---
title: "How to Write a KDP Book Description"
description: "KDP's 4,000-character limit, the HTML it supports and what it won't accept in a description, plus a structure, an invented example and a checklist."
url: "https://www.superebook.ai/guides/how-to-write-a-kdp-book-description"
published: "2026-10-20"
updated: "2026-10-20"
---
# How to Write a KDP Book Description
The rules come from KDP's help pages: the character limit, the HTML it supports and what it rejects. The structure, the example and the checklist are our advice.
By Shri and Sarath · Published October 20, 2026 · 5 min read
KDP says your description appears on your book's Amazon detail page and is "often a reader's first experience with the content of your book." This guide separates what KDP states, read on October 20, 2026, from what we suggest. Anything KDP's pages don't state is marked as such.
## What KDP says about the description
KDP's help page recommends three things: keep it simple, make it compelling and make it professional. In its words, simple means to "describe the main plot, theme, or idea only" and to "aim for a 150-word paragraph with sentences that are easy to scan." Compelling means a first sentence that draws readers in and setting expectations by showing what genre the book belongs to. Professional means no misspellings or grammatical errors, and showing it to others for a fresh set of eyes.
KDP's metadata guidelines call the description a "30-second elevator pitch to persuade a casual browser to buy your book." Those pages are written mainly with stories in mind, so for a non-fiction book, read "plot" as "promise". KDP's page doesn't say how to structure a non-fiction description.
## The limit and the HTML KDP supports
To edit it, go to your Bookshelf, click the ellipsis next to the book, choose Edit Details and change the Description field. KDP says the limit is 4,000 characters. The editor counts every character including HTML tags, so a bolded word costs 7 extra characters for the opening and closing tag. KDP's example: test counts as 4, and bold test as 11.
| Tag | What KDP says it does |
| --- | --- |
|
| Creates a line break. Use two for an empty line |
| | Defines a paragraph and creates a line break at the end |
| | Bold |
| | Emphasizes a phrase, generally shown as italic |
| | Italic |
| | Underlined |
| to | Section headings, h4 largest to h6 smallest. KDP says h1, h2 and h3 are not supported |
| , with - | Numbered and bulleted lists; each item needs an li tag |
HTML tags KDP lists as supported in a description
KDP also says to include both the opening and closing tag, that double spaces between words don't show on the detail page, and that empty brackets like <> can cause invisible character problems. If you paste from a word processor and see an "invisible characters" error, its help page says to type the description by hand or check the Source view.
## What KDP won't accept
KDP's description page lists what it cannot accept. The metadata guidelines page repeats the same list apart from the emoji line, which appears only on the description page.
- Pornographic, obscene or offensive content.
- Phone numbers, physical mail addresses, email addresses or website URLs.
- Reviews, quotes or testimonials.
- Requests for customer reviews.
- Advertisements, watermarks on images or videos, or promotional material.
- Time-sensitive information, such as dates of promotional tours, seminars or lectures.
- Availability, price and alternative ordering information, such as links to other websites for placing orders.
- Spoiler information for Books, Music, Video or DVD listings.
- Unicode emojis (description page only).
- Any keywords or book tags phrases.
That list rules out the usual habits of a sales page: a pasted five-star quote, a link to your site, a line asking for a review or a limited-time offer.
## A structure to start from (our advice)
KDP gives no template for non-fiction. This is our suggestion, built on KDP's guidance of short, scannable and specific.
1. **The first line.** Name the reader's problem or the book's promise in one sentence. This is the line a browser may see before anything else.
2. **Who it's for.** One sentence saying who the book suits, and who it doesn't. It sets the expectation KDP asks for.
3. **What's inside.** Three to five short bullets with the concrete things a reader gets: a method, a set of templates, a worked example. Use ul and li.
4. **About the author.** One or two lines of relevant experience, with no URL, email or review quotes.
Keep to short paragraphs. Write the claim a chapter actually supports, not a promise about results. Read it aloud once and cut any sentence you can't point to in the book.
## A worked example (an invented book)
This is an invented example for a made-up book, *Balcony Herbs: A Small-Space Guide*. It is not a real title, and the author credentials in it are made up. It runs under 100 words, well inside KDP's limit.
> **Example description (invented)** Most balcony herbs die from too much care, not too little. This short guide shows you how to grow five hardy herbs in pots, with a watering routine you can keep. It is for beginners with a sunny balcony and about twenty minutes a week. Inside: choosing pots and soil; a one-page watering calendar; how to harvest without stunting the plant; what to do in the first cold week. About the author: a hobby gardener who has grown herbs in containers for ten years.
In KDP's source view that text would use p tags for the paragraphs and a ul list with li tags for the four things inside. It names the genre, says who it's for and contains no URL, price, review or time-sensitive date.
Notice what the example leaves out. It doesn't quote a reader, name a price, send people to a website or say when anything happens, all of which KDP's list rules out. It also doesn't try to describe every chapter. KDP's advice is to give readers a quick reason to find out more, and the full contents are better left to the book itself and its sample.
## Where SuperEbook fits
SuperEbook's listing kit is free: KDP description, keywords and categories, plus Gumroad and Etsy copy. Treat its output as a draft and check it against the list above, since only you know what the book promises.
**Before you paste a description into KDP**
- [ ] Under 4,000 characters, counting every HTML tag.
- [ ] A first sentence that draws the reader in.
- [ ] The genre or kind of book is clear in the first few lines.
- [ ] It says who the book is for.
- [ ] Only supported tags, each opened and closed, with no h1 to h3.
- [ ] No URL, phone number, email or postal address.
- [ ] No reviews, quotes, testimonials or request for reviews.
- [ ] No price, availability, sale or dated event.
- [ ] No emojis and no keyword lists.
- [ ] No spelling or grammar errors, checked by someone else.
## Questions
**How long can a KDP book description be?** KDP says it has a limit of 4,000 characters, and that the editor counts HTML tags toward that limit.
**Which HTML tags work in a KDP description?** KDP lists br, p, b, em, i, u, h4 to h6, ol and ul with li. It says h1, h2 and h3 are not supported.
**Can I add reviews or a link to my website?** No. KDP says it cannot accept reviews, quotes or testimonials, requests for reviews, or website URLs, phone numbers, email or mail addresses in the description.
**How long should the description be?** KDP recommends aiming for a 150-word paragraph with sentences that are easy to scan. That is its advice, and the hard limit is 4,000 characters.
**Why does KDP say my description has invisible characters?** KDP says it is caused by hidden or unsupported characters, often from pasting from a document. It suggests typing the description manually or checking the Source view for unsupported HTML.
## Sources
Facts checked on October 20, 2026.
- [KDP: Write a Book Description](https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G201189630): The 4,000-character limit, how tags are counted, the supported HTML table, the three-step advice with the 150-word suggestion, and the list of what can't be in a description.
- [KDP: Metadata Guidelines for Books](https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G201097560): The 30-second elevator pitch wording and the restriction list for descriptions.
- [KDP: Fixing errors or formatting with book descriptions](https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/GC4VASCGNQP6LQ7L): The invisible characters error and the advice to type the description by hand or check the Source view.
## Related
- [AI ebook generator](https://www.superebook.ai/ai-ebook-generator.md)
- [PDF ebook maker](https://www.superebook.ai/ai-pdf-ebook-maker.md)