Friendly KPD Advice and Tips for LCB Authors.

This great and helpful list is partially compiled by my friends over at Self Publishing Titans, creators of Tools For Low Content Book Authors.

Check back as I will add to it as things come up.

Frequently asked questions by Low Content Book Authors

You’ve got questions. We’ve got answers. Every month hundreds if NOT thousands of Authors accounts are TERMINATED by Amazon KDP for breaking rules that are actually written on their website.

Hopefully this guide can help even ONE person avoid that fate, it has done its job.

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1) What should I avoid doing with KDP? (This is a LONG LIST)

  • Don’t use Trademark/Copyright materials. (Prime example: Disney anything) - check https://tmsearch.uspto.gov/
  • Do not upload public domain books as is. KDP requires you to make specific modifications. Annotated: Unique annotations (additional content like study guides, literary critiques, detailed biographies, or historical context) Illustrated: 10 or more unique illustrations relevant to the book Read full rules here: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G200743940
  • Do not put your book in irrelevant book categories. This is not allowed and will get you into trouble (sooner or later..READ THE IN DEPTH SECTION BELOW ON CATEGORIES... Scroll down)
  • Do not open more than 1 personal KDP account
  • Do not use free images from Google Images, Pinterest, etc. Use websites like pixabay.com pexels.com or buying images / interiors from Creative Fabrica, Etsy, Adobe. Always make modifications to what you download. The only exception should be regular lined journal paper, grids, simple things like that. Always add your own little touch to what you download.
  • Do not stuff your title and subtitle with a bunch of keywords. Make it look and sound natural. You shouldn’t need to take a deep breath to finish reading it. (Bad example: Notebook for Kids and Children to Write In Notepad for Notes: Notebook for my Kid and his Child Birthday Christmas him and her) Here is a guide: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/GW7J4WEKBVU25YEC
  • Do not use keywords in your author name and do not use famous author names
  • Read the email you receive when your book goes live. There’s important info in the email

Where are the KDP Terms and Conditions?

You can read them here by clicking on the link on this page

Where can I find the KDP Help Center?

You can easily access the Help button at the TOP of your KDP Back Office Page OR you can find it here https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G200634280

Where can I get free book interiors from?

It is NOT adviseable to use FREE interiors as Amazon KDP likes folks to use UNIQUE Content.

You can find some low cost interiors here on

How can I find profitable keywords / niches?

A Great place to begin is using the free tool from Self Publishing Titans

Installation and basic use Videos are found HERE.

On the website for Self Publishing Titans you will find additional videos

What keyword score is good with Self Publishing Titans free tool?

Anything above 50 should be good. 60+ is usually ideal. (But it does not have to be, no program is 100% accurate. I have been tweaking and refining this tool for the last 2 years, so its quite good and its all my wife and I use, but still have to use your own good judgment to confirm a niche. Pro tip, don’t create / invent search terms. Keep it simple and use only suggested keywords from Amazon search bar suggestions. That way you 100% know someone is actually typing / clicking on those keywords. Make sure you search on Amazon in ALL departments NOT Books. Most customers search in ALL departments that is where you want to do your research too.

What niches should I work on?

For Q4 check out the different holidays and celebrations, do the same for each other month and quarter.

(Just Google the Term - List of Holidays - to find more.)

Click this link to find out what is a Niche and also a long fun list of Niches . This is an over view about what Niches are.. and is not specific to just Low Content Books.

Look at the best sellers in the different categories you like, look at new trends you see on the news, social media, etc. Make sure to always niche down enough.

What does Niche Down Mean?

Niche down means to go from a BROAD niche to a smaller sub niche.

JUST ONE EXAMPLE:

  • Dogs is a broad niche
  • Pitt Bull Lovers is a sub niche
  • Women Who Love Pitt Bulls is a TARGETED Sub Niche and the best way to get more sales.

Here is a Playlist to help you get started on finding Niches:

These YouTube Channels will help you get going with Low Content Books in General each has videos on finding niches:

Is KDP a get rich quick business?

No. It will take a lot of work to get it up and running. But very rewarding when done correctly. Take your time to learn and do it right. You can make this a very successful, worthwhile business with a full time income.

Should I bulk upload books or use an automated tool to upload books?

No, you will not see very good results using this practice TODAY on KDP. Due to people spamming the platform with low quality books you can get your account into trouble with KDP.

KDP definitely knows who bulk uploads, no matter how fast or slow you do it.

Quality over quantity goes a long way.

Where Can I Find KDP YouTube channels to help me?

Full list of channels you can learn from is on https://selfpublishingtitans.com page.

