How Old Do I Have to Be to Self-Publish?

I had just turned twelve when my first ebook appeared on Amazon. This may give you a clue to the answer, but it doesn’t give you the whole story. Here’s the quick answer:

There is no minimum age for self-publishing. Anybody, regardless of age, can do it if they have the drive. However, it can be difficult to receive payments/sign contracts without parental support.

Yep. There it is again. If you’re like me, you must be feeling as if there is always either a straight-up age limit on making money, or a need to get your parents heavily involved (my parents are so tired of it all now, just because of how much of this stuff I do!).

But there are serious benefits to self-publishing your first book young, and it can be an amazing opportunity for people like you. So, let’s get started.

No. There are no legal requirements for self-publishing as an industry. There is, as far as I know, no laws in any country banning self-publishing under a certain age.

However, some platforms, such as Amazon KDP can create their own rules. So here’s a quick guide:

1. KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) – Amazon. To publish, you must be 18, but you can publish on behalf of minors. In other words, you can use one of your parents’ accounts to self-publish.
2. WordPress. If you are self-publishing on your own site, then all you have to do is find the right plugin. I have not checked, but I can almost guarantee that there is one out there.

To be honest, since 85% of ebooks are self-published on KDP, it isn’t even worth writing about other ones. It’s usually essy to find regulations and terms about this online.

There are actually quite a few benefits to self-publishing at your age. Here’s a quick list (keep in mind, this isn’t even all of them!):

1. Income streams. Having multiple income streams is something you may have heard if you are interested in making money like me. Basically, having many different, more passive ways to make money mean that even if you lose one or two, you’re still okay and don’t go into debt. Ebooks can be a fantastic way to begin building income streams at a young age.
2. Building skills. Creating and self-publishing an ebook is not at all easy. You have to learn graphic design, editing, creating a storyline, tech skills (which you probably have anyway) and more. Learning these skills can be very valuable later on in life.
3. Looking good on your resume. These skills? Yeah, they look brilliant when applying for a job, especially if you self-published at a really young age – say, 10.
4. Learning entrepreneurial skills. Learning to make money by yourself is always a great skill to have in your repertoire. It means that you are more likely to not go into debt later on.
5. Gaining expertise with technology. Let’s be honest – if you’re my age, you already have expertise with tech, but learning other platforms like KDP is a great idea.
6. Confidence. Self-publishing at this age gives you a massive confidence boost (plus something you can brag about if you want).
7. Building authority and reputation. Creating a good reputation early on is an amazing idea nowadays. And if it doesn’t work out and you build a bad reputation, you always have the excuse of your age.
8. Creating a brand. If you’re into that, you could create a brand around your ebook. You could make a website and gain more of a following.
9. Empowers young people to have a voice. Writing an ebook means that kids like you and me get another way to get our voice heard – it doesn’t usually feel as if we’re listened to.

As you can see, there are a LOT of benefits to doing it now. For those of you who are already sold, I made a guide on making an ebook.

There are actually a few negatives as well to self-publishing your first ebook at a young age. Here’s a few of them:

1. Time. Fitting in writing an ebook along with extracurricular projects, school, afterschool clubs, (maybe things like Scouts as well), the unreasonable bedtime and so on can be difficult. Just finding time to make your ebook is usually a difficulty in itself.
2. Finance. If you’ve come to this site, you almost certainly aren’t rich – yet. Having little to no money to incest in this project means that you can’t hire a professional to do anything for you.
3. Age issues. Getting an account for things is much more difficult at this age, so marketing becomes more difficult, the actual self-publishing process is more difficult, creating a following is more difficult, basically a lot of things are more difficult.
4. Limited life experience. When you’re writing a book, it’s always helpful to have your own memories to draw inspiration from. At your age, though, it may be tougher to come up with ideas for the storyline.
5. Skill. Creating a book requires a certain amount of skill, which you now have to learn. That makes it much tougher to get it right the first time.
6. Maturity. I know, I know. You hear this all the time – but I have to put it down. If you are an immature person, then maybe this job isn’t for you.

To self-publish this thing, you need to get your parents on board. Here’s a few tips on getting your parents on board with your project:

1. Keep them in the loop. Tell them what you’re doing. If they don’t know, they won’t help you. Plus, them knowing that you are honest and tell them about things will increase trust. Therefore they will be more likely to agree.
2. Tell them about the positives. The first thing they should hear after, “I’m writing an ebook!” should be the list above. Memorise it.
3. Tell them about the negatives too. This one is a little more optional, but I do recommend telling them, as it saves them some inevitable research and again, you get more trust.

To be honest, the first one is by far the most important. They’re your parents – and they want you to be successful, so they probably won’t stop you.

Thanks for reading this post. Here is my blog for additional support.