November and December are when many of us tidy up a book: a fresh cover for gift season, a typo a reader spotted, a new back-page note about the next book. Before you upload anything, there is one small job to do first.
The lesson this week: download the files KDP has now, before you replace them.
What KDP says
KDP's help page Upload and Preview Book Content (checked 28 October 2026) puts it plainly: "We recommend downloading your current manuscript and cover files before uploading new versions. Once you upload new files, you will not be able to download previous versions."
So once the new file is in, the old one is gone from KDP. If the new cover looks wrong in print, or the edit breaks a page, you cannot go back to KDP to get the old version.
How to download, step by step
The same page gives these steps for print book files (paperback and hardcover):
- Go to your Bookshelf.
- Click the "…" button next to the book.
- Choose Download author cover file or Download author manuscript.
- The online previewer opens. Click the download icon at the top right.
Repeat for each book you plan to change. The page does not give a download for ebook files, so find the ebook file you uploaded on your own computer and save a copy of it too.
Five things that can catch you out
KDP's page lists these limits:
- You get your own file back, not Amazon's. It is the latest file in the exact format you uploaded. You will not get any Amazon-converted file.
- Timing matters. You cannot download while the book is in review, publishing or blocked. For print books, you also cannot download within five days of a scheduled release date.
- No option showing. If a file is not eligible, the download choice may not appear, or you may see an error.
- Cover Creator covers cannot be downloaded. If you made your cover in Cover Creator, you can only view and edit it there. Take a screenshot of the finished cover and write down the template, colours and wording, so you could rebuild it.
- Nothing uploaded, nothing to download. If you never uploaded a manuscript or cover file, there is nothing to get back.
Where to put the files
Save each download in that book's rights folder, with the date in the file name, for example "Cover as of 28 Oct 2026". If you do not have a rights folder yet, our post on keeping a rights folder shows how to set one up.
Then make your change and upload the new version. Now you have both.
A small example
This one is made up. Margaret wants a winter cover on her paperback of family recipes, and a reader has found two typos. On a quiet Tuesday she opens her Bookshelf, downloads the current manuscript and cover, and saves them as "Recipes interior 28 Oct" and "Recipes cover 28 Oct". Her ebook cover came from Cover Creator, so she takes a screenshot and notes the template name. Only then does she upload the corrected files.
If you also sell wide, our post on Apple Books holiday delivery dates has the dates for changes there.
Two minutes of downloading now saves you rebuilding a book from memory later.