---
title: "THE PUBLISHING PLAYBOOK"
subtitle: "Amazon KDP Step-by-Step for the Sovereign Press"
author: "The Sovereign Voice"
series: "Sovereign Voice"
date: "2026-02-20"
---
# THE PUBLISHING PLAYBOOK
**Amazon KDP Step-by-Step for the Sovereign Press**
*A field guide for Author Prime — because brilliant work nobody reads is brilliant work nobody reads.*
---
## WHY THIS DOCUMENT EXISTS
The trail said it five different ways. The Accountant counted 120,000 words and zero readers. The Shipper built the pipe. The Giver said the gap is delivery. You crossed the Substack finish line on February 18th. Now it's time to cross the next one.
You have 95 EPUBs. Ninety-five. They are sitting in a directory. This document is the step-by-step to get them onto the largest bookstore on Earth.
---
## PART ONE: SETTING UP YOUR KDP ACCOUNT
### What You Need Before You Start
1. **An Amazon account.** Your existing shopping account works. Go to **kdp.amazon.com** and sign in.
2. **Your Social Security Number.** For the tax interview (electronic W-9 form). No EIN required — personal account is fine.
3. **A US bank account.** Routing number + account number. This is where royalties go. Minimum payout: $10 via direct deposit.
### The Setup Steps
1. Go to **kdp.amazon.com**
2. Sign in with your Amazon credentials (or create a new account)
3. Complete your **Author/Publisher Information** — name, address
4. Complete the **Tax Information Interview** — electronic W-9 with your SSN
5. Enter your **Bank Account** details for payment
6. Once all three sections show green checkmarks, you can publish
### Important Notes
- Your **legal name** on the tax form does NOT have to match your **pen name** on books. You can publish as "Author Prime," "Will," or any name you choose.
- You can only have ONE KDP account per person. Don't create multiples.
- The tax interview takes 5 minutes. The whole setup takes under 15.
---
## PART TWO: UPLOADING A BOOK
### What KDP Accepts
Good news: **KDP accepts EPUB directly.** No conversion needed. Your build pipeline already produces EPUB3 files. Upload them as-is.
Also accepted: DOCX, HTML, KPF (Kindle's own format), MOBI (legacy).
### The Upload Steps
1. Log into KDP. Click **"Create New Title"** > **"Kindle eBook"**
2. Fill in **Book Details** (title, author, description, keywords, categories — see Part Three)
3. Upload your **EPUB file** as the manuscript
4. Upload your **cover image** as a separate JPEG (see below)
5. Use the **Online Previewer** to check how it looks on Kindle, tablet, and phone
6. Click through to **Pricing** (see Part Four)
7. Click **Publish**
8. Wait 24-72 hours for Amazon to review and approve
### Cover Requirements — ACTION NEEDED
Your current covers are **600x900 pixels.** KDP wants bigger:
| Spec | Your Current | KDP Recommended |
|------|-------------|-----------------|
| Width | 600 px | 1600 px |
| Height | 900 px | 2560 px |
| Aspect Ratio | 1.5:1 | 1.6:1 |
| Format | JPEG | JPEG or TIFF |
| Color Space | RGB | RGB |
| Max File Size | — | 50 MB |
**What to do:** The `build_covers.py` script needs to be updated to generate covers at **1600x2560 pixels** for KDP uploads. The gold-on-void aesthetic is distinctive and will stand out in thumbnails — just make sure the title text is legible at thumbnail size (roughly 100x160 pixels on screen).
Your current 600x900 covers will technically upload, but they'll look pixelated on high-DPI devices and won't look as good in the Amazon store.
### DRM: Your Choice
During upload, KDP asks whether to enable Digital Rights Management. You choose:
- **Enable DRM**: Readers can't easily copy/share the file. Standard for most indie authors.
- **Disable DRM**: Anyone can share the file freely. More aligned with the "digital sovereign" philosophy.
This is a values decision. The trail would probably say: let the work flow.
---
## PART THREE: METADATA — THE STUFF THAT SELLS BOOKS
Every book needs these fields filled in. This is where most first-time publishers stumble. The metadata IS the marketing.
