How to Create a Puzzle Book for Amazon KDP

A puzzle book for Amazon KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) is a paperback like any other: an interior file, a cover file and a set of book details. This guide goes through the steps in order and gives the source of every Amazon requirement, so you can check it yourself.

What you need before you start

• A KDP account.
• An interior file. If your book has no bleed, KDP accepts PDF, DOC, DOCX, RTF, HTML or TXT files and converts them to PDF. If it has bleed, the manuscript must be a PDF. (source: KDP Help, Paperback Submission Guidelines)
• A cover: either a single PDF that includes the back cover, the spine and the front cover as one image, or a cover made with KDP's Cover Creator tool. (source: KDP Help, Create a Paperback Cover)
• Your book details: title, author name, description, keywords and categories. (source: KDP Help, Create a Book)

Step 1: choose your puzzle type and your readers

Decide first who the book is for, because it drives every other choice: the puzzle type, the difficulty, the size of the grids and the page size.

With LogikLand you can generate Sudoku books, crossword books, word search books, maze books and mixed puzzle books that combine several puzzle types. Kids editions and large print editions are available for most puzzle types.

Step 2: choose a trim size

The trim size is the width and height of the printed book. According to Amazon, the most common trim size for paperbacks in the US is 6 x 9 inches. A book wider than 6.12 inches or taller than 9 inches is a "large trim size" and has different printing costs than a regular trim size. (source: KDP Help, Set Trim Size, Bleed, and Margins)

The trim size also sets the page count limits. For example, with black ink and white paper, a 6 x 9 inch paperback can have 24 to 828 pages and an 8.5 x 11 inch paperback 24 to 590 pages. (source: KDP Help, Set Trim Size, Bleed, and Margins)

LogikLand books are generated in 8.5 x 11 inches or 6 x 9 inches. The full list of sizes and the page limits are in our article on KDP margins and trim sizes for puzzle books.

Step 3: build the interior

A typical puzzle book interior has three parts:

• an optional "How to Play" page that explains the rules to beginners;
• the puzzles;
• the solutions, at the end of the book.

In the LogikLand wizards you choose the language, the page size, the number of puzzles and the difficulty. The book then opens in a visual editor, and you download it as a PDF or as an editable PPTX file. Each Sudoku grid is checked so that it has exactly one solution. The step-by-step instructions are in our puzzle book guides.

Amazon's requirements that matter for puzzles

• The minimum page count is 24 pages. KDP calculates the page count from your file and rounds it up to an even number if necessary. (source: KDP Help, Paperback Submission Guidelines)
• Lines, such as the lines of a grid, need a minimum thickness of 0.75 point (0.01 inch, 0.3 mm). (source: KDP Help, Paperback Submission Guidelines)
• For gray backgrounds printed with black ink, Amazon recommends a minimum grayscale fill of 10%. (source: KDP Help, Paperback Submission Guidelines)
• All images should be at least 300 DPI, and fonts must be embedded in the file. (source: KDP Help, Paperback Submission Guidelines)
• All pages must be oriented the same way, but a page may contain some upside down text. Amazon's own example is "a book of riddles with answers printed upside down on the page". (source: KDP Help, Paperback Submission Guidelines)
• Files with missing pages, excessive blank pages or incorrect pagination are among the common points of failure. (source: KDP Help, Paperback Submission Guidelines)

Step 4: check margins and bleed

Margins keep your puzzles from being cut off when the book is trimmed. The top, bottom and outside margins must be at least 0.25 inch for a book without bleed, and the inside margin grows with the page count: 0.375 inch up to 150 pages, 0.5 inch from 151 to 300 pages. (source: KDP Help, Set Trim Size, Bleed, and Margins)

The complete table, the bleed rules and how to set the margins in LogikLand are in the second article: KDP margins and trim sizes for puzzle books.

Step 5: create the cover

• The cover must be sized with bleed: add 0.125 inch (3.2 mm) to the top, bottom and outside edges. (source: KDP Help, Create a Paperback Cover)
• The spine width depends on the page count and the paper. For black and white books it is the page count multiplied by 0.002252 inch on white paper, or by 0.0025 inch on cream paper. (source: KDP Help, Create a Paperback Cover)
• To put text on the spine, the book must have at least 79 pages. A cover with spine text on a shorter book is rejected. (source: KDP Help, Create a Paperback Cover)
• Cover text should be at least 7 point, and images at least 300 DPI. (source: KDP Help, Create a Paperback Cover)
• You can choose a glossy or a matte finish. (source: KDP Help, Print Options)
• You can upload a cover with or without a barcode. If you do not provide your own, KDP places one on the back cover. (source: KDP Help, Create a Paperback Cover)

Amazon provides a cover calculator and template generator that gives the exact dimensions from your trim size, paper and page count. (source: KDP Help, Create a Paperback Cover) You can also use our free KDP cover calculator, which applies the same formulas and gives a PDF or PNG template.

