How I Turned My Doodles into Dollars: My Journey with Amazon KDP

When I uploaded my first coloring book to Amazon KDP, I had no idea what I was doing. I just knew one thing: I wanted to share my "silly little doodles" with the world, and maybe, just maybe, make a little extra income while doing it.

I’d been creating illustrations for years in sketch book after sketch book, and in recent years, in Procreate. My ideas spanned the gamut from whimsical hand-lettering to Shakespearean sass, celestial daydreams to designing shoes. I credit my friend, Emily, for encouraging me to do something with these doodles. She suggested a Shakespearean Insults coloring book for adults and I couldn't stop thinking about it for weeks. My friend planted the seed, it was up to me to water it.

But where do you even start? I went down the internet rabbit hole of self publishing. Spent days researching and finally decided I wanted this to require as little maintenance as possible. So print-on-demand was the solution and Amazon KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) was the platform.

The first coloring book I ever self published

The Spark: From “Someday” to hitting “Publish Now”

I have experience in publishing and book layouts, so I took all that weekend to start formatting my coloring book in InDesign, picking a title, designing a cover, copy, page count, bleeds, dedication page (all credit went to Emily, of course), and acquiring an ISBN (International Standard Book Number). Phew!

Once the book, the Amazon product page, author page and the SEO keywords were established, I submitted it to Amazon KDP for review. It came back with some minor issues such as extending bleeds on a few pages and improving cover readability with more contrast - easy quick fixes. It took about three days for final approval.

But before hitting "Publish Now," I had the option of printing a proof for reviewing paper, color and a chance to catch any last minute grammatical errors. I opted to do this as a safeguard. It's included in the service and ships to you within a week (also a great way to see a real sample and test the customer experience). Worth it for the few more days of delay.

It looked great, which means I was ready for the go-live.

So, I hit "Publish Now." Eeeek!

No fanfare, no marketing team. Just me, my coffee, and an irrational fear that the internet would judge my art.

And then… someone bought it! Not my mom. Not my best friend. A stranger. From the UK.

I sold a few more. Promoted it to friends and family around the holidays, bought an ad on Instagram to market to the European demographic, which resulted in even more sales! That’s when it hit me: I could build something here. Something that earned money while I slept.

The Magic (and Mess) of Creative Freedom

Self-publishing gave me a kind of creative freedom I hadn’t felt in, well, ever. No client briefs. No revisions. No one asking, “Can we make it pop more?”

I could make any coloring book my heart desired. So I immediately started planning my next book. And then another. Each new book became a little piece of my personality, printed and shipped across the world.

But freedom also meant responsibility. I still had a lot to learn about marketing on social media, building my brand, keywords, and the dark art of SEO. I made mistakes, like hitting "Publish Now" before the book was ready (there was a typo). Every misstep was a masterclass in self-reliance.

What I Learned Along the Way

If you’re thinking about dipping your toes into KDP, here are a few lessons from my journey:

1. Start simple. Your first project is about learning the system so start with a low-risk book or within your comfort zone.

2. Research your niche. Coloring books are everywhere so I had to find a twist that felt uniquely me. Humor, empowerment, nostalgia? Novels, children's, self-help? Digital download, print-on-demand, book fairs? Pick your lane and make it shine.

3. Don't undersell yourself. Research similar books and price according to the market value. The lower the price, the less commission you take home so it's okay to round up if you're unsure. You can always adjust your pricing as needed.

4. Don't under estimate marketing. I'm not consistent when it comes to promotion and this is something I'm still working on. But the better you are at this, the more you'll sell.

5. Think long-term. Each book adds to your passive income snowball. One sale might not matter, but ten books selling ten copies each month adds up.

The Quiet Power of Passive Income

Here’s the thing: KDP didn’t make me rich overnight. And I'm still not rich. I have bad months and decent months. The more I work on adding to my collection the more good months I'll have and the closer I'll get to creating financial breathing room.

That trickle of income became my motivation to keep going. It even funded some new art supplies. Turns out financial stability and creativity aren’t enemies, but teammates.

When your bills aren’t dictating your art, your imagination can finally run wild. And that’s the real reward.

Final Thoughts

Self-publishing on Amazon KDP isn’t glamorous. It’s researching, learning the platform, late-night design tweaks, and the occasional printer bleed crisis. But it’s also a portal for artists, writers, and dreamers to turn their creativity into something tangible (and profitable).

I started this journey just hoping to share my art. What I found was something much bigger: a reminder that passive income doesn't equal financial freedom overnight. It’s built one page, one doodle, and one brave upload at a time.

So if you’ve been sitting on your sketches, poems, or passion projects, take this as your sign. Hit "Publish Now." Your future self will thank you.

---

You can check out my coloring books on my Amazon author page.