Books are in Amazon’s DNA. Originally founded as “the world's biggest bookstore,” Amazon went on to launch Kindle Direct Publishing, which has since become the largest publisher of indie authors. As of 2018, it’s responsible for 91.5% of all self-published books in the U.S. — a share that’s likely to continue growing in 2025.
Will your book join those numbers next? As an author, you can decide whether you want to distribute your book on Amazon — and whether you want to be exclusive to Amazon through its KDP Select program for authors.
Self-publishing on Amazon, of course, comes with both pros and cons, however — like any path to publishing your book. Read on to get the full down-low to help you make the right choice for your publishing journey:
The pros of self-publishing on Amazon
Let's start with the advantages of releasing books on Amazon for indie authors. (We’ll talk about the cons afterward.)
Pro #1: You can access Amazon’s knowledge base and guides
Publishing your own book may seem daunting if you have no prior experience. Of course, you can always find expert guidance on writing and publishing communities such as Reedsy, or yours truly at NowNovel. But Amazon themselves have also made the process incredibly accessible through Kindle Direct Publishing.
Kindle Direct Publishing's knowledge base is robust, to say the least. Their guides are constantly updated and cover most topics throughout the entire publishing process and beyond, including sections on book formatting, recommended standard book sizes, and more. (Ever wondered about potential taxes if you’re a self-publisher? Amazon’s got you covered.)
If you dive deeper under the surface, you’ll even find book trend data and sales ranking information. See Reedsy’s step-by-step guide to publishing a book on Amazon to learn the best way to take advantage of this data.
And if your question cannot be found in their documentation, Amazon is known for their fast, around-the-clock customer service.
Pro #2: You can publish in ‘less than 5 minutes’
Kindle Direct Publishing claims that you can publish in 'less than 5 minutes'. They also state that 'your book appears on Kindle stores worldwide within 24-48 hours.' Indeed, in choosing between traditional and self-publishing (or even between Amazon and other self-publishing methods), many indie authors choose Amazon for that exact reason: getting your book onto the market faster.
If you’re still teetering between self-publishing and traditionally publishing your book, this is a big advantage for the former. It’s well-known that publishing a book traditionally takes time, potentially several years. Landing an agent who'll shop your manuscript on your behalf means submitting query letters. It means crossing fingers for partial or full manuscript requests. There will be a lot of rejections with reasons given, and a lot more with no reasons given. And even if you get your book accepted, anyone working in publishing will tell you that it can sometimes take many months and a considerable amount of back-and-forth before your book even goes into production.
Publishing your books on Amazon by yourself takes time too, of course. If you're writing to market and want to have as much success as you can, then you need to do your research to learn the ropes. However, it’s undeniable that Amazon makes the actual act of publication quick and simple — and even if it doesn’t take the claimed five minutes, it at least won’t take you years to see your book go live
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Pro #3: You can reach global readers
Although Amazon's market dominance has been flagged as anti-competitive (the UK's Booksellers Association, for example, raised the negative impact this has on brick-and-mortar bookstores, in a 2020 report), the fact remains it offers indie authors a way to reach international readers fast.
Amazon operates in over 20 countries worldwide, including major ones outside of the US, such as Canada, UK, Germany, Japan, and India. Along with a low barrier to entry, the sheer reach can also prove to be a decisive advantage if you’re aiming to go global (though you may want to find a professional translator that you trust first!). Consider also linking audiobook versions of your titles to potentially further scale your revenue.
Pro #4: You can take advantage of Amazon’s exclusivity perks
Amazon's KDP Select is an exclusivity program with several unique benefits, which you get access to in exchange for making your ebooks exclusive to the Kindle Store for a renewable 90-day period.
If you choose to enroll in Amazon's KDP Select program when you self-publish, you get certain perks. These include:
- Inclusion in Amazon's Kindle Unlimited program — like Netflix for books, readers get access to your books as part of a subscription package and you are paid per page read.
