KDP Categories are a great way to help readers discover your book on Amazon. Below are common topics that explain categories, how to pick them, and when to troubleshoot issues.

Table of Contents

• What are Amazon book categories?
• Tips for choosing categories
• Add or update book categories
• Adding children or young adult categories
• I set the reading age to 18+ but my book is only showing in 18 and under category
• Books not displaying in selected category
• Unavailable categories
• Where to find available categories on Amazon

What are Amazon book categories?

Book categories on Amazon are like digital shelves that organize books into specific genres and topics. They serve the same purpose as sections in a physical bookstore, such as “Science Fiction” or “Romance.” These categories help customers find books that match their interests.

For example, if you write a historical romance novel set in Victorian England, you might choose categories like:

• Fiction > Historical Fiction
• Fiction > Romance > Historical Fiction
• Fiction > Literary Fiction

This helps ensure readers browsing for historical romance or Victorian-era fiction will be more likely to discover your book.

As an author, you can select 3 categories when creating a book in KDP, with the goal of placing your book where potential readers will shop. These categories, along with keywords you select, tell Amazon where to “shelve” your book in its digital store (e.g. Amazon.com).

Tips for choosing categories

Here are a few strategies you can use for selecting categories, so readers can better find your book:

1. Research your genre: There are lots of subgenres within a genre. Take a look through Amazon’s website and other bookstores. See where similar books are categorized and determine if your book fits there. Tip: To research categories on Amazon, use the links in the Available Categories section below.
2. Pick accurate categories: Choose a book category that describes your book. If you select categories that aren’t relevant, you’ll create a poor shopping experience for readers.
3. Balance popularity and relevance: Aim for categories that are popular enough to have reader interest, but not so broad (or specific) that your book gets lost.

If you’re not finding a specific category to place your book in, you can use keywords to help us determine how we “shelve” your book on the Amazon store. Keywords are often more specific and help readers find your book when they search for something unique.

Note: The KDP Support Team cannot give you specific recommendations or strategies for picking book categories.

Add or update book categories

To add or update a book category in KDP, follow these instructions:

1. Go to your Bookshelf.
2. Click the ellipsis (...) button next to the book you want to update.
3. Select Edit details.
4. On the Details tab, review your selections for Primary Audience and Primary Marketplace before choosing categories.
5. In the Categories section, select Edit categories or Choose categories. A new window will open.
6. If you already have three categories selected, click on Remove next to the category you want to delete.
7. Pick your new categories.
8. Save you changes and submit your book for publication.

It can take up to 72 hours for your book to display in your new categories. Review book timelines.

Once your book updates are submitted, we will review your changes to ensure we provide a positive customer experience. We do not tolerate categorization that misleads readers. For more details, read our guidelines.

Adding children or young adult categories

If you’d like your book to appear in Children’s or Teen & Young Adult categories, you’ll need to set an appropriate reading age. You can do this within the Primary Audience section of your book’s details.

To select a Children’s category, set the reading age to one of these ranges:

• 0-2
• 3-5
• 6-8
• 9-12

Categories for Teen & Young Adults are set between 13-17 years old.

Notes:

• Amazon.de: Teen & Young Adult categories are set between 12-15 years old.
• Amazon.com & Amazon.co.uk: Books with Juvenile categories and a minimum age of 12 may be categorized in Children’s or Teen. This depends on other information about the book.

I set the Reading Age to 18+ but my book is only showing in 18 and under category

Sometimes, if you set the maximum reading age as 18+ along with a minimum reading age, Amazon will place it within reading age categories, e.g. 15-18 years old. If you did not intend for this, change the reading age option in KDP to Select one (instead of using an age range).

Books not displaying in selected category

There are several reasons why a book’s category may change or not display on Amazon’s store. Here are some common causes:

• Has 72 hours passed since your book updates were published? Placements in new book categories can take 72 hours to display.
• Is the category on Amazon still available? Amazon updates their book categories from time to time. This may result in changes to your book categories.
• Did you or KDP flag your book as containing sexually explicit content? Books containing sexually explicit images or titles will be removed from inappropriate categories, such as Children’s and Young Adult categories.
• Was your category relevant to your book’s content? If an inaccurate category was selected, KDP may change the category placement to provide a positive customer experience. For example, if your book is about Canadian National Parks, but you selected a Science Fiction category, that would be an inaccurate categorization.

Unavailable categories

Some categories are not available for every book format, e.g. eBook vs paperback vs comic. Categories also differ in each marketplace, e.g. Amazon.com vs Amazon.co.jp. When selecting categories, focus on your primary marketplace and pick the best-matching category between book formats (if necessary).

If a new category is added to Amazon’s store, and you cannot find it on KDP, you may need to wait until our options are updated. In the meantime, we suggest you pick the closest matching category available.

Where to find available categories on Amazon

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