Is Self-Publishing on Amazon UK Difficult?

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No, self-publishing on Amazon UK is not difficult. It works the same way as the US store: you publish through KDP, choose the territories where you hold rights, and your book appears in the stores you select. UK authors also have an advantage over many countries, because ACX lets them make audiobooks. The rest of this post covers how distribution works, the UK prices, and the ads. I published from Norway, so I know what it is like to publish from outside the US.

Do you publish to Amazon UK separately?

No. When I started I published from Norway through the US KDP site, and my books went out to all of Amazon’s global stores, not just the US one. People in Norway buy from the UK store by default. I was surprised, because I assumed the book would only show in the country I used. Paperbacks work the same way.

KDP’s eBook distribution rights page says that if you have worldwide rights and choose All territories, customers can buy your title on Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, Amazon.fr, Amazon.es, Amazon.it, Amazon.co.jp, Amazon.com.br, Amazon.com.mx, Amazon.com.au, Amazon.ca, Amazon.nl and Amazon.in. If you only hold rights in some places, you choose individual territories and sales are limited to those. The paperback page has a different list: paperbacks also sell on Amazon.pl, Amazon.se, Amazon.ie and Amazon.com.be, but not in the Brazil, India or Mexico stores. Your paperbacks also go to other channels, and I have been amazed to find mine in libraries around the world.

What are the UK prices and royalties?

KDP’s list price requirements show these bands for ebooks.

KDP’s pricing page, last updated 21-Apr-26, says the 70% option is paid on the price without VAT, less delivery costs (£0.10 per MB for the UK store), and that the ebook must be at least 20% below the list price of any physical edition on Amazon. See How To Price A Self Published Book On Amazon for my pricing.

Can you run ads on Amazon UK?

Yes, and it is a fantastic place to make sales. KDP’s advertising page says ads for KDP titles run in 12 marketplaces, including the US, UK and Germany. I run ads on the Amazon UK ads platform and look at them every day. Most of my ebook sales there come from the ads, even for books with no reviews, if the ads are done right, and the rest from people finding the book through its title and keywords.

I use Publisher Rocket to find the ad keywords and KDSpy to choose topics and the words for the title and keyword fields. Each store is its own market, so run ads in each separately. You would not want to be on Amazon without the UK store, whether you live there or not.

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Will US tax be taken from my royalties if I live in the UK?

It can be. KDP’s tax withholding page says a non-US author faces 30% US withholding on ebook sales on Amazon.com and on print sales on Amazon.com, Amazon.co.jp, Amazon.com.au and Amazon.ca. A lower rate may apply if your country of permanent residence has an income tax treaty with the US, and you claim it in your KDP tax profile with your tax ID. The page also says your W-8 form expires on the last day of the third calendar year after you sign it, and the rate goes back to 30% if it lapses. I’m not a tax adviser, so check your own position with the tax authority or an accountant.

Is there an advantage to publishing from the UK?

Yes: audiobooks. ACX is currently open to individuals and companies resident in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Ireland, with a mailing address, valid local tax ID and bank details in one of those countries. That puts UK authors ahead of authors in many other countries. If you are not in those countries, check ACX’s terms before you plan on it. If you have not made an audiobook of your Kindle or paperback book yet, you should. You can start with a royalty-share narrator, where you pay nothing up front. See Where To Find A Professional Narrator? and Are All Kindle Books Audio?

Have you found self-publishing on Amazon UK difficult, or easy like I did? Tell me in the comments. If this is your first book, start with my free 12-step checklist, and read should you self-publish on Kindle? to decide on formats.

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