- Opportunity to use additional promotional tools such as limited-time discount offers to boost sales.
- The option to receive a 70% royalty rate for sales in certain countries (versus Amazon's usual royalty rates).
- Bonus compensation if you top Kindle Unlimited’s lists for top title and author reads.
(This is not only a pro, though, as the KDP Select program comes with its own pros and cons — the biggest con of which is that exclusivity to KDP prevents you from selling copies of your books via other publishing platforms. More on this when we discuss the cons of self-publishing on Amazon).
Pro #5: You get access to a flexible pricing structure
Another perk of self-publishing on Amazon is flexibility in determining your pricing — which can also help you react to the market’s trends with increased agility.
One common book pricing strategy, when writing a series, is to list the first title cheaper as a 'lead magnet' that draws readers to give your series a chance. With a traditional publisher, you may have to jump through a few hoops to get a pricing change approved, and it could take some time. Amazon, however, allows you to adjust your book’s price in just a few minutes.
A side note: if you want to be eligible for Amazon's 70% revenue split option (where you keep 70% less tax and delivery costs instead of 35%), remember to price your book between $2.99 and $9.99.
Pro #6: You can increase your discovery with structured book metadata and author pages
As with all products on online stores, your metadata matters a lot! Amazon urges you to include, among other data:
- Genre category
- Genre subcategories
- ISBN number
- Your book's blurb
- Plugs (review snippets)
- ASIN number (unique to Amazon)
Structured metadata and author pages aren’t unique to Amazon's merchant platform, of course: most online booksellers have searchable databases. Yet Amazon's well-organized product data and strong positioning for search engines means you can get more visibility as long as you understand the underlying logic of Amazon’s algorithms.
Some factors of these algorithms are things you can control directly: the keywords you associate with your book, your description, and the categories will go a long way if you take every opportunity for optimization and match potential readers’ search intent.
Pro #7: You have flexibility when it comes to royalty rates
With KDP’s royalty schemes, you are not locked to one rate agreement indefinitely.
If you price digital copies of your book between $2.99 and $9.99, you can opt to get 70% of each sale after VAT and delivery cost deductions. Here is a list of the 37 countries (as of 2023) where you can do this (provided that you satisfy Amazon's requirements, such as making your digital copies at least 20% cheaper than any physical edition you list).
You can also choose the 35% royalty plan. On this plan, delivery fees are waived, and you can set whatever price you wish to. Keep in mind that outside of the countries listed above, this is the only rate you can choose. Consider all these factors when calculating the cost and returns of publishing your book through Amazon.
The cons of self-publishing on Amazon
As we mentioned, Amazon isn’t a perfect option — it all depends on your needs as an author. So now that we’ve looked at some of the pros of self-publishing on Amazon, let’s turn to the cons.
Con #1: You’ll likely face a learning curve
Despite the abundance of resources around to help you, any new tool or platform you try will come with a learning curve. Amazon is no exception: understanding how to use Amazon's platform to its full advantage takes a little time and effort.
So though the learning curve you’d face is partially offset by ample documentation available, you’ll still have to hunt down an answer to your pending questions in some cases. This, of course, remains one advantage of publishing traditionally: you don't have to think as much about the nitty-gritty because there’s a team of professionals (mostly) taking care of it for you.
Con #2: There’s high competition in many categories on Amazon
We talked about KDP’s incredibly low barrier to entry. This could be an advantage, but it’s also a double-edged sword: because of Amazon's global reach and market domination, there is naturally lots of competition — getting your book noticed among millions of others is no easy feat.
However, you can think about it this way: competition is only a con if you don't know what categories to choose — or if you pick an oversaturated book category and subcategory. This is all a part of the learning curve we spoke about. These days, you must strategize carefully when it comes to Amazon algorithms and categories: because the most popular genres will naturally have a much higher volume of listed books, it’ll be harder to stand out in a longer list with constant additions.
