# KDP glossary

Source: https://kdp123.com/glossary/ · License: CC BY 4.0

## 35% and 70% royalty options

Also: Ebook royalty rate

The two Kindle ebook royalty rates, paid on the list price excluding VAT. The 70% option needs a US list price of $2.99 to $12.99, deducts a delivery cost and applies only to buyers in Amazon's 70% territories; other sales earn 35%.

- Rules: https://kdp123.com/facts/ebook-royalties/
- Rules: https://kdp123.com/facts/ebook-pricing-rules/
- Source: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G200644210
- Source: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G200634560

## A+ Content

Images, text and comparison charts that a KDP author adds to a book's Amazon detail page through the A+ Content Manager on the KDP Marketing page. It is created per marketplace, appears within eight business days of approval, and cannot include customer reviews, pricing, promotions or links.

- Rules: https://kdp123.com/facts/a-plus-content/
- Source: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/GHL7P99B7AA543CN
- Source: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G4WB7VPPEAREHAAD

## ACoS

Also: Advertising cost of sales, ROAS

Ad spend divided by the sales those ads brought in, as a percentage: $50 spent for $100 of sales is a 50% ACoS. Amazon Ads says ACoS has to stay below your profit margin for ads to make money; ROAS (return on ad spend) is the same ratio turned upside down.

- Source: https://advertising.amazon.com/library/guides/acos-advertising-cost-of-sales

## AI-generated content

Also: AI-assisted content

Text, images or translations created by an AI tool, which KDP requires you to disclose when you publish a book or republish it after edits, even if you edited the output heavily. AI-assisted content, which you created yourself and only edited, checked or brainstormed with AI, does not need to be disclosed.

- Rules: https://kdp123.com/facts/ai-content-disclosure/
- Source: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G200672390

## ASIN

Also: Amazon Standard Identification Number

The unique 10-character code Amazon assigns to every product in its store. Most ASINs start with B0, book ASINs can begin with a number, and the ASIN appears in a product URL after /dp/.

- Source: https://sell.amazon.com/blog/what-is-an-asin

## Author copies

Also: Author copy

Copies of your own live paperback or hardcover that you buy from KDP at the printing cost plus shipping, up to 999 per order. Shipping never qualifies for free or Prime delivery, and author copies earn no royalties.

- Rules: https://kdp123.com/facts/author-copies-and-proofs/
- Source: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G7BBN68RYX5UMDZF
- Source: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/GVEG4YA9G2T7N6DR

## Best Sellers Rank (BSR)

Also: Sales Rank, Amazon Best Sellers Rank

Amazon's ranking of a book by customer activity relative to other books, shown in the Product Details section for up to three categories. It updates at least once a day, weights recent activity more heavily, and can move even when your own sales stay the same.

- Source: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G201648140

## Bleed

Artwork that runs past the trim edge so color reaches the edge of the page after cutting. KDP bleed is 0.125 in (3.2 mm) on the top, bottom and outside edges, so a 6 x 9 in page with bleed is 6.125 x 9.25 in.

- Rules: https://kdp123.com/facts/bleed-and-margins/
- Rules: https://kdp123.com/facts/cover-dimensions/
- Source: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/GVBQ3CMEQW3W2VL6
- Source: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G201953020

## Categories

Also: KDP categories, Browse categories

The sections of the Amazon store where a book is listed and ranked. KDP lets you choose 3 categories per book, new choices can take up to 72 hours to show, and Amazon ranks a book in up to three Best Seller category lists.

- Rules: https://kdp123.com/facts/keywords-and-categories/
- Source: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G200652170
- Source: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G201648140

## Delivery cost

A per-sale charge based on file size that KDP deducts from ebook royalties under the 70% option: $0.15 per MB on Amazon.com, minimum $0.01. Ebooks on the 35% option pay no delivery cost.

- Rules: https://kdp123.com/facts/ebook-royalties/
- Source: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G200644210
- Source: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G200634560

## EPUB

An open ebook file format that KDP recommends for ebook manuscripts, in version 2.0 or 3.0, alongside DOC/DOCX and KPF. MOBI is no longer accepted for new uploads or revisions.

