I Tried Selling Blank Books on Amazon for 14 Days (Realistic Results)

I tried selling blank books on Amazon for 14 days to see if it’s actually a viable side hustle or just another waste of time. You’ve probably reading this article claiming you can make thousands of dollars a month by uploading simple notebooks or journals to Amazon KDP. It sounds easy, right? Create a cover, upload a blank interior, and wait for the passive income to roll in. Well, I decided to put that to the test.

Step 1: Finding a Niche

The first step was finding a niche. I knew I couldn’t just upload a generic “lined notebook” because there are millions of those already, and I’d never get seen. So, I spent a few hours on Amazon browsing through different categories. I used a free Chrome extension to check the “Best Sellers Rank” or BSR of different books. A lower BSR means the book is selling well. I eventually settled on a niche that seemed to have some demand but wasn’t totally saturated: “Log Books for Hobbyists.” Specifically, I decided to make a “Metal Detecting Log Book.” It seemed specific enough to have less competition, but popular enough that people would actually search for it.

Step 2: Creating the Book

Day 1 and 2 were spent creating the book. I used Canva to design the cover. I looked at the best-sellers in the niche to see what their covers looked like—mostly rugged, outdoorsy designs—and I tried to create something similar but with my own twist. For the interior, it was pretty simple. I just created a page template with spaces for “Date,” “Location,” “Item Found,” and “Value.” I duplicated that page 100 times, and boom, the book was done.

Step 3: Uploading and Keywords

Day 3 was uploading day. This is where keywords are crucial. I filled out the title, subtitle, and the seven backend keyword slots on Amazon KDP. I tried to think like a customer: what would someone type into Amazon if they were looking for this? Terms like “metal detecting journal,” “treasure hunting log,” and “gift for metal detector” went into the slots. I set the price at $6.99, which seemed to be the sweet spot for similar books. Amazon takes a cut for printing and their fee, so my royalty per book would be around $1.90.

The Waiting Game

Now, the waiting game began. For the first few days… silence. Nothing happened. My dashboard showed zero sales. This is the part the “get rich quick” videos usually skip over. Amazon doesn’t just magically show your book to people; you have to get the algorithm to notice you.

Trying Amazon Ads

By Day 7, I still had zero sales. I started to get a bit discouraged, so I decided to run Amazon Ads. I set a very low budget, just $5 a day, to see if I could jumpstart some sales. I targeted keywords related specifically to metal detecting.

The First Sale

On Day 9, I woke up to my first sale. It was an amazing feeling. I spent about $3 on ads to get that one sale, which means I technically lost money since my royalty was only $1.90, but it proved that someone was willing to buy it.

The Realistic Results

By Day 14, the experiment was over. Here are the realistic results. I sold a grand total of 3 books. My total royalties were $5.70. However, I spent $15 on ads. So, in total, I lost $9.30.

Is It a Scam?

So, is selling blank books a scam? No. But is it a way to get rich quick? Absolutely not. The reality is that this is a volume game. To make significant money, you need hundreds, maybe thousands of books online, or you need to find a “unicorn” niche that has high demand and zero competition, which is getting harder and harder to find.

Final Advice

If you’re going to do this, treat it like a real business. Don’t just spam the platform with garbage. Focus on quality designs, do deep keyword research, and be prepared to market your books, because organic traffic alone usually isn’t enough when you’re starting from zero. It’s a legitimate side hustle, but it takes a lot more work and patience than the gurus will tell you.