Welcome to another edition of our KDP Secrets spotlight.

Today we dive deep into the journeys of self-publishers who are making waves in the sea of Amazon KDP. Today, I’m thrilled to share the story of Hitesh, a fellow UK resident, family man, and a successful self-publisher.

Hitesh’s narrative is not just inspiring; it’s a mirror to the trials and tribulations many of us face in our quest to escape the monotonous 9-5 grind. Like many of you, I’ve navigated the choppy waters of balancing a full-time job with the dream of building something of my own.

I’ve had the privilege of witnessing Hitesh’s growth within our ‘KDP Secrets‘ Facebook group, and it’s been an absolute joy to see him flourish and achieve his dreams. His story reinforces the idea that with the right mindset, resources, and community support, anyone can turn their passion into a profitable venture.

I hope you enjoy reading this interview. Remember, “Success leaves clues“.

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Please provide a little introduction about your yourself.

Hello my name is Hitesh, I live in the UK. I have a Wife and 2 gorgeous kids, 3 year old son and a 10 month old daughter . My current main 9-5 job is a Quality Assurance tester within the Tech industry ( which is boring).

Can you share a brief overview of your journey into self-publishing?

Back in 2021 I was in a 9-5 that I didn’t enjoy at all ( I used to be a product manager) It was stressful, loads of backstabbing as people wanted to climb the corporate ladder, it just took its toll, all for what?

A salary at the end of the month but then had to do another month of the same thing. I actually took a week off because I was actually really stressed. And within that week I was searching online on how to make money because my WHY was to not work a 9-5 anymore.

I came across the Mikkelson twins via a youtube ad. After a day of researching I bought their course, it cost me £2000 ( i advise not to buy it, although it helped me with few things on my journey, however, there are other resources ( which i came across later) that were much more helpful. Then it began, my self publishing journey.

Reflecting on your initial days, what were some of the biggest challenges you faced in self-publishing, and how did you overcome them?

During the journey there were times where you see no sales in the initial stages after pushing out books, this was a challenge, because I had spent a big amount on a course but with no returns. Don’t be fooled, you need to be consistent and disciplined if you want this to work. You also need to be in it for the long run. Invest in tools, pay for them. Then you can always evaluate if you need the tools every quarter.

Did you ever feel like quitting at any point?

If i’m being honest, I did not feel like quitting, because I wanted to make this work, it started off as a hobby, trial and error. waking up every day, creating a new book, uploading and seeing. In Sept 2021 ( 4 months after I started), I got my first sale after probably 30 books and no ads. That one sale kept me going, and as Q4 was round the corner. More sales started to come in. But I didn’t think I would quit, probably because i paid for a course and wanted to make it work, my skin was in the game now.

What resources have helped to improve your self-publishing knowledge, thus improving sales?

Many resources have helped me, I started off with the course I paid £2000, Once I learnt some things from that, I consumed as many Youtube channels as possible. Some of my first you tube channels included Ben Chinnock (dont think he’s around) Stack in profit, Homeboss, Paul Marles. Only later I came across Chris raydog and Ben ( money on the side), now both my number one guys I go to for Youtube KDP It’s simply just real talk and transparent. There is also a new channel that seems helpful, Barry Georgiou (I think that’s his name).

I never knew much about ads when I started, when I did start, most of it was trial and error. Once I did get the hang of what was working I just let that run. However, when Ben’s Advertising blueprint course came out. I bought it, there were little nuggets in there that improved my ads and made bulk purchases occur more often thanks to the course. It’s a very good course for beginners or publishers who understand ads but want those extra nuggets to implement in the strategy, that’s what I did and still use it today. This is what I call investing in yourself and the business.

And of course im in most of the main FB groups, Self publishing titans, KDP secrets, and Chris Raydogs, and some others. What I also did learn from the Fb groups is that, when people ask questions, read the comments, people who answer will probably answer a question you have which you’re scared to ask. I was like this, but I then asked questions myself to gain that confidence.

If you don’t mind, what are your lifetime earnings from Amazon KDP? 

This is my lifetime earnings, the biggest factor that has probably hit me is the printing costs. And this Q4 gone was good but I didn’t increase the prices of my books, I have a strategy for that during this year, hence the lower royalties. Nevertheless I’m forever grateful for this opportunity. 2022 Q4 and 2023 were decent.

Why do you think you have been so successful, when others struggle to make any sales?

Being disciplined is key. I gave up netflix for a few months, went to sleep early, woke up early, formed a routine and didn’t give up. Don’t expect to make money if you don’t invest in learning and give it time. Don’t expect to make money if you dont treat it like a business.

Have a why, why are you doing it? This is not a get quick rich scheme, some youtubers claim they make 10k a month etc. But it’s just a hook to get views, KDP takes time, you need to nurture it, water it, feed it, and look after it.

