How to analyze a manuscript before you publish on Amazon KDP
Analyze the manuscript before you publish by reading the opening against the promise you plan to make on the product page, then checking the listing fields you will actually type into KDP. A BookIntel scan can draft those notes from the file you upload. It does not fill in KDP for you, and it does not tell you the book will sell.
Do the review in this order
The useful order is manuscript first, listing second, ads last. Start with the file you intend to upload to KDP, not with a keyword list you hope will rescue a draft. Then decide the title, subtitle, description, categories, and seven keyword slots you are willing to stand behind. Only after those choices are stable does it make sense to draft advertising keywords. BookIntelReport can help with the notes. The decisions stay yours.
You do not need a finished cover, a live ASIN, or an ad account to run this review. Many authors do it before the KDP form is filled in. You can also run it on a book that is already listed, then decide whether the listing should change. The report never edits the live Amazon page by itself.
- Read the opening pages as a stranger would, and write down the promise they make.
- Compare that promise with the description, categories, and comparable titles you are considering.
- Choose keyword phrases you can defend from the book, not phrases that merely sound popular.
- Price and ads come after the listing matches the manuscript.
Read the opening against the promise
KDP shoppers meet the description before they meet chapter one, then they meet chapter one within the sample. A mismatch is a common reason a book is abandoned, and it is something you can see without any tool. Read the first pages and ask what kind of book they appear to be, who the reader is asked to care about, and whether the tone matches the genre label you plan to use. If the description promises a mystery and the opening reads like a memoir, fix that before you buy keywords.
A BookIntel dossier includes opening-page notes and trope and genre notes when you upload real manuscript pages. Those notes are AI observations about hook, clarity, and how familiar the tropes will feel in that genre. They are not a line edit, and they are not a developmental editor's letter. On tiers that include it, a Devil's Advocate pass looks for commercial weak spots such as a soft hook, trope fatigue, and pacing drag. On tiers that include it, a Field Agent pass is a simulated reader debrief covering hook strength, character engagement, pacing signals, drop-off risk, and emotional highs and lows. Both are generated text. Both can be wrong. Use them as a second set of questions to ask of the draft, then go back to the pages.
There is no minimum page count for a scan, but a one-paragraph pitch gives the opening notes very little to read. If the analysis you want is about the beginning of the book, upload the beginning of the book. Upload only a file you have the rights to analyze.
Check the metadata you will type into KDP
Amazon KDP gives a listing a small set of fields that do a lot of work: title, subtitle, description, categories, and seven keyword slots, plus the price you choose. BookIntel's keyword section is written for those seven slots, with a placement note for each phrase when the model returns one. Category suggestions are returned with a market label and a short rationale. The description section is an HTML-formatted draft aimed at the Amazon product page, and the subtitle section offers options with a rationale. None of these fields are submitted to Amazon by the scan.
Verify every suggestion against the book and against KDP's current rules. A phrase can be a poor fit even if it looks specific. A category path can be outdated or simply wrong for the story. A comparable title can carry an ASIN you should look up yourself before you mention that book anywhere. Search-volume and competition figures appear only when a data source supplies them. They are not Amazon's official statistics. Do not treat a number in the dossier as proof that a keyword will rank.
The new-scan form asks for the markets you care about. The choices on that form are US, UK, CA, AU, DE, FR, ES, and IT. Category notes are generated for the markets you select. A suggestion for one marketplace is not automatically right for another. If you publish in more than one marketplace, read the notes for each market you selected instead of copying one list everywhere.
Add keyword data only if you have it
A scan can run from the manuscript and the metadata alone. If you already have research, you can attach it. Manual entry accepts a paste of your own notes, including a Publisher Rocket export. Amazon autocomplete is offered as a way to fetch suggestion phrases. Rainforest market data is available when an API key is configured for the account, either a key saved in settings or the server RAINFOREST_API_KEY. You do not have to use any of those sources.
Attached data changes what the model can cite. It does not turn the dossier into Amazon's own search console, and it does not create a sales forecast. If you skip outside data, read the keyword and category sections as editorial suggestions based on the manuscript and the genre, and check them before you paste. If you include outside data, still check that the phrases belong to this book. A high-volume phrase for a neighboring genre is not a gift. It is a mismatch.
Use a BookIntel dossier as a checklist
If you want the notes drafted in one place, start a scan from the account, choose a tier, upload the PDF or DOCX, and enter title, genre, and markets. Starter, at the published price of $39.99, is sold as keywords, tropes, opening-page notes, market positioning, and a short field summary. Full Intel, at $59.99, adds the final assessment, AMS ad keywords, pricing notes, comparable titles, series notes, and cover notes. Optional add-ons are priced on the homepage: Devil's Advocate with Full Intel at $79.99, Field Agent with Full Intel at $89.99, and both together as Complete Clearance at $109.99. Bundle packs of five and ten Full Intel reports are $179.99 and $329.99. Those are one-time purchases. The FAQ page is the short public version of the same prices.
When the dossier arrives, work through it in the same order as the review above. Keep the opening and trope notes beside the manuscript. Keep the keyword, category, description, and subtitle notes beside the KDP form. Keep pricing notes and AMS keywords for later, after the listing matches the book. Cover notes are observations about the cover brief, not a cover file. Series notes are observations about whether the material supports more books, not a contract for a series.
Most scans finish in a few minutes, often under three, and then appear on the dashboard. That timing is typical, not a guaranteed clock. Export PDF, DOCX, or CSV if you want a copy outside the browser. An optional browser extension can help copy fields into KDP screens you already have open. You still review and submit. If a suggestion feels generic, delete it. Run another scan after a major revision if you want the notes refreshed against the new file. One dossier cannot name the single correct price or the winning ad.
What you still do yourself in KDP
BookIntelReport does not create the KDP account, does not upload the interior or the cover to Amazon, and does not choose enrollments such as KDP Select. It does not set your price inside Amazon, does not file categories, and does not start an advertising campaign. Those actions happen on Amazon's site, under Amazon's rules, with your login.
Before you publish, re-read the description you intend to paste, confirm the categories still exist in the KDP form, and confirm each keyword slot is something the book delivers. If you use comparable titles in your own marketing, open the ASINs and make sure the books are the ones you mean. If a Devil's Advocate or Field Agent section flagged the opening, decide whether to revise the manuscript before the listing goes live. The tool will not revise the prose for you.
After publication, the same limits apply. A later scan can give you a fresh set of notes. It will not push those notes to the live listing. Support for a scan that fails to generate is support@bookintelreport.com, with the report ID. Refund terms are on the refund policy page.
Questions authors ask next
How do I analyze a manuscript before I publish on KDP?
Read the opening against the promise of the description, then check title, subtitle, categories, and the seven keyword slots against the book you wrote. A BookIntel scan can draft those notes from a PDF or DOCX. You still review them and you still submit the KDP form.
Can I run a BookIntel scan before the book is listed?
Yes. The scan does not need a live Amazon page. It also does not create one. You can scan an unpublished manuscript or a book that is already listed.
Do I have to paste keyword research before the scan?
No. Keyword and competitor data are optional. A scan can run from the manuscript and the book details alone. Outside figures are not Amazon's official statistics.
Will the scan file my book with Amazon?
No. BookIntelReport does not log into Amazon and does not publish or edit the listing. An optional extension can only help copy fields into screens you already have open.