What you need before you start
Kobo's wizard is short, but it moves faster if you have these ready before you log in.
A finished EPUB file
Kobo can convert other formats, but EPUB is the format it was built for and it gives the cleanest result. Have your manuscript fully edited and exported as EPUB before you begin.
A cover image
You need a front-cover image sized for ebook retail. Make sure the title and author name are readable even at thumbnail size, since that is how most shoppers first see it.
Your book details
Have your title, author name, synopsis or blurb, categories, language, and intended publication date written down. Pasting them in is faster than composing on the spot.
Banking and tax information
Kobo pays royalties by direct deposit, so you will enter bank details and complete a short tax interview when you set up your account. Have those numbers handy.
Publishing on Kobo, step by step
The whole flow breaks into account setup plus a three-screen publishing wizard. Here is what happens at each stage.
Create your free Kobo Writing Life account
Go to kobo.com/writinglife and sign up. The platform is completely free to use, with no upfront fees and no charge to list a title. During setup you will add your banking details for royalty payments and complete a tax interview. Once that is done, you land on your dashboard, where you start a new ebook.
Step one of the wizard, describe your ebook
The first wizard screen collects your book's metadata: title, author name, synopsis, categories, language, and publication date. The synopsis is your blurb, so the same text you would use as back-cover copy works here. Pick categories that genuinely match your book, since they decide where Kobo shoppers find it.
Step two of the wizard, upload your files
On the second screen you upload your EPUB manuscript and your cover image. Kobo can accept and convert some other formats, but EPUB gives the best result. After uploading, use the built-in previewer to page through your book and check that chapters, headings, and spacing look right before you move on.
Step three of the wizard, set rights and pricing
The final screen handles territories and price. Choose whether to sell worldwide or only in selected territories, set your list price, and decide whether to apply DRM. You can also opt your book into Kobo Plus, Kobo's subscription reading program, which is non-exclusive so it does not stop you selling elsewhere.
Publish and wait for the store
Once you confirm the third screen, click publish. Kobo processes the book and it usually appears in the Kobo store within about three days. You can edit metadata, pricing, and even the files afterward from your dashboard if you spot something to fix.
Getting your files from AIWriteBook
If you wrote your book in AIWriteBook, the two files Kobo asks for are already waiting for you. Here is where to find them.
Finish the Publish step
Complete the Publish step inside AIWriteBook. This is where your cover is generated and finalized, and you can download the cover image directly from this screen.
Export your EPUB
Move to the Export step, which produces your EPUB file. Download it, and that is the exact format Kobo's upload screen expects.
Upload them to Kobo yourself
AIWriteBook does not connect to Kobo or upload for you. You take the EPUB and cover into Kobo Writing Life and run the wizard. The handoff is just two downloads and two uploads.
Royalties and pricing
Kobo's royalty structure is simple and there is one price threshold that matters.
Ebooks priced at $2.99 or above earn 70 percent of the list price as royalty. This is the band most authors want to be in.
Ebooks priced below $2.99 earn 45 percent. A lower price can make sense for a short work or a series starter, but know that the royalty rate drops with it.
You set your own list price and can change it later from the dashboard, so you can run promotions or test price points without republishing.
You choose whether to apply DRM to your ebook. Many independent authors leave DRM off, but the decision is yours and you make it on the rights and pricing screen.
Good to know about Kobo
A few things make Kobo worth adding to your publishing plan, especially if you want reach beyond Amazon.
Strong outside the US
Kobo is a major store in Canada, the UK, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. If your readers are international, Kobo reaches them where Amazon's grip is weaker.
Free and non-exclusive
Publishing on Kobo costs nothing and does not lock you in. You can sell the same book on other platforms at the same time, including through Kobo Plus.
A real previewer
The built-in previewer lets you see your book the way a reader will before it goes live, which catches formatting problems early.
Kobo Plus subscription reach
Opting into Kobo Plus puts your book in front of subscription readers without exclusivity, so it is added reach rather than a trade-off.
Also consider NanoReads
Alongside Kobo, AIWriteBook has its own reading platform, NanoReads, that you can publish your finished book to as a complementary channel.
- It is free to publish to, with no listing fees.
- It reaches more than 100,000 registered readers across web, iOS, and Android.
- Publishing is one click from inside AIWriteBook, with no review wait before your book goes live.
- You keep your rights, so it sits comfortably next to Kobo and any other store you use.
It will not replace a retail store like Kobo, but it is a low-effort way to reach early readers and gather reviews while your Kobo listing builds momentum.
Quick answers and common myths
Does it cost money to publish on Kobo?
No. Kobo Writing Life is free to use. There is no upfront fee and no charge to list a title, Kobo simply takes its share of each sale through the royalty split.
Do I have to be exclusive to Kobo?
No. Kobo is non-exclusive, 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 click publish, the book usually shows up in the Kobo store within about three days while Kobo processes it.
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.
Because it is free and non-exclusive, there is little reason not to add Kobo to your distribution, especially if you want readers in Canada, Europe, and the rest of the English-reading world outside the US.
If you write your book in AIWriteBook, the EPUB and cover Kobo needs come straight out of the Export and Publish steps, so the only work left is running the wizard.