How to publish an AI-written book on Amazon KDP, step by step

Before you start: what you need

• A finished book you have read from start to end.
• A paid Shadow Writer plan, because the free plan reads online only — more on that in step 2.
• Your legal name, address, bank details and tax information for Amazon. KDP pays royalties and issues tax forms in your legal name.
• Your pen name, if you write under one, spelled exactly as it appears on your cover.

Publishing and selling need a paid plan, and paid plans are for adults aged 18 or over. Every book starts private to you. Nobody else can read it unless you choose to make it public.

1. Finish your book and read it all the way through

Amazon holds you responsible for what you publish. Its Content Guidelines say: “You are responsible for verifying that all AI-generated and/or AI-assisted content adheres to all content guidelines, including by complying with all applicable intellectual property rights.”

So read the whole book before it goes anywhere. Fix any sentence you would not put your name to, by hand or by sending a chapter back to be rewritten. Shadow Writer reports its continuity checks with the book, which helps you spot places to look, but it does not replace your own read. If you want a feel for the finished result first, you canread a sample book written with Shadow Writer.

2. Unlock downloads and the licence to sell

Your first book is free to write and read in full online. The free plan has no download and no licence to sell, so a free book cannot go to Amazon as it is.

A paid plan unlocks both. Upgrading unlocks the book you already have — it is not rewritten — so the version you read is the version you publish. You can compare the plans and pricesbefore you choose.

The licence lets you publish and sell the book. It is not a promise about copyright: purely machine-generated text is not copyrightable in the United States, and what can be protected is your own contribution. Our FAQ on owning and selling your book explains the difference, and a longer guide to copyright for AI-written books is on our list.

3. Export your files from Shadow Writer

On a paid plan, the Export page gives you everything KDP asks for:

• A Kindle EPUB, validated before delivery, where the kind of book has one (a coloring book is print only).
• An ebook cover at 1,600 × 2,560 pixels, JPEG. Amazon’s ideal is the same: “2,560 pixels in height x 1,600 pixels in width.”
• A print-ready interior PDF at any KDP trim size for paperback, and at KDP’s five hardcover trims. The inside margin is worked out from the final page count, as KDP requires.
• A paperback wrap cover or hardcover case wrap, with the spine width worked out from the page count and paper.
• A copyright page with your pen name, which you can edit. It has an optional line saying “Created with generative AI tools.” That line is off unless you turn it on, and it does not answer KDP’s AI question for you.

Note the trim size and paper you export with. You will pick the same ones in KDP, because the interior and the spine are sized for them.

4. Create your KDP account and complete the tax interview

Go to kdp.amazon.comand sign in with an Amazon account, or create one. Amazon’sCreate a KDP Accountpage then asks for three things:

• Account details. Pick a business type (individual or corporation) and enter your legal name, or the name of your publishing company. Amazon is specific: “Don’t enter your pen name”, and “The name provided in the Account Details should be the legal name of the author.”
• Getting paid. Add a bank account for royalty payments. Amazon offers direct deposit, wire transfer or check, depending on where your bank is.
• Tax information. Go to Your Account, then Tax Information, then Complete Tax Profile. Amazon says it “requires all publishers … to provide valid taxpayer identification”. If you live outside the United States and want to claim tax treaty benefits, you will need a tax identification number.

Do the tax interview now, not later. Amazon says it must “receive and validate your tax identity before you can update existing books or publish new books in the Kindle store.” We cannot tell you which answers apply to you; the interview asks the questions, and a tax professional can help with the answers.

5. Set up the Kindle eBook

From your KDP Bookshelf, create a new Kindle eBook. KDP walks you through the book’s details, its content, and its pricing.

Details

Enter the title and, if you want one, a subtitle, exactly as they appear on your cover. In the author field, enter yourpen name — this is where Amazon wants it. Then add a description and keywords that tell readers honestly what the book is.

Use the same title and author name on every format of the book. Amazon links the eBook, paperback and hardcover editions automatically “if the metadata for both editions exactly match”.

Content

Upload the EPUB and the ebook cover. Amazon supports “books in EPUB format that meet the specifications outlined in the Kindle Publishing Guidelines”, and recommends checking the file in Kindle Previewer before you upload. Then page through the preview as a reader would.

An eBook does not need an ISBN on KDP. Amazon says eBooks are one of the formats where an ISBN is optional.

6. Answer KDP’s AI question truthfully

On the content page, KDP asks about AI. Amazon’sContent Guidelinessay: “We require you to inform us of AI-generated content (text, images, or translations) when you publish a new book or make edits to and republish an existing book through KDP.”

AI-generated vs AI-assisted: what you must disclose

Amazon draws a line between two kinds of AI use. If an AI tool wrote the text or made the images, that content is AI-generated, and you must disclose it, even if you edited it afterwards. If you wrote the book yourself and only used AI to edit, refine, error-check or brainstorm, that is AI-assisted. Amazon’s guidelines say: “You are not required to disclose AI-assisted content.”

