How Much I Made From Self-Publishing in January 2021 | Self-Publishing Income Report

About this video

Sean gives his January 2021 self-publishing income report, working from smallest to largest channel. He claims affiliate commissions were only $4, Draft2Digital $623.97, and Google Play Books $632.56, noting he recommends moving books to Draft2Digital and Google Play only after they stop selling well on Amazon and are out of KDP Select. He reports IngramSpark had a decent, above-average month, and estimates about $927 from his personal ACX account and about $10,000 from his LLC ACX account, with the drop attributed to Christmas seasonal titles slowing. He claims KDP was largest at $21,266, plus about $839 from Findaway Voices, for a claimed total of $37,435. He says book creation and VAs cost about $3,556 — he makes only one to two books a month at roughly $1,000 per book — and ads about $8,125, leaving a claimed profit of $25,963. He also discusses Draft2Digital blocking some older books over alleged low quality or freely available content, which he disputes, and warns against spammy tactics on any platform. His main lesson is quality over volume: slowing from four books a month to one raised his income because good books keep being read through, earn positive signals, and can rank later.

Key takeaways

• Creator claims January 2021 total income was $37,435, led by KDP at $21,266, with a claimed profit of $25,963 after book creation and ad costs.
• Move a book to Draft2Digital or Google Play only after its Amazon sales fall off and it is out of KDP Select; IngramSpark paperbacks can be uploaded anytime with your own ISBN.
• KDP is presented as the main platform for legitimate publishers because AMS ads let you control traffic and ranking in a way ACX, IngramSpark, and Draft2Digital do not.
• Seasonal books require planning three to six months ahead because ghostwriting and ACX approval can each take a month or more.
• Quality beats volume: making one high-quality book a month earned him more than four a month, because read-through signals quality to Amazon and books can rank later.

Episode details: published February 16, 2021 · 18:07 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Sean Dollwet’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

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