5 Ways of Self Publishing on Amazon 2020 | Beyond KDP Books

About this video

(Summarized from the Arabic caption track.) Dale argues self-publishing is broader than books and lists five ways to self-publish on Amazon beyond KDP. First, Amazon Video Direct feeds Prime Video: creators earn royalties from Prime member viewing hours, rentals, purchases, monthly channels or ad impressions, but the platform is stricter and aimed at independent filmmakers, with no external links or product promotion allowed. Second, Merch by Amazon: upload artwork, pick a product type and color, and Amazon handles production, shipping and customer service with no upfront costs; products run from standard, premium and V-neck shirts to hoodies, long sleeves and PopSockets, and he says his wife earns a decent amount from it while he earns a little extra. Third, Amazon Media on Demand still sells physical CDs, DVDs and Blu-rays made on demand; audiobooks on CD require non-exclusive ACX distribution, and he says his own fitness DVD earned more than his merch with less effort. Fourth, Amazon Ignite connects educational creators with teachers, selling original printables, lesson plans and classroom games as digital downloads, but it is invite-only. Fifth, Amazon Crossing and Amazon Crossing Kids, imprints of Amazon Publishing, translate books into English; he notes a discrepancy between about 14 languages mentioned on one page and more than 60 in the submission dropdown, and relays a contact’s 2014-2015 Crossing deal that sold well in the US, UK and Australia but ended over translation quality, with the rights returned without hassle.

Key takeaways

• Self-publishing on Amazon extends beyond KDP to video, merch, physical media, teaching resources and translation
• Amazon Video Direct pays Prime Video royalties but bans external links and product promotion
• Merch by Amazon handles production, shipping and support with no upfront costs for the designer
• Media on Demand audiobooks on CD require non-exclusive ACX distribution
• Amazon Crossing translates foreign-language books into English under Amazon Publishing

Episode details: published March 3, 2020 · 11:05 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Dale L. Roberts’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

← Previous: Kotobee Author Review 2020 | Is Kotobee Worth It? · Next: No Content Book Publishing: @IngramSpark Clarifies New Policy →

All Dale L. Roberts videos · Dale L. Roberts profile · Dale L. Roberts on YouTube