Publishing your book on Amazon is fast and free – but “freebies” from KDP like cover templates, ISBNs, and formatting tools, come with strings attached. They quietly limit your ownership, flexibility, and future publishing options.

Before you click “publish,” read about the hidden risks that can lock you into Amazon’s ecosystem and make it impossible to expand a popular book on other platforms without substantially changing the look.

Print and eBook formatting

• Print books must be a CMYK 300dpi PDF. All platforms have strict requirements.
• On most platforms, eBooks should be an ePub file. It should be validated to each platform’s EPub standards and be re-flowable (not fixed-layout).  (Children’s books and graphic-heavy titles can be fixed-layout but should be cleared it with them first, and will generate errors.) IngramSpark doesn’t add DRM, KDP gives a choice.

Kindle Digital Publishing appears to accept many eBook formats. But as with all Amazon products and service, you MUST read the fine print.

KDP will say it accepts many eBook formats including DOC, DOCX, HTML, RTF, TXT, and PDF formats. If you upload an eBook any format other then an ePub, it helpfully converts your document to Kindle format for publication.

Who owns a print or eBook file converted by KDP?

🔴 WHAT AMAZON OWNS

You cannot take the converted Kindle file (the .azw or .kpf file produced by KDP) and distribute it outside of Amazon. KDP’s converted files are solely for use on the Amazon platform and Kindle devices.

🔒 KDP’s Terms of Service restrict the redistribution of their converted or formatted files generated using tools on KDP’s backend. That includes both print and eBooks files.

🟢 WHAT YOU OWN

The original file you uploaded remains yours. If you uploaded an Word document or PDF, you retain full rights to that word document or PDF. You can distribute it elsewhere — on your website, through IngramSpark, Smashwords, etc.

But you are unlikely to be able to sell a Word document or PDF no matter how good the content!

Getting your eBook converted

Despite their promises, ALL automated converters create amateurish eBooks with bad line breaks, missing indents, and broken formatting. Fonts are random, spacing uneven and images generally don’t work well.

If you wouldn’t tolerate shoddy workmanship in your print book, don’t accept less for an eBook.

PRO TIP: Provide the converter with your original Word document, with any photos centred, on their own line, and no more than 500px wide (the width of the smallest, and most common Kindle ereader).

PRO TIP 2: Don’t use tabs. change the paragraph settings on Word to indent the first line of each paragraph.

Before you publish, read your ePub on a real Kindle – don’t rely on the KDP previewer or Calibre.

Covers

Who owns a cover designed with KDP’s Cover Creator?

The usual format for a cover is either a PDF (print) or a JPG (ebook).

Cover design can be expensive, so you may be tempted to use KDP’s convenient and free Cover Creator tool. It comes with preset design templates and free image assets. But there’s a catch…

🔴 WHAT AMAZON OWNS

Images, icons, fonts, and templates provided by KDP’s Cover Creator or other KDP design tools are licensed for use only on Amazon’s platform.

🔒 Amazon retains the rights to all stock images, templates, graphics used as part of the design. You cannot reuse ANY design elements on IngramSpark, your website, social media, bookmarks, merchandise, or any non-KDP eBook or printed book.

🟢 WHAT YOU OWN

If you design your own cover from scratch – even if you use a KDP template or preview for inspiration – and replace every stock images with your own or royalty-free elements, then you own that design and you can use it anywhere (IngramSpark, print-on-demand, bookstores, etc.)

ISBN Numbers

Who owns a free ISBN number from KDP?

When you publish a print book (paperback or hardcover) through Kindle Direct Publishing, you can use a free ISBN provided by KDP.

🔴 WHAT AMAZON OWNS

The ISBN remains the property of Amazon/KDP. KDP is listed as the publisher of record in the book’s metadata — not you or your imprint.

🔒 You can’t use KDP’s free ISBN anywhere else (not IngramSpark, Kobo or bookstores).

If you switch to another platform later, you’ll need a different ISBN (usually one you purchase yourself). Even if you publish under your own imprint name, KDP will still be listed as the publisher in databases like Bowker if you use their free ISBN.

• ISBNs are not required for Kindle eBooks. Amazon assigns them a unique ASIN (Amazon Standard Identification Number) instead.
• ISBNs are required for IngramSpark eBooks.