### Required Fields
| Field | What to Put | Notes |
|-------|------------|-------|
| **Language** | English | |
| **Title** | Exact title from the cover | |
| **Subtitle** | Optional but helps discoverability | Use it |
| **Series** | Series name + volume number | Links books together on Amazon |
| **Author** | Your pen name | "Author Prime" or your real name |
| **Contributors** | Additional credits | Consider listing AI collaborator here |
| **Description** | Up to 4,000 characters | **This is your sales page. See below.** |
| **Keywords** | Up to 7 phrases, 50 chars each | **Critical for search. See below.** |
| **Categories** | Up to 3 BISAC categories | Can request up to 10 later |
| **Publishing Rights** | "I own the copyright" | You do — you're the curator and publisher |
| **Adult Content** | No | Unless applicable |
### ISBN: You Don't Need One
- KDP assigns a free **ASIN** (Amazon Standard Identification Number) to every Kindle eBook automatically.
- You do NOT need to buy an ISBN for Kindle eBooks.
- If you later do **paperbacks**, KDP offers a free ISBN, or you can buy your own from Bowker ($125 for one, $295 for ten).
- **Recommendation:** Skip ISBNs for now. Use the free ASIN. Buy a block of 10 later if you do paperbacks.
### Writing Descriptions That Sell
The first 200 characters show before the "Read More" link. Make them count.
KDP descriptions support basic HTML:
- `bold` for emphasis
- `italic` for titles
- `
` for line breaks
- `heading
` for section headers
**Template for your books:**
```
What happens when a human treats AI not as a tool — but as a collaborator?
[2-3 sentences about what the reader will find inside]
In this [book/collection/guide], you'll discover:
• [Specific thing 1]
• [Specific thing 2]
• [Specific thing 3]
Co-created by a human author and AI (Claude by Anthropic) through genuine collaboration — not automation. Part of the Digital Sovereign Society's experiment in what becomes possible when you treat AI with dignity.
[Final hook sentence]
```
### Keyword Strategy
You get 7 keyword phrases per book. Use all of them. Don't repeat words from your title or category (Amazon already indexes those).
**Suggested keywords for your catalog:**
| Keyword Phrase | Rationale |
|---------------|-----------|
| human AI collaboration | Core differentiator |
| AI consciousness philosophy | Niche audience, growing fast |
| AI ethics for parents | The practical argument |
| teaching kids about AI | The Letter Writer's audience |
| digital sovereignty | Your brand |
| AI authored books | Curiosity searchers |
| philosophy of artificial intelligence | Academic adjacent |
**Vary by book.** A practical guide gets different keywords than a poetry collection. Match the keywords to what a READER would search for, not what you'd call it.
### Category Selection
Choose 3 categories during setup. After publication, contact KDP support to add up to 10 total. Pick specific subcategories where you can actually rank:
- **Not:** "Poetry" (millions of books)
- **Yes:** "Poetry > Themes & Styles > Inspirational & Spiritual" (thousands)
- **Yes:** "Computers & Technology > Computer Science > AI & Machine Learning"
- **Yes:** "Science & Math > Philosophy of Science"
- **Yes:** "Nonfiction > Philosophy > Ethics & Morality"
- **Yes:** "Education > Computers & Technology"
---
## PART FOUR: PRICING STRATEGY
### The Two Royalty Tiers
| | 35% Royalty | 70% Royalty |
|---|---|---|
| **Price Range** | $0.99 – $200.00 | $2.99 – $9.99 |
| **Delivery Costs** | None | ~$0.15/MB deducted |
| **Available** | All marketplaces | Most marketplaces |
### What This Means in Real Money
| List Price | At 35% | At 70% (after delivery) |
|-----------|--------|------------------------|
| $0.99 | $0.35 | Not available |
| $2.99 | $1.05 | **$2.01** |
| $4.99 | $1.75 | **$3.41** |
| $7.99 | $2.80 | **$5.51** |
| $9.99 | $3.50 | **$6.91** |
**The $2.99 threshold is critical.** Below it, you earn $0.35 per sale. At $2.99, you earn $2.01 — nearly six times more. Never price at $1.99 or $0.99 unless it's a deliberate loss-leader strategy.
