Our Services · Amazon KDP
Amazon KDP Virtual Assistant
& Account Manager
On 7 July 2026 Amazon raised the 70% ebook royalty ceiling from $9.99 to $12.99 — the first increase since 2007. It is opt-in. Most authors are still on 35%.
An Amazon KDP virtual assistant manages the publishing side of your business: manuscript and cover files built to KDP spec, metadata and keyword fields rebuilt against real search behaviour, royalty options audited after Amazon’s 2025 and 2026 pricing changes, KDP Select terms tracked, and Amazon Ads managed against royalty rather than vanity ROAS. KDP is not Seller Central — no inventory, no FBA, no Buy Box — and it needs someone who understands that distinction.
What We Offer
How We Help You Grow
The July 2026 Royalty Audit
Effective 7 July 2026 the 70% royalty band on Amazon.com runs $2.99–$12.99, up from $2.99–$9.99. It does not apply automatically. Any title sitting between $10.00 and $12.99 is still earning 35% until someone changes the royalty option in Rights & Pricing. We sweep your whole catalogue.
Print Royalty Threshold Review
Since June 2025 paperback royalties are 50% below $9.99 and 60% at $9.99 and above on Amazon.com, with equivalent thresholds per marketplace. Titles priced just under the line are quietly losing ten points of royalty.
Metadata & Keyword Rebuilds
Seven backend keyword fields at 50 characters each, and up to three categories per format. We rebuild them against search behaviour and KDP’s prohibited-terms rules — no competitor names, no programme names, no time-sensitive terms.
File Preparation to Spec
Reflowable and fixed-layout ebooks, print interiors as press-ready PDF, covers at 300 DPI CMYK with correct bleed and a spine width calculated from page count and paper type. Note that spine text requires at least 79 pages.
KDP Select & Kindle Unlimited
Ninety-day terms tracked, Countdown Deals and Free Promotions scheduled, and KENP read monitored against the Global Fund — $71.0 million in July 2026. We also tell you when going wide beats staying exclusive.
Amazon Ads for Authors
Sponsored Products from day one, and Sponsored Brands once you have three or more eligible titles under the same author name. Managed against royalty per unit, not impressions.
What Makes KDP Different
Five things Amazon sellers get wrong about KDP
KDP is a publishing platform, not a seller account
There is no inventory, no FBA, no storage fees, no Buy Box and no customer service queue. You supply files and metadata; Amazon manufactures on demand, sells, and pays you a royalty rather than sale proceeds minus fees. A KDP manager and an Amazon seller manager are different disciplines with almost no shared tooling.
The 2026 price ceiling change is opt-in
This is the single most valuable thing on this page. The 70% band expanded to $12.99 on 7 July 2026, but existing titles priced above $9.99 remain on 35% until the royalty option is manually switched. On a $12.99 ebook that is roughly $4.55 versus $9.09 per sale. Most authors have not touched it.
Categories and keywords do different jobs
Categories drive browse discovery and bestseller-badge eligibility, and you pick up to three per format directly in KDP’s picker — the old system of emailing support for extra categories was retired in 2023. Keywords drive search matching through seven invisible backend fields. They are complementary, not interchangeable.
70% royalty has conditions people miss
Your ebook must be priced at least 20% below any physical edition on Amazon. In Brazil, Japan, Mexico and India the 70% rate requires KDP Select enrolment. Public domain titles are capped at 35%. And under 70% a per-megabyte delivery cost is deducted — $0.15 in the US — which matters for image-heavy books.
Audiobook economics changed in 2026
ACX opened a new royalty model to all creators on 26 May 2026, retiring the legacy model by year end. Exclusive rose from 40% to 50%, non-exclusive from 25% to 30%, and earnings shifted to a listening-share model that pays across all plan types rather than credit purchases only. If you have not revisited audio since 2024, the maths has moved.
