What you need before you start
Kobo's wizard is short, and it moves faster still if these are ready before you log in.
A Kobo Writing Life account
Sign up at kobo.com/writinglife. It is free, there is no upfront fee and no charge to list a title; Kobo takes its share of each sale instead.
Banking details
Kobo pays royalties by direct deposit and supports payment in USD, CAD, GBP, EUR, JPY, AUD, NZD and HKD. Add the account in the currency you actually want to be paid in.
Tax information
Complete the short tax questionnaire during account setup. It determines the withholding applied to your earnings, so do it before your first sale rather than after.
A finished EPUB and cover
Kobo can convert other formats, but EPUB is what the platform was built around and gives the cleanest result. Have the cover sized for retail, with title and author readable at thumbnail size.
Your book details written down
Title, author name, synopsis, categories, language and intended publication date. Pasting them in is far quicker than composing them inside the form.
Which AIWriteBook files go where
Kobo is an ebook store, so two files cover the whole submission.
EPUB
The manuscript, uploaded on the second screen of the wizard. It is the format Kobo prefers and the one that preserves your chapter structure and table of contents.
eBook cover JPG
The cover, uploaded on the same screen as the EPUB. Front cover only.
DOCX
Kobo can accept and convert some other formats, but the conversion is never as clean as uploading the EPUB you already have.
Print PDF
Not used. Kobo Writing Life sells ebooks and audiobooks, so print goes to KDP, IngramSpark or Lulu.
Wrap cover PDF
Not used, for the same reason.
Exact file and metadata specs
Kobo is more forgiving than Apple or IngramSpark, but these are the things it checks and the limits that shape your listing.
| Manuscript format | EPUB is the preferred format. Kobo can convert some other file types, but an EPUB you control is always the better result. |
|---|---|
| Cover | A front-cover image sized for ebook retail. The practical test is whether the title and author remain readable at thumbnail size, because that is how most readers first see it. |
| ISBN | Optional. Kobo will identify the book without one. Supply your own if you want a single identifier shared across every store. |
| Title and author | Entered on the first wizard screen and shown as typed. Match them to the cover art. |
| Synopsis | Your store description. It is the main sales text on the Kobo product page, so write it as a blurb rather than as a summary of the plot. |
| Categories and language | Chosen on the first screen. Categories determine where the book appears in browse, so pick the narrowest ones that are honest. |
| DRM | Set on the rights and pricing screen. Many independent authors leave DRM off; the decision is yours and it can be changed later. |
| Territories | Sell worldwide or restrict to selected territories, chosen on the rights and pricing screen. |
| Kobo Plus | Opt in on the same screen. Kobo Plus is non-exclusive and, as of June 2026, reaches subscribers in 34 countries and territories. |
| Time to sale | After you publish, the book generally appears in the Kobo store within about three days. |
The three-screen wizard, field by field
Account setup happens once. After that, every book is three screens: describe, upload, price.
- 1
Create the account and finish banking and tax
Sign up at kobo.com/writinglife, then complete the banking details and the tax questionnaire in your account settings before you start a book.
Click: Sign Up, then Settings > Payment and Tax Information.
- 2
Start a new ebook
From the dashboard, choose to create a new ebook. This opens screen one of the wizard.
Click: Create new eBook.
- 3
Describe the ebook
Enter the title, subtitle, series name and number, author and contributors, then paste your synopsis. Set the language and the publication date.
Fields: Title, Subtitle, Series, Author, Contributors, Synopsis, Language, Publication Date.
- 4
Set categories and audience
Choose the categories that match the book and confirm the audience. If the book contains explicit content, declare it here rather than letting Kobo find out later.
Fields: Categories, Audience, Explicit content flag.
- 5
Upload the EPUB
On screen two, upload your EPUB. Kobo processes the file and reports conversion problems immediately.
Click: Upload eBook file.
- 6
Upload the cover and preview
Upload the cover image, then open the built-in previewer and page through the book the way a reader will. This is the step most people skip and the one that catches formatting problems.
Click: Upload cover image, then Preview.
- 7
Set rights and territories
On screen three, choose whether to sell worldwide or only in selected territories, based on the rights you actually hold.
Fields: Territories, Rights.
- 8
Choose DRM and Kobo Plus
Decide whether to apply DRM, and whether to opt into Kobo Plus. Kobo Plus is non-exclusive, so opting in is added reach rather than a trade-off against other stores.
Fields: DRM, Kobo Plus opt-in.
- 9
Set the price
Enter your list price. Watch the royalty thresholds: at or above $2.99 USD, £1.99, €1.99, $2.99 CAD or $2.99 AUD you earn 70%, and below those you earn 45%.
Fields: List price per currency.
- 10
Publish
Confirm the third screen and publish. The book generally appears in the Kobo store within about three days, and you can edit metadata and price from the dashboard afterwards.
Click: Publish.
