3 Things I Don’t Like About Self-Publishing 👀

🔥

You usually hear me talk about all the things I love about self-publishing and the advantages it has — especially how it can save you money compared to hiring a publisher and how you can move much faster than going the traditional publishing route.

But today I wanted to switch things up and share 3 things I don’t love about self-publishing through Amazon KDP. 👀

1. Printing in Color is EXPENSIVE 🎨

If you're creating a cookbook, children's book, photo book, workbook with lots of graphics, or anything with color pages, costs can climb fast.

The longer your book gets, the more expensive it becomes to print, and that means either:

• You raise your retail price

• You accept lower royalties

• Or both 😩

I've played around with the KDP pricing calculator before, and it becomes pretty eye-opening when you start adding page counts. A color book that sounds amazing in theory can quickly become difficult to price competitively.

2. KDP Select Comes with Limitations 📚

Now don't get me wrong... I actually like KDP Select because of the perks.

You can run Free Book Promotions, Kindle Countdown Deals, and your ebook can also be included in Kindle Unlimited where you get paid based on pages read.

BUT...

The tradeoff is exclusivity.

If you're enrolled in KDP Select, your ebook can't be available digitally anywhere else while you're enrolled. That means no:

❌ Apple Books

❌ Google Play Books

❌ Kobo

❌ Barnes & Noble Press

❌ Selling the ebook on your own website

Your paperback and hardcover can still be sold elsewhere, but your ebook is restricted.

3. You Don't Own the Customer Relationship 👥

This one is probably my biggest annoyance.

Amazon never tells you who bought your book.