Publishing.com Reviews (Updated 2024): Is The Mikkelsen Twins Audiobook Side Hustle The Real Deal?

TLDR – Is There A Publishing.com Scam Going On Here?

Should you pay up the big bucks to learn about self publishing on Audible?

I would say no.

One of the most common searches out there is “Publishing.com scam”, but I’m not sure I’d necessarily call the Mikkelsen twins scammers – although there are definitely people out there who are willing to cross that line.

I will say that the Mikkelsens aren’t as dumb as some of their critics say they are. They’ve had multiple courses over the years:

• Publishing Life
• Audiobook Income Academy
• Audiobook Impact Academy
• Publishing.com

And while the umbrella website is still Publishing.com (a great domain name to lock down), the latest name of their program is “AI Publishing Academy”.

But it’s the same as the rest. They’re all basically the exact same program, and some people speculate they have swapped names to avoid the trail of negative reviews that have followed them in the past.

The major difference I see is the reference to AI, which is likely capitalizing on people searching up AI writing now more than ever. In their program, it seems to be more of a bonus feature that isn’t fully ready just yet.

I would be interested to know how Amazon/Audible/Kindle respond to selling low-quality AI books online, since they already appear to ban people’s accounts for gaming the system with the Mikkelsen twins’ tactics.

In fact, the Mikkelsens themselves have had their own accounts banned!

According to students, the lessons taught in their program include being told to copy/paste anything that’s not copyrighted into your book, then slap on a stock photo and go sell it. Or you send it overseas to someone who will do the work for you for a fraction of the pay, and the content will become even harder to read.

This is a true quantity over quality course, and the Mikkelsen are not authors of anything except gaming Amazon. Which, to be fair, I wouldn’t feel too bad about – Jeff Bezos does continue to take more and more cuts from real authors and Amazon FBA hustlers, after all.

But I do have some concern for consumers who are looking for quality content, that may be duped into spending their money on garbage.

So, can you make money with them?

Probably.

But you’ll have to be willing to cut a lot of corners, and then get lucky when it comes to dodging the algorithm that’s specifically set up to catch the thousands of other students of programs like this…who are all doing the exact same thing that Publishing.com is teaching you to do.

And of course, e-book sales have been climbing over the years, so the industry does make sense as a whole. But I think your money would be safer with an industry like Digital Leasing, that has zero risk of your accounts being banned, and actually helps people.

You never wanna be the last one to hear about the “next big thing”, and it seems like this could be it – the reviews are already rolling in.

The students seem extremely passionate about what they’re doing – not just getting by, but creating their own future.

That said, if you’d like to hear some more about our Publishing.com review, let’s keep on rolling.

Who Benefits From Publishing.com…And Who Doesn’t?

Like I said, I’ve been around the block and I’ve seen what works and what doesn’t. Some students kill it in some industries, while those same students struggle with others. And at the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter if you pick the best industry in the world if your mentor sucks.

So, let’s give a quick breakdown on who Publishing.com works best for:

Publishing.com might be for you if…

1. You are a natural writer and want to get your voice out there.
2. You’ve used ecommerce sites like Amazon or Skup before
3. You don’t mind going with a quantity-over-quality approach

On the other hand, it probably doesn’t make sense to join if…

1. You don’t like paying for information that is freely available
2. You’ve found the negative reviews that the Mikkelsens try to hide
3. You’d rather write a quality book and build a reputation that way

Publishing.com At A 1,000 FT View

Self-publishing is a pretty wild game to play. The cool parts sound great – you don’t have to get any feedback from crabby old businessmen who wanna change your story and make it if their vision, or they think some jokes are too offensive, or maybe they want to take the whole thing and make it take place in outer space!

Freedom as a writer is a wonderful thing, and not being owned by stuck-up guys in suits is definitely a major upside…

…but the downside is very real, as well. There’s a reason those guys wear suits – because they’ve got money, and they know how to make money. All that marketing and all their connections with major reviewers/news outlets can go a long way for creatives to have their work seen by a ton of people.

