NewsBooks and authors

15 books you didn't know were first available through Kindle Direct Publishing, including 'The Martian' and ‘Fifty Shades of Grey'

4 min
Most popular KDP book covers.
Take a look at 15 of the most popular books that got their start on Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing.

Based on data since 2015, customers around the world have read 548 billion pages from Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) books. Here are 15 of the most popular books that got their start on KDP.

PAGE OVERVIEW
Fifty Shades of Grey
  • TABLE OF CONTENTS
    Fifty Shades of Grey
  • Fifty Shades of Grey
  • The Martian
  • Hopeless
  • The Atlantis Gene: A Thriller
  • Craving
  • An Innocent Client: A Legal Thriller (Joe Dillard Series Book1)
  • Sleep Tight
  • The Atlantis Plague: A Thriller
  • The Fixed Trilogy: Fixed on You, Found in You, Forever with You
  • That Month in Tuscany
  • Dawnshard
  • The Cleaner (John Milton Series Book 1)
  • Obsession
  • The Mistake
  • The Miracle Morning
Take a look at 15 of the most popular books that got their start on Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing.

Based on data since 2015, customers around the world have read 548 billion pages from Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) books. Here are 15 of the most popular books that got their start on KDP.

  • 1
    Fifty Shades of Grey

    by E L James

    After 25 years of working in television, E L James decided to pursue a childhood dream and write stories that readers could take to their hearts. The result was the controversial and sensuous romance Fifty Shades of Grey Fifty Shades of Grey stayed on The New York Times best-seller list for 133 consecutive weeks.

    Read more

  • 2
    The Martian

    by Andy Weir

    Andy Weir built a two-decade career as a software engineer until the success of his first published novel, The Martian, allowed him to live out his dream of writing full-time. Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’ The Great American Read.

    Read more

  • 3
    Hopeless

    by Colleen Hoover

    From the No. 1 New York Times best-selling author of It Starts with Us, It Ends with Us, and All Your Perfects comes the beginning of Sky and Dean’s passionate love story—where well-kept secrets threaten to open wounds of a dark past. Hopeless is a novel that will leave you breathless, entranced, and remembering your own first love.

    Read more

    Image of three book covers published on KDP.
  • 4
    The Atlantis Gene: A Thriller

    by A.G. Riddle

    The Atlantis Gene is the first book in A.G. Riddle’s best-selling Origin Mystery trilogy—a series that has sold over 3 million copies worldwide (in 20 languages), received 25,000+ reviews on Amazon, been rated 18,000+ times on Audible, and garnered 100,000+ ratings on GoodReads. The trilogy is now in development to be a major motion picture.

    Read more

  • 5
    Craving

    by Helen Hardt

    After being left at the altar, Jade Roberts seeks solace at her best friend’s ranch on the Colorado western slope. Her humiliation still ripe, she doesn't expect to be attracted to her friend’s reticent brother, but when the gorgeous cowboy kisses her, all bets are off.

    Read more

  • 6
    An Innocent Client: A Legal Thriller (Joe Dillard Series Book1)

    by Scott Pratt

    In this best-selling debut, criminal defense lawyer Joe Dillard has become jaded over the years as he's tried to balance his career against his conscience. Savvy but cynical, Dillard wants to quit doing criminal defense, but he can't resist the chance to represent someone who might actually be innocent.

    Read more

    Image of three book covers published on KDP.
  • 7
    Sleep Tight

    by Rachel Abbott

    When Olivia Brookes calls the police to report that her husband and children are missing, she believes she will never see them again. She has reason to fear the worst; this isn't the first tragedy that Olivia has experienced. Now, two years later, Detective Chief Inspector Tom Douglas is called in to investigate this family again, but this time it's Olivia who has disappeared.

    Read more

  • 8
    The Atlantis Plague: A Thriller

    by A.G. Riddle

    Filled with real science and history, The Atlantis Plague is the second book in The Origin Mystery trilogy. With shocking plot twists and revelations around every turn, The Atlantis Plague will keep you up late into the night turning the pages to find out what the Immari have in store for David, Kate, and Dorian.

    Read more

  • 9
    The Fixed Trilogy: Fixed on You, Found in You, Forever with You

    by Laurelin Paige

    Stalking and restraining orders are a thing of Alayna Wither's past. With her MBA newly in hand, she has her future figured out—move up at the nightclub she works at and stay away from any guy who might trigger her obsessive love disorder … But what Alayna didn't figure on is Hudson Pierce, the new owner of the nightclub. When she learns Hudson has a dark history of his own, she realizes too late that she's fallen for the worst man she could possibly get involved with.

    Read more

    Image of three book covers published on KDP.
  • 10
    That Month in Tuscany

    by Inglath Cooper

    Ren Sawyer and Lizzy Harper live completely different lives. Exploring the streets of Florence and the hills of Tuscany together—two people with seemingly nothing in common—changes them both forever.

    Read more

  • 11
    Dawnshard

    by Brandon Sanderson

    When a ghost ship is discovered, its crew presumed dead after trying to reach the storm-shrouded island Akinah, Navani Kholin must send an expedition to make sure the island hasn't fallen into enemy hands. If the crew cannot uncover the secrets of the hidden island city before the wrath of its ancient guardians falls upon them, the fate of Roshar and the entire Cosmere hangs in the balance.

    Read more

  • 12
    The Cleaner (John Milton Series Book 1)

    by Mark Dawson

    Mark Dawson’s popular series follows John Milton, the man the government calls when they want a problem to go away ... but what happens when he’s the one who needs to disappear?

    Read more

    KDP book covers.
  • 13
    Obsession

    by Helen Hardt

    Jade Roberts is in love with Talon Steel but no longer welcome in his home. While she resolves to move on, she still longs for the passion she and Talon shared … But as Talon begins his journey of healing, Jade uncovers some startling secrets…

    Read more

  • 14
    The Mistake

    by Elle Kennedy

    College junior John Logan can get any girl he wants. For this hockey star, life is a parade of parties and hook-ups, but behind his killer grins and easygoing charm, he hides growing despair about the dead-end road he'll be forced to walk after graduation. A sexy encounter with freshman Grace Ivers is just the distraction he needs, but when a thoughtless mistake pushes her away, Logan plans to spend his final year proving to her that he's worth a second chance.

    Read more

  • 15
    The Miracle Morning

    by Hal Elrod

    What if you could wake up tomorrow and any—or every—area of your life was beginning to transform? What would you change? The Miracle Morning is already transforming the lives of tens of thousands of people around the world by showing them how to wake up each day with more energy, motivation, and focus to take your life to the next level.

    Read more

    KDP authored books.

Learn more about KDP, including how to get started, and hear directly from the authors who have found success on KDP.

  • PAGE OVERVIEW
  • 1
    Fifty Shades of Grey
  • 2
    The Martian
  • 3
    Hopeless
  • 4
    The Atlantis Gene: A Thriller
  • 5
    Craving
  • 6
    An Innocent Client: A Legal Thriller (Joe Dillard Series Book1)
  • 7
    Sleep Tight
  • 8
    The Atlantis Plague: A Thriller
  • 9
    The Fixed Trilogy: Fixed on You, Found in You, Forever with You
  • 10
    That Month in Tuscany
  • 11
    Dawnshard
  • 12
    The Cleaner (John Milton Series Book 1)
  • 13
    Obsession
  • 14
    The Mistake
  • 15
    The Miracle Morning
Back to Amazon