How to Make a Sudoku Book for Amazon KDP (Step by Step)

A sudoku book is a stack of puzzles, an answer section and a cover — but buyers are less forgiving than with most puzzle books. One puzzle with two solutions, or a "hard" puzzle that needs guessing, is enough for a one-star review. This guide covers what makes a sudoku book work on Amazon KDP: difficulty, layout, answer keys, trim size, page count and price, with the numbers KDP actually uses.

In short: choose an audience and a difficulty range, generate puzzles that are each proven to have exactly one solution, put one to four puzzles on a page depending on the reader, add answers at the back, and check your page count against the printing cost before you set a price. You can try the format with our free printable sudoku first.

What do you need to make a sudoku book?

A sudoku generator that checks every puzzle has exactly one solution and exports print-ready pages with answers, a cover sized for your page count, and a free KDP account. The DT Labs sudoku generator builds the whole interior in your browser — title page, instructions, puzzles and answer pages — and exports one PDF at KDP trim sizes.

Why must every sudoku have exactly one solution?

Because that is what makes it a sudoku rather than a guessing game. A puzzle with two solutions cannot be finished by logic — at some point the solver has to pick one — and the answer key will disagree with half of the people who finish it.

A good generator removes clues one at a time and, after every removal, counts the solutions. If removing a clue would allow a second solution, the clue goes back. Do not use puzzles from a source that cannot tell you this check was made.

How do sudoku difficulty levels work?

Difficulty comes from two things: how many clues are printed, and which solving techniques are needed. Fewer clues usually means harder, but the techniques matter more.

Our free printable sets, for example, start with 39–40 clues for easy, 33–34 for medium and 28–32 for hard. The DT Labs generator grades each puzzle with a logic solver and shows the hardest technique it needed under the puzzle, so you can check that a book sold as "easy to hard" never asks for guessing.

Should difficulty ramp through the book?

Yes, for most books. Reviewers of popular sudoku books often mention "progression": starting easy and getting harder keeps beginners going and gives experienced solvers something at the end. Either ramp through one book or sell separate easy, medium and hard volumes, and say which in the title.

How many sudoku puzzles should go on a page?

It depends on the reader and the trim size. On a 6 × 9 in page:

For a large print sudoku book, use 8.5 × 11 in and one puzzle per page: the squares are about 0.83 in wide and the numbers can be printed at around 40 pt. The same rules as large print word searches apply — bold, plain numbers, black on white.

How do you add the answers?

Put the solutions at the back, four or six to a page, labelled with the same number as the puzzle. Print the original clues in bold and the solved numbers in a lighter weight, so the solver can find their mistake quickly.

Which sudoku variants can you add?

Variety helps a book stand out and gives you a subtitle hook:

• Sudoku X: the two diagonals must also contain 1–9 once each.
• Samurai: five 9 × 9 grids joined at the corners — one big puzzle per page.
• 16 × 16: numbers 1–16 (or letters), for long solving sessions.
• 4 × 4 and 6 × 6: first sudoku for children.
• Letters or shapes instead of numbers: the same logic with a fresh look.

What trim size, page count and price work for a sudoku book?

Two common formats, priced with Amazon.com's 2026 printing costs (black ink):

The jump at $9.99 is KDP's 50%/60% royalty rule — explained in KDP paperback royalties and the 50% rule. These are per-copy royalties, not a sales forecast; check your own numbers in the royalty calculator and in KDP before you publish.

KDP paperbacks need at least 24 pages, and text on the spine is allowed from 79 pages. Size your cover with the spine width calculator after the interior is final.

How do you publish the sudoku book on KDP?

1. Title and subtitle: say the level, the count and the format — for example "Large Print Sudoku for Adults: 100 Easy to Hard Puzzles with Solutions".
2. Low-content option or ISBN: puzzle books can be published as low-content, which makes the ISBN optional (but rules out Expanded Distribution).
3. Upload the interior PDF and the cover PDF, and fix anything the previewer flags.
4. Order a proof and solve two or three puzzles from different parts of the book, checking them against the answers.
5. Description: list the difficulty levels, how many puzzles, the puzzles per page, the print size and that solutions are included.

The rest of the process — theme research, cover design and keywords — is the same as for a word search book; see how to make a word search book for KDP.

Try it before you build a book

Our free printable sudoku page has easy, medium and hard large print sets plus a 6 × 6 set for children, each with answers — a quick way to see the format and the print size on paper. For a number puzzle with arithmetic added, there are also free printable Mathdoku puzzles and, for another logic grid, free printable Bimaru puzzles.

When you are ready for a full book, the sudoku generator makes 4 × 4 to 16 × 16, Sudoku X and Samurai puzzles, ramps difficulty through the book and exports a KDP-ready PDF with answers. It is free, and exports carry a commercial licence.

Sudoku book checklist

• Every puzzle checked for exactly one solution
• Difficulty graded by logic, not just clue count
• Puzzles per page chosen for the reader
• Answers at the back, clues in bold
• Page count and printing cost checked against the price
• Proof copy solved and checked against the answers