How to Publish Your First KDP Book in 30 Days: FREE Step-by-Step Guide
If you’ve ever dreamed of seeing your creative work in print (and making it available worldwide on Amazon!), this roadmap will walk you through the process step by step to get your first, low content, creative book published and available to buy on Amazon in as little as one month!
And the best part? You don’t need to be a tech wizard or spend thousands on samples or bulking buying your final design; All you need is your creative idea, a computer and the willingness to take it one step at a time.
📅 Week 1: Set Yourself Up for Success
Before you dive into designing, let’s start with the essentials:
Open your KDP account → It’s completely free to create an account at kdp.amazon.com.
Decide on your book type → For creatives, low-content books like notebooks, journals, planners, and coloring books are the perfect place to start because they often have repeating pages, making them a much ‘quicker’ book to design.
Plan out your concept → Keep it simple for the first project. Is this a guided journal for your audience? A sketchbook with your branding? A cute illustrated notebook? Write down the idea, the vibe, and who it’s for and then roughly sketch out the different page designs you’d like to include.
💡 Pro tip: Keep your first project simple. The goal is to learn the process quickly and get your book published, not create a 200-page magnum opus.
📅 Week 2: Create Your Interior File (Manuscript)
This is where your book comes to life.
Choose your size → Popular choices are 6x9” for journals or 8.5x11” for coloring books. Then set up your file accordingly, being sure to include the recommended bleed and margins.
Design your interior → You can use free tools like Canva, Adobe InDesign/Express or Affinity Designer.
Journals: lined, dotted, or prompted pages.
Coloring books: convert your illustrations into clean black-and-white line art.
Save as PDF → KDP requires a print-ready PDF for your manuscript.
⚡ Don’t panic if the technical side feels intimidating — margins, bleed, and sizing can feel confusing at first. But once you’ve done it once, it becomes second nature.
📅 Week 3: Design Your Cover
Your cover is your book’s first impression — and on Amazon, it’s everything (especially because for low-content books, it’s the only preview image buyers can see of your design!)
Use KDP’s cover template → Download it for your chosen size & page count.
Keep it eye-catching → Think about bold typography, your signature art style, or a simple, aesthetic design that reflects your brand.
Export as PDF → Again, KDP needs a print-ready file.
✨ Remember: Your cover doesn’t need to look like it came from Penguin Random House. It just needs to feel professional, consistent with your creative style, and attractive to your target audience.
📅 Week 4: Upload & Publish!
You’re almost there!
Upload your files → Manuscript + cover into KDP.
Set your title & description → Write it for your ideal customer. Use keywords naturally (“daily journal,” “artist sketchbook,” etc.).
Choose your price → KDP prints your book on demand, so you only pay printing costs after a sale.
Hit publish! → Your book will then be reviewed by the KDP team to make sure it meets their guidelines, but should be available on amazon in 72 hours.
🎉 And just like that — your creative idea is now a real, printed product available worldwide!!!
✨ Why I love using KDP in my creative business…
You don’t need a publisher’s approval to bring your ideas to life.
You don’t need to spend hundreds (or thousands) on inventory.
You can add a new revenue stream to your creative business with the skills you already have.
And once you’ve done it once? You’ll know exactly how to repeat the process again and again — building a portfolio of creative products that support your brand and that your customers and community will LOVE!!!
💌 Want Step-by-Step Support?
This roadmap gives you the big picture — but if you’d like me to guide you through every single step in detail (with screen recordings, templates, and support), that’s exactly what my course Printed & Published: Creative Self-Publishing with Amazon KDP is designed for.
👉 Inside, you’ll learn how to:
Format your files without frustration
Troubleshoot common KDP errors
Create books that actually sell (not just sit on Amazon)
Market your books using the audience you already have
