Transcription
If your KDP book isn't selling as much as you'd like, it could be because you've got one of these 13 Amazon KDP settings set in the wrong way. It could be a single checkbox you missed during upload that's costing you 50% of your royalties, or a setting that's making your book completely invisible in the Amazon search, and Amazon isn't even warning you about it.
I'm Carla Marie and I've been publishing on Amazon since 2013. I've helped over 15,000 students build publishing businesses through Fiction Profits Academy. And in that time, I've seen every possible mistake that you can make in your KDP dashboard. Today, I'm walking you through 13 settings that are quietly killing your sales, and some of these changed in 2026, and most publishers don't even know about them yet. Others are settings that even some seasoned publishers miss sometimes. So, grab your laptop, pull up your KDP dashboard, and let's fix these one by one.
So, setting number one, missing or incomplete tax and bank information. I know most of you already have this set up, but I need to mention it because I've seen publishers with books making sales who can't access their royalties. Their book is selling, money's accumulating in their account, but they can't withdraw it. Usually, it's because they've rushed through the account set up and either didn't complete their tax interview or their bank information got rejected, but they never went back to fix it. So, quick check, in your KDP dashboard, click on your account name in the top right. Go to account settings, then click payment and tax information. You should see two green check marks, one for tax information and one for payment information. If either of those shows a red X or a yellow warning, that needs to be fixed before you do anything else. For US publishers, you need either your social security number if you're publishing as an individual or your EIN if you're set up as an LLC. For international publishers, you'll complete a different tax interview, but it's the same location on your dashboard. And for banking information, make sure your routing number and account number are correct. A single digit wrong means your payment bounces, and you have to wait another month.
But with that out of the way, let's move to the settings that protect your account.
Setting number two, not disclosing AI content. This is new for 2026, and it's critical. Amazon now requires you to disclose if you use AI in creating your book. And I'm not just talking about writing the manuscript. This applies to cover images, translations, and anything where AI was involved in a significant way. Many are confused about what counts as AI use. If you use ChatGPT or Claude to generate story ideas, that's fine. You don't need to disclose that. But if you use AI to write full chapters or sections of your manuscript, you need to check that box. Or if you used Midjourney to create your cover, you need to disclose it. If you used AI to translate your book into another language, you need to disclose it. Being honest about AI use doesn't hurt you. Amazon isn't banning AI content. What hurts you is hiding it and getting caught. And if you're tempted to hide this, know that Amazon has detection tools so that they can tell. And if they find undisclosed AI content, they could remove the book and send you a warning. If you have a pattern of this across multiple books, they can suspend your entire account. And once your KDP account is suspended, it's extremely difficult to get it back. So, when you're uploading your book or editing an existing book, you'll see a section that asks about AI-generated content. It's right there in the content upload page. There's a question that says something like, "Do you own the rights to this content? And was any of it created using AI?" If you used AI for anything substantial, manuscript text, cover images, translations, check yes. Then Amazon will ask you to specify what was AI generated. Just be honest. And if you're hiring ghostwriters on Upwork or Fiverr, you need to ask them explicitly, "Did you use any AI tools in writing this manuscript?" Some writers are using AI to generate drafts and then they edit them. Some use AI for brainstorming. And if they use AI in any significant way, you need to know so that you can disclose it. Protecting your account long-term is more important than trying to hide something that Amazon's going to find anyway. So, make sure you're compliant.
Setting number three, wrong DRM decision. Okay, the next one's also new for 2026 and it's confusing a lot of publishers right now. DRM stands for digital rights management. It's technology that prevents readers from copying your book file or reading it on non-Kindle devices. And since January 2026, if you publish a book without DRM, Amazon now allows readers to download it as an EPUB or PDF file. That means that readers can transfer your book to another reading app or device. They're not locked into the Kindle ecosystem anymore. If you publish books before December 9th, 2025 without DRM, Amazon will not automatically enable these EPUB and PDF downloads. You have to manually opt in by updating your settings for each book. So, you've got a decision to make. Do you want to enable DRM or do you want to stay DRM-free and allow these downloads? If you choose DRM-free and allow EPUB and PDF downloads, your book becomes more accessible to readers. They can read it on any device they want. This can increase your sales because some readers specifically look for DRM-free books. But, the downside is piracy risk. Someone could buy your book once and share the file with others. If you enable DRM and block EPUB and PDF downloads, you protect your book from easy piracy. But, you also limit where readers can access your content. They're all locked into Kindle devices and the Kindle app. Most of our Fiction Profits Academy students keep their books DRM-free because the sales increase from accessibility usually outweighs the piracy risk. And honestly, if someone's determined to pirate your book, DRM doesn't really stop them anyway. So, regardless of when you're watching this, go to your KDP Bookshelf. For each book, click the three dots next to the book title, click edit book content, scroll down to the Digital Rights Management section. You'll see a check box that says enable digital rights management. If it's checked, DRM is enabled. If it's unchecked, DRM is off. For books that you published before December 9th, 2025, you need to make an active choice and save those settings again for the new EPUB PDF download feature to work. I recommend that unless you have a specific reason to use DRM, then leave it unchecked. Let readers access your book however they want. The goodwill and the accessibility are worth more than the piracy risk.
