Table of Contents

1. Welcome

2. Sign Up

3. Prepare Your Text

4. Publish

5. Your Book

6. Content Rights

7. Royalty Option

8. Book List Price

9. The Review Process

10. Find Your Item

11. Sales and Payments

12. Community

© 2010 Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.

Amazon, Amazon Kindle and the Amazon Kindle logo are registered trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.

Welcome to publishing on Kindle!

This guide provides an overview of the Kindle publishing process using Amazon’s Digital Text Platform (DTP). DTP is a fast and easy self-publishing tool that lets anyone upload and format their books for sale in the Kindle Store. Opened in 2007 with the launch of the original Kindle reader, DTP has connected Kindle readers to thousands of authors and publishers worldwide. We appreciate your interest in publishing with us, and are excited to add your works to the constantly expanding Kindle Store selection.

We always welcome your questions and feedback.

For specific questions or concerns regarding your DTP account or eBook titles, please write to us at dtp-support@amazon.com

For general suggestions or feedback on the DTP platform, please write to us at dtp-suggestions@amazon.com

You can also join in discussions with the DTP community at forums.digitaltextplatform.com

Sign Up

To get started, visit dtp.amazon.com in your web browser.
If you've got an Amazon.com account, click Sign In and enter your email address and password.

If you don't have an account, click Sign Up to create one. To create an account:

1. Fill in the registration form with your name, a valid email address, and a password.
2. Click Create New Account.

Once you sign in, you'll see the DTP interface, where you will create and upload books for publication.

Before you can publish an item or receive payment, you must complete your account setup by entering several pieces of required information, which will vary depending upon your country of residence. Click the Your Name Account link in the top right hand corner to begin.
Accounts based in the United States must enter Name, Address, Payment Method, Business Type and either a Social Security Number, Tax Identification Number or a Employer ID Number. Accounts based outside of the United States must enter Name and Address.

In this section you should also configure your method of payment, and enter additional account information as necessary.

When you are finished, click the Save entries button in your browser window:

Prepare Your Text
Digital Text Platform lets you upload and convert your content from several formats. However, for best results, we suggest that you upload your content in HTML format, as Amazon DTP converts all uploaded content into HTML first. You can export or save many documents as HTML from inside Microsoft Word.

HTML (.html, .htm)
We recommend uploading content in HTML format, usually as a single .html file. Please note that DTP supports a number of select HTML tags, but that most complex formatting options do not translate well to the reader. By default, we suggest that you use only the supported tags for your content and avoid CSS and other formatting inside your HTML. For more information on supported tags, refer to the DTP Knowledge Base.

Zipped HTML (.zip)
If your HTML content contains images or multiple files you'll need to compress all files into a .zip file before uploading. All the files in the .zip archive must be in a single folder, without any files (like images) in sub-folders. If your content is viewable in a web browser, we recommend that you save it in the web browser using the Save as Web Page (Complete) option or similar option, which will include any images on the page. The resulting files can be then put inside a .zip file.

MobiPocket (.mobi and .prc)
Amazon DTP will handle .mobi file formatting and images very well. Please note that only unencrypted mobi files are supported.

Microsoft Word (.doc, .docx)
Digital Text Platform converts all text formatting to HTML tags and processes images automatically. We recommend that you convert Microsoft Word files to HTML inside Word and make sure the formatting looks right before uploading the already-converted HTML for best results.

Adobe PDF (.pdf)
Although PDF is supported, due to the complex nature of the format and its suitability for print or display, DTP conversion may not be ideal.

Plain Text (.txt)
Digital Text Platform converts all text to HTML.

If your content exists in a format not listed above, check the program in which you created it for a Save As... Or Export feature, and export into .html format for best results.

Publish
Once you have identified the format your title is written in you can now begin the first step in preparing your title for digital publication on the Kindle Store. Click the Bookshelf tab in DTP to begin:

Then, click Add new title to create a new book:

You will proceed through two steps as you prepare you publication for the Kindle Store. Your Book and Rights and Pricing. Let's begin with Your Book:

Your Book
In the Your Book section, you will enter descriptive information for your publication, add a cover image, upload and preview your title.

Title (required)
Enter the title of your content here. If your content is part of a series, you can enter the series title and/or volume number here. You can also enter the edition number.

Description (required)
Like the copy on the inside flap of a hardcover book, the description tells readers a bit about your content. Your title's description can be up to 4000 characters in length.

Book Contributors (required)
Enter the names of the people who contributed to your content, including authors, editors, illustrators, translators, and more. At least one author name is required. Contributor names should be given in LastName, FirstName order, such as "Smith, John" to insure Kindle will display information correctly.

Language (required)
(Defaults to English) Enter the language in which your content appears.

Publish Date (optional)
If your title has been previously published in physical or digital format enter the original publication date here. Otherwise, the Kindle Store will automatically enter the date the item is being published once everything has been processed.

Publisher (optional)
Enter your publisher name here. This can be an individual or company name.

