Common reasons KDP rejects a book, and how to fix them

Most rejections are about the print files, not the writing. Here are the ones authors meet most, grouped by where the problem is. Each links to a full explanation and fix in the rejection decoder.

Interior

• Something sits too close to the page edge. Text or a picture reaches into the margin KDP keeps clear. Printers trim each page a little, so anything near the edge can be cut off.
• The bleed setting does not match the file. On KDP you chose bleed or no bleed, and the interior PDF was made the other way. A bleed file is slightly larger than the trim size.
• The page size differs from the trim size. The interior PDF pages are not the size chosen on KDP.
• A font is not embedded. The PDF uses a font that is not stored inside the file, so the printer cannot draw it.
• Some text is too small to print well. Very small type (under about 7 pt) can blur or break up in print.
• There are too many blank pages. Long runs of empty pages can look like a printing mistake, so KDP may ask about them.
• The page count is outside what KDP prints. Every format, paper and size has a lowest and highest page count. A paperback needs at least 24 pages.
• The file has transparency or layers the printer cannot use. Some see-through effects must be flattened before print.

Cover

• There is text on a spine that is too thin. KDP only allows spine text when the book is thick enough (over 79 pages). Thin spines cannot hold readable text.
• The cover file is the wrong size. A full cover is back, spine and front in one PDF. Its width depends on the page count and paper, so a page count change makes the old cover wrong.
• Something covers the barcode area. KDP prints a barcode on the back cover, near the bottom corner by the spine. That area must stay clear.

Details

• The title or author on the cover differs from the details. What you typed on KDP's Details tab must match the cover and title page exactly, including the subtitle and the author's name.
• The title, subtitle or keywords look misleading. KDP does not allow keyword lists in the title, claims like “best seller”, other authors' or brands' names, or words that promise something the book is not.
• The low-content and ISBN choices do not fit. Low-content books (journals, logbooks, puzzle and coloring books) can be published without an ISBN. Once you take a free KDP ISBN, the low-content option is closed.

Content

• A picture is low resolution. An image prints at less than 300 DPI and may look blurry or pixelated in print.
• KDP thinks the content offers too little to readers. KDP turns down books that copy freely available text, repeat the same pages, or do not deliver what the title promises.

Rights

• KDP wants proof that you hold the rights. KDP asks for proof when a book looks like it may be published elsewhere, uses a known character or brand, or matches content online.