Kobo Writing Life: How to Publish on Kobo and Reach International Readers

Kobo is one of the world's largest ebook retailers, with significant market share in Canada (where it's the dominant platform), Australia, the UK, and across continental Europe. For indie authors going wide, Kobo is typically the second most important platform after Amazon, and in certain markets it's comparable to or ahead of Amazon in reader engagement.

Publishing directly through Kobo Writing Life (KWL) gives you the most control and the best royalty rates for Kobo's ecosystem, compared to distributing through an aggregator like Draft2Digital that also reaches Kobo.

This guide covers Kobo Writing Life from setup through promotion, with particular attention to the features and opportunities that differ from Amazon KDP.

Kobo's market position

Understanding where Kobo is strong helps you prioritize it in your publishing strategy.

Canada: Kobo was founded by Indigo (Canada's largest bookstore chain) and is the dominant ebook platform in Canada. Canadian readers who buy ebooks often do so on Kobo first, not Amazon. For books with Canadian market relevance, Kobo Canada is a significant revenue channel.

Australia: Kobo has stronger ebook market share in Australia than in the US. Australian authors in particular have found Kobo's importance roughly comparable to Amazon for their home market.

UK: Kobo is a meaningful alternative to Amazon Kindle in the UK, particularly among readers who own Kobo devices rather than Kindle readers.

Europe: Kobo's Tolino partnership gives it access to the German-speaking market through the Tolino retailer network, which is substantial. It also has presence in France, Italy, and other European markets either directly or through local partnerships.

United States: Kobo's US market share is smaller than in the above markets; Amazon dominates US ebook sales. However, wide authors still earn meaningful US income on Kobo, particularly for books with audience crossover to US readers who prefer Kobo devices or Apple Books.

Setting up Kobo Writing Life

Creating a KWL account is free at kobowritinglife.com. You'll need:

• An email address to create the account
• Tax information (W-9 for US publishers; tax treaty information for international publishers)
• Payment method (PayPal or direct bank deposit, depending on your country)

Once your account is set up, you can add books through the "Add book" button on your dashboard.

Uploading a book to KWL

The upload process on KWL is clean and direct. For each book:

Book details: enter your title, subtitle (if any), author name, and description. Kobo's description field supports basic formatting but not HTML like Amazon's. Write clearly, with the first sentence drawing readers in.

Categories: Kobo uses a category system similar to BISAC. You can choose up to two categories. Kobo's category browsing is actively used by readers, so accurate category placement matters for discovery.

Keywords: similar to Amazon, keywords help readers find your book through Kobo's search. Include genre tropes, comparable-author-style terms, and thematic keywords.

File upload: Kobo accepts EPUB and MOBI files. EPUB is preferred and produces the best results. Upload your formatted EPUB from LiberScript or your formatting tool of choice.

Cover image: upload your cover as JPEG or PNG at the standard recommended size (2,560 × 1,600 pixels or similar high-resolution format, same as your Kindle ebook cover).

Pricing: set your price in multiple currencies or let KWL calculate them automatically from your base price using exchange rates. See the pricing section below.

Territories: unless you have a specific reason to restrict territories (you're dealing with a publishing contract that controls some rights), select "Worldwide" to maximize distribution.

KWL royalty rates

Kobo Writing Life pays competitive royalties:

Price range	Royalty rate
Free	N/A (no revenue)
$0.01 to $1.99	45%
$2.00 and above	70%

The 70% royalty at $2.00 and above is more generous than Amazon's $2.99 threshold for the 70% rate. This means you can price at $2.00-$2.98 on Kobo and earn 70%, whereas the same price on Amazon would earn only 35%.

For a $4.99 ebook:

• Kobo royalty: $4.99 × 70% = $3.49

If you're distributing through Draft2Digital to reach Kobo, D2D takes 10% of this, leaving you $3.14. Direct KWL publishing leaves you the full $3.49.

Kobo pricing strategy

International pricing: Kobo readers in different countries see prices in their local currency. You can set prices manually for each currency or let Kobo convert automatically. For markets where Kobo is strong, manual price setting is worth doing: a book priced at $4.99 USD may convert to a price that feels high in a specific market. Check what comparable books are priced at in CAD (Canada), AUD (Australia), and GBP (UK) and set competitive local prices.

Free books: unlike Amazon's complicated free pricing system (which requires either KDP Select enrollment or price-matching), Kobo allows you to set a book to free directly. This makes free Book 1 promotions straightforward on Kobo, particularly for series where making book one permanently free drives read-through.

