Launching on Amazon KDP involves dozens of details. Here are the ten essential steps distilled from hundreds of successful launches.
Step 1: Validate Your Market
Search your topic on Amazon. If the top result has BSR above 100,000, demand exists but supply is weak.
Step 2: Polish Your Manuscript
Complete quality audit: spelling, grammar, consistency. Add front and back matter with review request CTA.
Step 3: Design Your Cover
Genre-appropriate, readable at thumbnail size. AI-generated base with separate typography.
Step 4: Format Interior
Use Atticus or DOCX formatting. Verify every page with PDF preview.
Step 5: Optimize Keywords
Seven fields, zero-repetition, one English field for cross-language discovery.
Step 6: Write Description
HTML-formatted with bold, checkmarks, emotional hook, and call to action.
Step 7: Set Pricing
$4.99 USD standard for 70 percent royalty. Adjust for international markets.
Step 8: Upload and Preview
KDP Select YES, 70 percent royalty, all territories.
Step 9: Execute Launch
Notify ARC team, share on social media, monitor BSR daily.
Step 10: Optimize
Check rankings, start Amazon Ads, plan next book.
The Detailed Version
For phase-by-phase instructions, Ads guide, templates, and checklists, see Self-Publishing Launch Playbook from IndiePress Toolkit.