Why I Also Publish Through Amazon (KDP)

The more that you read, the more things you will know.
The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.

- Dr. Seuss

Open children’s book showing a toddler and mother from Bye-Bye, Boobies with two signs labeled IngramSpark and Amazon KDP, illustrating publishing paths for Little Goodbyes Press picture books.

While Amazon (through its KDP platform) wasn’t my first choice for publishing (see my earlier post about IngramSpark), it has turned out to be an excellent option for families wanting to buy books. IngramSpark connects my books with Canadian libraries and bookstores all over the world, which matters to me long-term, but Amazon makes them more affordable and easier to access right now for everyone to enjoy. Libraries have budgets for books, so we always say be sure to check their shelves first!

What Kindle Direct Publishing Does Well

For anyone exploring self-publishing, there are a few things KDP does particularly well:

Instant previewing

As soon as you upload a file, you can see exactly how it will print and fix any issues right away, such as margins, text alignment, or image placement. This is not the case for IngramSpark - you have to wait to see an eproof sometimes for days (five days has been the longest so far for me).

Fast approval times

So far, all of my titles have gone live within 24 hours after uploading. Although I should note it their own site says up to 72 hours.

Clear feedback 

If something needs adjusting, such as increasing the cover size by 0.125 inches on one edge, Amazon clearly explains what to change instead of asking you to find the right template on your own and, for me, that is invaluable in terms of saving time

No Extra Pages

IngramSpark adds 2 extra blank pages (one with their internal barcode) to each book and charges the publisher for these extra pages that they insert which is why my 32 page book is the same as the 34 page book when you see it on other platforms. It doesn't seem like much but considering these are full colour pages it adds up.

Printing in Canada

What I do love is that Amazon has printers in Canada (and globally) so most books that are printed on demand from their Amazon.ca will be printed and shipped directly from Canadian printing companies and they even include that on the back pages of the books.

What Kindle Direct Publishing Isn't Great At

Images

What I do not love about KDP is that it does not CYMK images for picture books which is how I create all my images inside of Krita. IngramSpark does, of course support this, but with Amazon you need to adjust the image to RBG colour first. This small technical difference feels quite noticeable to me as an illustrator when you see their books printed beside the original ones from IngramSpark but the good news is that it is unlikely to be noticed by consumers. 

Hardcover Books for Small Picture Books

So far, I'm not able to add the hardcover version of my picture books to Amazon directly, as they do not have enough pages for their printers. This means that the hardcover books are all being distributed through IngramSpark.

Posting books in for future releases

While KDP does allow ebooks to be posted up to 18 months in advance, their print books are limited to 90 days. This means that I can't add a book into their system past that point and that is a bit frustrating as we produce more original stories and translations that we have scheduled with IngramSpark up to 12 months in advance we are delaying adding them to both KDP and IngramSpark to ensure that we can use the same ISBN number in both places as is it is the same book in print or the same one with Draft2Digital on the ebook side.

Limited number of formats per week

KDP has once again updated their maximum number of book formats you can add in one week again on September 21, 2026. As per their new guidance there is now a maximum of 2 titles per format per week. 

Their FAQ notes:

This does not affect existing or already published titles. This limit applies only to creating new titles. Your existing or published titles are not affected.

What formats of books is this new limit applie to? The title creation limit applies to eBook (Kindle), paperback, and hardcover. You can create 2 titles per format per week.

Most important to note is What happens if I reach the limit? If you have reached your weekly limit, you can try again after your weekly limit resets on Sundays at 12:00 AM UTC.

Shipping Options

Another benefit of ordering through Amazon is that they don’t always rely on Canada Post for shipping. That means even if there’s a postal strike, proof copies and customer orders can still be delivered through alternate carriers without major delays. (You can read more about how the Canada Post strike has affected proof copies and that impact on publishing titles in Stuck in the Mail).

Pricing Differences between Amazon and other Bookstores

You may also notice that the prices are lower on Amazon than on other retailers such as Barnes & Noble, Waterstones, or Indigo. That is because IngramSpark includes a 55% wholesale discount in its pricing structure. This discount is standard in publishing so bookstores can order and resell titles, but it raises the retail price. Amazon prints its own books on demand, so it does not need that discount built in making purchases more accessible for families.

Best of Both Worlds

IngramSpark helps my books reach libraries and stores, while Amazon helps them reach families. For me, using both means balancing accessibility with long-term discoverability and so I'll continue to use both.


You can explore all of our current titles on our Books Page.

If you'd like to help share our works, visit our Libraries Page for circulation details and ISBNs.

Our books are available through major retailers including Chapters, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop, and Waterstones.

Location: Canada

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