The KDP Manuscript Dossier Method
The KDP Manuscript Dossier Method is BookIntel's approach to pre-publish manuscript intelligence: upload a PDF or DOCX plus listing details, run a paid scan, and receive an AI-written dossier of commercial notes (keywords, categories, comps, and AMS-oriented phrases by tier) and story notes. Use it as a checklist before you type into KDP. It is not a developmental edit, and it is not a sales guarantee.
Where the method came from
Authors were filling KDP keyword slots and categories from guesswork, or paying for a full edit when they really needed a listing-and-opening dossier first. The seven keyword slots, the category picker, and the product description are a small set of fields, and they do a large share of the work of being found. A developmental edit answers a different question: whether the story works across the draft. Mixing those jobs left people either guessing at metadata or buying an editorial letter when the next task was the listing.
BookIntelReport, operated by Taciturn Studios LLC, sells a one-time scan, or a scan paid with a credit already on the account. The scan files the notes in the account as a dossier you can reopen from the dashboard. This page names that order of work: scan, then dossier, then you still type the listing into KDP yourself. The name describes the sequence the product already runs. It does not add a new upload path, a new tier, or a promise the checkout page does not make.
The dossier is research you edit. BookIntelReport does not log into Amazon, does not file the listing, and does not change a live book page. An optional browser extension can help copy fields from a dossier into KDP screens you already have open. You still review those fields, and you still press submit. Amazon can reject keywords or categories that break KDP rules. Compliance stays with you.
Work through the method in this order
Follow the steps in order. The scan needs a manuscript file and the listing fields the form asks for. Keyword research is optional. A cover file and a live ASIN are not required, and the report does not create either one.
- Finish enough manuscript to scan — Upload a PDF or DOCX you intend to publish. A cover file and an ASIN are not required. Opening-page and trope notes are more useful when the file includes real manuscript pages rather than only a one-paragraph pitch. There is no minimum page count. Upload only a manuscript you have the rights to analyze.
- Enter the listing fields the form asks for — Provide the title, subtitle, and positioning inputs the new-scan form requires, including genre and 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.
- Optional: paste keyword research — Paste keyword research only if you already have it. It is not required to run a scan. You can paste your own notes, including a Publisher Rocket export, use Amazon autocomplete suggestions when that option is offered, or use Rainforest market data if an API key is configured for the account. A scan can still run from the manuscript and the listing fields alone.
- Purchase the tier you need — Pay for one scan, or spend a credit from a pack you already bought. Published prices are one-time charges. Starter is $39.99 and is sold as five areas: KDP keywords, trope and genre analysis, opening-page assessment, market positioning, and a field summary. Full Intel is $59.99 and adds the final assessment, AMS ad keywords, pricing notes, comparable titles, series notes, and cover notes. Full Intel plus Devil's Advocate is $79.99. Full Intel plus Field Agent is $89.99. Complete Clearance is $109.99 and includes Full Intel plus both of those add-ons. The 5-Report Intelligence Pack is $179.99 for five Full Intel reports. The 10-Report Analyst Pack is $329.99 for ten Full Intel reports. Bundle credits stay on the account and do not expire.
- Read the dossier as a checklist — When the dossier is filed, read the listing notes and the story notes before you paste anything. Listing notes cover keywords, categories, comparable titles, and, on tiers that include them, AMS-oriented phrases. Story notes cover tropes and the opening. Export PDF, DOCX, or a keyword CSV when the completed report offers those exports. Check names, categories, prices, and ASINs. The wording is generated with AI and can be wrong, generic, or a poor fit.
- You still publish in KDP yourself — The scan does not upload the book to Amazon, does not guarantee rank or sales, and does not replace a developmental editor. You type the listing into KDP, you choose what to keep, and you submit it under Amazon's rules.
What the dossier is for
Commercial notes are the listing half of the checklist. Keyword phrases are written toward KDP's seven keyword slots, with a placement note when the model returns one. Category suggestions come back with a market label and a short rationale. Confirm the path still exists in the KDP category picker before you rely on it. Comparable-title suggestions, on tiers that include them, carry a title, an author, and an ASIN. Look up every ASIN before you mention that book anywhere. AMS-oriented phrases are advertising keywords aimed at Amazon ads. They are part of Full Intel and the tiers built on it, not part of Starter. A description draft and subtitle options are copy you edit. None of these fields are sent to Amazon by the scan.
Story notes are the manuscript half. Trope and genre observations say how familiar the tropes are likely to feel in that genre. Opening-page notes look at the start of the file you uploaded: hook, clarity, and whether a reader is given a reason to continue. They are questions to take back to the pages, not a line edit and not a developmental editor's letter. Devil's Advocate, on the tiers that include it, is an AI critique of commercial weak spots such as a soft hook, trope fatigue, and pacing drag. Field Agent, on the tiers that include it, is a simulated reader debrief covering hook strength, character engagement, pacing signals, drop-off risk, and emotional highs and lows. Neither pass is a person you hired. The comparison with hiring a developmental editor is a separate answer, and the two jobs stay different.
Search-volume and competition figures appear only when a data source supplies them. They are not Amazon's official statistics. A manuscript-only scan does not invent a live sales forecast. Treat every figure as a note to verify, not as a measurement Amazon published. Drop a phrase that does not belong to this book, even if a number next to it looks large.
What the method does not do
The method does not publish the book. BookIntelReport does not create the KDP account, does not upload the interior or the cover to Amazon, and does not enroll the book in KDP Select. It does not set the price inside Amazon, does not file categories, and does not start an advertising campaign. Those actions happen on Amazon's site, with your login, under Amazon's rules.
The method does not guarantee bestseller rank, sales, reviews, ad performance, category eligibility, or royalties. Amazon results depend on the cover, the price, the blurb, the categories Amazon allows, the ads, and reader demand. This site does not control those. No statement on this page promises a particular rank or a revenue number. The dossier is a checklist you can accept, edit, or ignore.
The method does not replace a developmental editor, a copy editor, or a proofreader. If the question is whether the story's structure works across the whole draft, that is a human editorial job. Use the dossier to decide what to reread and what to type into the listing. Revise the manuscript yourself, or hire a person for that work, then scan the revised file if you want the keyword and description notes to match the book you will actually publish. Scanning an early draft and pasting the description before the story changes is how listing copy drifts away from the manuscript.
Most scans finish in a few minutes, often under three, and then appear on the dashboard. That timing is typical, not a guaranteed clock. A longer manuscript or a busy queue can take longer. When a report fails to generate, write to support@bookintelreport.com with the report ID. The refund policy explains the window for a report that has not been generated or opened. Prices, the sample layout, and the shorter public limits are also on the FAQ, the sample dossier, and the disclaimer.
Questions authors ask next
What is the KDP Manuscript Dossier Method?
It is BookIntel's named upload, scan, and dossier loop. You upload a PDF or DOCX and the listing details the form asks for, run a paid scan or use a credit, and BookIntelReport files an AI-written dossier in the account. You use that dossier as a checklist before you type into KDP.
Is BookIntel part of Amazon?
No. BookIntelReport is an independent product of Taciturn Studios LLC. It is not endorsed by Amazon, and it does not log into KDP to publish or edit your book.
Does it replace a developmental editor?
No. The method is a listing-and-opening dossier, not a developmental edit. A developmental editor is a person who reads the manuscript. See /answers/bookintel-vs-developmental-editor.
Are search volumes official Amazon numbers?
No. Search-volume and competition figures appear only when a data source supplies them. They are not Amazon's official statistics, and a manuscript-only scan does not invent a live sales forecast.