Part of: KDP Publishing Guide: Low-Content Books · KDP low-content publishing
Low content books are KDP paperbacks with minimal or repetitive interior content that buyers fill in — notebooks, planners, journals and log books. Mark them with KDP's Low-content box, get bleed, margins and spine width right, avoid trademarked terms, fill all seven keyword fields, and design a niche-specific interior.
| Rule | What KDP says |
|---|---|
| Definition | A book with minimal or no interior content, usually repetitive and filled in by the user |
| Typical types | Notebooks, planners, diaries, prompt journals, log books, coupon books, blank sheet music |
| Not low-content | Puzzle books, colouring books, novels, nonfiction, children's books |
| How to mark it | Check the Low-content box under Categories |
| ISBN | Not required; not eligible for the free KDP ISBN |
| Expanded Distribution | Not supported for low-content books |
| Look Inside | Not supported for low-content books without an ISBN |
| Series | Not available for low-content books |
| ISBN choice | Cannot be changed after publishing |
From KDP's low-content book help page, checked October 2026.
Low-content books must be marked with the Low-content checkbox. A planner submitted without it — or a colouring book submitted with it — can be rejected. Puzzle and colouring books are activity books, not low-content.
Anything meant to run to the edge of the page needs 0.125 inch of bleed. Content stopping at the trim line prints with a thin white sliver or gets cut off.
Fix: extend backgrounds 0.125 inch past the trim and keep text at least 0.25 inch inside it. A 6" × 9" bleed interior is exported at 6.125" × 9.25".
Outside margins need at least 0.25 inch without bleed (0.375 inch with bleed), and the inside (gutter) margin grows with page count — 0.375 inch up to 150 pages, 0.5 inch to 300.
Fix: set margins from the page count; see KDP trim sizes for the full table.
Spine width comes from page count and paper type. A cover designed before the interior is final rarely matches.
Fix: finalise the interior first, then size the cover with the KDP cover calculator. Leave the 2" × 1.2" barcode area on the back cover empty.
Brand names, characters or another publisher's series names in a title or interior risk takedowns and account problems.
Fix: use descriptive language — Dark Academia Reading Journal, not a franchise name.
KDP gives seven keyword boxes. Leaving them empty or repeating the title wastes search reach.
Fix: fill each with phrases the title does not cover — uses, audiences, synonyms.
Insight: The eighth mistake is not technical: publishing a generic interior. Search Amazon for "lined notebook" and you will see why. A book designed for one buyer — with the prompts, sections and layout they need — is the only kind that stands out without paid ads.
Royalty is 60% of the list price from $9.99 and 50% below it, minus printing. A 120-page 6" × 9" journal earns about $3.55 at $9.99 and $2.55 at $9.98.
Fix: check your numbers in the KDP royalty calculator before choosing a price.
Choose a trim, a niche and three categories with the Amazon book categories checker, design from Craftific's KDP journal interior templates, and follow the KDP publishing guide from upload to launch.
A book with minimal or no content on the interior pages, usually repetitive and meant to be filled in: notebooks, planners, diaries and journals, prompt journals, log books, coupon books and blank sheet music. Puzzle and colouring books are not low-content, because their pages are not repetitive.
No. Low-content books can be published without an ISBN, and KDP places a barcode on the back cover. They are not eligible for KDP's free ISBN, so if you want one you must use your own.
The Look Inside sample and back-cover thumbnail are not supported for low-content books without an ISBN; KDP suggests A+ Content to show interior pages. Expanded Distribution and series are not available for any low-content book.
Usually for one of four reasons: an unchecked or wrong low-content box, interior files without bleed or with margins under KDP's minimum, a cover sized for the wrong page count, or trademarked terms in the title or interior.
For specific niches, yes. Generic lined notebooks compete with thousands of near-identical books; a journal designed for one use — a nurse's shift log, a gardening planner — gives buyers a reason to choose yours.
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