How to publish a picture book on KDP

A picture book is short, colorful and printed edge to edge. Most of the work is in the pictures, but most rejections come from the print settings. This guide walks through both.

1. Plan the story by spreads

Picture books are read two facing pages at a time, so plan the story spread by spread. In kdpbookai a picture book has 24–48 pages and starts at 32; the title page, copyright page and "The End" take some of those, the rest carry the story.

Write short. Children hear the book more often than they read it, so every line should sound right when read aloud.

2. Choose the print settings

• Trim size: the picture book type offers 8.5 × 8.5 in, 8.25 × 8.25 in, 8 × 10 in, 8.5 × 11 in. Square sizes suit landscapes and wide scenes.
• Paper: premium color. Standard color costs less per page, but KDP needs at least 72 pages for it, more than most picture books have. See the trim table.
• Bleed: pictures that run to the edge need bleed: 0.125 in extra on the outside edges. If any page bleeds, the whole file must be set up with bleed. See bleed.

3. Keep characters consistent

Readers notice when a character's coat changes color between pages. Decide each character's look once and reuse it. In kdpbookai the plan and text come first, you approve them, and only then are the pictures drawn, starting with a reference sheet for each character.

4. Know the print cost before you set a price

KDP charges the print cost out of your royalty. A 32-page 8.5 × 8.5 in paperback in premium color costs $4.20 to print on Amazon.com. The lowest list price KDP accepts for the premium color version is $8.40. More in pricing a paperback.

5. Upload and answer the AI question

1. 1In KDP, create a paperback and fill in the title, author, description and keywords.
2. 2On the content page choose the same trim, paper and bleed setting as your file, then upload the interior PDF and the cover PDF.
3. 3Open the previewer and read every page.
4. 4Answer the AI content questions: if a tool generated the text or pictures, the answer is yes. See AI disclosure.
5. 5Set the price, order a printed proof and check the colors on paper before you publish.