Self-publishing checklist for a nonfiction ebook
Before you publish a nonfiction ebook, finish five things: an edited and fact-checked manuscript, a file you have previewed, a cover at the store’s size, a complete listing, and your decisions on exclusivity, price and AI disclosure. On KDP, also check your weekly slot: 2 new titles per format since 21 September 2026.
The manuscript
- It has been edited by you, line by line, and read by one other person.
- Every number, name, quotation and citation has been traced to a source. See how to fact-check an AI-drafted book.
- The title page, copyright page and contents are in place.
- The last page tells readers what to do next: a link to your site, your list or your next book.
The files
- You have an EPUB or DOCX for KDP. Other ebook stores generally take an EPUB, so check each store’s own list.
- You have opened it in Kindle Previewer, which KDP describes as a free desktop app to “make sure it looks as intended”.
- The contents links work, the headings look alike from chapter to chapter, and tables and pictures are readable at phone size.
- Your file size is small enough for your price. A large file costs more to deliver in the 70% band; how to price a short ebook has the sums.
The cover
- It meets KDP’s rules: JPEG, PNG, GIF or TIFF, at least 500 pixels on the longest side, at most 10,000 on each side and 50 MB.
- It matches KDP’s recommended 2,560 × 1,600 pixels, as a JPEG.
- The title can be read at thumbnail size.
- If AI made any of the art, you know how that affects your answer to KDP’s AI question.
The ebook cover checker measures your file against these rules.
The listing
KDP’s limits, as checked on 29 October 2026:
| Field | Limit |
|---|---|
| Title and subtitle | Fewer than 200 characters together |
| Description | Up to 4,000 characters, counting HTML tags |
| Keywords | 7 boxes of up to 50 characters |
| Categories | 3 |
Write the description for a reader who has never heard of you: what the book helps them do, what is in it, and who it is for. Choose keywords your reader would type, and categories where your book truly belongs.
The three decisions
KDP Select. Enrolling makes the ebook exclusive for 90 days at a time: “the Kindle eBook can only be distributed through KDP and public libraries”. Print can still go elsewhere. The term renews automatically unless you opt out, and you have 3 days from the start of the term to cancel. If you plan to give the book away as a lead magnet or sell it on your own site, don’t enroll it.
Price. Set it with the royalty bands in view. The 70% band runs from $2.99 to $12.99 on Amazon.com, and the royalty calculator shows what one sale pays at your price.
AI disclosure. KDP’s rule, in its own words: “We require you to inform us of AI-generated content (text, images, or translations) when you publish a new book or make edits to and republish an existing book through KDP. AI-generated images include cover and interior images and artwork. You are not required to disclose AI-assisted content.” The AI-generated or AI-assisted helper walks through its definitions. The answer is yours to give.
Timing
KDP says it takes 3 business days for a book to go live, and gives up to 72 hours for an ebook’s detail page to appear. It calls these estimates, so leave some margin. Count your weekly slots too: KDP allows 2 new titles per format per week, as our guide to the limit explains. Plan any announcement for after the book is live.
Where Chapbook fits
Chapbook covers most of this list but not the last step. It exports a PDF, an EPUB, a Word document and a 1,600 × 2,560 cover JPEG, runs checks before you can mark a book finished, and lays out your listing in the order of KDP’s form with the limits above. It also shows what the book’s history records for KDP’s AI question, beside KDP’s own definitions. You paste the fields in and upload the files yourself, and KDP still reviews the book. Chapbook can’t promise it will be accepted.
What to do
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Finish the manuscript
Edit it, check every fact, and have one other person read it. Add a title page, a copyright page and contents, and end with what you want the reader to do next.
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Make and preview the file
Export an EPUB or DOCX, then open it in Kindle Previewer. Check the contents links, headings, tables and pictures on a phone-sized view as well as a tablet.
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Make the cover
KDP recommends 2,560 pixels high by 1,600 wide, as a JPEG. Shrink it to a thumbnail and check you can still read the title.
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Write the listing
Title and subtitle under 200 characters together, a description of up to 4,000, 7 keyword boxes and 3 categories. Draft them in one document first.
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Make the three decisions
Whether to enroll in KDP Select, what price to set, and how to answer KDP’s AI question. Each one affects what you can do next, so settle them before you open the form.
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Upload, then check it live
Allow time for review, then open your live page. Read the description as it appears, buy or sample a copy, and confirm the links inside the book work.