Royalties, thresholds and payment
Kobo's royalty is a single threshold per currency, with no delivery fee subtracted. That makes the arithmetic simpler than Amazon's.
| 70% band | Kobo pays 70% of the suggested retail price when that price is at or above $2.99 USD in the US, £1.99 in the UK, $2.99 CAD in Canada, $2.99 AUD in Australia or €1.99 in the European Union. |
|---|---|
| 45% band | Original works priced below those thresholds earn 45% of the list price. A lower price can make sense for a series starter, as long as you know the rate drops with it. |
| No delivery fee | Unlike Amazon's 70% option, Kobo does not subtract a per-megabyte delivery cost, so you keep the full 70%. |
| Kobo Plus | Kobo Plus pays from a shared pool based on minutes read by subscribers in each country, and requires no exclusivity. As of June 2026 it reaches subscribers in 34 countries and territories. |
| Payment timing | Authors are paid 45 days after the end of each monthly period, provided they have met a minimum threshold of CAD $50. |
| Earnings that count toward the threshold | Sales in every country are combined to reach the threshold, including regular sales, Kobo Plus minutes, library sales and sales through Kobo's global distribution partners. |
| Payment currencies | Kobo supports payments in USD, CAD, GBP, EUR, JPY, AUD, NZD and HKD. |
Proofing and common problems
Kobo rarely refuses a book outright. What goes wrong is usually a file that converts badly or a setting that quietly costs you money.
EPUB converts with broken formatting
Upload the EPUB rather than a word processor file, and check the result in the built-in previewer before publishing. The previewer is the whole quality-control step on Kobo.
Cover unreadable at thumbnail size
A cover that looks good full size can turn into mush in a store list. Look at it at about 150 pixels tall and check whether you can still read the title.
Price one cent under the threshold
Pricing at $2.98 instead of $2.99 moves you from 70% to 45% and roughly halves your earnings per copy. Check the price in every currency you list in, not just USD.
Table of contents missing or wrong
If your EPUB has no navigation document, the reader cannot jump between chapters. Re-export rather than editing the package by hand.
Territories narrower than your rights
Restricting territories without a reason simply removes readers. Sell worldwide unless a contract actually limits you.
DRM applied without thinking about it
DRM stops readers moving the file between their own devices, which generates support complaints. Decide deliberately; the setting is changeable.
No payment because of the threshold
Earnings below CAD $50 roll forward rather than paying out. That is the threshold working as designed, not a missing payment.
After the book is live
Kobo's dashboard is genuinely usable for ongoing work, which is more than can be said for some of its competitors.
Check the live listing
Find the book in the Kobo store and read the product page as a reader would. Check the synopsis formatting, the categories shown, and the cover crop.
Edit without republishing
Price, synopsis, categories and territories can all be changed from the dashboard on a live title, so you can test price points without resubmitting the book.
Consider Kobo Plus deliberately
If you did not opt in at publication, you can opt in later. Because it is non-exclusive, the only real question is whether subscription reads cannibalise your sales, and you can measure that.
Use Kobo promotions
Kobo runs merchandising promotions that authors can apply for from within Writing Life. They are one of the few genuinely free discovery levers on any store.
Read the sales reports by country
Kobo's strength is outside the US. If a market like Canada, the Netherlands or Australia is performing, price for it specifically rather than letting one conversion rate decide.
Questions people actually ask
Does it cost money to publish on Kobo?+
No. Kobo Writing Life is free to use, with no upfront fee and no charge to list a title. Kobo takes its share through the royalty split instead.
What royalty does Kobo pay?+
70% of the suggested retail price at or above $2.99 USD, £1.99 GBP, $2.99 CAD, $2.99 AUD or €1.99 EUR, and 45% below those thresholds. There is no per-megabyte delivery fee.
Do I have to be exclusive to Kobo?+
No, including Kobo Plus. You can sell the same book on Amazon, Apple Books, Google Play and anywhere else at the same time.
How long until my book is for sale?+
After you publish, the book generally shows up in the Kobo store within about three days while Kobo processes it.
When do I get paid?+
45 days after the end of each monthly period, provided you have reached the CAD $50 minimum threshold. Earnings from every country and from Kobo Plus combine toward that threshold.
Do I need an ISBN?+
No. Kobo will identify the book without one. Use your own ISBN if you want the same identifier on every store's record.
The bottom line
Publishing on Kobo is genuinely quick: a free account, a three-screen wizard, an EPUB and a cover, and you are live within a few days. The only number to be careful about is the price, because a cent either side of the threshold is the difference between 70% and 45%.
Because it is free and non-exclusive, there is very little reason not to add Kobo, especially if you want readers outside the United States. If you wrote the book in AIWriteBook, the EPUB and the cover come straight out of the Export and Format steps.
Complete guides for every other store
Seven platforms, seven walkthroughs. Each one covers the files, the form fields, the royalties and the rejections for that store.
Write the book, then publish it everywhere
AIWriteBook drafts your book chapter by chapter, designs the cover, and exports the EPUB you need for Kobo, Amazon, Apple Books and more.
No credit card required. First chapter on the house.