Expanded distribution
Also called: ED, KDP expanded distribution
Definition
Expanded distribution is an opt-in KDP setting that pushes a paperback into bookstores, libraries, and online retailers beyond Amazon (Barnes & Noble, Ingram-served chains). Royalty drops from 60% to 40% on expanded sales, and the publisher must list the book at a high enough price to clear print cost at the lower royalty.
What is expanded distribution on KDP?
Expanded distribution is a paperback-only opt-in that adds non-Amazon retailers and libraries to the book's distribution surface. KDP fulfills these orders through its print partner (Ingram). The trade is access to a wider channel in exchange for a lower royalty rate.
What does expanded distribution pay?
Standard Amazon distribution pays 60% royalty minus print cost between $2.99 and $9.99. Expanded distribution pays 40% royalty minus print cost. The 20 percentage-point drop is the cost of letting a non-Amazon retailer take its margin from the same wholesale price.
Should a coloring book use expanded distribution?
For most KDP coloring book publishers, expanded distribution does not pay off. Coloring books are an Amazon-native category: buyers search Amazon, the discovery surface is Amazon, and the books that move volume move it through Amazon's storefront. Weigh that against the 20 percentage points of royalty it costs before switching it on.
Can a low-content book use expanded distribution?
No. KDP states that expanded distribution "is not supported for low-content books, regardless of the ISBN option you select". This is why the low-content box matters at upload: checking it on a coloring book, which Amazon does not classify as low-content, closes the channel before you get to choose.
When does expanded distribution make sense?
It can make sense for: book series with established libraries-and-schools audiences (educational coloring books, therapeutic coloring books used in clinical practice), publishers with a non-Amazon brand presence pushing traffic to chains, or titles where the publisher specifically wants library availability. Outside those cases, leave it off.
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Related terms
Royalty cliff
The royalty cliff is the discrete drop in royalty rate when a KDP paperback is priced outside the $2.99 to $9.99 standard distribution band. At $9.99 a standard-distribution paperback earns 60% royalty minus print cost. At $10.00+ the rate stays 60% on standard but the publisher loses access to certain promo tools and faces buyer resistance.
KDP Select
KDP Select is an opt-in 90-day exclusivity program for Kindle eBook titles. Enrolled eBooks join Kindle Unlimited, earn page-read royalties, and get access to Kindle Countdown Deals and Free Promotions. No printed book is eligible, coloring books included: the program covers Kindle eBook editions only, so this is a format rule rather than a low-content rule.
Low-content book
A low-content book is a KDP title whose interior has minimal or no content and is, in Amazon's words, "generally repetitive, and designed to be filled in by the user". Journals, notebooks, planners, and logs qualify. Amazon's definition explicitly excludes coloring books and puzzle books, because they do not repeat the same page.