Publishing.com Reviews (Updated): Is Self-Publishing Passive Income Online?

TLDR – The Bottom Line on Publishing.com

So, is the AI Publishing Academy a scam, and do I recommend you buy this program?

First off, to call it a scam would be a stretch.

The program is not bad; it has an active community, and its members get monthly coaching calls and mentorship throughout the process.

There’s a good number of success stories and positive reviews of seemingly real students.

While there could be a fake review here and there, I believe that the most dedicated students still sell something after a few months.

To give more credit where credit is due, the Mikkelsen brothers have proven their worth as self-publishers. You don’t make millions off of not knowing anything about the business.

This should provide some sense of security to everyone looking to jump in.

However, I wouldn’t recommend buying the program.

The issue that lies within is the same one that lies in other e-commerce businesses.

Even if you had the best book on Amazon, which is already hard enough, a ton of people need to see your book, which means running paid ads.

Plus, you’ll compete with other students in the program and many other self-publishers on Amazon as a direct result of the 264% increase in number of published books in the last five years.

These challenges make this program a tough sell in a crowded market surrounding this business model.

There are way better options out there for making money online, like a business with a cash flow from multiple directions where you own and control everything.

One of them is digital leasing, which focuses on generating leads for local businesses. It’s flexible, easy to duplicate, and with little to no startup cost, you can earn passive income within the first month!

However, if you’d still like to hear more about Mikkelsen’s approach to selling digital products, keep on reading!

Who Benefits From Publishing.com & Who Doesn’t

With that out of the way, let’s explore some reasons you might find this program beneficial:

1. If you are a writer and you already have a book under your name. This cuts off a lot of the guesswork around the product creation IF the book that you have is already in a profitable niche.
2. If you like the idea of creating e-books and publishing them on Amazon, you don’t mind the hard work and expenses.
3. If you want to start making money online and you don’t care about the risk or low profit margins.

But if the points below describe you better, you might want to pass on this program:

1. You can’t risk investing money into a marketplace from which even the program’s creators managed to get banned and don’t want the technical headaches that come with it.
2. You want more control over the profit margin of your product and don’t want to rely on Amazon self publishing royalties.
3. You are not dead set on a royalty-based earning model and are open to exploring better options like digital leasing.

Publishing.com Reviews: A 1,000 Ft View Of The Self-Publishing Business

In this section, we’ll take a wide-angle look at the Mikkelsen Twins’ program, going into both its glittering promises and the often overlooked behind-the-scenes realities.

My goal is to offer you a well-rounded view, covering everything from the moment you sign up through the various training modules to the outcomes you might expect. Here’s what we’ll be exploring:

• Who Are The Mikkelsen Twins
• What Is Self-Publishing
• What Is Ghost Audio
• How Much For The Program
• What’s The Refund Policy

Who Are The Mikkelsen Twins:

Rasmus and Christian Mikkelsen, aka the Mikkelsen Twins, are kind of like the dynamic duo of the online money-making world.

They started off in Denmark, delivering Chinese food while trying to get through community college. But textbooks and takeout weren’t their thing.

They found a cool shortcut to success by writing ebooks and turning them into audiobooks.

Now, they’re not just making money, but with their online courses, they’re also teaching others how to publish their own books.

What Is Self-Publishing? – Trademarked Process of Publishing.com

Self-publishing on Amazon allows writers to put out their books without needing a traditional publisher.

So, if you’ve written a book (or paid someone to do it for you), you can share it with readers all over the world using Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) for e-books or Audible for audiobooks.

Here’s how it works: You write your book, then use KDP to get it ready and put it up for sale on Amazon.

Compared to traditional publishing, where authors only get a small cut, here you make money from each sale.

Getting people to notice your book is a whole different beast, though.

Mikkelsen’s program may seem like an easy way forward, but that notion is there entirely because they fail to mention issues that go with this business model.

The market is overflowing with new titles every day as the number of self-published has increased by 264% in the last five years.

Since so many books are published on Amazon, it’s hard for one single book to stand out. This means you need to work on getting your book seen using things like social media or Amazon’s PPC (Pay-per-click) program, which can easily make you overshoot your budget.

The other thing they teach you is to write books using AI.

“If you can’t close your eyes and envision it, it’s not there yet.” — Maya Angelou

As cool as it sounds, AI is not really there yet.

When it comes to writing, most of what it writes gets a generic undertone, and the info can sometimes be straight-up wrong.

Then there’s the issue of control—or the lack thereof. Amazon’s changing policies and algorithms can make or break your book’s visibility overnight. This lack of predictability is often frustrating and can negatively impact your book’s success.

With all that in mind, I think this is not a good investment for most people.

Your money might be better put into a more stable, recession-resistant field like the one this Digital Leasing company has been showing its students for a while.

What’s Ghost Audio?

Now, if you don’t have a knack for writing, the program points you toward what they call “The Ghost Audio“.

