Look Inside shows your book's front matter first: cover, title page, copyright page, table of contents, and any dedication or foreword. Then it shows the beginning of your actual content. For non-fiction, this means your introduction is the most critical piece of selling copy in your book. For fiction, your first 1–2 chapters need to hook readers immediately. The Look Inside preview is directly visible from the product page without any download required, so a significant portion of potential buyers will read at least your first few pages before deciding.
Look Inside is essentially a sample chapter that sells your book to warm traffic — people who've already found your listing and are considering a purchase. A front matter heavy with legal disclaimers, long acknowledgements, or a slow warm-up before the actual content starts can reduce conversion. Many experienced authors trim front matter to a minimum and get to the content (or story) as quickly as possible, maximising the percentage of the Look Inside preview that showcases compelling material rather than boilerplate.
Can I turn off Look Inside for my KDP book?
You can request that Amazon disable Look Inside for your book by contacting KDP support, but Amazon may not honour the request and there's typically no good reason to do so. Look Inside consistently increases conversion rates — shoppers who preview and choose to buy are more satisfied customers who leave better reviews.
Does Look Inside show different content for eBook and paperback?
If both formats exist, Amazon typically uses the Kindle version's content for the Look Inside preview on both listing pages. This is one reason having a Kindle version benefits the paperback listing even if most of your sales are in print.
How much of my book can someone read through Look Inside?
Typically 10% of the total content, though this varies. Amazon sets the sample size. It's enough to read a chapter or two of fiction, or the introduction and first chapter of non-fiction. If a reader downloads the Kindle sample, they can get the same or slightly more content for free before deciding to purchase.
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