ShipMyBook
Free toolsGenerate a book

Publish on KDP for free

How to publish on Amazon KDP for free, step by step.

KDP charges no upload fee — the costs hide in formatting, covers, and rejected uploads. This guide walks the free path and where the paid boundary actually is.

Checked:

Free tools at every stepThe AI disclosure question, handledWhere free DIY becomes expensive rework

The free path, in order

1. Finish a manuscript in DOCX with clean heading styles. 2. Check the structure with a free preflight so KDP does not reject it at upload. 3. Build the cover with correct spine and bleed for your trim and page count. 4. Write metadata: title, subtitle, description, seven keywords, two categories. 5. Upload, answer the AI disclosure honestly, and set the price.

Every step has a free option: Kindle Create and Reedsy Studio format for free, and ShipMyBook's checks are free before any payment.

The paid boundary is repair, not publication

Free tools are enough until something fails: a cover built for the wrong page count, an EPUB that fails validation, a manuscript full of hidden formatting. Paying makes sense when it fixes a specific failure, not as a subscription to keep.

That is the honest boundary: free checks stay free, and payment appears only when files need producing.

The disclosure question at step five

KDP asks whether content is AI-generated or AI-assisted. Answer honestly per part — text, images, translation. The answer shows on the detail page, and undisclosed AI content is what risks the account.

Next release checks

KDP tools for authors

A KDP tool path for authors who already finished the manuscript.

Start with the current block: page planning, formatting, cover geometry, validation, metadata, or a failed upload. Each free result points to the next dependency.Open check

Free KDP manuscript template

Download a KDP manuscript template built as a real DOCX.

Choose trim size, add the working title and author, and generate a clean Word package with book-sized pages and reusable chapter structure.Open check

KDP AI disclosure, plain English

What KDP asks about AI content — and how to answer honestly.

Since late 2023, Amazon asks publishers whether a book contains AI-generated content. This guide explains the questions, the AI-generated versus AI-assisted distinction, and where ShipMyBook fits.Open check

AI book writer · free preview

Type a topic. Watch your book appear — preview free, $39 to keep it.

ShipMyBook generates a full manuscript and watermarked cover from your topic, free. If you like the book you see, one $39 payment unlocks this exact title. No monthly credits and no subscription.Open check

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Does Amazon charge to publish on KDP?

No upload fee. Amazon earns through royalties on sales and optional ads. Printing costs are deducted per copy sold, not upfront.

Can I publish for free with a $0 budget?

Yes: free editors for formatting, free checkers for validation, a simple cover from free tools, and no ad spend. The budget question is time, not money.

What is the most common free-path failure?

The cover built before the final page count. The spine width changes with pagination, so build the cover geometry last, after the interior is locked.

Walk the free path with the checks that catch the failures.

Free preflight for your DOCX, cover calculator, and upload error decoder.

Browse the free tools