ISBN (optional)
If your product has an ISBN (International Standard Book Number), enter it here. If not, you can skip this field.

Publishing Rights (required)
If your title is within the public domain, click This is a public domain work. If the publishing rights to your title are privately held (not public domain) and you hold the rights to publish the title in a digital format, click This is not a public domain work and I hold the necessary publishing rights.

Categories (required)
This information will help interested readers find your content. Choose from dozens of categories, from Antiques to True Crime and everything in between. Each category also contains subcategories to further classify your content. You may enter up to 5 categories.

Search Keywords (optional)
Enter 5-7 descriptive keywords to help readers find your title in the Kindle Store. Separate keywords using commas.

Product Image (optional)
Upload a cover image here. Cover images can help entice readers to take a closer look at your content. Image must be in TIFF (.tif/.tiff) or JPEG (.jpeg/.jpg) format, and must be at least 500 pixels on the longest side (recommended size: 600x800 pixels).

Book Content (required)
You may choose, on a per title basis, to have us apply DRM technology, which is intended to inhibit unauthorized access to or copying of digital content files for titles. Once your title is published, this setting cannot be changed.

Once a DRM option is selected the Browse for Book button will appear. Browse for Book search works like many other similar web forms, allowing you to browse your computer/network for your digital content and upload it to the Digital Text Platform server.

To upload content:

1. Click Browse.
2. Navigate to the folder on your computer that contains the media you want to publish.
3. Select the file you want to upload and click Open.
4. Click Upload Book.

Once your title has been uploaded, the Preview Book will button appear allowing you to view your converted title in a browser window. The preview is an approximation of how your content will look on the Amazon Kindle wireless reading device. All headers, text formatting, and images should be in place.

In case formatting changes are needed Digital Text Platform compresses the converted content into a .zip file which contains an HTML file of your text content, as well as any images included in or extracted from your content. If you are familiar with basic HTML tags, you can refine the formatting and layout of your content. Click the Download button to save your converted content. Make any necessary updates, then upload the corrected content again.

When you are satisfied with the uploaded title, click the Save and Continue button. This concludes the Your Book section. Continue on to the next section: Content Rights under Rights & Pricing

Content Rights (required)
In the Content Rights section under Rights & Pricing you are required to enter the territories in which you hold electronic publishing rights for your publication. If you are certain you have all rights necessary to make this title available worldwide, select Worldwide rights – all territories

Select Individual territories if your titles electronic publishing rights extend to specific territories only. This is especially important to consider if you are uploading a book that is a public domain title in your country but is not a public domain title in another other country, as the period of copyright protection varies between territories. After selecting Individual territories, a list of territories will appear. Put a check next to all territories in which you are certain you hold the necessary rights. This will limit sales of your publication to these territories.

Royalty Option (required)
Here you can select your royalties, DTP offers publishers a choice of 35% or 70% royalty option per title. If you select the 35% royalty option, your royalty will be 35% of your list price for each unit sold. If you select the 70% royalty option, your royalty will be 70% of your list price (but if Amazon sells at a lower price to match a competitor's price, you will receive 70% of the Amazon set sale price) for each eligible book sold to U.S customers, net delivery costs, and 35 percent of the list price for each unit sold to non-US customers. For full details, terms and conditions, see the DTP Pricing Page and DTP Terms and Conditions

Enter Book List Price (required)
In the Book List Price section, you will determine the list price for your content. As the publisher, you will receive payment for your publication as defined in the DTP Pricing Page and DTP Terms and Conditions.

To qualify for the 35% royalty option a title must meet the following list price conditions:

1. The book list price must be between $0.99 and $200.
2. A title with a file size greater than 3 megabytes up to 10 megabytes must also have a list price of at least $1.99, and digital books with a file size of 10 megabytes or greater must have a list price of at least $2.99.
3. The book list price must match the lowest suggested retail price or equivalent price for any digital or physical edition of the Digital book.
4. The book list price must match the lowest price at which you list or offer any digital or physical edition of the Digital book on any website or other sales channel.
5. The book list price must match any maximum List Price we provide from time to time in the Program Policies.

To qualify for the 70% royalty option titles must meet the following list price conditions:

1. The book list price must be between $2.99 and $9.99
2. The book list price must be at least 20 percent below the lowest physical list price for the physical book
3. The title must be made available for sale in all geographies for which the author or publisher holds digital publishing rights.
4. The title must be in-copyright (not in the public domain) and published after 1923.
5. The title will be included in a broad set of features in the Kindle Store, such as text-to-speech. This list of features will grow over time as Amazon continues to add more functionality to Kindle and the Kindle Store.

After the list price has been entered the (estimated) royalties for the title will populate.

Attest that that you have rights to publish your title and accept the DTP Terms and Conditions.

Once all sections are complete, your title is uploaded and you have attested to holding publishing rights and accepting DTP Terms and Conditions you have completed the Rights & Pricing section.

Once you are ready to submit your title for review and publishing check the confirmation check box and click the Save and Publish button.