My Amazon ads are getting no clicks and little impressions, what should I do?

Few options / reasons.

1) Bids are too low. Increase it.

2) Targeting the wrong things, add more relevant targets

3) Amazon does not understand your book listing and it wont target much of anything. If that is the case, make a better new listing.

Read the next question below....

My Amazon ads spent is high and no sales, what should I do?

  • First cut your biggest losers and pause them if they have spent a lot of money / clicks without any results.
  • Anything with a high ACOS (High spend vs return in simple term) lower the bids on those, or if really really bad, pause too.
  • Also check to see what books the ads are targeting exactly. Is it the right competitors / audience? If not correct it.
  • If you have tried to manage it and nothing seems to help, pause the campaign and make a better book in a better niche with better keywords and make new ads for that book.

Here are some videos about ads for beginners to learn more:

My KDP account got terminated, what can I do?

Nothing. When you break rules, especially trademark / copyright related, you will get terminated.

Amazon will send you an email if you have not gotten it. Normally it is NOT your first email as Amazon rarely just terminates an account immediately.

Your emails will state that YOU CAN NOT OPEN A NEW ACCOUNT. Unless you have a different bank and plan to move to a new address it is not likely you will succeed trying to open a new account. Amazon is very strict on this.

I have uploaded 100 books and no sales, what should I do?

Sadly, realize that you most likely have spammed KDP and have wrong keywords and titles.

Start FRESH from beginning again by watching YouTube videos / taking courses on how to do KDP correctly and you will start seeing your deserved results with happy book buyers.

More Books Are Not Better

Better Books Are Better

Who has KDP courses?

Check out the YouTube channels for the following people

There are many.. so make sure to watch and also make sure they are teaching things that abide by Amazon's Rules.

Remember an UNETHICAL Teacher doesn't CARE if your account is terminated from following their bad advice.

Stay away from people teaching about uploading Public Domain Books.. it is the #1 Reason newbie accounts are TERMINATED.

What should I put in the 7 keyword slots?

For your 7 backend keywords do not use trademarks, famous authors, movies, brands in it. Here is a full guide on what you should do: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G201298500

Here are two great articles about the 7 Slots Keywords (this is about kindle books but the tactics are the same:

(You do not need to purchase the software mentioned in the article to understand the tactics taught)

When will my sales from Amazon Ads (PPC) show on sales dashboard?

Once the book is printed and shipped.

I have uploaded books, no sales, now what?

This will be because of so many different reasons:

  • bad cover,
  • bad title (spelling, spammy, grammar, wrong keywords, etc)
  • bad description,
  • bad interior,
  • wrong price.
  • Most likely reason will be wrong niche and keywords so your not ranking anywhere near page 1 and bad cover will easily kill a sale.

Head back to YouTube to watch videos. Like going to school this is a learning process. Most people take about 1 year of CONSISTENT Work to see a profitable return on their efforts.

This is NOT a get rich quick program, it is a get rich SLOW program.

It is NOT about how many books you have , it is about how many QUALITY BOOKS YOU ARE SELLING that matters.

Everyone is DIFFERENT so you can NOT compare your journey to anyone else.

Can I change a title once my book is live?

No you cannot change a title for a PRINT book once it is live.

Only for ebooks that have NO ISBN associated with them.

How many books should I create for 1 good keyword?

Between 1-3. There is NO need to create lots of them. One can be just enough to test your market. Especially at the beginning before testing the niche to see if you are going to get sales. Doing a few different ones can be ok, but not doing a ton of them, there is no need to spam a niche with the same type of book and it can be detrimental to your account and sales.

Amazon looks at author accounts based upon quality, and if you offer customers a poor quality experience your account can be terminated. Spamming Amazon with repeating cover images and titles are considered LOW QUALITY books.

How long are books in review for usually?

No Content books (lined Notebooks, and Sketch Books) it will usually be the longest and can take up to 10 - 14 days. It can take longer during holiday periods such as Christmas/Q4 if KDP is getting flooded with new books.

Writing KDP will not help your book go faster. The only thing you can do is wait. There is nothing one can do to speed it up.

Low Content Books (Journals, Planners) can take 74 hours to 7 days.

High Quality Medium and High Content Books such as Children's Books, Chapter Books, Coloring Books, or Activity Books, generally get approved much faster often in 48 hours.

Again, time of year can impact review times especially from Nov 1 - Jan 1 because it is the most busiest time of year on Amazon.

I am having problems with KDP preview, what are the most common errors?

The most common mistakes are

  • margin errors such as images not within bounding boxes
  • incorrect dimensions of books

Asking in helpful Facebook Groups such as :

Most groups have rules and require you to request entry. Normally you are accepted within 24 hours of your request to join.