An effective strategy for establishing your presence on Amazon is learning how to brand yourself as an author. Leaving a lasting impression on readers not only with a singular book but with your body of work in general will pay off in the long run during future launches.
Con #3: The fast time to market can make for rushed launches
We also listed the fast time to market as a pro of self-publishing via Amazon — but if you’re not careful, it could backfire. When you can get your book out quickly, you may be tempted to skip crucial steps such as building a robust marketing plan (or worse, not investing in professional editing). That’s the downside of an easy platform: it can encourage authors to skimp launch prep and end up publishing sub-par work.
This is something that you can take advantage of, however: amidst a sea of hastily put-together books, your book can stand out for being quality as long as you take the necessary steps vital for good reviews and sales.
Con #4: There’s limited recourse for disputes
A challenge with any big company is you may struggle to get timely assistance with any technical or complex issues you may have (for example, if a book you've listed is removed in error, or reviews disappear.) Though the initial response may be fast, your requests for assistance may take several days to be resolved, potentially hurting your marketing efforts — and every hour your book is down could mean lost sales and lost revenue.
Given how many authors publish on the platform versus the number of negative reviews, however, poor experiences may be isolated incidents more than the norm. Just keep this in mind if you’re choosing KDP, and remain vigilant during those crucial few days post-launch.
Con #5: KDP Select won’t be for everyone
While KDP Select has many benefits (as mentioned above), the main downside is that you can only qualify if you give your book’s exclusivity rights to Amazon. What this means is that you won’t be able to publish your work on any other platforms or marketplaces, and will depend solely on Amazon as a storefront. Yes, they’re the biggest bookstore in the world. But in some cases, that may not be enough, or you might want to explore different opportunities.
The industry term for this kind of multi-channel bookselling is “going wide,” and whether or not you want to "go wide" or be exclusive to Amazon depends on such factors as your target audience as well as your planned marketing and promotion strategies.
To learn more about what you'd be committing to if you enroll exclusively with Amazon's KDP Select program, we'd again recommend reading this article.
Con #6: You’re vulnerable to changes in Amazon's terms and conditions
Whatever platform you choose to self-publish your book with, you are bound by that platform's terms.
This is a vulnerability, especially if you go exclusive to Amazon. What if you're selling a certain amount of copies per month, for example, and Amazon suddenly makes a change that causes your books' visibility to plummet? What if their royalty percentages change, and the income you counted on becomes compromised?
We’ve also mentioned authors' accounts of their books being pulled from the platform due to bugs and other issues online. These are reasonable arguments for “going wide,” so that all your pages aren't in one basket.
Con #7: Getting higher visibility requires many reviews
We discussed Amazon’s uniquely saturated market and the increased competition that comes with it. Yes, Amazon’s algorithm should be able to sift through the millions of books available and promote discovery of great reads — but what really seals the deal is a good amount of quality reviews.
On the wider Internet, reviews are the equivalent of word-of-mouth among people that don’t directly interact with each other. If someone takes the time to write down their genuine thoughts and opinions on the book, you’ll feel more confident when making a purchase.
That's why it's wise to create a strong promo plan (including review swaps and other ways to get public feedback) before you hit 'publish'. If your book fails to rake in a few reviews in the first few weeks, you’ll have a tougher time getting it to the front page and readers’ recommendations.
This downside is felt more strongly by first-time authors: if you already have an established reader and reviewer base, be sure to leverage those connections to boost your book and ensure a more robust launch which will fill faster with reviews.
The verdict
With this list of pros and cons, you’ll be able to decide whether Amazon is the best choice for your book, or if looking for another platform (or even going wide) is a better alternative for you. Amazon is the top choice for self-publishers for a reason, however, and its influence can’t be denied.
If after reading this you’re not so sure that self-publishing is the way to go for you, and are considering a traditional publishing house, here is a detailed look at the pros and cons of self-publishing in general.
