Is Book Bolt Worth it? My Experience with this KDP Low-Content Book Creation Software
Before you pull out your credit card and hit subscribe, read this.
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of them I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support!
Since I started my journey of creating low-content books to sell through Amazon’s KDP platform, I’ve used a few different tools for both creating the books and researching keywords.
And because so many people seem interested in exploring this income stream, I decided I would go ahead and review the programs that I have used so far.
(If you aren’t sure what I’m talking about, you can check out my first post on creating KDP low-content books here, as well as my update post, here.)
This series of reviews was originally one article, but I decided to break it down into multiple to make it a bit more digestible while adding more information about each program. Once I’ve published all my reviews (four in total) I’ll create a post going into what software setup I recommend for beginners.
Let’s get started with the first tool I tried for creating KDP low-content books: Book Bolt.
What is Book Bolt?
Book Bolt is the first program I tried when I learned about creating low-content books because it was mentioned in the first video I ever watched on the topic. To be honest, it was a total impulse buy, and I didn’t yet realize what kind of alternatives there were out there.
That being said, Book Bolt is by no means a bad program. It was specifically designed for people who want to make low-content books, and so it has some version of just about every feature you need to do that. There is a cover creator, interior creator, category lookup tool, and a wide variety of pre-made interiors that you can download in different sizes.
Book Bolt also has tools to assist with researching the best keywords to use on Amazon. There is a tool that allows you to search a keyword and see the books that rank for that keyword as well as their Best Sellers Rank (BSR), which can help you to determine good keywords and competitive niches.
It also comes with a keyword research tool similar to Publisher Rocket, a program I will talk about in a future post. The tool gives you information like Amazon search volume and competition, though I personally find Publisher Rocket’s information to be more complete.
In addition to all that, the Pro version of Book Bolt comes with a puzzle designer tool. I tested it out briefly and it seems pretty easy to use, though since I’m not someone who does a lot of puzzles I can’t really speak to the quality of the puzzles themselves. If the puzzle book niche is one that you have a lot of interest in, this feature might make Book Bolt a no-brainer for you.
What are the best features of Book Bolt?
I’d say that the pre-made interiors are probably my favorite part of Book Bolt. There is a pretty decent selection of interiors and it’s easy to download them in a variety of sizes. Some of their research tools aren’t bad either, and you can get enough information on keywords from them to get started. (Though like I said I prefer Publisher Rocket for keyword research specifically, more on that in a future post).
The cover creator is, in my opinion, just “okay.” Canva is much more robust and pretty easy to use, and there is a free version that has more than enough features for you to get started.
There is also an interior design tool on Book Bolt, which I haven’t used much because, one, I find Canva to be better for designing overall, and two, I’ve just been focusing on pre-made interiors because designing the covers felt like enough work as it is. But your mileage may vary.
Who is Book Bolt best for?
Overall, I would say Book Bolt is a solid option for a beginner, as it has basically everything you need to get started with making and selling KDP low-content books, and some of the tools are quite good.
I would recommend Book Bolt more to people who find the idea of having multiple subscriptions/products overwhelming (or not financially feasible), or who just want to dip their toe in the water of KDP low-content and want an all-in-one program to get started with. You could easily sign up for a month and just play around with it, make a couple of books and try it out.
The pre-made interiors are probably my favorite feature so far. And while I prefer Canva for cover design, the Book Bolt cover design program is fairly easy to use and might have a shorter learning curve if you have never used any other design platform. But any cover you make with it is going to be quite basic as they don’t have a ton of graphics and design elements.
The company has made a lot of tutorial videos as well, which is nice, and they sometimes offer new, limited-edition interiors for subscribers. They also host weekly Q&A calls, but I haven’t personally attended them.
Will I renew my subscription?
I bought a six-month “Pro” subscription for around $60 through a special offer (The “Pro” level is the only one with the puzzle creator tool and is usually $20/month). Once it is up, I’m not sure if I will renew or not. It will probably depend on where I am at with my KDP low-content book journey and if I am still finding it helpful. I will also say that I haven’t explored all of their tools in-depth, and so I might come to find with more use that it is worth renewing.
Final verdict: is Book Bolt worth it?
As far as the cost-to-feature ratio goes, I would say Book Bolt is worth it. The Newbie pricing tier is only $9.99 per month, making it the most financially accessible paid tool I’ve used for KDP creation so far.
I would also say that it is more worth it for a beginner, someone who doesn’t have much or any design experience and who doesn’t have any other keyword research tool that they are paying for. Pretty much everything you get from Book Bolt you can get in some version somewhere else, so if you are already paying for other programs that give you those features, you may not find it necessary.
If you want to try Book Bolt out for yourself, you can click here
If you have any questions about Book Bolt, leave them in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer them. In my next post, I’ll be reviewing the Amazon keyword research tool, Publisher Rocket.
Not a Medium member and out of those sweet, sweet free articles? Never fear. Click here to join and support my writing in the process. Thank you!
Grace Moore is a writer of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, and is the author of the poetry collection When We Were Lifeboats. Her interests include travel, reading, and doing any activity that involves supplies from the craft store. She lives in Washington with her husband, where they can often be found discussing Doctor Who in-depth. She’s passionate about helping writers find their motivation and unlock their creativity. Follow her on Instagram.
