#003 - KDP Q&A: Amazon Ads, AI Books & the $1M Month Goal with Amazon KDP

In this episode of the Publishing Playbook, Andrey Bernhart ($500K+ on Amazon KDP) and Tim Gebhard ($250K in 9 months) sit down for a listener Q&A. We answer your most asked questions about self-publishing, Amazon KDP, AI-powered book creation, PublishFlow, and what it really takes to scale.Topics covered:- Why Andrey gives away his publishing workflow through PublishFlow instead of gatekeeping it- How public accountability on YouTube drives Tim's performance- The impact of being around other successful publishers- Andrey's top 5 books out of 50 (and why)- How design skills give you an unfair advantage in KDP- PublishFlow's biggest weakness right now (and the long-term vision)- Is AI ruining book publishing? Our honest take on fiction vs. non-fiction- Tim's aggressive Amazon Ads strategy explained- When KDP started feeling like a real business for AndreyAbout us:Andrey Bernhardt — Self-publisher for 2 years, $500K+ lifetime royalties on Amazon KDP, co-founder of PublishFlow (publishflow.ai)Tim Gebhardt — Publishing since May 2025, ~$200K lifetime royalties in 9 months, documenting the journey on Peter Holmquist's channelTry PublishFlow: https://publishflow.ai/?utm_source=PodEP3---## Timestamps0:00 — Cold open teaser0:32 — Welcome & what's this episode about (Q&A format)1:15 — Who are we? Introductions2:02 — Why does Andrey give away his workflow through PublishFlow?3:10 — The vision: raising the quality bar on Amazon KDP with AI7:00 — Will the public perception of AI books change?8:05 — Does documenting the journey on YouTube pressure Tim to perform?9:27 — Tim's goal: $100K month by end of March, $1M month by Q410:46 — Has being around successful publishers changed how you think?12:30 — Two brains are better than one — how collaboration sparks ideas14:25 — Tim's SuperTIM AI agent origin story (brain dump in the car)15:11 — If you could only keep 5 of your 50 books, which ones and why?17:30 — The $19.40 royalty book & the $33K seasonal monster18:57 — How did design & Photoshop skills help Tim start with KDP?20:30 — Design skills > writing skills in the AI era?22:31 — What's PublishFlow's biggest weakness right now?24:00 — The long-term vision: InDesign-level quality inside PublishFlow25:45 — Is AI ruining book publishing? Fiction vs. non-fiction debate28:35 — Could AI write the next Game of Thrones?30:00 — The future: custom AI-generated novel series made just for you30:53 — Tim's aggressive Amazon Ads strategy — why spend so much?33:00 — Andrey's defensive ad strategy vs. Tim's aggressive approach35:47 — When did KDP start feeling like a main hustle? (Andrey's growth curve)38:30 — Tim's insane growth curve: $150 → $55K months40:15 — What's "normal" on KDP? We want to have that real conversation41:06 — PublishFlow launch announcement43:30 — Drop "SuperTim" in the comments if you watched until here!44:24 — Outro