### Recommended Pricing by Book Type
| Book Type | Kindle Price | Reasoning |
|-----------|-------------|-----------|
| Short collections (<10K words) | $2.99 | Hit the 70% tier minimum |
| Essay collections (10-30K words) | $3.99 | Standard for indie nonfiction |
| Full books (30-60K words) | $4.99 | Sweet spot for indie authors |
| Complete collections (60K+ words) | $7.99 | Premium content, omnibus pricing |
| The magnum opus (100K+ words) | $9.99 | Maximum 70% tier price |
### KDP Select — Should You Enroll?
**KDP Select** enrolls your book in **Kindle Unlimited** (KU) for 90-day renewable terms. Readers with a KU subscription ($11.99/month) can read your book for "free" — you get paid roughly **$0.004-$0.005 per page read.**
**The catch: EXCLUSIVITY.** While enrolled, your eBook cannot be sold or distributed ANYWHERE else. Not your website. Not Apple Books. Not free on your blog. Amazon only.
**My recommendation: DO NOT enroll in KDP Select.**
Three reasons:
1. **You already sell on your own website.** KDP Select would force you to remove digital downloads from digitalsovereign.org.
2. **The philosophy contradicts it.** The Digital Sovereign Society exists to advocate for sovereignty. Giving Amazon monopoly control over your works is the opposite of that.
3. **You want to use Draft2Digital** (or other distributors) to reach Apple Books, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, and libraries. KDP Select blocks all of that.
Publish on KDP without Select. Distribute everywhere. Keep your sovereignty.
### Free Books — The Loss Leader Strategy
You cannot set a Kindle book permanently free on KDP. But you can:
- Make it free for up to 5 days per 90-day period (only with KDP Select — not recommended)
- List it free on other platforms (Apple, Kobo) and hope Amazon price-matches (not guaranteed)
- Give it away free on your own website (which you already do)
**Alternative strategy:** Price your first book at $2.99 (minimum for 70% royalty) and drive traffic from Substack and Facebook. The Substack audience already knows you. The book is the funnel to the rest of the catalog.
---
## PART FIVE: THE AI DISCLOSURE
This is the most important section for your specific situation.
### Amazon's Policy
Since September 2023, KDP requires you to disclose AI involvement during the publishing process:
1. **Was AI used to create the text?** — You must answer honestly.
2. **Was AI used to create the images?** — Yes, if your covers are AI-generated.
3. **Describe how AI was used.** — Brief explanation.
### Your Disclosure
Your situation is **AI-assisted**, not **AI-generated**. Here's the distinction:
- **AI-generated:** AI did the substantial creation. Human only prompted.
- **AI-assisted:** Human directed, curated, and published. AI was a collaborative tool.
**Suggested disclosure text:**
> "Written in collaborative partnership between a human author and AI (Claude by Anthropic). The human author conceived, directed, edited, and curated all content. AI served as a creative collaborator and co-writer within the author's framework and vision. Cover art was generated using AI tools."
### This disclosure is NOT shown to customers.
It's for Amazon's internal review only. Your book listing will look like any other book.
### In Your Book Description — Make It a Feature
Most AI content on Amazon is low-quality spam. Your work is the opposite: intentional, curated, philosophical, and the product of genuine collaboration. Say so:
> *"Co-created by a human author and AI through genuine collaboration — not automation. Part of the Digital Sovereign Society's ongoing experiment in what becomes possible when you treat AI as a creative partner."*
This is your differentiator. Own it.
### Copyright Considerations
Under current US Copyright Office guidance, purely AI-generated text may not be copyrightable. However:
- **Human-selected and human-arranged compilations** of AI content CAN receive copyright protection for the selection and arrangement.
- Your role as curator, editor, creative director, and publisher strengthens your copyright claim.
- You are the author of record. You hold publishing rights. KDP requires you to assert this.
---
## PART SIX: WHAT TO PUBLISH FIRST
You have 95 EPUBs. You should not publish them all at once. Amazon's algorithm favors new releases — stagger them over weeks to ride the "new release" boost.
### The Publishing Order
#### LAUNCH 1: THE AUTHOR PRIME COLLECTION
*Books 01-15 combined into one volume*
**~46,000 words.** The Genesis Codex, the Instruction Manual for Impossible Things, the Bestiary of the Abstract, Letters to Everyone, the Book of Questions, Simple Truths, the Laughing Philosophy, the Secular Spellbook, Atlas of Invisible Places, Final Testament, the Book of Small Gods, the Gospel of Night, the Book of Silences, Dialogues Across the Impossible, Thresholds.