Pre-orders: KWL supports pre-orders. Set up a pre-order with a future publication date, and readers can purchase the book in advance; the sale counts toward your launch week numbers.

KWL promotions and featured deals

Kobo has a promotional program similar to (though different from) Amazon's system.

Kobo promotions portal: through your KWL dashboard, you can submit books for promotional consideration in Kobo's curated promotions. These are competitive; not every submitted book is selected. But a Kobo Featured Deal can significantly drive sales, particularly for books with strong metadata and cover.

Kobo Plus: Kobo has a subscription service (Kobo Plus, available in some markets including Canada, the Netherlands, and Belgium) similar to Kindle Unlimited. Authors can opt their books into Kobo Plus. Unlike KU, participation in Kobo Plus doesn't require exclusivity; you can be in KDP Select (Amazon-exclusive for ebook) and still participate in Kobo Plus, though practically those are in tension since KDP Select requires non-Amazon exclusivity.

Price promotions: you can run a limited-time sale price on KWL directly. Unlike KDP Countdown Deals (which require KDP Select enrollment), Kobo price promotions don't require any exclusivity.

Kobo for Libraries: through OverDrive and other library distribution channels Kobo has partnerships with, your KWL book may be available for library lending. Ask in the KWL help center about current library distribution options.

Writing Life communities and author resources

Kobo actively cultivates relationships with authors. Their blog (at kobo.com/writing) publishes guides and author interviews; their Writing Life newsletter provides updates on platform features and promotions.

Kobo's author support is generally considered responsive compared to some other platforms. Direct questions about specific submissions, category issues, or promotional opportunities can be directed to their author support team via the KWL help center.

Kobo device ecosystem

Kobo makes its own e-readers, which are popular alternatives to the Kindle in markets where Kobo has strong presence. The Kobo Libra, Kobo Clara, Kobo Sage, and Kobo Elipsa are among their current models. Understanding Kobo's device ecosystem helps you format your ebooks appropriately for Kobo readers.

Kobo e-reader display: Kobo e-readers use E Ink displays similar to Kindle. Kobo devices display ebooks in grayscale on their e-ink screens but support high-resolution displays on current models. Cover images and interior images display clearly at sufficient resolution.

Kobo app on iOS and Android: readers without a Kobo device can read Kobo ebooks on the Kobo app for iPhone, iPad, and Android. The app offers color display, adjustable fonts, and reading statistics. Your EPUB's styling is applied within the app's reader environment.

OverDrive integration: Kobo devices and apps integrate with OverDrive for library lending. Readers who borrow ebooks from their public library through OverDrive can read them on their Kobo device. This creates a user-base crossover: Kobo users are also potential library borrowers of your work if you have library distribution through OverDrive.

Managing your KWL catalog

KWL's dashboard gives you a clear view of all your published titles, their status, and recent sales. Key functions in your dashboard:

Sales reports: KWL provides daily and monthly sales data showing units sold by territory, price, and format. You can download CSV exports for tracking in your own spreadsheet. Kobo sales data is available without the 60-day delay some platforms impose; you can see recent sales in near real time.

Revisions and updates: to update a book (new cover, interior revision, updated back matter), go to the book's listing in your KWL dashboard and upload a new file. Updates propagate within 24-72 hours and don't require a new listing.

Multiple author names: KWL supports multiple pen names under a single account. Add additional author profiles from your account settings. Each pen name has a separate KWL author page visible to readers.

Kobo and print books

Kobo Writing Life is an ebook-only platform. For print book distribution, use KDP Print (for Amazon) and IngramSpark (for bookstores and broader distribution). Kobo doesn't offer print book publishing or printing services. Some indie authors are surprised to find this when they start their Kobo setup; ebook-only is Kobo Writing Life's scope.

How KWL handles international royalties

KWL pays royalties on sales from any of Kobo's country storefronts. Sales from Canadian readers, Australian readers, UK readers, and European readers all flow into your KWL royalty account. You receive a single payment that consolidates all territory earnings.

Tax withholding: for authors outside Canada, Kobo may withhold taxes on certain territory earnings per Canadian tax rules. Check your KWL account's tax settings and the applicable tax treaty information for your country; many countries have tax treaties with Canada that reduce or eliminate withholding on royalties.

Payment threshold and timing: KWL pays monthly once your accumulated earnings reach the minimum threshold (currently $50 CAD equivalent). Payments process approximately 45 days after the end of the month in which sales occurred.

