How to publish a translated book on KDP

Before you upload anything: rights and AI declaration

Two questions come before any file. First, can you publish this translation? For your own book you hold the rights. For another author's work, the work must be in the public domain in the countries where you sell, or you must have the translation rights. KDP's Content Guidelines make you responsible for intellectual property. Our notes did not cover KDP's specific rules for public domain titles, so read that part of the guidelines before you publish a classic.

Second, declare AI if it made the translation. KDP asks you to tell it about AI-generated text, images or translations when you publish, and it counts AI output as AI-generated even if you edited it. Our guide on KDP AI disclosure explains the cases.

Translations of another work must also credit the translator and the original author in the contributor field; if the translator is unknown, KDP says to list "Anonymous".

Prepare the translated manuscript

Read the translation before you format it. Have a native speaker check the opening chapters, the dialogue and the back cover text at least. Then prepare the front matter in the new language: title page, copyright page (with the translator and the original title if you wish), contents.

KDP does not impose an order for these pages; it only says that title, dedication and rights pages belong to the front matter. The usual order for a paperback novel is half-title, a blank or "by the same author" page, title page, copyright page, dedication, contents, then chapter one on a right-hand page. That is convention, not a KDP rule.

The ebook file

KDP accepts EPUB, DOCX and KPF for ebooks, in reflowable and fixed layout. It recommends KPF, made with Kindle Create, because it carries all Kindle features. EPUB 2 and 3 are accepted if they follow the Kindle Publishing Guidelines. MOBI is no longer accepted: reflowable MOBI ended on August 1, 2021 and fixed-layout MOBI on March 18, 2025.

Rules that matter for a translated EPUB, from KDP's help pages:

• An ebook with chapters needs a working table of contents. In the OPF manifest, the navigation document carries properties="nav", and its link to the table carries epub:type="toc", or the "Go to > Table of contents" button stays greyed out.
• Validate the EPUB in Kindle Previewer before upload: any error or warning prevents publication.
• Do not include the cover in the manuscript. KDP adds the one you upload in the form.
• Tables of more than 50 rows or more than 5 columns are not supported, and images must be JPG or PNG.
• Characters the font cannot display show up as squares or boxed question marks in Previewer, which matters for languages with accents or non-Latin scripts.

The paperback interior

A print interior is a PDF with embedded fonts and images at 300 dpi or more (KDP recommends 600 dpi as a maximum). It must not contain crop marks, bookmarks, comments, annotations, hidden objects or filler text. Pages must be single, never spreads or 2-up, with even pages on the left and odd pages on the right. A locked or encrypted file fails.

The page count has to fall within KDP's range for the trim size and paper. For a standard 6 x 9 inch paperback it is 24 to 828 pages on white paper and 24 to 776 on cream (our guide on trim sizes has the full table). A translation usually changes the length of the book. Re-check the count after you translate, not before.

ISBN: one per format, and a new one for a new edition

An ISBN is required for paperbacks and hardcovers. Ebooks do not need one. KDP offers a free ISBN for paperbacks and hardcovers; it can only be used on KDP and sets the imprint to "Independently published". With your own ISBN you can show your own imprint, but KDP compares it with the one registered with the ISBN agency, and publication is refused if they disagree.

KDP says an ISBN cannot serve for both the paperback and the hardcover, nor for a substantially modified new edition. A translation is a different text, so plan on a new ISBN for each print format of each language rather than reusing the original's.

The cover and the spine

The cover changes with the translation: the title, the blurb, and the spine width, which depends on the new page count. For a paperback, KDP's formula for the full cover is width = 2 x trim width + spine + 0.25 inch of bleed, and height = trim height + 0.25 inch. The spine is the page count times the paper thickness: 0.002252 inch per page on white paper and 0.0025 on cream.

A 6 x 9 inch book of 200 pages on white paper has a spine of 0.4504 inch and a full cover of 12.7004 x 9.25 inches. Spine text needs at least 79 pages. KDP's cover calculator remains the reference, and you should compare your numbers with it before uploading. Hardcover dimensions are not published as a formula by KDP, so use the calculator for those.

Metadata, price and categories per marketplace

In the title details, set the language of the book to the language of the translation, and add the translator and original author as contributors. Write the title, subtitle and description in the new language; do not paste the original's.

On the pricing page you choose the territories and set a list price per marketplace. For ebooks the royalty plans are 35 percent and 70 percent, and sales outside the territories eligible for 70 percent earn 35 percent. KDP states the minimum and maximum list prices on its own pricing pages, so read them for each marketplace rather than converting your price from one currency to another. For paperbacks the printing cost depends on the page count and trim size, and the calculator on KDP shows it.

Proof, publish, then link the editions

Order a printed proof of the paperback, or at least open KDP's online previewer on every page: check the contents, the start of each chapter, and the characters in headings. Then publish both formats.

Once live, link the editions on your author page, and tell readers of the original that a translation exists. If you plan more languages, keep the same glossary of names and the same style choices across them, so that the series stays coherent. Librolingua is not affiliated with Amazon; every rule above is quoted from KDP's help pages as read on October 15, 2026, and KDP updates them.

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