Your KDP Cover Was Rejected — Here's How to Fix It
Almost every KDP cover rejection is one of a few things: the cover is a single front-cover (ebook) size instead of the full back+spine+front wrap, the spine width no longer matches your final page count, the background doesn't extend into the 0.125" bleed, or the fonts aren't embedded. Get your final page count right first, then rebuild the wrap to the exact size KDP expects.
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Frequently asked questions
Why does KDP keep rejecting my cover?
The six common causes are: wrong overall dimensions (a front-only/ebook cover instead of the full wrap), resolution under 300 DPI, a spine width that no longer fits your page count, artwork intruding into the bleed or barcode area, the wrong file type, or the wrong color mode. Most rejections are the wrong wrap size or a stale spine width.
How do I get the right full-wrap size?
The full cover = back cover + spine + front cover + 0.125" bleed on every outer edge. The spine width depends on your final interior page count and paper type (cream ~0.0025"/page, white ~0.002252"/page). So you must lock the final typeset page count before building the cover — a cover built for 180 pages will be rejected once the interior comes out at 260.
What does 'spine width doesn't match' mean?
Your page count changed after the cover was designed, which changes the spine, so the exported wrap no longer matches the current book setup. Recalculate the spine from the final page count and rebuild the canvas.
How does PaperbackKit help?
PaperbackKit typesets your manuscript into a KDP-ready 6×9 interior so you get the real final page count, then gives you the exact spine width and full-wrap cover dimensions to build against — the two numbers that cause most cover rejections.