How to Publish Public Domain Books and Why You Should (2024)

Creating and selling a public domain book can be really enticing. After all, a public domain is a book that no longer has a copyright, and so the idea is to take that book, spruce it up and start selling.

And I can see allure of this. Go through and find great public domains,

But the cold hard truth of it all is that doing public domains is actually quite hard. It requires more than you think. There is a lot of red tape surrounding them, and there are a lot of pitfalls. Do the wrong thing, and you can lose your Amazon account.

But, if you take this seriously, and really work hard on them, they can be an amazing opportunity.

So, to help authors understand publishing public domains, what to watch out for, and how to do it effectively, I've written a full guide to all things public domain.

However, please note, I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice.

Disclaimer: Kindlepreneur is not a legal entity and cannot give legal advice. Before publishing a public domain title, make sure to do your research to make sure it is public domain, or consult a lawyer. Also as a heads up, some of the links in this article are affiliate links, but this costs you nothing extra and every bit of money we make from that goes into the coffee fund.

What is a Public Domain Book?

A public domain book is a book that has no copyright. It was either created without a copyright license, or the copyright has expired. Most countries have a copyright that protects the book for 70 years following the death of the authors.

When a book no longer has a copyright, it can be copied, sold, adapted, etc. by anyone who so chooses.

Copyright law can be complicated, and it varies from one country to another. That said, copyright law for written content tends to follow a few easy-to-remember rules.

Copyright in the U.S.

Originally, copyright in the U.S. lasted for 28 years after the work was written, and an author had the opportunity to renew that copyright for another 28 years.

In 1978, that law was amended to 75 years or the life of the author plus 50 years. In 1998 this was further extended to 95 years after publication or the life of the author plus 70 years. For those of you who don't know, Disney had a strong hand in the pushback of the years for public domain.

Basically, if I die tomorrow, you’ll be able to use my books 70 years later.What this means is that anything published 95 years ago is fair game. That date shifts at the beginning of every year.

There are some books published after 1925 that are also in the public domain, if the publishers did not extend the copyright after the initial 28 year period. But proof of the public domain status of these books is sometimes hard to find, and you will need it in order to publish on a platform like Amazon.

IMPORTANT NOTE: While a book might be Public Domain, it's translation might not. This rule catches a lot of people by surprise. For example, let's say a german written famous book went out of copyright in 1934. However, in 1975 someone did a translation of that to English. If you use the english translation, you could seriously be in violation. So, ensure the translation you are using is still good to go.

Copyright Worldwide

Every country has their own rules for the expiration of copyright, and you’ll want to check the individual copyright laws before publishing in any country. That said, most countries go by the “life plus 70 years” rule like the UK.

But here’s where it gets complicated. What happens when your book is public domain in one country and not another?

This can happen if you have an author who published a work before 1926, but died after 1951. In that case, the copyright would extend for most countries until after 70 years past the author’s death, but not in the United States if the work was published before 1926.

In short, you need to do your research. Not all books will be publishable in all countries.

Selling Public Domains on Markets & Amazon’s Restrictions

Some markets, like PubishDrive will not allow you to publish and sell public domains. So, if you are looking to do that, check with that individual market and see.

But, I have good news: Amazon allows you to sell public domains…with some restrictions, and rules.

Amazon’s policy officially states while you can sell public domains on their store, you need to still make it unique or as they call it, a “differentiated works.” This means you can't simply copy and paste from a word document, and sell it on their store.

So how do we “differentiate” enough to be considered unique? Amazon provides three different options.

• Translations: If you are proficient enough in a second language to translate a book from one language to another, that will qualify as a unique work.
• Annotations: These can be anything from chapter summaries, to historical background, to an author’s biography, to explanations of unfamiliar words, usually a mixture of all these things. This is things like adding your own CliffNotes to the text. For some, this will be the easiest way to differentiate.
• Illustrations: If you’re an artist, all you have to do is add ten original illustrations to the text to be considered unique. These must be your own work and cannot be copied from other public domain sources. However with AI art, this is becoming an easier option as well.

When you upload a book to KDP, keep in mind that you will want to include its unique qualifier like (Translated) or (Annotated) or (Illustrated) in the title. Example: “Pride and Prejudice [Illustrated].”

There are a number of techniques that Amazon specifically doesn’t consider unique. These include:

• A linked table of contents
• Formatting improvements
• Collections
• Sales rank
• Price
• Freely available Internet content

Collections are one popular way of presenting public domain content in order to add value to the reader. However, while it might be nice to be able to buy the complete works of Jane Austen, doing so will not be considered “unique” in Amazon’s eyes.

Can You Copyright Differentiated Public Domain Books?

You can copyright any unique contributions to your specific version of public domain content. For example, you can copyright any original illustrations that you created for the story.

However, you cannot copyright anything that was previously in the public domain. In the opening of your copy, you might want to include a copyright disclaimer such as:

“Pride and Prejudice is in the public domain. All original additions, including illustrations and chapter summaries, are copyright 2021….”

