Last reviewed by Robert Prime, 5 November 2026. General information, not legal or tax advice.
Quick Answer: To self-publish a book in the UK: edit the manuscript, choose your route and formats, decide on an ISBN, get a cover and a formatted interior, upload to a platform such as Amazon KDP, check a proof copy, set your price and launch. Publishing on KDP is free, so you pay only for the help you choose. After publishing, a print copy must reach the British Library within one month.
This guide covers every route. Already decided on Amazon and want the exact KDP screens? Use our guide to self-publishing on Amazon KDP. Want to compare who you could pay? See the self-publishing companies in the UK.
How to publish a book in the UK: three routes
| Route | Who pays | Who decides | You keep |
|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional publisher | The publisher | The publisher, often through an agent | A royalty, sometimes with an advance |
| Self-publishing | You, only for what you choose to buy | You | The rights and the income after the platform’s share |
| Paying a publishing company | You | Depends on the contract | Depends on the contract, so read it |
The rest of this guide is about self-publishing. If you are still choosing, read self-publishing vs traditional publishing in the UK.
Choose your self-publishing route
You can combine these. Amazon KDP plus one other is common.
| Route | Good for | What you pay | Read next |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon KDP | Reaching Amazon readers with no stock | Nothing to publish; Amazon takes its share and print cost per sale | The Amazon route |
| IngramSpark | Bookshop and library ordering | Nothing to sign up and upload; you set a trade discount | KDP vs IngramSpark |
| Other ebook shops | Readers on Kobo, Apple and others | Nothing to list, but KDP Select is exclusive | KDP Select vs wide |
| Short-run printer | Copies to sell at events or direct | The print run, up front | UK printers compared |
| A publishing company | One firm handling the work | From £215 to £7,500 at firms that publish a price | Packages |
If you aren’t sure, start with KDP. It costs nothing to publish, and you can add other routes later, as long as your ISBN and any KDP Select enrolment allow it.
How to self-publish a book in the UK, step by step
Step 1: Finish and edit the manuscript
Get the book as good as you can, then get other eyes on it. Beta readers show you whether it works. An editor fixes what they find.
Editing comes in levels: developmental (does the book work?), copyediting (is it correct and consistent?) and proofreading (the final check). If you can only pay for one, in most cases make it a proofread. Firms that sell it on its own publish prices from £12 per 1,000 words, about £960 for 80,000 words. Our guide to hiring an editor compares rates, and our self-editing checklist is free.
Step 2: Choose your formats
- Ebook: cheapest to produce and easy to change.
- Paperback: printed on demand, so you hold no stock.
- Hardback: KDP offers it on Amazon.co.uk. See hardcover vs paperback.
- Audiobook: a separate, larger job, usually later. Start with audiobooks for UK authors.
Decide on your paperback size now, because it sets your page count, and your page count sets your spine. A5 and other UK book sizes are explained in our size guide.
Step 3: Decide on an ISBN
| KDP’s free ISBN | Your own from Nielsen | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | £0 | £93 for one, £174 for ten, including VAT |
| Works on | KDP only | Any platform |
| Imprint shown | “Independently published” | Your own imprint name |
A Kindle ebook doesn’t need an ISBN. Each print format needs its own. For one book on Amazon, the free one is often fine. Buy your own if you want your own imprint or will sell the same edition through IngramSpark. More in ISBN requirements in the UK. If you need a barcode for a cover you make yourself, use our free ISBN barcode generator.
Step 4: Get a cover
Readers meet your cover as a small picture on a phone, so check it at that size against the bestsellers in your category. An ebook needs a front cover. A paperback needs a full wrap of back, spine and front, sized to your final page count, so don’t order the wrap until the interior is finished.
You can make a cover with free tools, hire a designer, or order one from us from £129 to £399. The KDP cover calculator gives you the exact dimensions.
Step 5: Format the interior
KDP takes a print-ready PDF for a paperback and an EPUB or Word file for an ebook. You have three options:
- A free tool. Fine for a plain novel, if you check every page yourself.
- Our Book Studio. You do it yourself for £29.99 per book, and it checks the file against KDP’s rules.
- Done for you. From £69 for a paperback, £119 with Kindle, back in 24 hours as standard, with two revision rounds.
Books with images, tables or footnotes need more care. See how to format a book for KDP. Add a copyright page while you are here: our copyright page template is free.
Step 6: Upload your book
On KDP, you create an account, complete the tax interview, enter the book’s details, upload the interior and cover, and check the previewer. Our Amazon UK guide goes through each screen, and the KDP tax interview guide covers the US tax form. Elsewhere the steps are similar, though IngramSpark’s file requirements differ, so check them first.
Step 7: Check a proof copy
Order a printed proof before you publish. On Amazon.co.uk a black-ink paperback of 110 to 828 pages costs £0.85 plus £0.010 a page to print, so about £2.85 for 200 pages, plus delivery. Read it on paper. You will find errors you missed on screen.