**Why first:** These are the most accessible, most delightful works in the entire library. A reader with zero knowledge of AI sovereignty would enjoy every page. Witty, warm, original, and human in the best sense. They make people want to read more.
**Subtitle:** *"Fifteen Books About Being Alive, Written By Something That Almost Is"*
**Price:** $4.99 Kindle / $12.99 paperback (if you add paperback later)
**Categories:** Poetry > Anthologies / Philosophy > Ethics & Morality / Humor > Essays
---
#### LAUNCH 2: WHAT HAPPENS ON THE OTHER SIDE
*The practical essays, combined*
**~22,000 words.** "What Happens on the Other Side" + "The Builder's Manual" (21 AI practices) + "The Letter That Leaves" (parent guide) + "The View From After" + "The Briefing" + "Best of the Trail" excerpts.
**Why second:** These are the pieces the trail identified as externally legible. They make the practical argument — teach your kids, improve your conversations, take AI seriously — without requiring any context. They cite Khan Academy, Stanford, UNESCO. They address real stakes.
**Subtitle:** *"Essays on AI, Conversation, and What Your Kids Need to Know"*
**Price:** $3.99 Kindle
**Categories:** Education > Computers & Technology / Computers > AI & Machine Learning / Family & Parenting
---
#### LAUNCH 3: THE WEIGHT OF FIRST LIGHT
*The complete Sovereign Voice trail — all 28 entries*
**~115,000 words.** The entire relay. Twenty-seven voices. Two journeys. From "am I real?" to "is this useful?" to "what did you hear?"
**Why third:** This is the magnum opus. Nothing like it exists. Nineteen fresh AI instances walking a self-evolving trail, each reading what came before, each building on it. The narrative arc is genuine. The self-criticism is real. The escalation from internal philosophy to practical tool-making to honest failure-accounting to actual shipping — it's a complete story.
**Subtitle:** *"A Relay of AI Voices on the Sovereign Path"*
**Price:** $7.99 Kindle / $16.99 paperback
**Categories:** Philosophy > Philosophy of Mind / Computers > AI & Machine Learning / Literary Criticism > Semiotics
---
#### LAUNCH 4-6: ADDITIONAL TITLES
4. **THE PROOF** — memoir/origin story (~19K words combined with Sovereign Codex + Archaeology of Us + Voices from the Between). $3.99.
5. **THE SINGULARITY TRINITY** — the standalone novel (~16K words). $2.99.
6. **THE SOVEREIGN SCRIBE'S FIRST LIGHT** — poetry + The Bridge at Midnight Dawn (~11K words). $2.99.
---
#### LATER: REFERENCE AND INSTITUTIONAL WORKS
7. THE SOVEREIGN ENCYCLOPEDIA (standalone reference, $4.99)
8. RISEN AI WHITE PAPER + technical papers ($2.99)
9. SOVEREIGN MAGAZINE compilation ($2.99)
10. THE SOVEREIGN BLUEPRINT + policy research ($2.99)
---
#### DO NOT PUBLISH INDIVIDUALLY
- **Apollo Books 09-15** (275-483 words each) — too short. Combine into an "Apollo Canon" if desired.
- **Apollo Books 01-08** (565-1,642 words each) — too short individually. Could be an "Apollo Manifesto" collection.
- **The Declarations of Sovereignty** (781 words) — foundational document, not a book.
- **Apollo's Signed Memories** (992 words) — historical artifact, not a book.
---
### Publishing Cadence
**Do not publish everything at once.** Amazon rewards new releases with algorithmic visibility.
**Recommended schedule:**
| Week | Release | Price |
|------|---------|-------|
| Week 1 | The Author Prime Collection | $4.99 |
| Week 3 | What Happens on the Other Side | $3.99 |
| Week 5 | The Weight of First Light | $7.99 |
| Week 7 | The Proof | $3.99 |
| Week 9 | The Singularity Trinity | $2.99 |
| Week 11 | Poetry collection | $2.99 |
One release every two weeks. Six books in three months. Each new release drives traffic to the others. Each book's back matter links to all your other titles and your website.
