Create a story and start publishing episodes today.

As you get started, we also recommend reviewing our best practices for Kindle Vella, so you can get an idea about how you’d like to structure and release your episodes, and to set your story up for success.

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Contents

• Start a story
• Tell us about your story
• Story image
• Story status
• Update your story
• Delete or unpublish a story

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Start a story

To start a story:

1. Go to your Kindle Vella Library.
2. Click Start a story.
3. Tell us about your story.
4. Click Publish and start Episode 1.

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Tell us about your story

Story details	Description
Story completion status	Update this status to let readers know your story is complete and there won’t be any new episodes.
Story title	Enter your story title as you want it to appear on your story detail page.
Author name	Enter your author name. The first and last name fields are required and pen names are accepted. You can add up to three additional authors. Additional authors will appear on the story detail page.
Description	Describe your story for readers. This description will appear on the story detail page.
Story image	Upload a square image, with any important visuals centered. Follow these instructions to format and upload your story image.
Story categories	Choose up to two categories to classify your story in the Kindle Vella store. Categories help readers find the type of story they want to read.
Story tags	Add tags to describe your story and help readers discover it. Tags will function as search keywords for Kindle Vella stories. They may also be displayed on your story's detail page and featured on devoted landing pages where readers can find all stories associated with the respective tag. You can add up to seven tags for each story. This is your opportunity to share how your story might appeal to readers, so we recommend using descriptors like subgenre (e.g., “near-future”) or narrative elements (e.g., “opposites attract”) that will help readers get a feel for your story. NOTE: All published tags will function as search keywords for your story, but not all published tags will show on your story’s detail page or in the store. We reserve the right to update the Kindle Vella tags feature and our guidelines in order to provide the best customer experience. What to avoid: Information covered elsewhere in your Story’s metadata (title, contributors, etc.) Subjective claims about quality (e.g., "best", “best seller”, “Top Faved”) Time-sensitive statements (e.g., "new") Information common to most items in the category ("story") Spelling errors Anything misrepresentative, like the name of an author not associated with your Story Amazon program names like "Kindle Vella" Language promoting violence or intolerance Sexually explicit language All eBook keyword guidelines also apply

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Story image

Story images are displayed as circles, with the title name and author name listed below it. Follow these best practices when preparing and uploading your image:

• Pick an image that best showcases your story.
• Upload a square image, with any important visuals centered. Having a strong focal point creates a more eye-catching story image.
• Select a high resolution image. Horizontal and vertical resolution should be a minimum of 72 DPI with recommended dimensions of 1600 x 1600. Note: Your image cannot exceed those dimensions.
• Use a text-free image. Your story title and author name will automatically be displayed below your story image, so there is no need to include that information in your image.
• We do not recommend re-purposing existing eBook covers for your story image, since they are not optimized for a circle story image display.
• File size should be 2 MB or less.
• Accepted file formats: JPG and TIFF
• The image must comply with our content guidelines and not mention pricing or other promotional offers.
• After you upload your story image, confirm it extends across the entire circle so it doesn't look like something's missing from the image.

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Story status

Your story status appears in your Kindle Vella Library.

Status	Description
Draft	Your story is created, but not yet submitted for publication.
In Review	Your story is under review to ensure it meets our content guidelines.
Action Required	Your story requires changes before it can be published. Check your email for instructions.
Publishing	Your story passed review and will move to Live status shortly.
Live	Your story is available to readers.
Live with Unpublished Changes	Your story is Live, but you made changes that haven't been published. Publish your updates to make them available to readers.
Blocked	Your content is unavailable for editing due to a violation of our content guidelines. Check the email you use to access your KDP account for details.
Unpublished	Your story (and episodes) are no longer available in the Kindle Vella store.

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Update your story

You can update your story details at any time.

To update your story:

1. Go to your Kindle Vella Library.
2. Click Manage your story.
3. Click Edit story details.
4. Enter your changes.
5. Click Publish.

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Delete or unpublish a story

You can delete a story in Draft status to remove it from your Kindle Vella Library. You can also unpublish a story in Live status to remove it from the Kindle Vella store. After you delete or unpublish a story, that action can't be undone.

Key terms:

• Delete. To remove a story in "Draft" status from your Library. Stories that have been submitted for publication can't be deleted.
• Unpublish. To make a published story unavailable for purchase.

To delete a story:

1. Delete the episodes in the story.
2. Go to your Kindle Vella Library.
3. Click Delete story.

We recommend that you keep your stories live so that readers can complete the stories they’ve started. You do not need to take any action to remove your stories from Kindle Vella. However, if you’d like to unpublish a story, we will provide a self-service unpublishing option on December 4th. If you choose to unpublish, you’ll be able to do so directly from your Kindle Vella Library. You do not need to contact Customer Service.

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