- Rules: https://kdp123.com/facts/ebook-file-formats/
- Source: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G200634390

## Expanded Distribution

A free KDP option that offers a paperback to US and UK distributors so bookstores, libraries and other retailers can order it, paying 40% of the list price minus printing cost. Hardcovers, low-content books and some trim sizes, languages and content types cannot use it.

- Rules: https://kdp123.com/facts/expanded-distribution/
- Source: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/GQTT4W3T5AYK7L45
- Source: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G201834330

## Free Book Promotion

A KDP Select benefit that makes a Kindle ebook free for up to 5 days in each 90-day enrollment period, in all KDP marketplaces. It must be scheduled at least a day ahead and can start no earlier than the second day of the term.

- Rules: https://kdp123.com/facts/kdp-select-rules/
- Source: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G201298240

## Gutter

Also: Inside margin

The margin on the bound edge of a print book's pages. KDP's minimum grows with page count, from 0.375 in (9.6 mm) at 24 to 150 pages to 0.875 in (22.3 mm) at 701 to 828 pages.

- Rules: https://kdp123.com/facts/bleed-and-margins/
- Source: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/GVBQ3CMEQW3W2VL6

## Imprint

The publisher name on a print book's listing. With a free KDP ISBN it is "Independently published"; with your own ISBN it is the imprint you registered, which must match exactly on KDP.

- Rules: https://kdp123.com/facts/isbn-rules/
- Source: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G201834170

## ISBN

Also: International Standard Book Number

The identifier for one edition and format of a book. On KDP, Kindle ebooks do not need one, while each paperback and hardcover needs its own, either free from KDP (usable only on KDP) or bought by you.

- Rules: https://kdp123.com/facts/isbn-rules/
- Rules: https://kdp123.com/facts/low-content-books/
- Source: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G201834170

## KDP Select

A free 90-day program, renewing automatically, in which you sell the ebook edition only through Amazon. In return the ebook joins Kindle+ (formerly Kindle Unlimited), earns from the KDP Select Global Fund, and gets one promotion per term: free days or a Kindle Countdown Deal.

- Rules: https://kdp123.com/facts/kdp-select-rules/
- Rules: https://kdp123.com/facts/kenp-royalties/
- Source: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/GD9PMU58BV24QFZ7

## KDP Select Global Fund

The monthly pool from which Amazon pays authors for Kindle+ reading and listening. Each marketplace's share is divided by the KENP read there that month, and the fund is announced around the 15th of the following month.

- Rules: https://kdp123.com/facts/kenp-royalties/
- Source: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G201541130

## KENP

Also: Kindle Edition Normalized Pages

Amazon's standardized page count for paying Kindle+ royalties. You earn for each page a subscriber reads or listens to for the first time, up to 3,000 KENP per title per customer.

- Rules: https://kdp123.com/facts/kenp-royalties/
- Source: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G201541130

## Keywords

Also: KDP keywords, Backend keywords

Up to seven words or short phrases you enter for a book so readers can find it on Amazon. They must not mention other authors or books, sales rank, promotions such as "free", brands you are not authorized to use, or Amazon programs like Kindle+ or KDP Select.

- Rules: https://kdp123.com/facts/keywords-and-categories/
- Source: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G201298500

## Kindle Countdown Deal

Also: KCD

A KDP Select promotion that discounts a Kindle ebook for a limited time on Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk, showing the regular price, the deal price and a countdown clock. You keep your royalty rate, so a 70% book still earns 70% below $2.99.

- Rules: https://kdp123.com/facts/kdp-select-rules/
- Source: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G201293780

## Kindle Create

Also: KPF, Kindle Package Format

Amazon's app that turns a manuscript into a KPF (Kindle Package Format) file, one of the three ebook formats KDP recommends; Amazon says KPF files fit all Kindle devices.

- Rules: https://kdp123.com/facts/ebook-file-formats/
- Source: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G200634390

## Kindle+

Also: Kindle Unlimited, KU

Amazon's reading subscription, formerly Kindle Unlimited, which carries the Kindle ebooks and audiobooks enrolled in KDP Select. Authors are paid per KENP read or listened to from the KDP Select Global Fund; audiobooks in Kindle+ are US only for now.

