What KDP does not accept
According to KDP's metadata guidelines, a description cannot contain:
- Phone numbers, postal addresses, email addresses or website URLs
- Reviews, quotes or testimonials
- Requests for customer reviews
- Advertisements or promotional material
- Time-sensitive information, such as dates of tours or seminars
- Availability, price or alternative ordering information
- Spoilers
- Keyword lists or book tag phrases
Our metadata checker scans for most of these patterns, but treat it as a helper. KDP reviews your listing and makes the final call.
A hook-first structure for nonfiction
Start with a bold line that names the reader's problem or promises a clear outcome. Follow with two or three sentences that describe the problem in the reader's own words, then say what the book offers. A short bulleted list of what the reader will learn is easy to scan. Close with who the book is for and one sentence on why you are qualified to write it.
A hook-first structure for fiction
Open with the most intriguing moment or question in the story. Introduce the main character and what they want, then the obstacle and what is at stake if they fail. Mention the genre cues, such as "slow-burn romance" or "locked-room mystery", so the right readers recognize the book. Stop before the ending: leave a question, not an answer.
A weak opening and a better one
The first two lines matter most. Compare these openings for a fictional cozy mystery:
| Weak | Better |
|---|---|
| This is the first book in my new series about a baker named Ivy. | The new bakery was meant to be Ivy's fresh start. Then her first customer turned up dead. |
The weak line talks about the book. The better line puts the reader inside the story and raises a question.
A fiction template
- One hook line with a person, a problem and a twist.
- Two or three sentences on what the main character wants and what stands in the way.
- One sentence on what is at stake.
- Genre cues, such as "small-town mystery" or "slow-burn romance".
A nonfiction template
- A bold line that names the reader's problem or promised result.
- Two sentences that describe the problem in the reader's own words.
- A short bulleted list of what the reader will learn.
- One line on who the book is for.
- One line on why you are the right person to write it.
Keep it easy to read
- Use short paragraphs. A phone shows only a few lines at a time.
- Use simple formatting. KDP supports a small set of HTML tags, such as bold, italic, line breaks and lists. Check KDP's help page for the current list.
- Read it aloud. If you run out of breath, split the sentence.
Mistakes that cost sales
- Opening with the author's biography instead of the book.
- Giving away the ending.
- Filling the space with keywords instead of sentences.
- Using claims you cannot support, such as "the best book ever written".
Formatting
KDP allows simple HTML in descriptions, such as bold text, line breaks and bulleted lists. Short paragraphs read better on a phone than one dense block. Check KDP's help page for the current list of supported tags, because unsupported tags can show as raw text.
Where reviews and quotes do belong
If you have real editorial praise, add it through the editorial reviews section in Author Central, not the description. That keeps your description compliant and still gives social proof to shoppers. When you are ready, our description builder can turn your notes into a clean, compliant first draft.