Understanding Amazon Categories

AKA: Why Are the Categories in my Back Office different then what is available on Amazon and why can't I choose those?

Don't allow categories to become a huge complex issue. Amazon is very clear on the topic.

👉🏾👉🏾We have two categories we can pick when we upload the book. Amazon categories in our back office are VERY different from the BROWSE categories ON Amazon.

SO, there are Browse Categories vs BISAC

Amazon Category Rules Are Here.

Amazon states:

During title setup, you'll choose two Browse Categories from a list. This list is based on the BISAC (Book Industry Standards and Communications) code.

===>We use the two categories you choose, along with your selected keywords, to place your book into Amazon Categories. <==

Choosing categories

To make your book appear in the right Amazon categories, choose the two BISAC categories and keywords that best describe your book. While choosing categories, keep the below guidelines in mind.

Be accurate. Choose the most accurate categories based on your book's central topic or storyline. Do not choose one category that's explicitly fiction and another that's explicitly nonfiction, or mix categories such as Fiction, Nonfiction, and Comics. We do not tolerate inaccurate or unexpected categorization that misleads or manipulates our customers. Note: do not use the Comics category for an illustrated book unless it is a fixed layout comic format book.

Be specific. Choose specific categories instead of general ones. Customers looking for specific topics will find your book more easily. We'll display your book in the general categories as well. For example, a book in the "FICTION > Fantasy > Historical" category will also show up in searches for general fiction and general fantasy. Choose a "General" category only if your book is a general book about a broad topic.

Don't be redundant. Choosing a single category will display your book in a variety of searches, so don't list your book in a category and its sub-categories. For example, don't choose "FICTION > Fantasy > Historical" and "FICTION > Fantasy." One specific, accurate category is more effective than a redundant second one.

=======================

Category Do

Match the category to your cover and keywords as Amazon says to do

Category Don't

Don't stress too much or take more than 30 seconds to pick a category.

Category Insights

At the end of the day you have Little control over the Browse category you end up in because for Low Content books, we are often purchased like Chewing gum in the check out aisle. So your book may end up in random categories you didn't choose.

You can contact Amazon KDP and have them list you into up to 10 BROWSE Categories. For good selling books that is definately WORTH it.

Here is a great article about choosing Categories

PS.. NO Amazon has NEVER ever penalized someone that picks crazy categories. For the past 20 years, authors have put books into weird categories to try to get a best seller badge. Since often those categories have literally NO SALES it really doesn't HELP your book GET sales at all.

Amazon customers RARELY if ever shop by categories and if they do it is for specific genre books such as Sci Fi or Romance and your LCBs will never ever be placed into those categories EVER.. since those are reserved for LONG Form Fiction books.

My Book Colors Seem DULL vs What I Made?

You need to ORDER your book to SEE them in real final production.

Regardless of if you create in CMYK or RGB A Web page can ONLY render in so many colors it is NOT the same as the final PRINT COLORS which are 300 DPI..

Web sites and KDP Viewer specifically render in maybe 95 or 150 DPI to manage load times.

Also NOTE.. we have no control over the final Print colors. As Amazon contracts with Printers all over the world it is possible that some printers color may be calibrated differently from shop to shop. So a Printer in Spain may have their Reds calibrated differently than a Printer in Canada.

Some things you CAN NOT WORRY ABOUT.. especially things you can NOT CONTROL.

Can I Order My Own Books?

Yes, you can oder your books two ways.

1.

Author Copies - there is a drop down menu on each of your books in your back office, it says order Author Copies. They will NOT give you Royality, and they do NOT give you BSR for the sale. They are sent Media Rate Mail and so can take 2 - 4 weeks to reach you. YOU PAY FOR POSTAGE by WEIGHT.

2.

From Your Sales Page - You are allowed to order your books from yourself via your sales page. If you have Prime you will also not have to pay shipping. You will generally get your books in a few days this way. You are allowed to LOWER your price.. down to the bare minimum, make the order and then raise the price back again. The advantages to buying your book from your sales page is that you will get BSR for your sale. DO NOT ABUSE THIS AS AMAZON WILL MONITOR STRANGE BUYING BEHAVIOR ON A SALES PAGE.. such as 20 copies purchased with the same credit card or sent to the address belonging to the author of the book. DO not try to game BSR. Amazon knows EVERY TRICK in the book.

Please Share With Your Friends

This list is by NO MEANS exhaustive but it is a great start and some of the most asked questions in groups.

Please feel free to share this link to friends and other newcomers when needed to help them out.

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