How to Publish and Sell Public Domain Books

Okay, so now that we know what public domains are, copyright laws surrounding them, and the rules for publishing one on Amazon, let's breakdown the steps you should take if you decided to self-publish and sell public domains:

Step 1: Finding Public Domain Material

Our first step is to build a list of potential public domains to publish. The key here is not to go after some of the famous ones you recognize like The Art of War (these will be too competitive and already fill the market). But instead, look for books that have some notoriety but aren't too competitive.

There are a number of terrific resources out there that provide public domain content. Consider the following:

• Project Gutenberg: This site has over 60,000 public domain ebooks. And it is by far the best resource on this list. If you can't find the public domain title here, there is a much lesser chance of finding it elsewhere, with a few exceptions. It's also where I get most of my public domain books.
• Archive.org: Another great resource with tens of thousands of public domain books, as well as a lot of other material, including magazine scans, films, audio, and more. This is where I have gotten a lot of things like original scans of a book or magazine.
• Sacred Texts: This is a site that specializes in religious works of a wide variety of religions. It's one of the best resources for public domain works that are religiously based.
• LibriVox: This isn't for ebooks or print, but does contain audiobooks of a lot of classic public domain books. While you can't go and upload these to ACX, you can include them as bonus material on your website, or in other creative ways.
• Authorama: Authorama is a site that focuses on the greatest authors throughout history. It's a good place to get the classics.
• Classic Literature Library: This site partners with Project Gutenberg but is notable for having great collections of public domain works, particularly by the more popular authors.
• Google Search: You’re likely to find what you’re looking for with the above resources, but if not, there are many other, sometimes genre specific, resources that are a Google search away. To do this well, I recommend searching for the work you're looking for, then adding something like “full text” or “PDF” to the end of your search. If you don't see it come up anywhere, then it likely doesn't exist in a digitized form. But don't necessarily let that stop you. If there's demand for the work, you could have it transcribed and make it available yourself!

Pro Tip: In my experience, publishing public domain books that are already very popular often result in lower sales because people can get it from more established sources. On the flip side, publishing something too obscure can have the same effect. Look for books that have potential audiences but not too many versions on Amazon, there’s a sweet spot to shoot for there.

Now that you have a list of possible books in mind, it’s time to move on to the next step.

Step 2: Validate Whether Your Public Domain will Make Sales

After following step 1 above, you should have a LARGE list of possible public domains you can work with. However, before you begin it's absolutely important that you check to see if there is demand for that book on Amazon. You can do this by looking at the following:

1. How many people are searching for the book on Amazon
2. How much money is that book making on Amazon
3. How hard is the competition

The best way of doing this is to use Publisher Rocket.

See Also

LibGuides: Copyright Services: Copyright Term and the Public Domain

Step 1: First, do a keyword search using the book's title. Then look at the Estimated Amazon Searches per month. If this number is high enough, then you have a good opportunity (nothing worse that building a public domain and finding out no one is looking for it at all). I recommend that the book at least be larger than 500.

Step 2: Next, look at the competition, and look to see if those books are making any money. If they aren't, then something might be wrong. Ask yourself why people would be searching for the book, but not buying. Is it because the books presented aren't good quality? Is it because that public domain isn't on Amazon? Also, since you know how much other authors are profiting, it can help validate your cost to re-produce that book.

Step 3: And finally, go ahead and look at the competition score and the competition on Rocket. How hard would it be to beat the other books? How good are their covers, reviews, book descriptions, etc.

Basically, in the end, with these three steps, you can see how much demand there is, how much you can potentially profit, and how hard it would be to beat the competition on Amazon. From there, you can start to make key strategic decisions on which books would be worth the effort for you.

Step 3: Differentiate to Add Value

This is the part where you make your freely available book unique. Not only is this required by Amazon, but it’s a good idea for you. Since everyone is capable of publishing the same book, the differentiation you add is what will set it apart.

As mentioned above, you have to differentiate either by translating, annotating, or illustrating the public domain title.

We recommend either annotating or illustration the work. But here are a few specific ideas to do so:

• Create a “Modern Text” translation with more contemporary language
• Add a glossary of terms to the end of the book
• Provide chapter summaries at the beginning or end of each chapter
• Create footnotes with explanations of difficult to understand words or phrases
• Hire someone on Fiverr to create 10 simple (but professional) illustrations

This is just a list of ideas. Just remember that it must align with Amazon's guidelines to be translated, annotated, or illustrated to qualify.

Collections are another great way to add value. Even though a collection alone will not be considered unique by Amazon, it’s still a great way to entice readers. Add some annotations or illustrations and you’ve got a winner.

Note: Remember that you want to add value for the reader. While slapping together some half-hearted summaries or illustrations that look like a child drew them is technically within Amazon’s terms, they will likely lead to bad reviews.

Step 4: Format Your Public Domain

This is no easy step. Most public domain texts that you can get online will be formatted for HTML or .txt, which means they look horrible if converted to an ebook or PDF. A little formatting is absolutely necessary.