All right. Now that the compliance-related settings are sorted, let's talk about the settings that determine if readers can actually find your book.
Setting number four, using forbidden keywords. This one kills me because Amazon will suppress your book from search results if you use certain keywords and they don't send you a warning. Your book just stops showing up. You're sitting there wondering why nobody is buying and it's because Amazon made you invisible. So, here are the keywords you absolutely cannot use: Free, Kindle, Kindle Unlimited, bestseller, sexy, sex, erotic, erotica. You also cannot use other authors' names or existing book titles as keywords. Now, you might be thinking, "Wait, but my book is erotic romance. How can I not use erotic as a keyword?" Well, great question. Amazon doesn't want you to use those terms in your back-end keywords because they handle content categorization differently now. Instead, you communicate heat level through your categories and your book description. If Amazon sees forbidden keywords in your back end keyword boxes, their system automatically suppresses your book from search results. The annoying part is that they don't tell you. Your book just stops appearing when people search. So, how do you check? Go to your KDP bookshelf, click the three dots next to your book, click edit ebook details, scroll down to the keyword section, you'll see seven boxes. Read through every single keyword in those boxes. If you see any of the forbidden terms, delete them right now and replace them with like trope-based keywords instead. So, instead of sexy billionaire, use billionaire romance or steamy billionaire. Instead of erotic thriller, use passionate suspense or adult thriller. You get the same idea across without triggering Amazon's filters.
Setting number five, wasting keyword slots. Okay, you've got seven keyword boxes. Each box holds up to 50 characters. That's 350 characters total to tell Amazon what your book is about and how to index it. Many publishers waste these slots without realizing it. So, let's go through the most common ways that people waste keyword space. First, repeating words within the same keyword string. If one of your keywords is billionaire romance billionaire boss, you just wasted the word billionaire two times in the same string. Instead, write billionaire romance boss CEO and you've got four searchable terms in one string. Second, using book format terms. Don't put paperback, Kindle edition, audiobook, or ebook in your keywords. Amazon already knows what formats your book is available in. When someone searches for romance ebook, Amazon automatically shows them all the romance ebooks available as ebooks. So, no need to tell it. Third, repeating words that are already in your title or subtitle. Amazon has already indexed those. You don't need to put them in your back end keywords, too. So, what should you put in your keywords? Use the drop-down method. Go to Amazon's Kindle store and in the search bar start typing your main trope. Let's say billionaire. Before you hit enter, watch what Amazon auto suggests. You'll see things like billionaire romance, billionaire boss, billionaire grumpy, billionaire CEO. So, these suggestions, they're not random. They're based on what real readers are actually searching for right now. Amazon's literally telling you what keywords to use. So, take those suggestions and build keyword strings. Billionaire romance boss grumpy is one string. CEO office enemies lovers is another. You get the idea. So, this takes maybe 20 minutes to do properly, but it's the difference between being invisible and being discoverable.
Setting number six, picking wrong categories. You can be in up to 10 categories in Amazon, but during upload, Amazon only lets you pick three initially. You need to choose strategically. It's easy to get this wrong. So, for example, you might think, "I wrote a romance, so I'll just put it in romance." But actually, romance is one of the most competitive categories on Amazon. You're competing against thousands and thousands of books, including traditionally published authors with huge marketing budgets. You need to understand that there's a visibility threshold. If you want sustained organic sales, you need to rank in the top 100 of at least one of your categories. So, when readers browse categories looking for their next read, they rarely go past the first few pages. If you're ranked number 500 in contemporary romance, you're invisible. So, how do you find winnable categories? You research successful self-published books that are similar to yours, same genre, similar tropes, similar heat level. Let's say you wrote a contemporary romance with a grumpy billionaire hero. Go to Amazon, find five or six books that match that description and are currently selling well. Look for self-published authors, not the huge traditional names. Click in each book, scroll down to the product detail section. You'll see a list of categories that the book is in. Write those down. Do this for five or six books, and then you'll start seeing patterns. Certain categories show up repeatedly. Those are your target categories. A tool that makes this easy is bklink.com. So, that's bklknk.com. It's called Book Linker. Paste any book's ASIN number into this tool, and it shows you every single category that the book is in, not just the two that Amazon displays publicly. This is gold. You can see exactly where successful books are ranking and copy their category strategy. So, when you're setting up a book or editing an existing one, pick the three categories where you can realistically reach the top 100. And look for categories where similar self-published books are succeeding, not categories dominated by authors that you've heard of.
