Self-Publishing FAQ: The Questions Everyone Asks in 2026

Yes. Amazon KDP allows both AI-generated and AI-assisted books — there is no ban on using AI. During setup, KDP asks you to privately disclose whether your content is "AI-generated" or "AI-assisted." Because you direct the plot and edit each chapter in ShakespeareAI, most authors publish as AI-assisted. See our full guide on publishing AI-generated books on KDP.

Yes — KDP requires you to answer an AI-use question during publishing. "AI-generated" means AI created the text with little editing; "AI-assisted" means you used AI as a tool but did substantial creation or editing yourself. This disclosure is internal to Amazon and is not shown on your public book page. See our KDP AI disclosure checklist.

No. Amazon does not label your listing, and there is no legal requirement to disclose AI use to readers. Transparency is a personal and brand choice — many authors simply publish under the AI-assisted category and let the quality of the book speak for itself.

Amazon removes books for quality and policy violations — spam, duplicated content, misleading metadata, or incoherent writing — not for using AI itself. The real risk with raw AI drafts is inconsistency, where characters or plot points drift between chapters and read as low quality. ShakespeareAI keeps characters and plot consistent across the whole book, which is exactly what avoids those low-quality flags.

You own the copyright in the creative expression you author, select, and arrange. Under current US Copyright Office guidance, purely machine-generated text with no human authorship isn't copyrightable — but a book you direct, edit, and arrange is protectable as your work. This isn't legal advice; see our KDP copyright guide for detail.

Yes. Readers buy books that deliver a good story or useful information — they don't see how it was drafted. Sales come from a strong concept, clean editing, a professional cover, and smart keywords and categories. ShakespeareAI's Book Signal helps you spot which categories have real demand before you write a word.

There is no lifetime cap, but Amazon limits how many new titles you can create per day (typically around three) to curb spam. For most authors that is more than enough. Focus on quality over volume — a few well-made books outsell dozens of thin ones.

Publishing on KDP is free — you can go from finished manuscript to live listing for $0. Optional costs include a cover, editing, and ads. ShakespeareAI bundles writing, cover generation, and KDP-ready export in one place, so you can keep upfront costs close to zero.

Not for eBooks. Paperbacks and hardcovers need an ISBN, and KDP provides one for free — or you can buy your own through Bowker if you want to own your imprint. Read our KDP ISBN guide for the trade-offs.

eBooks earn a 70% royalty when priced between $2.99 and $9.99, or 35% outside that range. Paperbacks earn 60% of the list price minus printing cost. Our royalties and pricing guide breaks down the math with examples.

Publishing itself is fast — an eBook is usually live within 24 to 72 hours of upload. Writing is the slow part traditionally, often taking months. Tools like ShakespeareAI compress drafting to about a day, so most of your timeline becomes editing and setup rather than staring at a blank page.

You need a properly formatted manuscript, a professional cover, accurate metadata (title, description, keywords, categories), a copyright and AI-use confirmation, and your tax and bank details for payments. ShakespeareAI produces the manuscript, cover, and KDP-ready files together. Our first-timer checklist walks through each item.

Think like a reader and use specific long-tail phrases they would actually type, then pick narrower subcategories where you can realistically rank rather than broad ones. KDP gives you 7 keyword slots and up to 3 categories. See our keywords guide and categories guide.

For eBooks, use reflowable EPUB or DOCX. For paperbacks, upload a print-ready PDF at the correct trim size and margins. ShakespeareAI exports EPUB, DOCX, and PDF ready for upload. Our PDF vs EPUB guide explains when to use each.

6×9 inches is the most popular trim for novels and non-fiction. Set a wider inner (gutter) margin for the spine, and check KDP's minimum margin based on your page count. Our trim size and margins guide has the exact numbers.

Yes. General chatbots write a scene or a single chapter well but lose the thread over a full-length book. ShakespeareAI generates a complete, structured book — chapters, consistent characters, and a coherent arc — and then exports it ready for KDP.

Yes. AI cover generators create genre-appropriate covers in minutes for a fraction of a designer's fee. ShakespeareAI includes a built-in AI book cover generator, so your manuscript and cover live in the same workflow.

Write where reader demand is strong and competition is manageable, and base that on what's actually selling on Amazon's bestseller lists rather than a guess. ShakespeareAI's Book Signal turns live Kindle bestseller data into a demand-and-competition read on each category, so you can pick before you write.