KDP Launch Checklist: 90 Steps to a Successful Launch
The complete, phase-by-phase checklist for launching a book on Amazon KDP. Check off items as you go — from pre-writing research through post-launch optimization.
Most KDP book launches underperform not because the book is bad, but because the launch itself is underprepared. An author finishes writing, quickly uploads to KDP, and waits for sales that never come — because the review foundation, marketing assets, and ad infrastructure were never built.
This checklist covers everything that goes into a well-executed KDP launch: the pre-writing decisions that determine niche viability, the editing and design steps that prevent the most common 1-star review triggers, the KDP setup details that affect discoverability, and the marketing actions that drive sales velocity in the critical first week. Work through it phase by phase — your checkboxes persist as you scroll.
A total of 90 checklist items across 7 phases. Click any item to mark it complete. Your progress is tracked in the counter above the checklist.
0 / 90 complete0%
How to Use This Checklist
Work through the phases in order. Each phase builds on the previous — there is no point in running launch week promotions if you have not built an ARC team in Phase 5. The phases are designed to be started at the following intervals before your target publish date:
Phase 1 (Pre-writing): 12+ weeks before publish date
Phase 2 (Writing and editing): 10–8 weeks before publish
Phase 3 (Cover and interior): 6–4 weeks before publish
Phase 4 (KDP setup): 2 weeks before publish
Phase 5 (Pre-launch marketing): 4–2 weeks before publish
Phase 6 (Launch week): Publish day through day 7
Phase 7 (Post-launch): Day 30 onward
Not every item applies to every book or every author situation. A first-time fiction author launching a debut novel will weight the editing and cover design phases more heavily. An experienced publisher with an established email list will move through Phase 5 quickly. Use judgment — the value of the checklist is making the decision explicitly, not running every item blindly.
The 5 Most Critical Items
If you can only focus on 5 items from the entire list, these are the ones with the highest impact on launch outcome:
ARC team and reviews on launch day — the single most important factor in Amazon search rank and conversion rate in the first 30 days.
Cover thumbnail readability — the cover determines whether anyone clicks through. Get a professional cover or use a purpose-built tool like KDPEasy.
7 KDP keyword phrases — these are your organic discoverability levers. Research them with buyer intent in mind, not SEO game-playing.
Amazon Ads live on launch day — the algorithm rewards paid sales in the first week. Delaying ads means missing the launch window when organic ranking is most sensitive to sales velocity.
Writing the next book within 30 days of launch — the most durable path to KDP income is a growing catalog. No single launch sustains indefinitely; series momentum does.
KDP review typically takes 24–72 hours after you submit your manuscript and cover. Plan for up to 5 business days to be safe. Your total time from finishing the manuscript to a live listing is usually 3–7 days. The longest lead time is building your pre-launch marketing assets — email list, ARC team, social presence — which should start 4–8 weeks before your publish date.
Amazon provides a free ASIN for ebooks and a free ISBN for print books through KDP. You can use the free KDP ISBN for print books, but it locks you to KDP as the publisher of record. If you want to list your book with other retailers or have your own publishing imprint, purchase your own ISBN from Bowker (US) or your national ISBN agency.
KDP Select is worth considering for a first launch. The Kindle Unlimited page read royalties can supplement sales income, and KDP Select gives you access to Countdown Deals and 5 free promotion days. The trade-off is 90-day exclusivity for your ebook. If you have no existing audience on other platforms, the incremental benefit of being on Kobo or Apple Books is often minimal for a new author.
KDP allows 7 keyword phrases (not individual words). Use multi-word phrases that reflect how readers search — e.g. "cozy mystery with cat" rather than just "mystery". Target mid-tail phrases with 3–5 words. Avoid words already in your title or categories (Amazon ignores them). Use Amazon's autocomplete search to find phrases buyers actually type.
Build an ARC (Advance Review Copy) team before launch. Distribute free PDF copies 2–4 weeks before launch date in exchange for honest reviews on release day. Target 15–30 ARC readers to expect 5–15 actual reviews (not everyone posts). Also post in Facebook groups, Reddit communities (r/fantasy, r/romancebooks, etc.), and Bookstagram or BookTok for your genre.
A Kindle Countdown Deal lets KDP Select ebooks be offered at a temporary discount (e.g. $0.99 for 2 days, then $1.99 for 2 days, then back to full price) while still earning royalties as if priced at the full price. This is ideal 7–14 days after launch when your launch momentum has normalized — it creates a new spike in sales rank without giving away the book for free.
Pre-orders work differently for ebooks vs print. KDP allows ebook pre-orders up to 90 days in advance. Pre-order sales count toward your rank on launch day, which can help with visibility. The risk: Amazon requires your final manuscript 10 days before the pre-order date — missing this deadline results in a 12-month pre-order ban. Only use pre-order if your manuscript is near-final when you set it up.
KDP lets you select 2 BISAC categories during upload. Choose the most specific categories available rather than broad genre buckets — specific categories have less competition and easier ranking thresholds. You can request additional categories (up to 10) via KDP support after publishing. Research which categories have achievable bestseller thresholds (BSR requirements) for your sales expectations.
Start conservatively: $5–$10 per day per campaign. Set up two campaigns at launch — one Sponsored Product targeting competitor ASINs, one Sponsored Product targeting keywords. Monitor daily for the first two weeks, pause underperforming keywords (ACOS above 80%), and increase bids on converting keywords. Most new KDP authors see their best launch ACOS at 30–60%, which normalizes as reviews accumulate.
Launching without reviews. Amazon's algorithm weights review count and star rating heavily in search ranking. A book with zero reviews on launch day has no social proof and converts at a fraction of the rate of a book with 10–20 reviews. Build your ARC team first — nothing else in this checklist matters as much as having reviews ready on day one.
Your cover is step 3.3 of this checklist
A professional KDP cover in minutes, not days
KDPEasy generates print-ready covers at the exact right dimensions for KDP — thumbnail-tested and genre-appropriate. Start with 3 free covers.
