Amazon KDP South Africa: How to Publish on Amazon from South Africa

Yes, you can publish on Amazon from South Africa. Amazon KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) is open to South African authors, it costs nothing to upload a book, and Amazon pays your royalties straight into a South African bank account in rand. You can publish a Kindle ebook, a paperback, or both.

Amazon prints each paperback when a reader orders it and ships it from its own print sites, so you never hold stock. The catch is that the quality of your files is entirely your responsibility: KDP will publish exactly what you upload.

• An Amazon account to sign in to KDP. Use an email address you will keep for years, because it holds your sales records.
• A South African bank account. KDP pays South African authors by direct deposit (EFT) in ZAR. Cheque and wire transfer are not available for South African accounts.
• A Purpose of Payment code. South African payments need a Purpose of Payment selected for the South African Reserve Bank, and KDP asks you to update it once a year.
• Your tax details. KDP's online tax interview collects the details for the US tax form (usually a W-8BEN for individuals). The South Africa–United States tax treaty can reduce US withholding on royalties, so ask your accountant how it applies to you.
• Finished book files: an edited manuscript, an ebook file (EPUB or Word), a print-ready interior PDF for the paperback, and a cover.

1. Create your KDP account and complete the author, bank and tax sections first. Your book can go live before these are finished, but you will not be paid until they are.
2. Add your book details: title, subtitle, author name, description, up to seven keywords and categories. These are what readers search, so write them carefully.
3. Choose your ISBN. Kindle ebooks do not need an ISBN, because Amazon gives them an ASIN. For a paperback you can take KDP's free ISBN, which lists "Independently published" as the imprint, or use your own free ISBN from the National Library of South Africa. Our ISBN guide shows how to apply.
4. Upload the interior and cover. Paperback interiors must match a KDP trim size, such as 6×9 inches, with correct margins and bleed. The cover is one PDF with back, spine and front, and the spine width depends on your page count and paper.
5. Check the previewer. KDP flags problems such as text in the margins or low-resolution images. Order a printed proof copy if you can.
6. Set your rights and price. Kindle ebooks earn a 35% or 70% royalty depending on price and eligibility. Paperbacks earn 60% of the list price on Amazon marketplaces, minus the printing cost.
7. Publish. Amazon reviews each book, which usually takes up to 72 hours, before it goes on sale.

Kindle book publishing is the ebook side of KDP. A few things are different from the paperback:

• File format: upload an EPUB or a Word file. Amazon's free Kindle Create tool can also prepare a file. Ebooks reflow to fit any screen, so a print PDF is not suitable.
• Cover: only the front cover is needed, as a high-resolution JPEG; KDP's help pages list the recommended size.
• Royalty: to earn 70%, the ebook price must sit within Amazon's set price band (in US dollars, typically $2.99 to $9.99); outside it, the royalty is 35%.
• KDP Select: an optional 90-day exclusivity scheme. Your ebook joins Kindle Unlimited and you are paid per page read, but you cannot sell the ebook on other stores during that time.
• No ISBN needed: Amazon assigns an ASIN to every Kindle ebook.

• Cover spine width that does not match the final page count.
• Images or text placed too close to the trim edge, or missing bleed.
• Low-resolution images, especially in children's and photo books.
• Book details that do not match the cover, for example a different subtitle or author name.
• Ebook files with broken tables of contents or fixed formatting that does not reflow on a phone.

Almost all of these come from the layout and cover files, which is why professional formatting matters more on Amazon than anywhere else.

We prepare your files to KDP's specifications and can upload the book with you, while the KDP account and all the royalties stay in your name.

• Ebook package, R6,500: ebook and print-ready manuscript with layout and typesetting, up to 150 pages.
• Paperback package, R8,500: professional print-ready paperback layout plus an ebook-ready manuscript, up to 250 pages.
• Plus package, R12,500: ebook cover design, interior layout for print and ebook conversion, up to 350 pages.

Need a cover too? Our book cover design packages include print and ebook covers sized for KDP. See all the options on our ebook publishing page.

Amazon ships paperbacks to South African readers from abroad, so delivery takes longer and costs more. Many of our authors publish on KDP for international readers and also print a local run for launches, bookshops, events and direct sales. Our softcover printing starts at R4,500 for 100 A5 copies, delivered 10 working days after proof approval. See book printing prices.