Content
Publish a few useful books through Amazon KDP
Write and publish a small number of genuinely useful books on Amazon KDP. Each book can earn from ebook sales, paperback sales, and Kindle Unlimited readers.
The hard part: writing books people actually finish and getting them noticed among the flood of low-effort titles.
Who pays
Readers buy the ebook or the paperback, and Amazon pays you a royalty on each sale. Kindle Unlimited subscribers can read the book as part of their membership, and Amazon pays you for the pages they read. ZB_Steele reports, as their own figures for one month, $2,300 in royalties, 500 orders, and 275K Kindle Unlimited pages read.
How to build it
Choose a topic readers search for
Search Amazon for practical topics you know something about. Read the low-star reviews of the top books to see what readers wish those books had covered.
Outline and draft with Claude
Use Claude to build a tight outline, then write and edit the book chapter by chapter in your own voice. Cut anything that does not help the reader do the thing the book promises.
Format for ebook and paperback
Format the book with Kindle Create or a similar tool and design a clear cover. Set up both the ebook and the paperback in your KDP account.
Enroll the ebook in Kindle Unlimited
Enroll the ebook in KDP Select so Kindle Unlimited readers can borrow it and you earn from the pages they read.
Collect readers for the next book
Add a link in the back of the book to a free beehiiv newsletter. Tell those readers when your next book comes out.
Sources on X
- ZB_Steele · Sep 30, 2026
In a monthly transparency post, ZB_Steele reported $2,300 in royalties, 500 orders, and 275K Kindle Unlimited pages read. These are the poster's own figures.
- ottleyai · Aug 15, 2026
ottleyai says publishing is only step one, and that a KDP book mainly earns through ebook sales, paperback sales, and Kindle Unlimited reads.
Ideas are curated from public posts and untested by us. Read the full note.