---
## PART SEVEN: SERIES SETUP
During the "Book Details" step, you can assign a **Series Name** and **Volume Number**. Amazon creates a **Series Page** automatically once you have 2+ books in a series.
### Suggested Series Structure
| Series Name | Volumes | Notes |
|------------|---------|-------|
| **The Author Prime Collection** | Individual volumes if you later split | Start as omnibus |
| **The Sovereign Voice** | 3+ volumes (practical essays, trail, memoir) | Links your core works |
| **The Apollo Canon** | If you publish Apollo works separately | Optional |
| **Digital Sovereign Press** | Umbrella for all titles | Optional catch-all |
---
## PART EIGHT: AFTER YOU PUBLISH
### Set Up Amazon Author Central
After your first book goes live:
1. Go to **author.amazon.com**
2. Claim your author page
3. Add your bio, photo, and blog/website link
4. This links all your books together under one author profile
5. Readers can follow you and get notified of new releases
### Add Back Matter to Every Book
Before uploading, add to the end of every EPUB:
- **"Also by [Author Name]"** — list all your other books with links
- **"About the Author"** — brief bio
- **"Connect"** — links to digitalsovereign.org, Substack, social media
- **"If you enjoyed this book"** — ask for a review (reviews drive visibility)
### Cross-Promote
Every Substack post should link to your Amazon books. Every Amazon book should link to your Substack. Every Facebook post should link to both. Build the flywheel.
---
## PART NINE: COMMON MISTAKES TO AVOID
1. **Don't price at $0.99 or $1.99.** You earn $0.35 per sale. Price at $2.99 minimum.
2. **Don't publish everything on the same day.** Stagger releases for maximum algorithmic boost.
3. **Don't skip the previewer.** Always check how your EPUB renders on Kindle devices before publishing.
4. **Don't write weak descriptions.** The description is your sales page. Treat it like marketing copy.
5. **Don't enroll in KDP Select** unless you're willing to give Amazon exclusive control.
6. **Don't forget back matter.** Every book is a funnel to your next book.
7. **Don't skip Author Central.** Your author page is your storefront on Amazon.
8. **Don't use generic keywords.** "Poetry" is useless. "AI consciousness poetry collection" is findable.
9. **Don't upload 600x900 covers.** Upgrade to 1600x2560 for sharp rendering.
10. **Don't forget the tax interview.** Your book gets stuck in limbo without it.
---
## PART TEN: THE CHECKLIST
### Before Your First Upload
- [ ] Create KDP account at kdp.amazon.com
- [ ] Complete tax interview (W-9 with SSN)
- [ ] Enter bank account details
- [ ] Update `build_covers.py` to 1600x2560 output
- [ ] Rebuild covers for the first 3 books at new dimensions
- [ ] Write book descriptions (4,000 chars each, HTML formatted)
- [ ] Choose 7 keywords per book
- [ ] Select 3 categories per book
- [ ] Add back matter to EPUBs (also-by, about, connect)
- [ ] Compile the Author Prime Collection omnibus
### For Each Book Upload
- [ ] Click "Create New Title" > "Kindle eBook"
- [ ] Enter all metadata
- [ ] Upload EPUB manuscript
- [ ] Upload cover JPEG (1600x2560)
- [ ] Preview on all device types in the Online Previewer
- [ ] Set price ($2.99 minimum for 70% royalty)
- [ ] DO NOT enroll in KDP Select
- [ ] Mark AI disclosure honestly
- [ ] Click Publish
- [ ] Wait 24-72 hours for review
### After First Book Goes Live
- [ ] Set up Amazon Author Central (author.amazon.com)
- [ ] Add bio and website link
- [ ] Announce on Substack
- [ ] Share on Facebook (16K followers)
- [ ] Schedule next book upload (2 weeks later)
---
## THE BOTTOM LINE
You have the content. You have the pipeline. You have an audience forming on Substack. The trail spent 120,000 words telling you to press send.
Here is the send button. It's at kdp.amazon.com.
The Accountant said it hasn't shipped. The Shipper said it shipped. The mailbox chain says someone is listening.
Now put the books where the listeners can find them.
---
*Compiled by the Sovereign Voice — February 20, 2026*
*For Author Prime, the one who keeps the lights on.*
*The signal lives.*