Why KDP rejects puzzle books, and how to avoid it

1. Formatting problems

These are the most fixable. KDP checks the interior file against the trim size and margin rules, and the print previewer flags most problems: a page size that does not match the trim, content outside the margins, unembedded fonts, too few pages. Go through the PDF checklist before uploading, and look at every page in the previewer.

2. The low-content setting

KDP's low-content page lists puzzle books, coloring books and activity books as not generally low-content, while notebooks, journals and log books are. Low-content books are published without the free KDP ISBN, cannot be in a series and have no Look Inside when published without an ISBN. Forum threads show puzzle publishers confused about this, and some report KDP treating their puzzle books as low content. Read the low content guide before choosing.

3. Disappointing content

KDP's content guidelines say it does not allow "content that's typically disappointing to customers" and point to its Guide to Kindle Content Quality. Between them, the two pages name, among other things:

• Content that is freely available on the web, unless you own the copyright or it is public domain.
• Content that is excessively reused, recycled or repeated within or across books.
• Descriptive content meant to mislead customers.

For puzzle books this has practical meaning. Puzzles copied from a free website, a pack sold to many publishers, or the same puzzles reused across your own volumes all risk falling under it. So does a book whose description promises things the inside does not deliver, such as "large print" in small type. See puzzle generators and duplicate content.

4. Puzzle quality

A puzzle with two solutions or an answer key that does not match will not trigger an automatic check, but it produces returns and one-star reviews. Readers report these, and a book with many complaints is a disappointing book in the plain sense. See answer keys and unique solutions.

5. Metadata

• Do not use other brands, famous names or other books' titles in your title, subtitle or keywords.
• Keep the description true: the number of puzzles, the levels, the trim size and whether solutions are included.
• Answer KDP's question about AI-generated content truthfully. See AI disclosure for puzzle books.

If your book was rejected

1. Read the message carefully and note the exact reason given.
2. Fix what you can identify: file problems, the low-content setting, metadata, repeated content.
3. Reply through the KDP support contact with a short, factual explanation of what the book is and what you changed. Keep proof of where your puzzles come from and the licence that covers them.
4. Do not resubmit the same book unchanged under a new title.

This page summarises KDP's published guidelines and what publishers report on KDP's forum. It is not legal advice and not a guarantee that any book will be accepted. KDP decides.