Setting number seven, not monitoring or updating categories after launch. The first 30 days after you publish are critical for Amazon's algorithm. This is when Amazon is evaluating your book's performance. If you're stuck in the wrong categories during this window, you're missing your best chance for momentum. So, during your first week live, check your category rankings every single day. Go to your book's Amazon page, scroll down to the product detail section, and look at your best sellers rank. It'll show your overall rank in the Kindle Store, and then it'll show your rank in each of your categories. If you're ranking in the top 100 of at least one category, that's good. You're visible to readers browsing in that category. But, if you're ranking at 500 or 1,000 or worse, or you're not even showing up in your selected categories, you picked wrong. You need to change them immediately. And the good news is, you can. So, go to your KDP dashboard, click the three dots next to your book, click edit ebook details, scroll down to categories, change them. Click save and continue through to the end. Amazon will update your categories within 24 hours. Don't wait. If your categories aren't working in your first week, fix them. Those early rankings determine whether Amazon starts showing your book to readers or not.
All right, we've covered discoverability settings. Now, let's talk about the settings that directly hurt your income if you get them wrong. Starting with one of the most expensive mistakes you can make.
Setting number eight, pricing outside the 70% royalty range. Amazon offers two royalty options for ebooks, 35% and 70%. But, the 70% option is only available if your book is priced between $2.99 and $9.99. If you price your book at $2.98, you're locked into the 35% royalty. If you price it at $10, you're also locked into 35%. If your book is priced at $2.99, at 70% royalty, you earn $2.07 per sale. At 35% royalty, you earn about $1.05 per sale. You're cutting your income in half by pricing 1 cent wrong. I see this mistake most often with publishers who launch at 99 cents for momentum, which is a smart strategy, by the way. But, then they raise their price to $2.99 and forget that the royalty section is a separate setting. So, they're getting 70% eligible pricing, but they're still set to 35% royalty.
Setting number nine, selecting 35% royalty when you qualify for 70%. Let me show you exactly where the setting is because it's not obvious. Go to your KDP bookshelf, click the three dots next to your book, click edit ebook pricing. You'll see a section that says royalty. There are two options, 35% and 70%. If your book is priced between $2.99 and $9.99, select 70%. That's it. Click save and continue and your royalty rate will update. Now, here's the strategic piece. Most of our Fiction Profits Academy students launch new books at 99 cents for the first 30 days. Why? Because at 99 cents, you maximize sales volume. More people are willing to take a chance on an unknown author. So, more sales mean better category rankings, better rankings mean more visibility. Yes, you're only getting 35% royalty at 99 cents. That's 35 cents per sale. But the visibility you build in that first month is worth way more than the royalty difference. After 30 days, you can raise your price to $2.99 or $3.99. And this is where the mistake happens. You change the price, but you forgot to change the royalty selection. So you're still stuck at 35%. So make sure when you raise your price, you also switch to 70% royalty. That's the whole point of the 30-day strategy.
