Dear readers, I partook in a webinar for Kindle Publishing Income, where an English lady called Sophie Howard told people about some fluffy white clouds on Amazon. All so they would be excited enough to part with a lot of money (USD 2,495 for the course and coaching sessions program).

My aim here is not to offer a course review, but merely to point out that ludicrous claims are still being made by advertisers about selling books via Amazon KDP. The eBook publishing industry is quite mature and does not represent a “wild, wild West” situation.

Claim #1: You can Make BIG income from Kindle, mostly Passively EVERY month.

I was amused at her ‘hidden’ images while proving the revenue spend of her own eBook titles. Going to Amazon myself, I checked out the numbers via Kindlepreneur’s rough “sales rank calculator”.

What do you know? Not $1,000 – $3,000 per month for each title as claimed in the webinar – she is not James Altucher. Sophie Howard’s books on the .Au store:

With revenues that are sporadic and obviously driven by the Facebook ads & Amazon ads, it is still not fair to say this represents a novice’s earnings. Books tend to do well on launch with lots of organic marketing and then fade over time. This Playbook above reversed that trend and was not selling well in 2023 but is now. 

Some books have no reviews and fair enough. If you hire poor writers, subsequent poor reviews will hinder further sales.

A 2024 advert came up and it was saying about $3,900 royalties per month. If you look closely, you will see it’s from 148 books. To my knowledge, Sophie Howard has 14 books out (checked Goodreads), unless she has a pen-name with amazing retention. This is pretty difficult without a heap of name brand recognition or ads. We also do not know from screenshots who are the ‘all authors’, remembering that someone can publish on behalf of others. 

Claim 2: There are Niches with Low Competition and High Revenue

While there are tools to find interesting niches where competition is less, with over-saturation of most passive revenue, Amazon selling and income-focused topics in Amazon Kindle categories, Sophie herself has not managed to find them – so what chance has a new amateur got?

On balance, putting the year in some subtitles was a master stroke. It seems that the book ‘Amazon Boom’ was set up to only sell in the first few months of launch, not forever.

You can do your own research with a keyword tool designed for Kindle.

Claim 3: It’s easy to get Amazing Ghostwriters cheaply, for a Profitable Result

The low rates paid to the ghostwriters had me in conniptions, but that point aside…

The fact is, just getting a ghostwriter to write generic content for low pay of about US$1,000 – $1,500 does not make a bestseller.

Integrity is not built on work by ghostwriters who write for bread and butter alone. Authentic book projects by University-educated, experienced writers could cost a client $7,000 to $25,000. This is based on my knowledge of my ghostwriting colleagues.

My book writing coaching program is a better bet for those who want to be a better writer, as it supports and teaches at the same time. You won’t need a ghostwriter, as I provide many examples of how to write paragraph bridges and that sort of thing. 

Interesting case studies and mindful how-to tips also make a book more related to the readers’ goals. Neither seems to be in the book Amazon Boom, according to the unpaid reviewers.

Nice Self-Publishers Unite

I hope intending business-minded publishers have faith to keep going with their book goals, but I can assure you it is never as simple and easy as some gurus make out. Not only for emotional support, you also need to reach out to others in your community in preparation to launch and sell your book. Plus you’ll want to give value at the same time — as nobody likes a taker.

How to Judge Authentic Teachers of Kindle Publishing

Whenever I think someone else has the answers to my income or book publishing woes, I take to Google. Sometimes I find myself staring at a ‘snippet’ of my own blog post! It’s far worse when browsing and stopping at a Facebook Ad, though. Any marketer can launch a campaign, run a webinar, and say they are a guru on Kindle Publishing.

Lesson being: question everything you read, see and hear.

My self-publishing course is AU $300. Comparatively, it is one of the cheaper on the market, but I believe it’s also one of the most researched and adapted for all Australians. It contains links to all the places you’d need to direct your own self-publishing.