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How to write an Amazon book description (blurb)

KDP's description field holds 4,000 characters, and HTML tags count toward that limit. As of 6 October 2026, KDP also suggests a simple paragraph of about 150 words: the plot or idea, the genre, and a first sentence that can stand on its own. The description cannot carry reviews, links, prices, or a request for customer reviews. Keywords and categories are separate fields. A+ Content is a later block, under From the Publisher, for a book that is already published.

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The short answer

  1. KDP suggests about 150 words of plain, scannable prose. The hard limit is 4,000 characters, including the HTML tags.[250]
  2. Supported tags are line break, paragraph, bold, emphasis, italic, underline, headings h4 through h6, and ordered or unordered lists. Headings h1 through h3 are not supported.[250]
  3. You may enter up to seven keywords in their own field. The description rules say not to put keyword or book-tag phrases in the blurb.[84][86][250]
  4. You choose up to three categories when you set up the book. Categories are not part of the description.[85]
  5. A+ Content adds images, text, and comparison tables under From the Publisher. The description cannot hold reviews or quotes. A+ Content can hold up to four quotes from well-known publications or public figures.[251][252]

01

What length works?

KDP gives two different length instructions, and both are on the same help page. For the writing, it says to describe only the main plot, theme, or idea, in short sentences a reader can scan, and to aim for a 150-word paragraph. It also says to show the genre so a reader knows what kind of book it is, and to open with a sentence that can work as a first impression. For the field, it says the limit is 4,000 characters. The editor counts every character, in the text view and in the source view. KDP's own example: the word test is 4 characters, and bold test is 11 because the tags are counted. Double spaces in the editor do not become double spaces on the detail page. KDP does not publish a character count that it calls the ideal, other than the 150-word suggestion and the 4,000-character ceiling.[250]

  • Write toward about 150 words, then check the character counter.
  • Tags spend the same 4,000-character budget as the words.
  • KDP asks for a polished text with no misspellings. It does not supply a template.

02

Which HTML is allowed?

You can use the editor's buttons or basic HTML. KDP's supported list is a line break, a paragraph, bold, emphasis, italic, underline, headings from h4 through h6, an ordered list, and a bulleted list. Each list item needs its own item tag inside the list tag. Headings h1, h2, and h3 are not supported. A blank line needs two line breaks. An opening tag needs its closing tag. Empty brackets are called out as a cause of invisible-character errors, which can happen when you paste from a document. Single angle brackets after text can be allowed. A lone pair of brackets, or doubled brackets used alone, is not. If the detail page looks wrong, open Source and compare it with that list. KDP says the fix is often to type the description rather than paste it.[250]

  • Bold, italic, underline, paragraphs, line breaks, h4 to h6, and lists.
  • No h1, h2, or h3.
  • The counter includes the tags. Bolding four letters costs eleven characters in KDP's example.

03

How do keywords relate to the description?

Keywords are not typed into the description. KDP gives you up to seven keyword slots, which can be words or short phrases, on a separate help page. The description rules then say the blurb cannot contain any keywords or book-tag phrases. Read that as a ban on stuffing a keyword list into the blurb, not as a ban on using an ordinary word that also happens to be one of your seven. The metadata guidelines repeat the same restriction, and they also say the description should give the story and the characters without giving away a surprise. Cover text has to match the title, subtitle, author name, and series fields. That is a metadata rule, not a description length rule. KDP does not publish a score for how closely the blurb must repeat the keywords.[84][86][250]

  • Up to seven keywords, in the keyword field.
  • Do not paste those phrases into the description as a tag list.
  • The blurb can still say what the book is, in sentences.

04

How do categories fit?

Categories are chosen when you create the book, up to three of them. They file the book in Amazon's browse structure. They are not a block of text inside the 4,000-character description, and the description rules do not tell you to name your categories in the blurb. KDP's writing advice does say to set the genre expectation in the prose, so a reader can tell what kind of book it is. That is a sentence, not a category code. KDP does not say that picking a category changes the character limit or the HTML list.[85][250]

  • Up to three categories, chosen at setup.
  • Genre can be clear in the prose without listing category names.
  • Categories do not expand the 4,000-character field.

05

What belongs in A+ Content rather than the description?

The description is the main blurb on the detail page. It cannot include reviews, quotes, testimonials, a request for customer reviews, phone numbers, postal addresses, email addresses, website URLs, ads, prices, other ordering information, time-sensitive dates, spoilers, or Unicode emojis. A+ Content is a different block. KDP says it adds images, text, and comparison tables, and that readers usually find it under From the Publisher, after a scroll. It is available for published KDP books. One project can be applied to more than one ASIN, so more than one format can share it. You build it from the Marketing page. Compliant A+ Content appears within eight business days, and that clock can run longer when volume is high. It is per Amazon store: a project published on one store does not appear on the others until you publish it there too. Quotes that the description forbids can appear in A+ Content only under a tighter rule: no quotes from private individuals or customers, at most four quotes, and only from well-known publications or public figures, with the source named. Comparison tables may compare only other books in your KDP account. A+ Content also bars prices, shipping claims, and language that tells the reader to buy now. If you are about to advertise, KDP's ads help still points you at the description summary first. A+ Content is optional.[81][250][251][252][253]

  • Description: prose, limited HTML, no reviews and no links.
  • A+ Content: images and modules, after publication, under From the Publisher.
  • A quote from a trade review belongs in A+ Content only if it meets the four-quote rule, not in the description.

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