- Rules: https://kdp123.com/facts/kenp-royalties/
- Rules: https://kdp123.com/facts/kdp-select-rules/
- Source: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G201541130

## Large trim

Any KDP print trim size wider than 6.12 in or taller than 9 in. Large trims cost more to print; a US black ink paperback is $0.017 a page instead of $0.012.

- Rules: https://kdp123.com/facts/trim-sizes/
- Rules: https://kdp123.com/facts/printing-costs/
- Source: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G201834340

## Low-content book

A print book with minimal or no interior content, usually repetitive pages to fill in, such as notebooks, planners, journals and log books; puzzle and coloring books are generally not low-content. It can be published without an ISBN but not with a free KDP ISBN, and cannot use Expanded Distribution or series.

- Rules: https://kdp123.com/facts/low-content-books/
- Source: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/GGE5T76TWKA85DJM

## Paperback and hardcover royalty

Also: Print royalty

On Amazon.com, 60% of the list price minus printing cost when the list price is $9.99 or more, and 50% minus printing cost at $9.98 or less. Paperback sales through Expanded Distribution earn 40% minus printing cost.

- Rules: https://kdp123.com/facts/paperback-royalties/
- Rules: https://kdp123.com/facts/hardcover-royalties/
- Source: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G201834330
- Source: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G77F3WPD3KQLJTFS

## Pre-order

Lets readers order a new Kindle ebook before release, up to 18 months ahead for pre-orders created on or after September 2, 2026. The final file is due 72 hours before release; paperbacks and hardcovers cannot be put on pre-order.

- Rules: https://kdp123.com/facts/ebook-preorders/
- Rules: https://kdp123.com/facts/hardcover-and-paperback-preorders/
- Source: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G201499380
- Source: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/GDTMGBCWHAY35NK4

## Printing cost

What KDP charges to print each copy, a fixed amount plus a per-page amount set by format, ink, paper, trim and marketplace, subtracted from every print royalty. A 300-page black ink regular trim paperback costs $4.60 on Amazon.com.

- Rules: https://kdp123.com/facts/printing-costs/
- Source: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G201834340

## Proof copy

A printed copy of a draft paperback or hardcover, available once the draft is approved in the Print Previewer, for checking before you publish. Up to 5 per order at printing cost plus shipping, with no royalties.

- Rules: https://kdp123.com/facts/author-copies-and-proofs/
- Source: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/GVEG4YA9G2T7N6DR
- Source: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G2MYNEKHT443C2H2

## Public domain content

Works no longer under copyright, which anyone may republish. When a free version is already in the Kindle Store, KDP accepts only a differentiated edition (translated, annotated, or with 10 or more original illustrations), and such ebooks earn 35% only and cannot join KDP Select.

- Rules: https://kdp123.com/facts/public-domain-content/
- Source: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G200743940

## Scheduled release date

Also: Release date

The print alternative to a pre-order: a new paperback or hardcover can be set to go on sale up to 90 days ahead, but its Amazon page stays hidden until 12:00 AM GMT on that date. Low-content books cannot use it.

- Rules: https://kdp123.com/facts/hardcover-and-paperback-preorders/
- Source: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/GDTMGBCWHAY35NK4
- Source: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/GGE5T76TWKA85DJM

## Spine width

The width of a print book's spine, which KDP sets from page count and paper: 0.002252 in per page on white paper, 0.0025 in on cream. Spine text needs at least 79 pages.

- Rules: https://kdp123.com/facts/cover-dimensions/
- Source: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G201953020

## Tax Profile

Also: Tax interview

KDP's tax interview, which records your tax identity and must be validated before you can publish or update books. Non-US persons complete a Form W-8 and have 30% withheld from Amazon.com ebook sales and some print sales unless a tax treaty and tax ID allow a lower rate.

- Rules: https://kdp123.com/facts/tax-interview/
- Source: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G201274750

## Trim size

The finished page size of a print book after cutting. KDP paperbacks come in 16 listed sizes from 5 x 8 in to 8.5 x 11 in plus custom sizes, hardcovers in five, and the most common US size is 6 x 9 in.

- Rules: https://kdp123.com/facts/trim-sizes/
- Source: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G201834180
- Source: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/GVBQ3CMEQW3W2VL6