I discovered the world of self-publishing on KDP in 2018. The money I’ve earned from my KDP business has helped my family pay off bills and purchase things we wouldn’t have been able to afford without it. I’m a mom of six who has started numerous businesses in the past before discovering KDP. My background is in Software Engineering. I spent 13 years working on the International Space Station program before “retiring” after becoming pregnant with high-risk monoamniotic twins. I knew I wanted to stay at home with my children, but I also wanted to bring in extra money for my family. A few years after the twins were born, I started a twin-themed business that sold scrapbooking supplies. Through this business, I discovered the world of print-on-demand (POD).
I was creating print-on-demand (POD) products for several platforms. One of those platforms was Merch by Amazon. I belonged to a bunch of Facebook groups about creating products for Merch. References to creating low content books on KDP kept popping on in those groups and I eventually checked it out. I discovered that KDP, Kindle Direct Publishing, is Amazon’s platform for self-publishing books. Through the platform, you can publish eBooks, paperback books, and hardcover books. Unlike Merch, you didn’t need to apply to get into KDP. The account is free to create and anyone can sign up.
I also discovered that low content books are books designed to be written in. These books usually encourage a particular activity, such as journaling or drawing. You do not need to do a bunch of writing to create them. The most basic type is a lined journal, which is called a no content book. Low content books on Amazon generate thousands of dollars in sales each month. I loved the idea of creating passive income streams by publishing books, so I tried it.
I went all in. I signed up for my free account and joined every Facebook group I could find to learn how to get started in this business. To make sure I knew how to do everything, I watched a bunch of videos on YouTube. I thought I was taking all the right steps to be successful in this business as I created my first book and got it published on KDP. I was so excited when my book went live and kept refreshing my KDP dashboard, looking for my first sale. Even though my sales number sat stubbornly at zero, I continued to follow the advice of the “gurus” in this business and uploaded several more books.
Each time I uploaded a new book, I hoped sales would roll in. After refreshing my KDP sales dashboard day after day and getting nothing but a big fat zero, I knew I needed to do something different. That’s when I put my engineering skills to use and started doing research. I did search after search on Amazon to figure out what types of books were selling and narrow down why they sold. I had been creating books using templates I had purchased online. During my research, I discovered that there were thousands of books on Amazon with the exact same interior as mine. Most of them weren’t selling either. It’s tough to stand out in the crowd when the only thing setting your book apart from the rest is your cover.
During my research, I came across a bunch of logbooks targeted to owners of specific breeds of dogs. I noticed a bunch from the same author and after investigating further, found this person had uploaded hundreds of books, all with identical interiors. Most of them had never sold and the ones that did often had negative comments about how the book had nothing in it specific to the dog breed in the title of the book and shown on the cover.
I felt bad that someone had wasted their time creating all those books and maybe getting one book sold a month from the hundreds they had online. I was determined not to be like them and set out to find a better way. That’s when it hit me. I should start creating books targeted to people like me. That way, I would know exactly what these people wanted in a book and could create the perfect book they would love.
I sat down and created a book targeted at twin moms. I used a design I had created for Merch on the cover and submitted my book. By the way, I don’t recommend you use t-shirt designs for your cover. I’ve learned a lot about making great covers since I started in this business and would never do that today. But, even with what I would consider today to be a not-so-good cover, that book still sells consistently.
I knew I was on to something when I finally saw a number other than a zero on my KDP sales dashboard. The key to creating books that sell is to create unique books that provide value to your target audience. I want you to be successful and not waste your time creating books no one will ever buy.