Step 6: is a puzzle book "low-content"? What it changes for the ISBN

Here is what Amazon itself says. KDP defines a low-content book as a book that "has minimal or no content on the interior pages", is generally repetitive and is designed to be filled in by the user. The same page then states:

"This does not typically include activity books, such as puzzle books or coloring books, which generally do not feature repetitive content on each page."

In Amazon's table of examples, notebooks, planners, journals and log books are listed as low-content, while puzzle books and coloring books are listed under "Not Generally Low-Content". Amazon adds that there can be exceptions. (source: KDP Help, Low-Content Books)

What it changes for the ISBN

Amazon also lists features that low-content books do not get: Expanded Distribution is not supported, they cannot be part of a series, and a release date cannot be scheduled. (source: KDP Help, Low-Content Books)

The two ISBN options for a regular paperback differ in the following ways: (source: KDP Help, Get an ISBN)

• Free KDP ISBN. It costs nothing, it can only be used with KDP, and the imprint shown is "Independently published".
• Your own ISBN. You pay for it, you can use it to publish the same book outside of KDP, and the imprint is the one you registered. The details you enter in KDP must match what you registered with the ISBN agency.

On its low-content page, Amazon states that the ISBN selection cannot be changed after the book is published: you would have to unpublish the book and publish it again. (source: KDP Help, Low-Content Books) Choose carefully before you publish.

Step 7: enter your book details

• The title field should contain only the actual title of the book, as it appears on the cover. (source: KDP Help, Metadata Guidelines for Books)
• For print books, the title must be listed on the cover (front cover or spine) and must match the details entered during title setup. (source: KDP Help, Metadata Guidelines for Books)
• The title and the subtitle together must be fewer than 200 characters. (source: KDP Help, Metadata Guidelines for Books)
• Amazon's examples of what is prohibited in the title field include repeating generic keywords, unauthorized references to other titles or authors, and references to sales rank such as "bestselling". (source: KDP Help, Metadata Guidelines for Books)
• The title, subtitle, author name and ISBN in your manuscript file must match the details you enter. (source: KDP Help, Create a Book)
• Some fields cannot be modified once the book is published, so check them closely. (source: KDP Help, Create a Book)

Step 8: upload, preview and order a proof

After the details, you choose your print options, upload the interior and the cover, and preview the book. The Print Previewer checks, among other things, the margins, the cover size and the fonts. (source: KDP Help, Fix Paperback and Hardcover Formatting Issues)

• Ordering a proof copy is not mandatory, but it lets you see the printed book before you publish. (source: KDP Help, Create a Book)
• The ink and paper type are locked after publication. For a black-and-white version and a color version, Amazon asks you to set up two separate books. (source: KDP Help, Print Options)
• KDP limits new titles: up to 2 titles created per book format each week, and up to 2 new titles submitted for publication per book format each week. The limits reset every Sunday at 12:00 AM UTC. (source: KDP Help, Create a Book)

Commercial rights for books made with LogikLand

To sell a book generated with LogikLand, you need commercial rights. They are included in the PRO and EXPERT plans; the FREE plan is for personal use. The FREE plan includes the Sudoku, word search and maze generators, the PRO plan adds the crossword generator, and the EXPERT plan adds the mixed puzzle book wizard. The details are on the pricing page.

This article explains how to prepare and publish a book. It makes no promise about sales: how many copies a book sells depends on many things that no tool controls.

Checklist before you publish

• The page size of the interior matches the trim size selected in KDP.
• The page count is at least 24 and within the limit for your trim size and paper.
• The margins meet the minimum for your page count.
• Grid lines are at least 0.75 point thick and every font is embedded.
• The solutions are in the book and match the puzzles.
• The cover is one PDF with bleed, and spine text is used only from 79 pages.
• The title on the cover matches the title in your book details.
• You have decided between the free KDP ISBN and your own ISBN.
• You have looked at every page in the Print Previewer, and ideally at a printed proof.