The Self-Published Picture Book Blueprint
Best Self-Publishing Platform for Picture Books: KDP vs IngramSpark
Which platform should print and sell your picture book? After about ten years of preparing books for both Amazon KDP and IngramSpark, here is the short version.
At a glance
| Amazon KDP | IngramSpark | |
|---|---|---|
| Getting started | Very easy; an upload can take under an hour once your files are ready | Templates can be fussy and error-prone |
| Print quality | Brighter, more consistent colour | Colour tends to be less vivid |
| Minimum length | 24 pages (paperback), 75 (hardcover) | 18 pages, paperback or hardcover |
| Spine text | Only from 75 pages | Even on an 18-page book |
| Where it sells | Amazon worldwide, plus extended distribution | Bookstores, libraries and wholesale; Barnes & Noble |
| Royalties | Higher | Lower |
| Support | Fairly quick | Slow |
Why spine text matters
Most bookshops won’t stock a book without a title on its spine, and KDP only prints one from 75 pages, which rules out most picture books. If you want your book on a shop shelf, that alone points to IngramSpark. Barnes & Noble prints through IngramSpark too, so publishing there makes it easy to reach their website and stores.
My recommendation
There’s no single right answer, and many authors use both: KDP for Amazon sales and better print quality there, IngramSpark for bookstores, libraries, shorter books and proper spine text. I prepare print-ready files for both, so you don’t have to choose before the illustrations are done.