What You Get
What a month of KDP management looks like
KDP work is metadata, pricing, ads and compliance — not logistics. A typical month covers:
- Royalty option audit across the catalogue, including the July 2026 ceiling change and the June 2025 print thresholds
- Per-marketplace pricing review, with the 20%-below-print rule enforced for 70% eligibility
- Keyword field rebuilds and category re-selection per format, tested against search behaviour
- New title setup — file preparation, previewer QA, and linking ebook, paperback and hardcover editions
- KDP Select term tracking, with Countdown Deals and Free Promotions scheduled deliberately rather than ad hoc
- Amazon Ads management: Sponsored Products keyword and product targeting, negative keywords, bid control, and Sponsored Brands once eligible
- Tax and account hygiene, including W-8BEN maintenance — without a valid TIN, US withholding is 30%
- A monthly report covering royalty by marketplace and format, KENP trend, ad spend against royalty, and per-title profitability
A good fit if
- You have a catalogue rather than a single title
- You are willing to price above $9.99 where the market supports it
- You want ads managed against royalty, not impressions
- You publish in more than one format
- You are a non-US author needing tax setup handled properly
Probably not a fit if
- You have one book and no plans for more — the fees will outweigh the return
- You want a guarantee of bestseller placement
- You need a ghostwriter — we manage publishing, not authorship
- You publish exclusively outside Amazon
- You expect KDP to work like Seller Central
Our Process
How We Work
Catalogue & Royalty Audit
We review every title against the current royalty rules and hand you a list of the ones losing money — usually starting with anything priced $10 to $12.99 still sitting on 35%.
Metadata Rebuild
Titles, subtitles, descriptions, seven keyword fields and three categories per format, rebuilt against search behaviour and KDP’s own prohibited-terms rules.
File & Listing Remediation
Covers and interiors corrected to spec, editions properly linked, and conversion errors cleared through the previewer.
Advertising
Sponsored Products built and pruned against royalty per unit, with Sponsored Brands added once you have three eligible titles.
Ongoing Management
Monthly royalty and KENP reporting, Select term decisions, new releases, and price testing per marketplace.
FAQ
Common Questions
What is the July 2026 KDP royalty change?
Effective 7 July 2026, the 70% royalty option on Amazon.com covers list prices from $2.99 to $12.99, expanded from the previous $2.99 to $9.99. It is the first increase to that ceiling since 2007. Critically it is not retroactive or automatic — a title already priced between $10.00 and $12.99 stays on 35% royalty until the publisher manually selects the 70% option under Rights & Pricing. Auditing for this is the first thing we do.
Is KDP the same as an Amazon seller account?
No. KDP is a publishing platform. You have no inventory, no FBA, no Buy Box and no seller storefront — you supply files and metadata, Amazon prints on demand and pays a royalty. Selling physical books you printed elsewhere would be a Seller Central listing, which is a different mechanism attached to the same product page and a common source of listing conflicts.
How many keywords and categories do I get?
Seven backend keyword fields of 50 characters each, and up to three categories per format, selected in KDP’s own browse-category picker. KDP prohibits certain keyword content: terms already in your title or categories, other authors’ names, subjective claims, time-sensitive words, misspellings, trademarks you do not own, and Amazon programme names like Kindle Unlimited.
Should I enrol in KDP Select?
It depends on where your readers are. Select gives you Kindle Unlimited inclusion, Countdown Deals and Free Promotions, and it is required for the 70% royalty rate in Brazil, Japan, Mexico and India. The cost is digital exclusivity for the 90-day term — you cannot sell the ebook anywhere else. Print and audio are unaffected. We look at your actual KENP earnings against likely wide revenue rather than guessing.
Do you handle audiobooks?
We handle setup and management through ACX and KDP Virtual Voice. Worth knowing: ACX rights-holder eligibility is restricted by country of residence, so we confirm your eligibility before promising anything. Virtual Voice is still in beta, US marketplace only, priced $3.99 to $14.99 at a 40% royalty.
I am not based in the US — what about tax?
You need a completed tax interview and a valid W-8BEN. Without a valid taxpayer identification number, US withholding on your royalties is 30%. Treaty rates require a TIN — a US ITIN, a US EIN, or in many cases your home-country tax ID. We keep this current as part of account hygiene, though we are not tax advisers and will tell you when to speak to one.
Still on 35% Royalty?
Book a free catalogue audit and we will show you which titles are leaving money on the table.
Book Free Consultation