Setting number 10 is probably the most impactful setting on this entire list. Not enrolling paid books in KDP Select. KDP Select is a program that makes your book available in Kindle Unlimited. And Kindle Unlimited is where the majority of income comes from for our students. Kindle Unlimited is Amazon's subscription service. Readers pay $9.99 a month and they can borrow unlimited books. When a KU member borrows your book and reads it, you get paid per page read. The current rate is about 0.004 to 0.005 cents per page. So let's say your book is 250 pages. Someone borrows it and reads it through Kindle Unlimited and reads the whole thing, you earn about $1 to $1.25. That's not per month. That's every single time someone borrows and reads your book. So in December 2024, Amazon paid out $53.2 million to KDP Select authors through the Kindle Unlimited fund. That's in one month. Most of our students make the majority of their income through Kindle Unlimited page reads, not through direct sales. This is because there are way more Kindle Unlimited subscribers than there are individual book buyers in your niche. The trade-off is that when you enroll in KDP Select, you're agreeing to Amazon exclusivity for 90 days. That means your ebook cannot be available anywhere else. Not on Barnes & Noble, not on Kobo, not even on Book Funnel. For most fiction publishers, this trade-off is worth it. The Kindle Unlimited income more than makes up for the lost potential from other platforms, but there's one exception: your lead magnet. If you're building an email list using a free short book as a lead magnet, and you decide to also upload that on Amazon, do not enroll that book in KDP Select. You need to put that lead magnet on BookFunnel, so readers can download it in exchange for their email address. And if it's in KDP Select, you can't do that. So, here's the rule: lead magnet not in KDP Select. All of your paid books after the lead magnet, yes, enroll them in KDP Select. To edit this setting, when you're uploading your book or editing an existing one, go to the pricing page. You'll see a check box that says "Enroll in KDP Select." Check that box for your paid book. And just so you know, KDP Select auto-renews every 90 days. If you want to unenroll a book, you have to do it before the auto-renewal date. Amazon will send you an email reminder.
Setting number 11, publishing your lead magnet in the wrong order. This is a strategic mistake that traps a lot of beginners. So, let me explain the correct publishing sequence. Your first book should be your lead magnet. That's a short book, usually 10 to 15,000 words, that you give away for free to build your mailing list. If you want to publish this as a lead magnet on Amazon, you do not enroll it in KDP Select. But why? Because you need to also upload that lead magnet to BookFunnel. BookFunnel is the platform where you run group promotions and newsletter swaps, and you just build your list. If your lead magnet is in KDP Select, you can't put it on BookFunnel. And if you can't put it on BookFunnel, you can't build your mailing list. And if you can't build your email list, you have no launch momentum when you publish your paid books. So, the sequence is: publish the lead magnet first, keep it out of KDP Select, build your mailing list to 1,500 to 2,000 subscribers, then publish your first paid book, and enroll that one in KDP Select. If you published your lead magnet on Amazon and accidentally put it in KDP Select, you need to unenroll it. So, go to your KDP dashboard, find that book, click the three dots, click KDP Select info. So, you'll see an option to unenroll. But remember, you can't unenroll until your current 90-day term is almost up. Amazon will show you the date when you can unenroll.
Setting number 12, not selecting worldwide rights. When you're setting up your book, you'll see a section called territories. It asks where you have the rights to publish your book. Unless you have a specific reason not to, always select all territories worldwide rights. This means your book is available for sale on amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.ca, amazon.com.au, and all the other Amazon marketplaces around the world. I see beginners select US only because they don't think international readers will buy their books. But that's leaving money on the table. Romance readers in the UK, Canada, and Australia buy tons of books. There's no reason to limit yourself. So, when you're uploading or editing your book, go to the pricing page, look for the territory section, select all territories worldwide rights. That's it.
Setting number 13, not setting up Author Central. This is probably the easiest one to fix, but it has long-term compounding benefits. Author Central is Amazon's platform for creating your dedicated author page. It's separate from KDP, but it connects to your books. You see, when readers follow you on Author Central, Amazon automatically emails them every time you publish a new book. This is free marketing. You don't control the email list, you can't export it, but Amazon sends those notifications on your behalf. And those emails have high open rates because they come from Amazon. Let's say you build up to 500 followers on Author Central. Every time you publish a new book, Amazon emails those 500 people. That's instant launch momentum. Plus, having a complete author central page makes you look legitimate. When readers click on your author name, they see your bio, your photo, and your full catalog of books. So, it adds credibility. Setting this up takes 10 minutes. Go to your KDP dashboard. In the top menu, click marketing. Then, click Author Central. Amazon will walk you through connecting your books and setting up your profile. If you haven't already, I recommend you add a professional photo or a logo. Write a short bio. Look at successful authors in your niche to see what they include. Usually, it's information about the types of books you write, like your tropes, your themes, or a little bit of personal information. And then, a call to action to follow you for new releases.
Auditing these 13 settings one by one will take you maybe 30 minutes. But, I promise you fixing these settings could literally double your royalties. I've seen it happen over and over with our Fiction Profits Academy students. If you found this helpful and you want to see the complete system for building a profitable publishing business, like the email sequences that convert readers into fans, the launch strategies that get Amazon to promote your books, the hiring systems that ensure your ghostwriters deliver quality, then check out Fiction Profits Academy. We've helped over 15,000 students build real income streams through publishing. The link is in the description. Thanks for watching, and I'll see you in the next video.