What is KDP Expanded Distribution, and which books qualify?
Expanded Distribution is an optional KDP setting that offers your paperback to bookstores, libraries and other retailers at a 40% royalty minus the printing cost. Coloring books, journals, notebooks, planners, public domain content and high-ink interiors are not accepted; puzzle, activity, workbook and cookbook titles may be declined. Hardcovers aren't eligible.
Also called: KDP Expanded Distribution, bookstore distribution
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The numbers
| Ink and paper | Eligible trims (in) |
|---|---|
| Premium color · white paper | 5.5 × 8.5, 6 × 9, 6.14 × 9.21, 7 × 10, 8 × 10, 8.5 × 8.5 and 8.5 × 11 |
| Standard color · white paper | 5 × 8, 5.06 × 7.81, 5.25 × 8, 5.5 × 8.5, 6 × 9, 6.14 × 9.21, 6.69 × 9.61, 7 × 10, 7.44 × 9.69, 7.5 × 9.25, 8 × 10, 8.5 × 8.5 and 8.5 × 11 |
| Black & white · white paper | 5 × 8, 5.06 × 7.81, 5.25 × 8, 5.5 × 8.5, 6 × 9, 6.14 × 9.21, 6.69 × 9.61, 7 × 10, 7.44 × 9.69, 7.5 × 9.25, 8 × 10 and 8.5 × 11 |
| Black & white · cream paper | 5 × 8, 5.25 × 8, 5.5 × 8.5 and 6 × 9 |
| Black & white · groundwood paper | 5 × 8, 5.25 × 8, 5.5 × 8.5 and 6 × 9 |
Not eligible with any ink or paper: 8.25 × 6, 8.25 × 8.25 and 8.27 × 11.69 in (A4 isn't in KDP's chart). Hardcovers are not eligible.
| Book type | Status | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Baby & toddler book | May be declined | Full-page color art can count as a high-ink interior, which distributors don't accept (KDP list) |
| Picture book | May be declined | Full-page color art can count as a high-ink interior, which distributors don't accept (KDP list) |
| ABC book | May be declined | Full-page color art can count as a high-ink interior, which distributors don't accept (KDP list) |
| Counting book | May be declined | Full-page color art can count as a high-ink interior, which distributors don't accept (KDP list) |
| Non-fiction guide | May be declined | Distributors may decline how-to books (KDP list) |
| Self-help book | May be declined | Distributors may decline mindfulness, manifestation and motivational quotations (KDP list) |
| Cookbook | May be declined | Distributors may decline cookbooks (KDP list) |
| Memoir & family history | May be declined | Distributors may decline biographies (KDP list) |
| Kids' coloring book | Not accepted | KDP distributors don't accept coloring books |
| Adult coloring book | Not accepted | KDP distributors don't accept coloring books |
| Kids' activity book | May be declined | Distributors may decline activity books (KDP list) |
| Puzzle book | May be declined | Distributors may decline puzzle books (KDP list) |
| Word search book | May be declined | Distributors may decline word search and puzzle books (KDP list) |
| Sudoku book | May be declined | Distributors may decline sudoku and puzzle books (KDP list) |
| Maze book for kids | May be declined | Distributors may decline maze and activity books (KDP list) |
| Educational workbook | May be declined | Distributors may decline workbooks and handwriting practice (KDP list) |
| Guided journal | Not accepted | KDP distributors don't accept journals and other books with frequent lined or blank pages |
| Gratitude journal | Not accepted | KDP distributors don't accept journals and other books with frequent lined or blank pages |
| Planner & logbook | Not accepted | KDP distributors don't accept planners, logbooks and other books with frequent lined or blank pages |
| Lined notebook | Not accepted | KDP distributors don't accept notebooks and other books with frequent lined or blank pages |
| Sketchbook | Not accepted | KDP distributors don't accept sketchbooks and other books with frequent lined or blank pages |
| Password book | Not accepted | KDP distributors don't accept logbooks, organizers and other books with frequent lined or blank pages |
| Comic & graphic novel | May be declined | Full-page color art can count as a high-ink interior, which distributors don't accept (KDP list) |
| Manga | May be declined | Full-page art with large black areas can count as a high-ink interior, which distributors don't accept (KDP list) |
Book types not in this table are on neither of KDP's lists, but distributors can still decline any book; a declined book stays on sale on Amazon.
| Channel | Rate | Printing cost | Royalty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon.com | 60% | $3.40 | $4.39 |
| Expanded Distribution | 40% | $3.40 | $1.80 |
Which books can't use Expanded Distribution?
Coloring books can't: KDP's Expanded Distribution page lists coloring books among the content its distributors don't currently accept, whatever the trim, paper or price. A coloring book is sold on Amazon only.
The same list covers journals, notebooks, planners and calendars (books with frequent lined or blank pages), public domain content, unauthorized summaries of other books, interiors that need a high concentration of ink, poorly translated content, rebranded re-releases and content that is excessively reused or repeated. Low-content books and hardcovers can't be enrolled at all.
Under that last item, KDP's page adds a table of genres that includes puzzle, activity, word search, sudoku, crossword and maze books, workbooks, cookbooks, travel guides, biographies and how-to books. They aren't excluded by name, so such a book can be enrolled, but distributors may decline it: KDP then removes it from Expanded Distribution, and it stays on sale on Amazon. Check the current list before counting on bookstore sales.
The price math
At 40%, a sale covers the printing cost only when the list price is at least printing cost ÷ 0.4. For a 200-page, 6 × 9 in black-and-white paperback that costs $3.40, that's $8.50 (our calculation). The same sale on Amazon.com pays 60%.
Once a paperback is accepted, KDP says it can take up to eight weeks before booksellers and libraries can order it.
The ISBN can be a free KDP ISBN or your own, but it must not have been submitted for distribution through another service.
Example: a 200-page paperback at $12.99
A 200-page, 6 × 9 in black-and-white paperback at $12.99 earns $4.39 per copy sold on Amazon.com and $1.80 per copy sold through Expanded Distribution. Enrolling it doesn't change the Amazon royalty; it adds a lower-margin channel.
Common mistakes
- Enabling Expanded Distribution for a coloring book or a journal, or counting on it for a puzzle or activity book.
- Pricing so low that the 40% royalty barely covers the printing cost.
- Expecting it for a hardcover.
- Using an ISBN already distributed through another service.
- Choosing 8.25 × 6, 8.25 × 8.25 or 8.27 × 11.69 in: none of them is eligible, whatever the ink and paper.