Writing is one of the best ways you can make money in today’s world. People love to read. The problem most writer’s face is publishing. Getting a publishing company to publish your book can be difficult. Sometimes, they’ll want to publish your book under a different name and pay you off.
It’s a little extra difficult in Nigeria especially when you don’t have the funds. This is where platforms like Kindle by Amazon come in. You don’t need to worry about any company coming to publish your work with Amazon Kindle. Amazon is a US-based company so most Nigerian authors do ask, does Kindle work in Nigeria?
If it does, how do they get paid in Nigeria by Kindle? We’ll be discussing all of that in this article.
About Kindle Self-Publishing
Kindle itself is an eBook reading device. The device connects with the self-publishing platform where millions of eBooks are available. Kindle Self-Publishing is what the name says it is. It’s a self-publishing platform by Amazon. The platform was first introduced in 2007 and since then it’s been top of the game. No other self-publishing platform comes close.
There are many reasons why Kindle Self-Publishing is the best self-publishing platform you can make use of. The platform lets you independently publish your book on an online store where millions of readers can access it. You can sell books for anywhere between $0.99 to $200. That’s around N400 to N80,000 in Nigerian Naira.
Kindle gives you access to passive income. You continue to get paid for years so long as your book is available on the platform. The platform is completely free. There are no side payments or maintenance fees on your part. The only thing you’re spending is the time and energy taken to write and publish your book.
If you’re going to use Amazon Kindle, you must produce quality works. You can make money with mediocre work. Kindle is a very competitive platform. There are millions of books on the platform as mentioned earlier. If you write subpar stories or other literary works, your book will just get lost in the crowd.
Does Kindle Work In Nigeria?
To be straightforward, the answer is YES! Amazon Kindle self-publishing works in Nigeria. The platform is global and works in almost every country. A lot of Nigerian authors have made millions selling their eBooks on the Kindle Store. You can confirm yourself by visiting the store.
You can search the store for Nigerian related subjects or search Nigeria names. Among the search results you’ll see books from Nigerian authors. You don’t have to do anything extra to begin publishing on Kindle. Just visit the Amazon platform, sign up, switch to Kindle and follow the laid out steps.
If you already have an Amazon account, you can just login and skip the account registration. You’ll still need to do a minor registration for Kindle. This includes setting your publishing name and mailing address among other things. Note that you have to verify your account before it can be allowed to publish.
This is relatively simple but you still should be careful. An OTP will be sent to your phone number. Type in this OTP in the required field and you’re done. However, your account will be temporarily locked if you enter the wrong OTP three times. With that covered, the next thing is about getting paid.
How To Get Paid From Kindle In Nigeria
This is the main subject of this article. How do you get paid from Kindle in Nigeria? Getting paid from Kindle in Nigeria isn’t very straightforward as the registration. You need a US or EU bank account number to receive payment. Amazon cannot send money directly to your Nigerian bank account.
This is one of the disadvantages and why most authors skip using Kindle. Kindle works in Nigeria but it’s not Nigerian-friendly. You can choose wire transfer but it can be very complicated. Also, the fees can be very high and affect your profit. Nevertheless, there’s a way to still get paid from Kindle in Nigeria. You can make use of Payoneer.
Payoneer is an online financial service company. It’s similar to payment platforms like PayPal, Stripe, and the Nigerian Flutterwave if you may. However, Payoneer is more versatile than any of these platforms. Payooner provides money transfer services and digital payment services.
You can create a Payooner account seamlessly in Nigeria. The only thing you need is to verify your identity using your government-issued ID card. If you’re a company, they could request for tax information. I believe you’re just an individual publisher so you have nothing to worry about.
After creating your Payooner account, you can request for a US or EU account number. Submit this number to Amazon Kindle and you can receive payment. When money is sent to the account, it’ll reflect in your Payooner account. You can withdraw money from Payooner via wire transfer if you have a domiciliary account.
You can also request for a Payoneer MasterCard. With the card, you can withdraw money from any ATM close to you.
Is Kindle Worth It?
Kindle doesn’t support Nigerian bank accounts. Also, most Nigerians don’t read books online. They prefer buying hard copies from stores. With all of this, is Kindle worth it? Should you skip it and simply publish your book the traditional way?
Well, it depends on your target audience. If you write your book for Nigerians to read, you’ll fare better with the traditional method. On the other hand, Kindle self-publishing is the best and is worth it if you’re targeting foreign readers. Especially Americans.
Bottom Line
While Kindle is not very friendly to Nigerians, it’s one of the best options to sell your books. It’s most advantageous if your target audience are foreigners. You can get paid from Kindle in Nigeria using Wire Transfer or Payooner.