How to read the readiness report and fix what it flags

In short

On a manuscript, click Publish in the top bar. The Publish sheet checks the book and lists what to fix under Before you upload, one step at a time.

KDP turns an interior away when the page count sits outside the range for that trim, ink and paper, when a placeholder is still in the text, or when the title and author do not agree. You usually hear about it after the upload, in a rejection. Publish runs the same kind of check while the book is still open, and each item tells you what to change before the file goes up.

On a book you write, the top bar shows Publish rather than Download. The sheet is titled Publish. Under Before you upload the checklist is six steps, in the order you work through them: Book details, Manuscript, Print interior, eBook, Cover and Listing. The status line at the top is the verdict for the whole book, not for one step.

The named items, the page they point at and each Fix button come with the Creator, Publisher, Studio and Founders' Lifetime plans. On the free plan the same sheet still says how many things are wrong, and the hint reads Upgrade to see exactly what and where.

Read the report#

1. Open Publish

   Open the book. In the top bar, click Publish. The sheet slides in from the right. The status line reads Checking your book… while the checks run, and the button reads Checking… until they finish.

   When a blocking item is still open, the status line reads Not ready yet — fix the items marked below. The line under it counts how many of the six steps are Ready. Check again runs the checks on the book as it is now. Beside it, Fix with AI shows a count of the items it can walk through.

   The questions are free, and so is a recommended answer that applies a change. Read my answer spends a credit, and it appears only when words you type do not match a listed change.

   The Downloads section above the checklist is where the files are made. The report itself is the list further down.

2. Open a flagged step

   Scroll the sheet to Before you upload. The aside reads 6 checks. A step marked Needs fixing is already open, because something there would stop an upload. A step marked Worth a look stays closed until you click its name.

   Click Book details. When the author field is empty it lists No author name in Book details, with Open Book details beside it. The note under the step title reads Using KDP's free ISBN until you enter your own.

   Manuscript lists Placeholder text when a bracketed stand-in is still in the writing. That item offers Fix with AI and no Go to page, because the stand-in is in the manuscript rather than on one page. Print interior lists Page count when the book is outside KDP's range for this trim, ink and paper. Its first line names the range, as in 1 page is outside KDP's 24–828 range for this trim, ink and paper. Page count has no Go to page, because the count is the whole book. The same step lists Page number placement when a page number sits too close to the edge. That item names the page, as in p. 1, and offers Go to page.

3. Save the author name

   On No author name in Book details, click Open Book details. The sheet closes and the Book details dialog opens. Type the name in Author name, the way it should print, and click Save details. The dialog closes. The name is saved on the book. The manuscript text is unchanged, so a placeholder in the writing is still there.

4. Check the book again

   Click Publish again. The checks run once more. Book details reads Ready once the author is saved. Open that step if you want the leftover advice: The book's language isn't set can still be listed, and the step stays Ready because advice does not block.

   Manuscript still reads Needs fixing while Placeholder text is in the writing. Print interior still reads Needs fixing while Page count is outside KDP's range or Page number placement is still flagged. The status line can stay on Not ready yet — fix the items marked below until those are cleared. Replace the stand-in words in the manuscript, bring the page count inside the range, move the page number in from the edge, then click Check again.

Reading the report#

The count under the status line is how many of the six steps read Ready. eBook and Cover can read Ready while advice is still listed inside them. Listing often reads Worth a look until the description and categories are filled. Open a Ready step before you treat it as finished.

Close the sheet#

Click Close at the top of the sheet, or press Escape, to leave it. Closing the sheet does not undo a name you saved or a sentence you edited. Open Publish again whenever you want a fresh verdict.

For the rules KDP applies to the words in the listing, the cover and the book itself, read KDP Content Guidelines: A Pre-Publish Checklist.