Coloring books are no longer just for children. In recent years, adult coloring books have exploded in popularity, offering a creative and therapeutic outlet for people of all ages. Thanks to platforms like Amazon, aspiring artists, authors, and entrepreneurs can publish and sell their own coloring books to a global audience with ease. Whether you're an experienced artist or a complete beginner, publishing a coloring book on Amazon is an accessible way to turn your creativity into a tangible product.

In this guide, we will walk you through every step of the process—from planning your coloring book to publishing it through Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) platform.

Step 1: Plan Your Coloring Book Concept

Before you dive into creating your coloring book, it’s important to establish a clear concept. Planning ahead will help you remain focused during the creative process, ensure consistency across your designs, and ultimately appeal to your target audience.

Choose Your Theme

The theme of your coloring book should resonate with your target audience. Are you creating a book for children, adults, or both? Do you want to design intricate mandalas, calming nature scenes, whimsical animals, or motivational quotes with decorative borders?

Here are a few theme ideas to consider:



  • Mandalas and Patterns: A popular choice for adult coloring books.
  • Nature and Animals: Birds, forests, sea creatures, or domestic pets.
  • Abstract Art: Bold, flowing lines and geometric shapes.
  • Inspirational Quotes: Pairing quotes with attractive artwork.
  • Seasonal Themes: Holiday-specific books like Christmas, Halloween, or Valentine’s Day.
  • Fictional Worlds: Create scenes based on fantasy, mythology, or fairy tales.

Think about what inspires you and what kinds of designs you enjoy creating. This will help you maintain passion and creativity throughout the process.

Research Your Market

Once you have a theme in mind, conduct market research on Amazon. Search for existing coloring books similar to your idea and evaluate the competition. Pay attention to:

  • Best-selling books in your chosen category.
  • Customer reviews and feedback (to identify what people like and dislike about existing products).
  • Price points, page counts, and design complexity.

This will give you an idea of what’s working well in the market and what you can do to make your coloring book stand out.

Step 2: Create Your Coloring Book Designs

The next step is to actually create the artwork for your coloring book. Whether you're drawing the designs yourself or hiring an artist, you’ll need to ensure that your illustrations are both visually appealing and suitable for coloring.



Tips for Creating Your Designs

  • Keep It Simple, But Not Too Simple: Designs should be intricate enough to provide a satisfying coloring experience, but not so complex that they’re frustrating to complete.
  • Consistent Style: Make sure your illustrations have a cohesive style. This will give your book a professional and polished feel.
  • Use High-Quality Tools: Whether you're drawing by hand or using digital tools, ensure that the quality of your images is high enough to translate well to print.

If you're creating digital illustrations, consider using software like Adobe Illustrator, Procreate, or free tools like Inkscape. For hand-drawn designs, you can scan your illustrations and clean them up in graphic design software.

Outsourcing Your Artwork

If you’re not an illustrator, you can hire freelance artists to create the designs for your coloring book. Websites like Fiverr, Upwork, and 99Designs are great places to find talented artists at various price points. Be clear about your vision, and communicate regularly with your chosen artist to ensure the final product meets your expectations.

Image File Specifications

When designing your book, you’ll need to follow Amazon KDP’s image guidelines:

  • Format: JPEG or PNG.
  • Resolution: At least 300 DPI (dots per inch) for high-quality printing.
  • Page Size: Common sizes for coloring books include 8.5 x 11 inches, but you can choose other dimensions depending on your preference.
  • Black and White: Most coloring books use black outlines on white backgrounds. Make sure your designs are suitable for printing in grayscale, even if they look great in color on your screen.

Step 3: Assemble Your Coloring Book

Once your designs are ready, you’ll need to assemble your coloring book into a print-ready format.

Choose the Number of Pages

The typical coloring book has between 24 to 100 pages. Think about how many designs you want to include, and leave some pages blank or add simple borders to pad out the page count if necessary.

Page Layout

Using software like Adobe InDesign, Microsoft Word, or even Canva, you can format your coloring book. Make sure each design is centered on the page, with enough space around the edges so that it doesn’t get cut off during printing.

  • Margins: Set appropriate margins so that none of your artwork gets too close to the edge of the page.
  • Page Numbers and Titles: Some coloring books include page numbers or titles, while others don’t. It’s up to you, but consider how these elements will impact the coloring experience.
  • Front and Back Matter: Include a cover page, a table of contents (if necessary), and a brief introduction explaining the book's theme. You might also add a thank you note or a "this book belongs to" page for kids' books.

Step 4: Design a Cover

Your book cover is one of the most important elements in attracting potential buyers. Since it’s the first thing people see when browsing Amazon, you need a visually appealing, professional-looking cover that accurately represents the content of your coloring book.

Amazon KDP requires the following specifications for your cover:

  • Format: PDF or JPEG.
  • Resolution: 300 DPI for the best print quality.
  • Size: Based on the number of pages in your book and your chosen trim size, Amazon will provide specific cover size guidelines. Be sure to follow them.

If you don’t feel comfortable designing your own cover, you can use Amazon’s Cover Creator tool, or hire a professional designer to ensure your cover looks its best.

Step 5: Upload Your Coloring Book to Amazon KDP

Once your book is formatted and your cover is ready, it’s time to publish your coloring book on Amazon using Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP).

Create a KDP Account

If you don’t already have a KDP account, sign up for one at kdp.amazon.com. You’ll need an Amazon account, but KDP is free to use.

Upload Your Book File

On your KDP dashboard, click on "Create a New Title" and follow the prompts to upload your interior file (the pages of your coloring book) and your cover file. Be sure to preview your book to ensure that everything looks correct and that none of your artwork has been cut off or misaligned.

Enter Book Details

You’ll be asked to fill out several important details about your coloring book:

  • Title and Subtitle: Choose a descriptive and engaging title. Your subtitle can expand on the theme or target audience.
  • Author Name: This is how your name will appear on Amazon. You can use your real name or a pen name.
  • Book Description: Write a compelling description of your coloring book that encourages people to buy it. Include information about the theme, the type of designs, and who the book is for.
  • Keywords: Select keywords that people are likely to search for when looking for a coloring book similar to yours. Research relevant keywords ahead of time to improve your book’s visibility on Amazon.
  • Categories: Choose up to two categories that best fit your book, such as "Art" or "Hobbies."

Pricing and Royalties

KDP offers two royalty options: 35% and 70%. For print books, the royalty is typically 60%, but Amazon will deduct the cost of printing before paying you. Set a competitive price based on your market research.

Choose Distribution Options

Select the territories in which you want to sell your book. You can choose to make it available worldwide or restrict it to specific regions.

Preview and Publish

Before you finalize everything, use the preview tool to check how your book will look in print. Once you’re happy with it, hit "Publish" and your coloring book will be available for sale on Amazon within 24-72 hours.

Step 6: Promote Your Coloring Book

Now that your coloring book is live on Amazon, the next step is to promote it. Simply listing it on Amazon won’t guarantee sales—you’ll need to actively market your book to reach potential customers.

Use Social Media

Share your book on platforms like Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook. These platforms are especially visual, making them great places to show off your designs. You can also join Facebook groups or Reddit communities dedicated to coloring books to share your work.

Run Amazon Ads

Amazon allows authors to run ads to promote their books. With the right keywords and audience targeting, Amazon ads can be an effective way to boost your book's visibility.

Offer Free Samples

You could offer a free sample page of your coloring book on your website or social media to encourage people to purchase the full book.