How to Publish a Book on Kobo Writing Life
The short answer
Kobo Writing Life is Kobo's free self-publishing portal for eBooks and audiobooks, sold in Kobo's stores and through its partners in many countries. You create an account, upload an EPUB and cover, enter the book details, set a price per territory and publish.
Published October 2026 · By Harmony Publishing Editorial Team
What do you need before you start?
- A finished eBook in EPUB format with a working table of contents.
- A cover image at the size and quality the platform asks for.
- Your book details: title, author name, description, categories and keywords.
- A Kobo Writing Life account, your tax details and a bank account for payment.
Platforms change their menus, formats and terms. Use this guide for the order of the work, and check the platform's own help pages for the current rules before you upload.
How to publish on Kobo Writing Life, step by step
- Create a Kobo Writing Life account and fill in the payment and tax information.
- Add a new eBook and enter the title, author, description, language, categories and keywords.
- Enter the ISBN if you have one for the eBook. An ISBN is optional; if you do not supply one, the platform can assign an identifier for Kobo.
- Upload the EPUB and the cover. The platform checks the file and lists any errors to fix.
- Choose the price, and the countries and currencies in which the book is sold. You can set different prices by territory.
- Preview the book, check the table of contents and the links, then publish.
- Later, update the file, the price or the description from the same title without a new listing.
The mistakes that hold a Kobo file up
- A broken or missing table of contents, which readers and the file check both notice.
- Keywords and categories copied from another store without checking Kobo's own list.
- Reusing the paperback's ISBN for the eBook.
Kobo and other eBook stores
Kobo is strong in Canada and in several markets outside the United States, so it suits authors with readers there. The same clean EPUB can be uploaded to Apple Books, Google Play Books and other stores.
Harmony converts manuscripts to clean EPUB files, so one file is ready for every store you choose.
Want Harmony to do it for you?
Harmony Publishing is a full-service self-publishing and book printing company that has published 1,000+ books for 500+ authors in 20+ countries, and authors keep 100% of their royalties. We can edit, design and format your book, prepare the files to Kobo Writing Life's specifications, and print it, or you can do any of those steps yourself and use us only for printing. Harmony is an independent company and is not part of Kobo Writing Life.
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Frequently asked questions
Is it free to publish on Kobo Writing Life?
Kobo Writing Life does not charge to list an eBook, and Kobo keeps a share of each sale. Check the current terms on the site before you publish.
Do I need an ISBN for Kobo?
No, it is optional for an eBook on Kobo. If you use one, give the eBook its own ISBN, separate from your paperback and hardcover.
Can I sell my paperback on Kobo?
Kobo Writing Life is for eBooks and audiobooks. Printed books are sold through other routes.
Can Harmony prepare the EPUB?
Yes. See the eBook conversion service, or ask for a quote.