How Much I’ve ACTUALLY Made on Amazon KDP (I Was Wrong)

About this video

The creator revisits a figure he has quoted for years, explaining that his commonly cited lifetime KDP royalties were a quick, deliberately conservative estimate made after he sold his first account and lost direct access to its data. After digging out old monthly income screenshots, he recalculates year by year. By his account, he started in October 2016 at roughly $300 in the first month, reached about $10,000 a month by month ten, and totals roughly $57,600 for year one and $120,000 for year two using conservative recalled figures. From 2019 onward he says he has tracked records: about $212,000 for the October 2018 to December 2019 period, about $251,000 in 2020, and about $229,000 in royalties in the first half of 2021 before, he claims, selling that first account for $820,000 in July 2021. He says a second account started in 2022 has produced roughly $530,000 including audiobook and other sources, bringing his claimed lifetime total to about $2.219 million. He stresses gradual, consistent growth from evergreen niches and quality books, notes audiobooks via ACX were a major income component, and says he regrets the sale because, by his claim, the old account still earns steadily.

Key takeaways

• The creator says his earlier $1.7 million lifetime figure was a conservative guess, replaced after reviewing saved monthly screenshots with a claimed total of about $2.219 million.
• Years one and two are presented as recalled, conservative estimates (about $57,600 and $120,000); from 2019 onward he claims to have screenshot-backed monthly records.
• He claims the first account was sold for $820,000 in July 2021 after years of steady monthly revenue in the $30,000-plus range.
• Income is described as coming from multiple sources beyond KDP itself, especially ACX audiobooks, plus IngramSpark and other distribution channels.
• His stated lesson is that slow, consistent publishing in evergreen niches with quality books produced unusually steady income, and that concentration on publishing beat side projects like blogging.

Episode details: published December 22, 2025 · 17:57 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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