Step 8: Set your price
On Amazon.co.uk:
- Paperback: 60% of the list price at £7.99 or more, or 50% at £7.98 or less, minus the printing cost. A 200-page paperback at £8.99 earns about £2.54.
- Kindle ebook: 70% between £1.77 and £12.99, less a delivery cost, and 35% outside that band.
Check what similar books in your category charge, then use our royalty calculator and book pricing guide.
Step 9: Publish and launch
Amazon says it can take up to 72 hours for a new book to appear. A book won’t sell just because it is live, so start gathering readers before launch day. The book launch checklist and our book marketing guide for UK authors take you through it. If you would rather have it done for you, our book launch service starts at £499.
UK rules to know about
Most first-time authors only hear about these afterwards.
- Legal deposit. The British Library is entitled to a copy of every work published in print, and it “must be delivered within one month beginning with the day of publication” (Legal Deposit Libraries Act 2003, s.4). See legal deposit for UK self-publishers.
- Income tax. The trading allowance covers up to £1,000 a tax year. If you need to file a return for the first time, tell HMRC by 5 October after the tax year ends. Read self-publishing tax in the UK before your first royalty payment.
- VAT. Printed books and ebooks are zero-rated, and audiobooks are not. See VAT on books.
- Copyright. Your book is protected automatically. You don’t need to register it, and there is no UK register of copyright works. See moral rights for UK authors too.
- Selling into the EU. See GPSR for self-published books.
- Email newsletters. See mailing list rules.
All of these in one place: the UK self-publishing legal and tax hub. Our UK Author Legal Pack, £29, includes a copyright page and contracts written for UK law.
How much it costs
Publishing on KDP is free. For an 80,000-word novel, in prices we re-read on 5 November 2026:
| Budget | What you pay for | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Do it yourself | One proof copy | About £4 |
| Usual first book | Proofread, cover, formatting | About £1,300 to £1,900 |
| Full professional | Three stages of editing, cover, typesetting, own ISBN | About £6,300 |
Work out your own in our guide to what it costs to publish a book in the UK, which has a calculator.
First-book mistakes to avoid
- Publishing before anyone else has read it. Reviews stay on the listing.
- Ordering a cover wrap too early. A change in page count changes the spine.
- Paying for something KDP gives you free. Check any quote for an ISBN or “distribution”.
- Skipping the proof copy. It costs little and catches a lot.
- Signing without checking who owns what. Read our vanity publishing warning signs before you pay a company.
For a full tick-list, use the UK self-publishing checklist.
Frequently asked questions
How do I self-publish a book in the UK?
Edit the manuscript, choose your route and formats, decide on an ISBN, get a cover and a formatted interior, upload to a platform such as Amazon KDP, check a proof copy, set your price and launch. Then send a print copy to the British Library within one month of publication and keep records for tax.
How do I publish a book in the UK?
There are three routes. A traditional publisher pays for production but chooses which books it takes, usually through an agent. You can self-publish, where you are the publisher and platforms such as Amazon KDP are free to use. Or you can pay a company to do some or all of the work.
Is it free to self-publish a book in the UK?
It can be. KDP charges no set-up fee and gives you a free ISBN for print. You will want at least one proof copy, which costs about £2.85 plus delivery for a 200-page paperback. Most authors also pay for some editing, a cover or formatting.
Do I need an ISBN to self-publish in the UK?
Not for a Kindle ebook. A KDP paperback or hardback needs one, and KDP offers one free. That free ISBN only works on KDP and shows the imprint as “Independently published”. Buy your own from Nielsen, at £93 for one or £174 for ten, if you want your own imprint or plan to sell the same edition elsewhere.
How long does it take to self-publish a book?
It depends mostly on editing and the cover. Once your files are ready and uploaded, Amazon says a new book can take up to 72 hours to appear. Allow time for a proof copy to arrive before you publish.
Can I self-publish a book without Amazon?
Yes. IngramSpark reaches bookshops and libraries, Kobo and Apple sell ebooks directly, and short-run printers will make copies for you to sell yourself. Many authors still use Amazon as well, because that is where many readers buy.
Do I have to pay tax on my self-published book?
Possibly. The first £1,000 of gross trading income each tax year is covered by the trading allowance. If you need to file a tax return, tell HMRC by 5 October after the tax year ends. Our UK tax guide explains how this applies to royalties.
Sources, read 5 November 2026
- Amazon KDP: paperback royalty, printing cost, ebook prices, ISBNs, KDP Select
- IngramSpark pricing
- Nielsen ISBN Store
- Legal Deposit Libraries Act 2003, s.4
- gov.uk: trading allowance, registering for Self Assessment, copyright
Who wrote this, and our interest. I am Robert Prime. I run publishing.co.uk, which sells formatting, covers, a legal pack and launches, and I went through Amazon's upload, rejection and fix cycle with my own book, Google. Panic. Repeat. You can do every step above without paying us, and the free routes are listed alongside ours.