The Review Process

After clicking Save and Publish, you will see the following message:

Your book is currently under review by the Kindle Operations team as we are trying to improve the Kindle customer experience. The Kindle Store requires approximately 48 hours for English and 2-3 business days for other languages to make your content available for purchase. This will not affect any titles you are currently selling in the store, but uploading updates to existing titles will take longer to process.

Your title has now entered the review process. You may be contacted by the Kindle Operations team for more information about your book during this time. You will know your book is available for purchase when you receive a confirmation by email that your title has published in the Kindle Store.

Find Your Item

Once you have received confirmation via email that your title has completed the review and publishing process you can visit your title's Amazon.com detail page to make sure it is displaying as expected. To view the page from the DTP Bookshelf tab click the Actions button and followed by See Book in Kindle Store.

Alternatively, you can visit the Amazon website and search for your item as a Kindle customer would. Go to amazon.com in your browser, select Kindle Store from the drop-down menu next to the main search box, type the name of your title and then click Go:

Sales and Payments

Selling via the Kindle Store is invoice-free. We pay you automatically (if your account has a positive balance of $10 or more for Electronic Funds Transfer or $100 or more for check payment) approximately 60 days following the end of the calendar month during which applicable sales of your content occur (see the DTP Terms and Conditions for details). Payment will be made to you by EFT to a U.S. bank account, or by mailed check. You must enter your account information via the Your Name Account link in the top right hand corner before you can receive a payment.

Royalties paid to a foreign entity or person are subject to tax withholding in the U.S. A foreign entity or person is someone who is not a resident or citizen of the U.S. or a green card holder. The general rate of tax withholding is set by U.S. tax rules and regulations and is currently 30% of royalties paid. For more information on payments and tax withholding, refer to the DTP Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ).

For details on your book sales and revenue, visit the Reports tab, which provides you three reports for up-to-date access to your sales and payment information:

Current Week's Transactions Report shows a summary of your sales transactions for the current week

Title: Title of your content

ASIN: Amazon Standard Identification Number

Units Sold: Number of units sold in the current week

Units Refunded: Number of units for which a refund was issued in the current week

Net Units Sold: Units Sold less Units Refunded

Total Payment: The amount that you get paid for the sale of the titles in the current week

Weekly Sales Reports: shows a summary of your sales transactions for a specific week

Week ending: The date on which the week being reported ended

Title: The title of your book

Author: The author of your book

ASIN: Amazon Standard Identification Number

Units Sold: Number of units sold in the specified week

Units Refunded: Number of units for which a refund was issued

Net Units Sold: Units Sold less Units Refunded

Royalty %: The royalty option selected for this book (either 35% or 70%)

Avg. List price: The average list price* at which the book was listed over the specified week.

Avg. File Size(MB): The average file size* of your book over the specified week.

Avg. Offer Price: The average offer price* at which the book was sold to customers over the specified week.

Avg. Delivery Charge: The average delivery charge* for your book over the given week.

Royalty Payment(USD): Your earned royalties. For more information on how royalty payments are calculated, please review the DTP Pricing Page and DTP Terms & Conditions. * Because List Price, File Size, Offer Price, and Delivery Charge can all change at any time, copies of the same book sold throughout the course of one week may have had different values for each of these attributes. Therefore, average values are displayed.

Previous Months' and Year to Date (YTD) Report shows a summary of your sales transactions for a specific month or year, and includes the following columns:

Invoice Date: The date on which the report has been created

ASIN: Amazon Standard Identification Number

Title: Title of your content

Units Purchased: Number of units purchased since last report was created

Units Refunded: Number of units for which a refund was issued since last report was created

Net Units: Units Purchased less Units Refunded

List Price: This is the "suggested retail price" you think readers should pay for your content.

List Price Currency: The currency in which the List price is listed

Discount Percentage: Percentage of discount given on the list price of your Kindle book

Royalty: The amount that you get paid for the sale of the title during the last reporting period or during the period it took to accrue the minimum disbursement amount

Cumulative Royalties Due: Total amount of Royalties due for the titles sold so far by adding the accrued royalties for each title during the period

Community Support
By visiting the DTP Community Support page, you can find important announcements about DTP and connect with other DTP users to ask questions and share experiences.

DTP Forums can connect you with the DTP community. To visit the Forums click Discuss in the Forums under the Community Tab. You can also go directly to the forums by visiting forums.digitaltextplatform.com in your browser.

DTP Knowledge Base can provide you additional information on any of the subjects covered in this guide. To access the Knowledge Base click the Browse the Knowledge Base link under the Community tab.

DTP Terms and Conditions can be accessed from the bottom of any page on dtp.amazon.com by following the DTP Terms and Conditions link.

DTP Frequently Asked Questions answers the most common questions about DTP. To visit the FAQ, click the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) link under the Community tab.

If you still need help, don't hesitate to contact us!

For specific questions or concerns regarding your DTP account or eBook titles, please write to us at dtp-support@amazon.com

For general suggestions or feedback on the DTP website; please write to us at dtp-suggestions@amazon.com

Thank you for reading!