set up your print and ebook distribution
Set up Amazon KDP for print and Kindle
Open the Kindle Direct Publishing account, set up the Kindle edition and the print edition with the right ISBNs (International Standard Book Numbers), and order a proof before you approve anything.
Why it matters
For most self-published books this is where the sales actually happen, and it is the listing the largest number of readers will see. It is also where an irreversible decision hides in an easy-looking form: a free Amazon-assigned ISBN locks that edition to KDP for good. Getting the identifiers and the metadata right at setup is far cheaper than correcting them across every retailer that copied them.
Your part
- What you do
- Do it. You normally do this yourself.
- Who normally owns it
- Author. Author-publisher sets it up; on a hybrid route the press may hold the account
- When
- Two to three months before publication, after the files are final and the ISBNs are assigned (Set up your print and ebook distribution: twelve to three months before publication, once the isbns are settled and the files are close to final)Checked September 15, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
Your part changes with your publishing route.
How to do it
The full walkthrough
Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) is Amazon's self-publishing platform. It does two separate jobs: it sells the Kindle ebook, and it prints the paperback or hardcover on demand for Amazon's own stores. Amazon's page says KDP provides free tools to self-publish in more than ten countries and that a published book appears in Amazon stores around the world within 72 hours.
Set up each edition as its own record. Amazon's help page says each format of the book needs its own ISBN, so the paperback and the hardcover cannot share one. You have a choice on where that ISBN comes from, and it is the one choice here that is expensive to reverse: Amazon's page says that free ISBNs from Amazon can only be used on KDP and cannot be used to publish outside it. If there is any chance you will want the same edition printed or distributed anywhere else, buy your own ISBN instead and register it in your own name.
What you enter here is the metadata every other listing copies: title, subtitle, contributors and their roles, description, categories, keywords, price, and page count. Get it right once and the corrections you have to chase later shrink to almost nothing.
Order a printed proof and look at it before you approve the book for sale. The proof is the only place a wrong trim size, a cover that does not wrap, a mismatched barcode, or a bad interior margin shows up before a reader sees it.
Expanded Distribution is a separate decision inside the same account, not part of setting it up. It is covered in its own steps, and the reason to keep it separate is that enrolling an ISBN there rules out sending the same ISBN through another service.
Common mistakes
- Taking the free Amazon-assigned ISBN and only later wanting the book printed somewhere else.
- Using one ISBN for the paperback and the hardcover.
- Approving without ordering a proof.
- Entering a different subtitle or contributor spelling here than in your other records, so listings disagree from day one.
- Treating Expanded Distribution as part of setup rather than as a separate decision.
Identifiers for Set up Amazon KDP for print and Kindle
Set a status on any record and it joins this step. All book identifiers.
| My status | Identifier | Why this matters | Yours |
|---|---|---|---|
| ISBN The International Standard Book Number, printed above the barcode. Most formats sold through the book trade get their own. | Every retailer, wholesaler, and library orders and lists your book by this number, and the title, contributors, format, price, and publication date attached to it are what those systems display, so one wrong detail shows up in many places at once. Traditionally and hybrid published authors normally receive the numbers from the publisher and check what is attached to each one. If you publish the book yourself, you buy the numbers and assign them, and you are the one who decides whether your imprint or a platform is recorded as the publisher. Keep one list of every ISBN beside the edition and format it identifies so you can check listings against it. | Add your ISBN-13 |
What done looks like
- The account opened in the name that matches your tax and banking details.
- One record per edition, each with its own ISBN, and a written note of where each ISBN came from.
- Title, subtitle, contributors, description, categories, keywords, price, and page count matching your book identity record exactly.
- A printed proof ordered, received, and checked before approval.
- The live listing checked after publication against what you entered.
Ask your publisher
Copy this into an email. Replace the bracketed parts with your details.
Sources and last checked
- Official source
- Official source (opens in a new tab)
- Other sources
- Last checked
- September 15, 2026
- How confident we are
- Verified
Rules and deadlines change. We last checked this information on September 15, 2026. If you see something that needs updating, please tell us.