20 journal and notebook ideas you can turn into a KDP book
Here are 20 original journal and notebook ideas for Amazon KDP: guided and gratitude journals with a new prompt on every page, planners and logbooks, lined notebooks, sketchbooks and password books. Each names who the book is for in one sentence. Use one as it is or change it, and “Start this book” opens kdpbook.io with the idea typed in.
By kdpbook.io editorialPublished
Guided journal
A unique prompt on every page, with decorative art.
- No. 1
“A guided journal for new dads with one prompt per page about the first year, from the first night home to the first birthday”
Start this book → - No. 2
“A travel journal with a prompt for each day of a trip and space to note places, meals and people met”
Start this book → - No. 3
“A grief journal for adults who have lost a parent, with gentle prompts and room to write”
Start this book → - No. 4
“A guided journal for teenagers about finding what they care about, with one question per page and weekly reflections”
Start this book → - No. 5
“A garden journal with a prompt for each week of the year and space to record what was sown, what grew and what didn’t”
Start this book →
Planner & logbook
Undated planners, trackers and niche logbooks.
- No. 6
“An undated weekly planner for freelancers with project trackers, an invoice log and a monthly review page”
Start this book → - No. 7
“A large-print blood pressure log with morning and evening readings, pulse and notes for a full year”
Start this book → - No. 8
“A reading log for book clubs with a page per book for the rating, favorite lines and discussion questions”
Start this book → - No. 9
“A fishing logbook to record the place, weather, bait and catch of every trip”
Start this book → - No. 10
“A caregiver logbook to track medications, appointments and daily notes for someone you look after”
Start this book →
Gratitude journal
A fresh prompt for three good things, every day.
- No. 11
“A 90-day gratitude journal for teachers, with a new prompt each day about the classroom and a weekly reflection”
Start this book → - No. 12
“A gratitude journal for kids aged 8–12 with a playful prompt each day and three spaces for good things”
Start this book → - No. 13
“A 60-day gratitude journal for new retirees about the small pleasures of slower days”
Start this book →
Lined notebook
Ruled pages and a cover made for your niche.
- No. 14
“A lined notebook for nurses with a simple stethoscope illustration on the cover and a date line on every page”
Start this book → - No. 15
“A wide-ruled composition notebook for a school chess club, with a checkered cover”
Start this book → - No. 16
“A lined notebook for recipe ideas with a cover of vintage kitchen tools”
Start this book →
Sketchbook
Framed blank pages for drawing and doodling.
- No. 17
“A sketchbook for kids aged 5–8 with a playful crayon cover and a “This sketchbook belongs to” page”
Start this book → - No. 18
“An 8.5 x 11 in sketchbook for urban sketchers, with framed blank pages and a cover of city rooftops”
Start this book →
Password book
A–Z sections to keep every login in one place.
- No. 19
“A large-print password book for grandparents with A–Z sections and a cover of garden flowers”
Start this book → - No. 20
“A large-print password book with A–Z sections and a plain linen-style cover for a home office”
Start this book →
“Start this book” opens a new chat in kdpbook.io with the idea as your first message and its book type selected (you sign in or create a free account first). kdpbook replies with a plan (format, length, characters, art style) and shows a credit estimate before the book is generated. Planning-chat messages are metered: about 25 credits for the first one and about 8 after that. New accounts get 2,000 free credits once, with no card required.
3 ways to make an idea your own
- 01
Write for one person on one occasion.
A new dad, a teacher in September, a friend after a loss: the prompts, the tone and the cover all follow from who opens the book and when. Name that person in the idea.
- 02
Know if it is low-content.
Planners, logbooks, lined notebooks, sketchbooks and password books repeat one page for the reader to fill in, which is what KDP calls low-content: no free KDP ISBN and no Expanded Distribution. KDP names prompt journals among its low-content examples too, so a guided or gratitude journal that is mostly writing space fits the category; kdpbook sets it up as a regular book because every page carries a different prompt, and the choice is yours when you publish. KDP lists blank journals among the books not suited to Kindle, and kdpbook makes every journal and notebook type in print only.
- 03
Make the fields match the niche.
A fishing log needs weather and bait columns; a reading log needs room for favorite lines. Name the fields you want, and keep any quotes original or in the public domain. The layout of a blank form isn’t protected by copyright in the US (Copyright Office, Circular 33), so your niche, your fields and your cover are what make the book yours.
Before you publish
- Declare AI-generated content. KDP requires you to tell it about AI-generated text, images or translations when you publish a book, or edit and republish it. Content you wrote yourself and only edited with AI tools counts as AI-assisted and needs no disclosure. The listing sheet kdpbook exports suggests the answers from what was actually generated.
- Make sure you own what is inside. KDP asks publishers to make sure their books don’t violate copyright, trademark, privacy, publicity or other rights, and it doesn’t allow undifferentiated versions of public-domain titles when a free version is already in its store. Leave out famous characters and brands, and add something new when you retell an old tale.
- Keep the listing honest. KDP’s keyword rules exclude brands you aren’t authorized to use and the names of authors not associated with your book, and its content rules exclude descriptions that don’t match what is inside.
- Read every page. KDP reviews every book itself, so no tool can promise that a book is accepted, sells or earns anything. You are the publisher: check the text, the pictures and the facts before you click Publish.
You can use, change and combine these ideas for your own books, with or without kdpbook. In the United States, copyright never protects an idea as such (17 U.S.C. § 102(b)); the Copyright Office explains that protection extends only to the original expression in a work, not to the idea underneath. This is general information, not legal advice.
Sources · read on
- KDP Help: Content Guidelines (AI-generated content) (opens in a new tab)
- KDP Help: Keywords (opens in a new tab)
- U.S. Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 102(b) (opens in a new tab)
- U.S. Copyright Office: Works Not Protected by Copyright (Circular 33) (opens in a new tab)
- KDP Help: Low-content Books (opens in a new tab)
- KDP Help: Guide to Kindle Content Quality (opens in a new tab)
The ideas are original and written for kdpbook.io; they are not ranked and come with no sales or demand data. Kindle Direct Publishing and KDP are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc.; kdpbook.io is independent and not affiliated with Amazon.
Have your own journal and notebook idea?
Type it in one sentence. kdpbook plans the book and shows the credit estimate before anything is generated.
2,000 free credits · no card required