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 the 70% option launched. It is opt-in. Titles already priced above $9.99 stay on 35% until someone changes the setting.
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 to $12.99, up from $2.99 to $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.
KDP By The Numbers
The figures that set your ceiling
Amazon publishes very little about KDP at portfolio level. It does publish the two numbers that decide most author income, and both moved in 2026.
Sources: KDP help documentation, checked August 2026. Amazon announces the prior month’s Global Fund near the 15th.
What You Get
What a month of KDP management looks like
KDP account 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
What Actually Moves Author Income
Four levers worth more than another launch
Translation is now a real distribution lever
Amazon expanded Kindle Translate on 30 June 2026, adding French, Italian and Portuguese to the original English pairings with Spanish and German. It is still an invite only beta. Amazon says a translation is generated within about 24 hours and live in the store within 72, and that each translated edition carries its own list price and royalty plan and reports like any other ebook. The number behind it is the interesting part. Amazon states that fewer than 5% of titles on Amazon.com are available in more than one language. For a backlist with proven read-through in English, that is an unusually empty shelf.
The print royalty threshold punishes tidy pricing
Since 10 June 2025 print royalties pay 50% below $9.99 and 60% at $9.99 and above on Amazon.com, with equivalent thresholds in each marketplace, minus printing cost. Authors who price a paperback at $9.49 because it looks friendlier lose ten points of royalty against a title priced fifty cents higher. Printing cost is a fixed subtraction either way, so the gap is pure margin. We check the whole print catalogue against each marketplace threshold, because the lines differ: C$13.99 in Canada, £7.99 in the UK, ¥1,000 in Japan.
Metadata rules are enforced, and the wording is strict
You get up to three categories per format and seven backend keyword fields. KDP prohibits terms already used in your title, contributor or category fields, subjective claims, time-sensitive words, generic words like book, misspellings, other authors’ names you are not authorised to use, brand names you do not own, and Amazon programme names such as Kindle Unlimited. KDP states a zero tolerance policy for metadata meant to advertise, promote or mislead. Category changes take up to 72 hours to appear, so a launch-week category fix has to be made before launch week.
Public domain and duplicate content rules block more titles than authors expect
Amazon will not list an undifferentiated version of a work that already exists free. Differentiation means one of three things: an original translation, original annotations such as a study guide or historical context, or at least ten original illustrations. Formatting, a linked contents page, bundling and pricing do not count. The title must carry Translated, Annotated or Illustrated, and the description must open with short bullet summaries of what you added. Public domain content is also barred from KDP Select and from the 70% royalty option.
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.
Where Accounts Go Wrong
Four things that quietly cost publishers money
Ignoring the content quality tiers
KDP flags issues as critical, destructive or distracting. Critical issues, such as whole-book image scans or body text formatted bold throughout, pull a title from sale immediately. Enough distracting issues can put a public quality warning on your detail page, which readers see. A previewer pass before publishing costs minutes.
Running a second KDP account
The terms allow one account at a time, and Amazon states that a publisher whose account is terminated may not open a new one. Royalties earned in a replacement account after termination are forfeit. Pen names belong inside one account, not across several.
Enrolling public domain or low-content titles where they do not qualify
Public domain works cannot use KDP Select or the 70% option. Low-content books are excluded from Expanded Distribution and from Series Manager. Enrolling anyway produces blocks that take support cycles to unwind.
Relying on launch-day rank spikes
Amazon moved bestseller rank updates to once daily rather than hourly, which blunts the effect of a single concentrated push. Sustained visibility now comes from advertising, series read-through and category fit rather than from one coordinated day.
FAQ
Common Questions
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.
Do I have to do anything to get the new $12.99 royalty rate?
Yes. Amazon expanded the 70% band to $12.99 on 7 July 2026, but it did not move existing titles onto it. If an ebook is already priced between $10.00 and $12.99, it stays on 35% until you open Rights and Pricing and select the 70% option. Nothing warns you. This is the first sweep we run on any catalogue we take over, because it is usually the largest immediate gain available.
What does KDP require me to declare about AI?
You must declare AI-generated content at upload, meaning text, images or translations created by an AI tool, and the declaration is still required if you edited the output substantially afterwards. You do not need to declare AI-assisted work, where you created the content and used AI to edit, refine or check it. The declaration is collected in KDP and is not shown to customers on the detail page.
How is Kindle Unlimited actually paid?
From the KDP Select Global Fund, which Amazon publishes monthly and reported at $71.0 million for July 2026. You are paid for pages read for the first time by each customer, measured on KENPC version 3.0 from the start reading location, capped at 3,000 pages per title per customer per borrow. Amazon does not publish a per-page rate. It falls out of the fund divided by total pages read, which is why the effective rate moves month to month.
Our Guarantee
What we put in writing
What you always get
- One named account manager who knows your account, not a rotating pool
- A written report every month covering what we changed and why
- Every file, login and asset stays yours, handed over on request
What you never get
- No lock-in. Cancel any month, with no notice period
- No setup fee, and the audit before you start is free
- If we miss the scope we agreed in your first 30 days, that month is free
We do not promise a ranking, a Buy Box share or a sales figure, because those sit with the platform and not with us. We promise the work, the reporting and the terms above, and all three go in the contract.
Still on 35% Royalty?
Book a free catalogue audit and we will show you which titles are leaving money on the table.
Book Free ConsultationFree pre-audit call
Book a free 30-minute audit call
We go through the account with you — listings, ads, account health — and tell you what we would change first. No pitch deck, no setup fee, no obligation.
- 30 minutes, one call, straight to the findings
- You speak to the manager who would run the account, not a sales rep
- You keep the findings whether or not you hire us
No credit card. Reschedule or cancel any time.