If you're a teacher-author or Teachers Pay Teachers seller, you've probably already heard about the changes TPT announced on October 1, 2026.

And if you've spent at least 60 seconds in a teacher-seller Facebook group today, you've probably also seen the reaction.

Let's just say...people have feelings. (and potty mouths--ha! 😂 ) 

Yep, WTF is right. 

But don't freak out... there is another path. You can keep your resources on TPT, follow their new rules, AND turn those same ideas into physical books and workbooks to publish through Amazon KDP.

Frankly, my TPT sales are a joke compared to what I make every month on Amazon, so this news doesn't really impact me—but I know some of you are freaking out because you may have "put all your eggs in the TPT basket." Don't worry, I can help.

So...What Exactly Did TPT Change?

TPT just announced its new Exclusive Seller membership.

Under the new structure, sellers who choose the Exclusive Seller option receive a higher payout rate, but eligible digital educational resources listed on TPT must remain exclusive to TPT.

And yes.

That word exclusive is responsible for approximately 97% of today's online angst.

But there's an important distinction getting lost in all the noise.

Choosing TPT's Exclusive Seller option does not mean you can never sell anything anywhere else.

In fact, TPT's own FAQ specifically explains that Exclusive Sellers may still sell certain products outside TPT—including physical products and educational workbooks sold on Amazon.

And THAT little detail is what you need to pay attention to because there is an entirely different marketplace available to teacher-creators that a surprising number of teachers either overlook or don't know about:

Amazon KDP

And this is where things get interesting.

Teachers can take resources they've already created and turn them into actual published books and workbooks sold on Amazon.

I've been doing it for years.

And here's the part that usually gets people's attention:

I make more each month from THREE educational resources on Amazon KDP than I make from 30 resources on TPT all year.

Yes. Three.

Here are a few screenshots from my KDP dashboard on some particularly fabulous sales days.

And no, I am not packing books at my kitchen table and making daily trips to the post office.

Amazon does all of that.

Wait...What Is Amazon KDP?

KDP stands for Kindle Direct Publishing, which is mildly confusing because it makes everyone assume I'm talking about Kindle ebooks.

I'm not.

KDP allows regular people—including teachers—to publish physical paperback and hardcover books and sell them on Amazon.

So that resource sitting on your computer right now could potentially become a:

• student workbook
• daily practice book
• test-prep book
• writing workbook
• reading resource
• homeschool resource
• teacher guide
• intervention workbook
• journal
• or another educational book.

You create the book.

You upload the interior and cover.

Amazon lists it.

Someone orders it.

Amazon prints it.

Amazon ships it.

Amazon collects the money.

And you earn royalties from eligible sales.

No garage full of inventory.

No shipping labels.

No standing in line at the post office behind someone mailing 37 individually wrapped Christmas presents.

Print on demand is a beautiful thing.

How I Ended Up Publishing Teacher Resources on Amazon

I'm a teacher and curriculum creator, and like most teachers, I didn't start creating resources because I had some grand entrepreneurial master plan.

I created them because I needed them.

Over the years, I created a LOT of curriculum.

Eventually, I started selling some of those resources online.

And somewhere along the way, I discovered Amazon KDP.

That's when one little question changed the way I looked at everything I'd created:

Instead of asking, “How can I sell this resource?” I started asking, “Could this become a BOOK?”

Turns out, quite a few of them could.

Today, I have more than 150 titles published through Amazon KDP.

And a relatively small number of those books (three to be exact) generate more income for me than a much larger collection of resources I've listed on TPT.

That's why, when I saw today's TPT announcement, my first thought wasn't:

Well, we're doomed.

It was:

Teachers need to know they have other options.

Is Amazon KDP an Alternative to TPT?

Yes.

But here's the interesting part:

It doesn't necessarily have to be either/or.

TPT and Amazon KDP are fundamentally different business models.

TPT primarily allows us to sell digital educational resources to other educators.

KDP allows us to become the publisher of our own books and workbooks and sell them through Amazon.

That means the better question might not be:

“Should I sell on TPT OR Amazon?”

It might be:

“How can I use BOTH?”

And that brings me to probably the biggest lesson I've learned from building my teacher-author business:

Don't just think about where you can sell your resource.

Think about how many things that resource could become.

A collection of writing activities could become a writing workbook.

Daily grammar exercises could become a year-long language practice book.

SAT exercises could become a test-prep workbook.

Reading activities could become a comprehension book.

Something you created years ago for your classroom might already contain the beginnings of a book.

Teachers create an extraordinary amount of intellectual property.

We just don't usually think of it that way.

Can TPT Exclusive Sellers Publish Books on Amazon?

According to TPT's current Exclusive Seller FAQ, physical products—including educational workbooks sold through Amazon—are among the products Exclusive Sellers may sell outside TPT.

That's different from taking an eligible digital educational resource you've listed on TPT and selling that same digital resource elsewhere.

And because we're talking about contracts and platform rules here, please don't take my word for it.

Read TPT's current terms and FAQ yourself before deciding how you want to structure your business.

Policies change.

Which, ironically, is pretty much how we all ended up here today. 😉

Already Have Teacher Resources?

Then here's the really good news:

You may be much closer to becoming a published author than you think.

You don't necessarily need to sit down tomorrow and write a 300-page book from scratch.

Open the folder where you've been storing all those resources you've created over the years.

Look at them differently.

And ask:

Could this become a physical book or workbook?

That's exactly how I started.

Eventually, I realized that years of creating curriculum hadn't just given me a bunch of teaching materials.

They'd given me a library of potential publishing ideas.

And that changed everything.

Want to Learn How I Do It?

After years of publishing through Amazon KDP—and more than 150 published titles—I created an online course specifically to teach other teachers and homeschooling parents how to turn their own original educational resources into published books.

I walk through the process step by step, from looking at the resources you've already created to preparing and publishing them through Amazon KDP.

So if today's TPT announcement has you thinking:

“Maybe I don't want one company deciding what happens to my entire teacher-resource business...”

Good.

Maybe today's collective teacher-seller WTF moment isn't entirely a bad thing.

Maybe it's the nudge some of us needed to look at what we've already created and ask:

What else could I do with this?

You already did the hardest part.

You created the content.

Now let's make sure you're thinking as much like a publisher and business owner as you are a teacher.

Have a peek at my Amazon KDP course and see whether it's a good fit for you.

Still have questions? Email me at anamcaracat@aol.com subject TPT and KDP