Should You Self-Publish a Book? Why It Is Still Worth It

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Yes, it is still worth self-publishing a book, as long as you avoid the mistakes most self-publishers make. The market is crowded, but the audience is bigger and growing, the tools are better, and a niche with many buyers and few books still exists. Here is how I answered an author who asked me whether she should publish another book.

Why did Terry think the market was too crowded?

Terry was a client about three years ago. She had put out a couple of books on Amazon and seen some success. Then life got busy. Now she wanted to know whether self-publishing was still worth it, and she was afraid of spending time on one more book that would not sell.

She had good reasons. She searched and found that the number of books published daily keeps rising, and so does the number of people entering the game. She also saw that Amazon was stricter about reviews than a few years ago: review swapping can get you in trouble, accounts are closed for reviews from the wrong sources, and automated systems remove reviews. See how to get Amazon book reviews without breaking the rules. Formatting was a pain and finding the right people was hard.

On the other side, a friend of hers was making decent sales on Amazon. So what was true?

Is the market really oversaturated?

There are a great many books. But the market for them is huge, and the number of readers is growing. More people have phones and can buy and read ebooks at a reasonable price, and wealth is growing in many countries. Audiobooks are growing too: the Audio Publishers Association reported that audiobook sales revenue rose 9% to $2.43 billion in 2025, with more than 750,000 active titles (Infodocket, 5-Jun-26).

A crowded market is a problem for books that look like everyone else’s. It is not a problem for a book in a niche where many people buy and few books exist. Tools to find that niche are better than a few years ago, when Terry last published. See 3 surprising facts about Amazon for why I still start with it.

What has changed since she last published?

• Keyword and niche research is easier with today’s tools.
• Formatting is easier. She had used Word and got negative reviews on the formatting. I recommend Atticus.
• Training and tutorials are everywhere, which helps you move forward. When it is confusing, break it down into steps, one at a time.
• More ways to sell. Paperback and audiobook through Audible memberships open channels beyond the ebook.

What did Terry do?

She took the plunge and started her newest book, followed the steps and got it out much faster because of the tools. She formatted it properly and watched sales of the new book climb steadily as she put the strategies we went over into practice. It is a good time to publish, if you avoid the mistakes. The usual ones are in self-publishing mistakes to avoid, and if you have stalled like Terry had, how to get motivated as a self-publisher may help.

A caution on money: the ALLi survey found a median income of $12,749 in 2022 for authors whose main income is writing, and almost a quarter of those surveyed had not yet started to earn (ALLi, 17-Apr-23). Treat self-publishing as something you build, not a quick win.

Does it cost anything to publish on KDP?

KDP’s own home page says it provides free and simple tools to self-publish, and that it prints paperbacks and hardcovers on demand and ships them to customers around the world (Kindle Direct Publishing). That means you do not pay to list a book. The costs I see for authors are the ones around the book: editing, a cover and formatting. Plan for them before you plan for sales.

How long does it take to earn?

Not quickly. In the 2025 Written Word Media author survey (1,346 responses), authors with 5 to 9 books had a median income of around $50 a month, and those with 25 or more books about $3,000 a month (Written Word Media, 2-Dec-25). The survey is self-reported and leans toward authors who keep publishing, so read it as a direction, not a promise. It does say what to plan for: a first book is a start, and the income comes from a catalog. Over half of the authors in the ALLi survey had published more than 10 books (ALLi, 17-Apr-23).

Where do I start?

Start with one book and a clear list of steps. The free 12-step checklist takes you from picking a niche to a published book, in order.

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