The Truth About Self-Publishing: What It Really Takes to Succeed

Lessons from my first year on Amazon KDP — the work, the wins, and the wake-up calls

Photo by George Milton on Pexels

Aloha Lovelies,

I started creating notebooks and guided journals on Amazon KDP as an experiment, hoping to replace the writing income I had lost when my earnings on Medium tanked at the end of 2024.

I didn’t view Amazon KDP as a get-rich-quick scheme, as it's often promoted on YouTube. However, I completely underestimated the time and energy required, as well as the stress that can arise when you're close to the finish line and feel compelled to push through to complete your book.

Despite all that, getting my first journal out into the world felt like a supreme and satisfying accomplishment.

Here are some lessons I’ve learned on the next stage of my self-publishing journey. Although they’re specific to Amazon KDP, most of them can be universalized to any small business and perhaps to any endeavor.

Ready? Let’s dive in.

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Set Realistic Expectations

It’s tantalizing to believe the thumbnail promises you see on YouTube videos about the potential of Amazon KDP.

For example:

• I made 7 figures!

• Full tutorial: $3,000 per month!

• $9,000 per month niches!

Rare individuals have accomplished such amazing results.

For example, the guided journal “Mom, I Want to Hear Your Story” has garnered more than 18,000 reviews since its 2019 publication and has expanded into an entire series focused on different family members. The creator undoubtedly makes six, if not seven, figures.

However, for most self-publishers, the process is a slow climb that takes 2-3 years to yield decent results. They may still not earn enough to quit their 9-to-5 job. Self-publishing requires a great deal of trial and error for the majority of writers and creators.

The Pareto Principle also applies, meaning about 20% of your books (low, medium, or high content) will make 80% of your sales. You might create several duds before you find the right niche or keyword and end up with a nicely selling book. As a result, many people become discouraged and give up too soon.

Let’s do the math.

I didn’t set out to be a bestseller. My goal has been to replace my Medium income, which was close to $5,000 last year.

If you receive a royalty of $4.00 on a guided journal —a realistic amount —you’d have to sell 1,250 books per year, or 104 per month, to make $5,000 annually.

But wait, that doesn’t include your ad spend or the cost of the digital tools you need to research and create books.

People easily spend a third of their gross Amazon KDP royalty income on ads. In our example, that’s $1,665. That brings your annual income down to $3,335, and you still need to deduct other expenses.

How likely is it that your book will sell 1,225 copies in a year?

Publishing your book on Amazon is like throwing a penny into the ocean. As of 2025, an estimated 50 million book titles (both print and digital) are currently listed on Amazon. Will anyone ever find yours in this massive sea?

Since the publication of my first guided journal, The Buddha Way: A 52-Week Guided Journal for Practicing Peace and Wisdom in Everyday Life, at the end of September, I’ve sold 22 copies as of today.

I’m thrilled, and that’s a healthy start. I’m grateful to everyone who has purchased a copy and supported the launch. But that amount won’t replace my lost Medium income. And whether I can continue to sell 22 copies a month is another question to consider.

That’s why experts recommend creating a portfolio of 20-40 low and medium-content books in your first year. Low-content books include guided journals, puzzle books, coloring books, logbooks, and planners — in essence, books with limited text.

But the same applies to high-content books, such as novels and non-fiction. You won’t be able to create 20 in a single year, but, unless your first is a roaring success, you need more than one. Novels in a series generally do best.

Which brings us to the next point: expect to work hard.

Plan to Work Hard

It’s easy to create blank notebooks with a pretty or funny cover, but you’ll be competing with 70,000 similar products. You’ll be lucky to sell any at all.

Plus, Amazon KDP radically reduced the royalty rate on books under $9.99 in June 2055. If you do sell a few blank journals, which are hard to price above $9.99, you’ll likely make around $0.50 per book. That can make a real income seem far, far away.

To win on Amazon in 2025, you need to produce books with quality content that deserve a price of $9.99 or more. Naturally, it’s going to take more time to research and create competitive quality content.