IMPORTANT: In the public domain arena, you will have many competitors out there. When shoppers search for a public domain, and see there are lots of versions to choose from, many of the shoppers will give major credence to the “Look Inside” feature. From there, they will choose the most professional looking inside. This is where good formatting is key.

Now, there are a lot of formatting tools out there, but none make this process easier than Atticus.

The affordable package comes with every tool you need for beautiful public domain books, including:

• Print formatting that takes care of all the margins, trim sizes, gutter layout, and more
• A ton of chapter header themes to make your book look professional and stand out from the crowd
• A custom chapter header theme builder to make it 100% your own
• An easy way to upload your public domain text into a variety of chapter elements
• All for the price of $147, which is more than $100 less (and with more features) than the leading alternative, Vellum

Here is how you format a public domain book in Atticus:

1. Create a new book
2. Upload your public domain text (and images if applicable), chapter by chapter
3. Add any front or back matter that you want to personalize it (recommended)
4. Add your differentiated material such as footnotes, annotations, or illustrations
5. Select your chapter theme and style using the pre-made themes or custom theme builder
6. Export your ebook or print PDF

It's a simple and easy process, and can take less than 30 minutes for your standard public domain book.

Atticus is the all-purpose solution for people who want to format a lot of public domain books in a quick and efficient way. And Atticus is the only one that provides all the solutions authors need on all platforms, including Windows, Mac, and Chromebooks.

Step 5: Develop Your Cover

A cover is another area where you can really set your book apart from the rest.In this, we recommend taking the same approach as you would any book: understand the genre and design accordingly. What this grants is the opportunity to take an old book and “update” it from a design perspective for modern audiences.

Where to Get a Cover

If you have design skills, you can do this yourself. But if not, we recommend hiring someone to create your cover. Since too many covers can hurt your wallet, one of the strategies we recommend for cutting down on the expense is to create a templated cover.

With a template and minimal skills in Photoshop, Canva, or similar software, all you need do is swap out a stock photo or two and change the title. A template has the added benefit of branding each of the public domain texts you want to sell, giving you a consistent look.

This won’t work all the time. Certain genres will require different looks. I wouldn’t use the same template for Pride and Prejudice as I would for Frankenstein, for example. But this should give you a general idea of what to look for. Covers don’t have to break the bank in order to be quality.

Some great places to get covers include:

• Damonza
• eBookLaunch

See our Cover Design section for more information on how to create a quality cover.

Step 6: Launch Your Public Domain Book

Once you have your book, you’ve differentiated it, formatted it, and added a sweet cover, you’re ready to publish.

The publishing process is virtually identical to publishing a regular book on KDP, with one small exception. During the process, you’ll see this come up:

Select “This is a public domain work” and then proceed normally from there. See our Book Publishing area for more on this process.

Pro Tip: when selecting your price, you’ll notice that only the 35% royalty option is available. That’s because Amazon doesn’t provide the 70% option for public domain books. That is why we recommend pricing at $.99 in order to maximize the number of sales and provide the most value to the reader. Chances are most of the competition will be doing the same.

Once your book is submitted, you will likely receive an email from Amazon asking you for proof that your book is in the public domain. This will typically require the author and/or translator’s name and date of death. For very old works (aka older than 1900) this is usually not an issue, but be careful of newer translations, authors that died less than 70 years ago, or rare instances where the author’s date of death is unknown. While you still have a chance of publishing these texts if they are truly in the public domain, it’s possibly you might have some back and forth with Amazon until they’re convinced.

In some instances, you may need to adjust small details of your release, as Amazon takes the legality of what they publish very seriously.

Case Study: Letters to Cicero

In preparation for the launch of Atticus, we actually took a public domain text, formatted, and made it live on Amazon. And guess what? With no marketing whatsoever, the text already had several sales within just a few days of the publication date. Within a few more months it had already recouped the cost of Atticus, and that's just with 3 books and no marketing. Imagine what would happen if you had a whole library of public domain books?

If you're worried about the price, don't be. Not only is Atticus nearly half the price of Vellum, but you can easily make the money back by publishing a few public domain books using Atticus.

As someone who has published a handful of public domain titles (formatted in Atticus), I can tell you that I easily make the price of Atticus back monthly with my own library of public domain books. In my case, and in the case of Cicero's books that we published, it took zero marketing to make those sales.

That could be you.

The Bottom Line: Publishing Public Domain Content

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a classic book in possession of a good audience, must be in want of a publisher.

-See what I did there?

For many authors, publishing public domain content is yet another way to diversify income and create something fun on the side.

While public domain publishing is unlikely to provide you with enough cash to retire, it is true that there are literally tens of thousands of books you could publish. There is still some work involved in preparing these texts for publishing, but the hardest step (that of writing the actual book) has already been done.

And even if you don't make a ton of cash from this, there's a good chance you might make enough to pay back what you spent on Atticus, and maybe even some book covers!