A coloring book is one of the simplest books you can publish on Amazon KDP: no manuscript, no editing, and readers buy them as gifts all year. The work is in picking a theme people search for and making clean, consistent line art. Here is the whole process, with KDP's numbers.
1. Pick a niche and an audience
Decide who it's for before you draw anything: toddlers need thick lines and big shapes, adults expect detail. Then validate the theme: type ideas into Amazon's search bar and look at the suggestions and at the books that come up. A theme with buyers but tired covers is a good sign. Our keyword research tool comparison covers the paid options.
2. Choose the trim size and page count
- 8.5 × 11 in (letter) is the most common coloring size; 8.5 × 8.5 in suits square designs. Both allow 24 to 590 pages on white paper.
- Print one-sided. Put a blank page behind every design so markers don't bleed into the next picture. That doubles the page count: 30 designs become 60 pages.
- Use white paper, black ink. Color interiors cost far more and aren't needed for line art.
3. Make the line art
You have three options:
- Draw it (by hand and scan at 300 DPI or more, or in Procreate, Illustrator or similar).
- License it: buy packs that explicitly allow commercial use in printed books.
- Generate it with AI: see the AI coloring book generator comparison for what a full book costs with each tool.
Whatever the source, check that lines are closed, pure black on white, with no gray shading, and that the style stays consistent from page to page. Reviews punish books that look like ten different artists made them.
4. Build the interior PDF
- One PDF, every page at the trim size (or with bleed if art touches the edge).
- Keep everything inside KDP's margins: at least 0.375 in on the binding side for up to 150 pages, 0.25 in elsewhere. The margin calculator gives the exact numbers.
- Images at 300 DPI, fonts embedded.
- Add a title page and a short “this book belongs to” page; many publishers add a test page for colors at the end.
5. Make the full-wrap cover
The paperback cover is one file with back, spine and front. For a 64-page 8.5 × 11 in book on white paper it measures 17.394 × 11.250 in with a spine of 0.144 in, too thin for spine text (KDP needs 79 pages). Get your numbers and a template from the cover size calculator, and compare cover tools in our cover maker comparison. Show a few of the inside designs on the back: buyers want to see what they'll color.
6. Write the listing
- A title that says what it is and who it's for, and a subtitle with the page count and age.
- Seven keywords or short phrases that buyers actually type, without repeating the title.
- A description that lists what's inside and the paper format (one-sided, size).
- Mark it as AI-generated content if you used AI for the images: KDP asks for it.
7. Set the price
At 64 pages, 8.5 × 11 in counts as a large trim and costs $2.84 to print. At $9.99 you earn $3.15 per sale on Amazon.com (60% of the price minus printing). Below $9.99 the rate drops to 50%. Try your own numbers in the royalty calculator.
8. Order a proof and publish
Order a printed proof before you publish: line thickness, margins and paper show-through look different on paper. Then publish, and check the live page for the cover thumbnail, the category and the price in other marketplaces.