I spend about 15 hours a week on KDP-related work. It took me almost four months from start to finish to complete The Buddha Way.

Every step takes time:

• Researching profitable niches and determining your topic and content.

• Deciding on the right title, with a good balance of keywords

• Researching keywords

• Designing the cover

• Creating interior pages

• Writing copy like an introduction, how to use this journal, and a thank-you page. Or you might need a glossary or list of sources.

• Penning your Amazon book description

• Determining your book price

• Reviewing and correcting the proof

The work doesn’t stop once you submit your book for Amazon KDP review, and it’s approved and published.

You must also:

• Send out advanced review copies, which can also require follow-up

• Create A+ content for the “From the Publisher” section below your book listing, featuring graphics, customized text, comparison charts, and/or videos.

• Create your author page and add your book to it once it’s published.

• Market on social media. I resurrected my Pinterest account, which alone takes three to four hours a week to maintain. Many popular self-publishers make videos for TikTok and Instagram.

• Running Amazon ad campaigns

Most low-content publishers use AI assistance, but you still need to put in your human hours. You also have the option to outsource everything from writing to book cover design to interior creation. However, that will significantly increase your expenses, so you’ll have to earn more royalties to cover those costs.

I trust I will get faster at creating guided journals, which brings me to the next reality of becoming a self-publisher.

The Learning Curve

I had skills at the start of my self-publishing journey, as I had been writing online for more than a decade and creating basic graphics for my posts and social media presence.

But there’s been so much more to learn every step of the self-publishing way.

I’ve stretched my design skills in Canva. You can also use programs like InDesign or Photoshop, but you may need to learn how to use them. I chose Bookbolt to create my interiors because it already includes book templates sized correctly for KDP. Learning it from scratch, however, has meant many moments of frustration.

The best use of Amazon ads is an art in itself. You could easily get it wrong and feel discouraged. You have to learn how to set bids, establish daily spend limits, and monitor your ads so they don’t deplete your earnings.

Using the right keywords in your title, description, and back-end keyword boxes can significantly impact the success of your book. Just figuring out how to upload a book for review on Amazon KDP can feel challenging the first time.

Like learning any new skill set, it gets easier and faster with each iteration. That’s why I expect my second guided journal for setting daily intentions (coming soon) to take half the time.

But we’ll see!

Will I Continue Self-Publishing?

Hey, I don’t mean to be discouraging.

One author has earned half a million dollars in one year from his book on mental toughness for young athletes. But it took about two years for the book to really take off. It does happen, but you need patience and realistic expectations.

You might not make half a million, but maybe you can make a few thousand a month or more.

Eight months into my self-publishing journey, after publishing 20 beautiful composition notebooks and one guided journal, I’ve made a total of $121 in royalties, which doesn’t take into account my expenses.

Many people would give up at this stage, but this is when established creators tell you to keep going. You learn from your mistakes (spending too much time on composition notebooks) and begin to understand what sells from trial and error.

I’m eager to finish my next guided journal and to publish it in November. That’s much later than I would like, but it would still be another triumph.

Then, I plan to take a break (if I can contain my passion for the next project) and not start on a new journal or book project until January 2026.

But it also depends on whether I can balance self-publishing with inner peace, and my body can sustain the additional computer work.

More about that another time.

Until Next Time

Thank you again to everyone who has supported the launch of my first guided journal and to all those who have bought a copy.

Healthwise, I’m feeling so much better. The dizziness, vertigo, and ear pain that started seven days after my Moderna COVID-19 shot (first time with that brand) have gradually diminished. I still have mild episodes of dizziness, but thankfully, far less.

As always, I’m so grateful for your presence and support. Until next time, stay safe, be happy, and let your love flow. Sending you all my love and best wishes.

xo Sandra

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P.S. Explore my first guided journal — The Buddha Way: A 52-Week Guided Journal for Practicing Peace and Wisdom in Everyday Life. Available now on Amazon