So my advice is, in the initial stages you will get no sales, dont quit, carry on improving, make your next book 10% better than the last. And I guarantee you, you will see light at the end of the tunnel.

What type of books do you have in your KDP library? What books do you avoid publishing?

I mainly have colouring books and activity books. I tend to stay away from notebooks and journals. Although my initial books were journal and notebooks, this was only to understand the process. All of those journals and notebooks published are now unpublished as they weren’t selling and I just want to keep a common theme.

You publish on Amazon KDP whilst having a full-time job? How do you manage your time?

This is a good question. One thing I did learn from the £2000 course was to have a routine. Below is my breakdown of how my days look each day:

• 4am-4.30am wake up, brush teeth, coffee and porridge
• 4.30- 7am- KDP book creation ( research, interiors, covers keywords)
• 7am- 8am get kids ready/ school run ( yes it takes an hour)
• 8.30am- Shower
• 9am- 9-5 job
• 5pm-finish work
• 5pm- 7.30pm- family time/ dinner/ play with kids
• 7.30pm-8pm- Put 1 of the kids to sleep ( wife puts the other)
• 8pm-9.30pm- Prep for the next day get some more KDP creation in ( ideally planning for next day takes priority)
• 10pm-4am- sleep

Weekends are for family time and if there is spare time it will be week spill over, eg any work that hasn’t been completed. As you can see the majority of my day is my 9-5 job which I’m aiming to quit maybe next year. Imagine if I had that big chunk of work time on making money online.

Most of you might ask, “so why don’t you quit” it’s not as simple as that, I need to make sure i have enough income to cover my full time job (covers basics like food, bills etc) which to be fair is close right now with KDP, and then have another side income (or many) to live comfortably go holidays, eat out not worrying about costs.

However, there is always a risk that using other platforms to make a living can be scary as they can do as they please. Eg close you down.

Do you have any advice for self-publishers that are losing motivation?

When you feel like there are no sales or its not working out, always go back to your WHY, why are you doing this? For an extra 100 dollars on the side? To buy a car, to save for a holiday, to quit your 9-5, to buy your dream home or build a business. ALWAYS think back to why.

Put in the effort, learning and discipline and things will start to shape up. If your WHY is to make 10k in the next 2 months, then that is a false WHY, because it won’t happen, KDP is a marathon full of ups and downs, trial and errors. Whatever works double down on it.

Are you content with what you have achieved so far?

I’m content but I want more, however, I’m so grateful for this opportunity. If you have the opportunity, that’s half of the work, the other half is to put in the work. There are some days where I feel I haven’t been productive with KDP or the other side incomes I’m trying to build, just remember, even if you do a bit of niche research for half an hour that is still moving the needle to where you want to be.

Rome was not built in one day. take each day as it comes and have a plan.

What are your plans going forward? With Amazon KDP, other businesses, and personally.

Going forward, I want to outsource most of the work to premium designers for interiors. I create the covers myself, as I enjoy that part (I got better over time and have worked out designs that work). Thing is, when you outsource you need to be a master at what you want otherwise you will receive poor quality. If you get to a stage where books are selling well, you know what needs to be done so you can feed that back to the designer.

I want to build my etsy store further, I’ve got around 544 sales so far and 50 5* reviews. So I plan to outsource some of this work too.
I’ve just started to dabble with tik tok, and I want to plan out how to approach this to leverage sales of my books or even affiliate marketing via tik tok.
I wanted to reduce my hours for my 9-5, I probably will at some point, but I want to get to a stage where next year I’m able to quit my 9-5, so reducing hours will be superseded (this is of course if all goes to plan).

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Reading Hitesh’s answers, there are a lot of similarities in our journey. We both live in England, have young children, which makes routine and balance more difficult. We have invested heavily in learning self-publishing, and continue to reinvest to scale our business. We share a belief in strict time management and have a strong mindset that helps us in being disciplined, positive, and determined.

There is a lot to be taken from Hitesh’s answers.

Hitesh, thank you for letting us get to know you and your journey a little better. I have no doubt that this interview will inspire others. You deserve all the success that you get. Best of luck with your self-publishing journey and other endeavors.

I have no doubt that as I add more interviews from successful self-publishers, the similarities will become more apparent.

If you are interested in other success stories, check out my interview with Harry, who makes around $4500 per month from self-publishing. Click here

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Hitesh and many others have found the “Amazon Advertising Blueprint” course an invaluable resource for gaining a deeper understanding of ads. While many self-publishers opt for a trial-and-error approach to advertising, they often end up spending significantly more money trying to figure out ads than they would on purchasing a step-by-step course dedicated to all aspects of advertising.

If you’re ready to stop wasting money on trying to decipher ads, you can check out Hitesh’s testimonial and those of other members here – Click here.