Kobo vs. Amazon: what's different for authors

Feature	KWL	Amazon KDP
70% royalty threshold	$2.00+	$2.99-$9.99
Free book pricing	Direct (no restrictions)	Requires KDP Select or price-matching
Exclusivity requirement	None	KDP Select requires 90-day exclusivity
Pre-order availability	Yes	Yes
Subscription service	Kobo Plus (select markets)	Kindle Unlimited (US + others)
Device ecosystem	Kobo e-readers	Kindle e-readers
Dominant markets	Canada, Australia, UK	US
Print distribution	None	Yes (KDP Print)

The key practical differences: Kobo's lower price threshold for 70% royalties and the absence of any exclusivity requirement make it more flexible than Amazon for pricing and cross-platform distribution. Amazon's advantages are its larger US market share and its print distribution and subscription service.

Common questions and issues on KWL

Book doesn't appear in search after publishing: allow 24-72 hours for new books and updated books to appear in Kobo's search index. If your book is still not appearing after 72 hours, check that your categories and keywords were saved correctly; a missing mandatory field can delay publication.

Cover not displaying correctly: Kobo displays covers at various sizes depending on context. If your cover appears cropped or distorted, ensure your cover image is at the correct aspect ratio (1.6:1, height to width).

Price doesn't match in a specific territory: if a price you set isn't showing correctly, allow time for the update to process, and check the specific territory's price in the KWL interface rather than in the Kobo storefront (which may have a CDN cache delay).

Frequently asked questions

Can I publish on both Kobo Writing Life directly and Draft2Digital?

You should only have your book in one place for Kobo. Either publish directly through KWL and exclude Kobo from your D2D distribution, or let D2D handle Kobo. Duplicating distribution to Kobo through both channels can result in duplicate listings or listing conflicts.

Is direct KWL publishing better than using D2D for Kobo?

Direct KWL publishing gives you the full Kobo royalty (70%) rather than 90% of it (D2D takes 10%). It also gives you access to Kobo's promotional programs directly and better visibility into Kobo-specific analytics. For authors with significant Kobo sales, direct publishing is worth the additional account management.

How are Kobo royalties paid?

Kobo pays monthly once earnings exceed the minimum payment threshold (usually $50-100 depending on currency and payment method). Earnings are reported approximately 30 days after the end of the month in which sales occurred, with payment following. Payments are available via PayPal or bank wire; PayPal is the most common for authors in countries with straightforward PayPal access.

Can I change my price on KWL anytime?

Yes. Price changes on KWL can be made at any time and typically propagate to the Kobo storefront within 24-48 hours. You can also schedule price changes in advance (set a sale price to begin and end on specific dates), which is useful for coordinating promotions across platforms.

Does Kobo have page-read royalties like Kindle Unlimited?

Kobo Plus (their subscription service) pays per-read metrics in available markets, similar to KU. The payment rates differ from KU's approach, but the concept is similar: readers in the subscription program don't pay per-book, and you earn based on engagement. Unlike KDP Select, enrolling your book in Kobo Plus does not require exclusivity; your book can be enrolled in Kobo Plus while also being available on other platforms. This makes Kobo Plus more flexible than Kindle Unlimited from a distribution strategy perspective.

KWL analytics and data

Kobo Writing Life provides detailed analytics that many authors find more transparent than KDP's reporting.

Territorial breakdown: see sales by country storefront. This is useful for identifying where your reader base is geographically. If 60% of your Kobo sales come from Canada, that informs your marketing decisions (Canadian book communities, Canadian blog outreach, Canadian pricing optimization).

Refund tracking: KWL reports show refunds clearly. Track refund rates as a signal of reader expectations vs. book reality; a high refund rate may indicate a mismatch between your description, cover, and content.

Comparison to historical periods: you can compare sales over custom date ranges. Useful for evaluating whether a promotion generated incremental sales or just shifted timing.

The bottom line

Kobo Writing Life is the primary direct route for ebook distribution outside Amazon, particularly for authors with readers in Canada, Australia, and the UK. Direct KWL publishing maximizes royalties on Kobo and gives access to Kobo's promotional program, while aggregators like D2D provide a simpler (but slightly less profitable) path for authors who want to manage fewer accounts.

For the broader context of wide vs. exclusive distribution, see our guide on going wide vs KDP Select. And for formatting your ebook to upload everywhere, get started in LiberScript.