It’s really just a fancy way to say “outsourcing to a ghostwriter”.

The idea is that, since you have no writing skills, you can hire a ghost writer and have the book written for you. They even have a company to recommend: “The Urban Writers”.

Looking up their pricing, we see that they charge $2.99 per 100 words for a non-fiction-based book. With prices that low, something tells me that writing a book with AI isn’t such a bad idea after all.

Regardless of my skepticism, I think this is a nice way of giving everyone a chance to “go out to the world” and try selling digital products.

But even with this help, the program doesn’t protect you from the very real possibility of your book never making a splash.

So, while Publishing.com provides a starting block, it’s clear that the road ahead is full of challenges, and success is far from guaranteed.

How Much For The Program?

Access to this program will dent your wallet by a flat $6,000. That puts it in the category of one of the most expensive self-publishing courses out there.

You can break that price up into four installments and pay $1500 for four months.

That’s cool, but it’s still expensive for a course. Most courses hover around a thousand bucks.

If we consider other costs, like hiring ghost writers and voice actors or just the AI writing tool subscription (not covered by the program’s cost, by the way), this program becomes even harder to recommend.

Total expenses can easily go up to $10,000 before you get your first book published.

What’s the refund policy?

The program offers a 3-day money-back guarantee. After that, you can benefit from a full-year refund if you can prove that you’ve written a 25,000-word book.

This one-year refund is discretionary, meaning they might end up not refunding you.

While much better than a no-refund policy, having only three days to figure out if you like the program and whether it teaches self-publishing well enough is not enough, in my opinion.

My Personal Opinion on the Publishing.com scam buzz

Here’s my view on this course, the bros, and self-publishing.

From my standpoint, there’s no room left to say that this course was made to scam you, steal your money, and ride off to the sunset.

It is somewhat misleading when setting expectations; unless you have a nose for that, you might end up disappointed.

Maybe the trend of lousy courses and empty words in the past decade has impaired my judgment, and I’ve grown a thick skin for these things.

Maybe you think it should be critiqued more harshly — I don’t blame you.

But the reality is that these guys seem to be bringing some value, at least to some people.

And that’s a good thing!

If all these sales tactics, overhyped video sales letters, and Hawaiian shirts help someone at the end of the day, then all good!

It brings balance to the force.

However, having to pay so much for something that doesn’t guarantee you’ll at least break even takes the fun out of the game.

So, is publishing.com legit?

While it’s technically not a scam, I strongly believe there are better online businesses out there.

Now, your money is your money. You could continue looking for opportunities like this one and, every now and then, return to my blog for reviews like this one

You could also give up, sell your belongings, and go off to the mountains to become a shepherd (that actually sounds awesome).

OR you can tap into the industry with profit margins up to 90% and ensure multiple channels of income with little to no initial investment! I am, of course, talking about digital leasing. Join the community of over 2000 people and live life on your own terms!

What’s Inside The AI Publishing Academy Program

Inside the program, there are five modules and a couple of bonuses.

Here’s a simple breakdown of what each module in the program does:

Module 1: Mindset and Introduction

The program starts with Module 1, where the Mikkelsen Twins focus on mindset training.

The main premise is setting the right tone for the course.

They aim to gear you up with a positive attitude and readiness to tackle the challenges ahead. This foundational module is essential, especially when stepping into the unpredictable world of book publishing.

Module 2: The Art of Successful Book Creation

In Module 2, the twins delve into the secrets behind creating a successful book.

They introduce their approach to utilizing AI in writing, notably with audiobooks.

While they offer tools like the “Ultimate Prompt Sheet” and guidance on effective ChatGPT prompts, the content, albeit useful, might feel a bit repetitive.

This could be a valuable insight into modern book creation techniques for those new to AI-driven writing.

Module 3: Customer Research and Ghostwriting

The third module takes a more hands-on approach, guiding you through customer research, book titling, and outlining.

It underscores the importance of ghostwriting, a key component for those who prefer to outsource the writing process.

Module 4: Visual Appeal and Content Review

Next, Module 4 emphasizes the visual aspect of your book. From designing an eye-catching cover using AI tools like Midjourney and getting the book ready for publishing.

Midjourney is a good tool that allows you to create book covers, removing any need to hire art designers. It also includes using AI to help write the description of your book.

Module 5: Marketing and Sales Strategies

Finally, Module 5 shifts focus to marketing and sales – the make-or-break phase.

It controversially introduces tactics like using Pubby for reviews, a practice that raises ethical concerns and brings fake reviews into question.

Additionally, it covers essential topics like copyrighting your work and navigating Amazon Author Central, providing a comprehensive guide to the business side of book publishing.

Bonuses:

The course also comes with additional perks labeled as bonuses. These include access to their proprietary AI writing tool, Publishing.ai, tailored for Amazon audiobooks, and membership in private Facebook groups for peer support. Also, they offer guidance on financial aspects like taxation and Kickstarter campaigns, adding more value to the package.

