**TL;DR: Generated $487 revenue in first month from 3 AI-assisted books. Total investment: $50. Here's how.** I've been reading r/passiveincome for a year, and everyone talks about Amazon KDP as passive income. But actually WRITING books? That was the blocker for me. Last month I tested using AI to generate books. Here's my complete breakdown. **My Background:** * Zero writing experience * Full-time job (software dev) * Goal: Side income, not quit-my-job money **Books Published (October 2024):** 1. "Meal Prep for Beginners" (non-fiction, 35K words) 2. "50 Campfire Stories for Kids" (fiction, 25K words) 3. "Home Organization Hacks" (non-fiction, 30K words) **Cost Breakdown:** * AI tool subscription: $14.99/month (KDPBot - 5 books/month) * Stock photos for covers: $0 (used AI-generated) * KDP ISBN: $0 (free from Amazon) * Editing: $20 (Grammarly Premium, already had it) * Beta reader (friend): $15 (coffee + gratitude) * **Total: $50** **Time Investment:** * Book generation: 45 min each = 2.25 hours * Editing/polishing: 3 hours per book = 9 hours * Cover design: 30 min each = 1.5 hours * KDP upload: 30 min each = 1.5 hours * **Total: 14.5 hours** **Revenue (First 30 Days):** * Meal Prep book: $287 (154 sales @ $2.99 = $210 royalty) * Campfire Stories: $132 (71 sales @ $2.99) * Home Organization: $68 (36 sales @ $2.99) * **Total: $487** **Profit: $437 (first month)** **Hourly rate: $30/hour** (not bad for a side hustle) **What worked:** * Chose high-demand, low-competition niches (used Publisher Rocket) * Priced at $2.99 for 70% royalty * Simple covers (AI-generated worked fine) * Focused on practical content (how-to, lists, actionable advice) **What didn't work:** * First book took forever (learning curve) * One cover was too generic (redesigned it) * Forgot to fact-check AI stats (had to update book) **Realistic expectations:** * This is NOT "push button get rich" * You need to edit AI content (important!) * Marketing matters (I ran $30 AMS ads) * Results vary by niche **Month 2 plan:** * Publish 5 more books (using remaining free credits) * Reinvest $200 in AMS ads * Goal: $1,000/month by end of Q1 **Key lesson:** AI tools removed the "I can't write" excuse. Now success depends on niche research and marketing - skills I can learn. Happy to share my niche research process or answer questions! **Tool I used**: KDPBot (not affiliated, just what worked for me)