A book written with Shadow Writer is AI-generated in Amazon’s sense: the drafting model wrote the chapters and the cover-art model made the art. That stays true after you edit it. So the answer is yes for the text, yes for the images if you use our cover (and for the pictures inside a picture book, comic or coloring book), and no for translation. Where the form asks which tool you used, name Shadow Writer AI. A book you wrote by hand and only polished with an AI tool is not disclosed. Either way, you are still responsible for the content.

The answer is private to Amazon. It is not printed in your book. For every question in detail, including what to say after heavy editing, read ourfull guide to KDP’s AI disclosure questions.

7. Price the eBook and decide on KDP Select

KDP offers two royalty options for each eBook, in Amazon’s words “the 35% royalty option and the 70% royalty option.” Per Amazon’seBook list price requirements, since July 7, 2026, the 70% option on Amazon.com needs a list price between $2.99 and $12.99. The 70% royalty is worked out on the list price without VAT, less delivery costs, and applies only to sales in certain territories. The 35% option allows a wider range of prices. The eBook royalties pagehas the detail, and the pricing page in KDP shows your estimated royalty before you publish.

Then KDP offers KDP Select. Amazon calls it “a free 90-day program for Kindle eBook only”. An enrolled eBook is automatically included in Kindle Unlimited and can use Free Book Promotions and Kindle Countdown Deals. The trade-off: during those 90 days, the eBook “can only be distributed through KDP and public libraries.” Enrollment renews every 90 days unless you opt out. Your paperback and hardcover can still be sold anywhere.

There is no single right answer. If you only plan to sell the eBook on Amazon, Select is free to join. If you want the eBook in other stores, leave it out. A fuller comparison of KDP Select and selling wide is coming to this blog.

8. Add a paperback or hardcover

Back on your Bookshelf, add a paperback or hardcover to the same book. The details page should match your eBook exactly.

ISBN

Unlike the eBook, each print format needs its own ISBN. KDP can give you a free one for paperback and hardcover. Amazon notes that a free KDP ISBN “can only be used on KDP” and lists the imprint as “Independently published.” If you plan to sell the print book outside Amazon too, you may want to buy your own instead. Shadow Writer does not supply ISBNs.

Print settings and files

Pick the trim size and paper you exported with, and set the bleed option to match your file. Upload the interior PDF and the wrap cover, then page through the preview before you approve it. If KDP flags a problem, check the trim size, paper and bleed settings first: they must match the file.

Print pricing and royalty

Print royalties work differently from eBooks. Amazon’spaperback royalty pagegives the formula: “(Royalty rate x list price) – printing costs = royalty”. The rate is 50% or 60% depending on list price; on Amazon.com, 60% applies at $9.99 and above. Amazon’s own example is a 333-page paperback at $15: “(0.60 x $15) - $5.00 = $4.00”. Hardcover uses the same formula with its own printing costs, as Amazon’shardcover royalty pageexplains.

Printing cost depends mainly on page count, ink and the marketplace, and KDP sets a minimum list price so a sale always covers it. KDP shows your estimated royalty on the book’s pricing page before you publish; trust that figure over an estimate from anywhere else.

9. Submit, and what happens next

When you press publish, your book goes into review. Amazon’sTimelines pagesays: “After you submit your book or update for publication, it takes 3 business days for your book (or update) to be live on Amazon.” Then:

• an eBook’s detail page can take up to 72 hours to appear;
• a paperback or hardcover detail page can take up to 72 hours on Amazon.com and up to 5 days in other marketplaces;
• the book can take up to 72 hours after it is live to show in search results;
• royalties are paid approximately 60 days after the end of the month, once you meet the monthly minimum sales threshold.

Check the print title, subtitle and author name carefully before you submit. Amazon only lets you change them on a paperback or hardcover within 72 hours of first publication; after that you need a new edition.

If you later change the manuscript or cover and republish, KDP asks the AI question again. Answer it for the version you are publishing then.

Selling beyond Amazon

Amazon is one shop, not the only one. Your EPUB and print PDF are standard files that other stores accept too. Two KDP choices affect where else you can sell: KDP Select keeps the eBook on Amazon for each 90-day term, and a free KDP ISBN can only be used on KDP. Other stores have their own rules, including on AI-generated content, so read each one before you upload.

We are writing guides on where to sell your book, which stores accept AI-written books, and ISBNs for selling wide. Until then, theShadow Writer FAQ covers the basics of publishing and selling, and the pricing page lists what each plan includes.

Where this comes from

Every Amazon rule, price and timeline above is taken from Amazon KDP’s own help pages, read on 10 October 2026:Content Guidelines,Create a KDP Account,Manage Your KDP Account,supported eBook formats,eBook cover requirements,eBook royalties,eBook list prices,KDP Select,enrolling in KDP Select,ISBNs and imprints,paperback royalty,hardcover royalty andtimelines. Amazon’s rules are Amazon’s, and they change; check each page when you publish.

Guide. Last updated 13 October 2026. Not legal or tax advice.