Although the program sounds like it can speed up the book publishing process, there’s a mixed response to how good it really is.

Conclusion – Is Publishing.com Legit in Its Approach?

After having an in-depth look at the program, it’s pretty clear that the Mikkelsen Twins have some ideas about how to succeed in self-publishing. However, they could learn a thing or two when it comes to coaching.

Their focus seems to be on publishing a lot of stuff quickly rather than on making each piece really good. Some of the tactics they suggest could push the boundaries of Amazon’s rules, putting people’s Amazon accounts at risk and even posing legal concerns.

On top of that, the cost of joining their program is quite high, especially when we consider that there’s no guarantee in a business where success already depends on many variables outside of your control.

A refund policy with a 3-day money-back guarantee lets you get a full refund if you decide the program is not for you. The refund extends to up to a year if you can prove that you’ve written a 25,000-word book, tried and failed.

The AI element, while cool, doesn’t seem to be the magic bullet that the program suggests. It’s more of a supplementary tool rather than a core feature ready to revolutionize the way you write.

Also, it’s worth noting that their courses have had different names in the past, and there have been some negative reviews and criticism. So, you might want to be cautious before diving in and fully committing to their teachings.

What Is My #1 Top Recommendation For Making Money Online?

I’ve been researching, checking out, and testing tons of business models and programs for years.

There’s no such thing as a “perfect business,” but my research is clear:

Digital Leasing is the #1 online business model for those just starting out.

If you’ve never made money online or have tried but haven’t really succeeded, Digital Leasing is perfect for you.

Why?

1) It’s super flexible: Only have an hour each day? That’s enough. Want to go all-in full-time? You can do that too. The more you put in, the quicker you’ll see results. But even if you can only spend a little time each day, you can still make progress in a Digital Leasing business.

And because this system is so flexible, you don’t have to constantly be working to make more money. It’s called PASSIVE INCOME because if you stop working, the money doesn’t. 

Imagine taking 3 months off to just tour around Europe, rent a cabin in the woods to write a book, hike the Appalachian Trail, or live on the beach and surf all day. 

This is only possible if you have an income stream that’s not tied to your time.

2) You Own & Control EVERYTHING: With Publishing.com, you don’t really own anything. You have no control over the quality of your books when you give all the power to AI. Plus, if you’re using AI and Amazon, do you really own your business?

Amazon can and does kick off tons of self-publishers who try to game their system through the lessons the Mikkelsen twins teach.

With Digital Leasing, you own the assets, which means you have all the power and all the control and no one can kick you out.

3) Little To No Startup Costs: It’s possible to get into Digital Leasing with zero dollars upfront. Because, using the strategies outlined in this program, you can get a client to pay you BEFORE spending a penny out of your own pocket…even before you do any work.

Even if you don’t get paid first, you can get your first Digital Rental Property running and making money for under $100.

4) Easy to Grow: Here’s the cool part: once you’ve got your first Digital Rental Property going, you can double your income easily with just a few clicks and a phone call (and sometimes you don’t even need the call).

Remember: each Digital Rental Property is worth $500 to $2,000 monthly in semi-passive income (over 95% profit). Every time you decide to create another one and increase your income, it gets easier.

Because you have more knowledge, more experience, more results, and more momentum. 

Publishing.com doesn’t scale. NO publishing business does. If you tried to double your income with self-publishing, you’d have to work twice as much.

It would take a lot more hustling, and even if you put out a lot of books all at once – that might actually trigger Amazon’s algorithm and ban your account!

5) Make Money Helping Real People: With Digital Leasing, you’re actually helping people by solving your clients’ biggest problem:

Small, local businesses need more customers, and with Digital Leasing, you are unleashing a flood of happy, paying customers for these businesses. 

You make money by helping them make money. 

Not a big, faceless corporation either…a small business owner who’s using that money to put food on the table for their family, start a college fund for their kids, or take care of a sick parent. 

Once you see how Digital Leasing makes a real impact in the lives of real people, you’ll sleep like a baby with a big smile on your face.

On the other hand, one may argue the Mikkelsen twins are just teaching you how to waste people’s time with AI books that don’t make any sense, propped up by fake reviews.

Now, it’s up to you. You can keep looking at options like Publishing.com, hoping they’ll pay off someday, but knowing they might not.

You could continue researching, never making a decision. 

OR, you could take a look inside, consider what you really want, and join a program that makes your dreams a reality. At the same time, joining a community of over 2,000 successful students that are living life on their own terms, thanks to Digital Leasing.

A consistent, reliable, semi-passive stream of income that doesn’t depend on you or your time to keep producing profits. 

All while genuinely helping real people who are grateful and happy to pay for it. 

If this sounds more like what you want out of life (or if you just want some nice side income), click here to learn more about Digital Leasing.