How To Self Publish A Book On Amazon & Beyond in 30 Minutes

About this video

Dale walks through publishing the same ebook wide on five platforms — KDP, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble Press, Rakuten Kobo and Google Play Books — using one prepared manuscript and a copy-paste metadata document. Prep: have the book in both EPUB and MOBI, plus title, subtitle, keywords and description ready. On KDP he fills the seven keyword slots and up to two categories, skips DRM, and warns repeatedly NOT to enroll in KDP Select because its exclusivity blocks the other platforms; he prices his example at $3.99 in the 70% royalty band ($2.99-$9.99), noting India, Japan, Brazil and Mexico do not pay 70% outside Select, with processing up to 72 hours. Apple requires an iTunes Connect account and iTunes Producer (he avoids the Pages route), ISBN optional, priced at $2.99. Barnes & Noble Press is US-only but allows up to five categories and a 100-character keyword field; at $2.99 he shows a 65% royalty ($1.94 retail / $1.05 distribution) and up to 72 hours for approval. On Kobo Writing Life (up to three categories) he opts into Kobo Plus — non-exclusive but a 90-day minimum stay — and OverDrive library distribution at roughly three times the retail price; Kobo pays 70% at $2.99 and above and 45% below, which he calls one of the best deals. He finishes on Google Play Books (account application, Google Book ID if no ISBN, generous category options, 20% preview, DRM off) at the same $2.99.

Key takeaways

• Do not enroll in KDP Select if you plan to publish wide — its exclusivity agreement blocks the other four platforms
• Prepare one metadata document (title, subtitle, keywords, description) plus EPUB and MOBI files, then copy-paste through every platform
• KDP pays the 70% royalty only in the $2.99-$9.99 band, and India, Japan, Brazil and Mexico are excluded from 70% outside KDP Select
• Kobo pays 70% at $2.99+ and 45% below; Kobo Plus is non-exclusive with a 90-day minimum, and OverDrive library pricing should run about 3x retail
• Barnes & Noble Press allows up to five categories but only 100 characters of keywords, and pays 65% ($1.94 on a $2.99 book at retail)

Episode details: published March 12, 2020 · 29:57 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.

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