How a Teacher Discovered a Simple Amazon Side Hustle

Side Hustles
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How a Teacher Discovered a Simple Amazon Side Hustle
A late-night YouTube video led one educator to a flexible income stream that fits around her teaching schedule.
By Sarah Mitchell
Morning Post Ledger • 6 min read
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"Many educators are exploring flexible side hustles that complement their teaching schedules."
The Discovery
Emily Chen, a 34-year-old middle school teacher in Austin, Texas, was scrolling through YouTube late one Wednesday evening. She wasn't looking for anything specific—just decompressing after a long day of lesson planning and grading papers.
That's when she stumbled upon a video from Mark Tilbury, a finance content creator known for breaking down side hustle opportunities . The title caught her attention: "How I Made $15,000 a Month Selling Simple Books on Amazon."
Skeptical but curious, Emily clicked. What she learned in the next 18 minutes would fundamentally change how she thought about generating income outside her teaching job.
What Mark Tilbury Explained
Mark's video focused on Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) —specifically, a niche within it called "low-content publishing."
Unlike traditional books that require writing thousands of words, low-content books are functional products with minimal text. Think:
Journals and planners
Habit trackers
Coloring books
Puzzle books (crosswords, sudoku, word searches)
Logbooks (fitness, reading, travel)
The beauty of this model, Mark explained, is that Amazon handles everything: printing, shipping, customer service, and returns. Creators simply upload a PDF of the book's interior and cover, set a price, and Amazon does the rest.
Print-on-Demand: The Game Changer
With print-on-demand, there's no need to buy inventory upfront. Books are printed only when customers order them. This eliminates financial risk and makes the business model accessible to anyone—even teachers working on tight budgets and tighter schedules.
Emily's Initial Skepticism
Emily's first thought was: "This sounds too good to be true."
She'd seen plenty of "make money online" schemes that promised easy income but delivered nothing. So she did what any analytical person would do: she researched.
She spent the next few days:
Reading Amazon KDP success stories
Watching more YouTube tutorials
Browsing Amazon's bestseller lists in the "Books" category
What surprised her most was discovering that many top-selling books on Amazon were simple planners and journals—not novels or self-help books written by famous authors.
One gratitude journal she found had over 12,000 reviews and was priced at $7.99. Even if the creator earned just $2 per sale, that's potentially tens of thousands of dollars in royalties.
The Tool That Made It Possible
In his video, Mark mentioned a tool called BookBolt —a software platform designed specifically for low-content book creators.
Emily signed up for a free trial to explore its features. BookBolt offered:
Niche Research Tools
Identify profitable niches by analyzing bestseller ranks, search volume, and competition levels.
Interior Templates
Pre-made layouts for journals, planners, and activity books that can be customized in minutes.
Cover Designer
Drag-and-drop cover creation tool with fonts, graphics, and color schemes—no design experience needed.
Keyword Research
Discover high-traffic keywords to optimize book listings and improve discoverability on Amazon.
For someone with zero graphic design experience, BookBolt was a revelation. Emily realized she could create professional-looking books without hiring a designer or learning complex software like Photoshop.
Creating Her First Book
Emily decided to start simple. She chose a niche she understood well: teacher planners .
As an educator, she knew what teachers needed—lesson planning pages, grade trackers, meeting notes, and space for reflection. Using BookBolt's templates, she customized a planner interior in about 90 minutes .
For the cover, she used BookBolt's cover creator to design something clean and professional: a soft pastel background with bold typography that read "Teacher Planner 2024."
The Publishing Process
Exported the interior and cover files from BookBolt as PDFs
Created a free Amazon KDP account
Uploaded the files to KDP's platform
Filled in book details (title, description, keywords)
Set a retail price of $9.97
Clicked "Publish"
Total time from concept to published book: less than 3 hours .
Within 72 hours, her book was live on Amazon.
The First Sale
Emily didn't expect much. She figured maybe a few teachers might stumble upon it.
But five days after publishing, she received an email from Amazon: "You've made a sale!"
Her royalty for that first sale was $3.24 . Not a fortune—but proof that the model worked.
Over the next two weeks, she made 11 more sales. Then 18. Then 27.
The Momentum Builds
Encouraged by the initial traction, Emily decided to create more books. She published a student homework planner, a reading log for kids, and a simple gratitude journal.
Each book took 1-2 hours to create using BookBolt's templates. She worked during her lunch breaks, after school, and on weekends—fitting the work around her teaching schedule.
Scaling the Side Hustle
By the end of her third month, Emily had published 22 books . Not all of them sold well—some niches were more competitive than others. But a handful became consistent sellers.
Her best-performing book was a simple "Daily Habit Tracker" —a no-frills journal with pages for tracking habits over 90 days. It cost her nothing to create (using BookBolt templates) and sold steadily at $6.99.
By month six, Emily's monthly royalties had grown to $800-$1,200 . By month twelve, she was earning between $2,000-$3,500 per month .
What Made the Difference
1
Consistency
Emily committed to publishing at least one new book per week.
2
Niche Research
She used BookBolt's data to identify underserved niches with high demand.
3
Keyword Optimization
She learned how to use keywords strategically to improve book visibility on Amazon.
4
Evergreen Content
She focused on timeless niches (journals, planners) rather than fleeting trends.
The Flexibility Factor
For Emily, the biggest benefit wasn't just the money—it was the flexibility.
As a teacher, she couldn't take on a traditional part-time job. Her evenings were spent grading papers, and her weekends were often consumed by lesson planning.
But with low-content publishing, she could work on her own schedule. An hour here, two hours there. And once a book was published, it required zero ongoing effort—it could continue selling for months or even years.
This passive income model allowed her to:
Pay off student loans faster
Save for a down payment on a house
Take a summer trip to Europe without financial stress
Is This Right for Everyone?
Emily is quick to point out that low-content publishing isn't a get-rich-quick scheme. It requires:
Research to identify profitable niches
Consistency to build a catalog
Patience as sales grow over time
Willingness to learn about keywords, pricing, and Amazon's algorithm
But for people looking for a flexible, low-risk side hustle that can generate passive income, it's a compelling option.
Final Thoughts
Emily's story isn't unique. Thousands of people—teachers, stay-at-home parents, retirees, and students—are using Amazon KDP and tools like BookBolt to create simple books that generate income.
The barrier to entry is low. The financial risk is minimal. And the potential for passive income is real.
As Emily puts it: "I never thought I'd be a 'publisher.' But now I have over 50 books on Amazon, and they're earning money while I'm teaching, sleeping, or spending time with my…

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