Now take all that networking – do you have contacts at the New York Times who can turn your work into a bestseller?

How about the marketing? Do you have the budget to plaster it all over the internet and other spots?

Probably not.

You’re going to throw it up onto Amazon and hope that someone can dig through the heaps of boring books and audiobooks until they stumble onto your gem.

People love to say “don’t judge a book by its cover”, when that’s basically what the majority of readers will do when they come across unknown authors.

Now, here’s where it gets weird: Publishing.com doesn’t even really seem to think it matters if you’re an unknown author…or even an author at all.

These two kids from New Jersey basically found a way to game Audible by Amazon by copy/pasting uncopyrighted words into awful non-fiction books, and that’s how they got their start. They claim that by simply marketing yourself right (which they say you can only learn through their course), you can break on through and make a ton of profit through self publishing.

I guess when you put it that way, it’s true – anyone could make a buck with self publishing…

…but is that really how you want to live your life? And do you really think Amazon won’t find even better ways to ban accounts and stop this kind of thing, eventually?

It’s a risky career path, to say the least, and one that doesn’t really have any rewarding feeling when all is said and done. If you’re an actual author, you’ll hate the scheming process of copying someone else’s words, or paying someone from a poor country to write broken English for you.

And if you’re just trying to make some money online, you always run the risk of your hard work screeching to a halt when you wake up to find your account has been deleted.

There are WAY better options out there, safe to say.

Writing stories is a timeless way to make money, but so is the concept of a business finding more people to sell things to…and it’s a way more practical way to make money these days.

Lead generation always has a fat stack of cash waiting for anyone who can bring the right leads into local businesses, and that’s something that will always be in demand. All you need is a little marketing training, and you’ll be off.

My final recommendation does it best, as far as I can tell. They’ve got a great combination of training, mentorship, and community that all great programs strive for.

The Mikkelsens, on the other hand, have some great promise as marketers…but they have a lot of work to do as coaches.

Who Are The Mikkelsen Twins?

Rasmus and Christian Mikkelsen are the two guys more commonly referred to as “The Mikkelsen Twins”, and they have built up an infamous reputation over the years. Without any background in writing or any sign of artistic talent, they managed to publish over 150 books/audiobooks on Amazon’s Kindle and Audible websites.

They are considered one of the leading forces in the self publishing industry, promising that it’s a great way to start making money online – even if you don’t know how to write.

Publishing.com is the latest in a long line of names of their programs, but they basically all revolve around finding a cheap and easy way to throw a book together and sell it online for a profit. They seem to focus mostly on audiobooks, but have been known to help put together physical products and Kindle books as well.

The twins were born in New Jersey, just a couple of average Joes driving a Chinese food delivery car, attending community college, not really going places in a hurry…other than on their delivery route.

Lucky for them, they caught their bad habits early on and realized that they didn’t wanna be working the typical 9-5 grind in a job they hate for an average (maybe even below-average) income…working for someone else, and not able to travel whenever they wanted.

So they went out and found a niche that works for them, basically creating a loophole in how people usually think about the process for getting a book published. Instead of going through the usual ways of having to get approval and jumping through hoops just to get the chance to have your story read by other people…they promise you can just get it out there on your own.

They may have started out as a couple of nerdy kids, but as they’ve aged, the Mikkelsens now try to take pro-style headshots and play up a “pretty boy” angle.

They post a lot of pictures of them hanging out with dogs or being shirtless, which is probably a sign they’re trying to attract women to their course – which makes sense, since a lot of today’s authors are female.

They’ve made a ton of money from their students over the years, and they’ve used that cash to travel to places like Hawaii, Mexico, Japan, Egypt, and more.

So, you could say things are going pretty good.

While there are accusations out there that their program is diluting the quality of books on Amazon, the twins don’t seem to care about all that too much as long as their bank accounts are sitting pretty.

How Much Does Publishing.com Cost?

It seems that there has been a recent price hike for the Mikkelsen’s course, as it was formerly listed at $1,995.

Now, you’ll have to pay $6,000 for access to their materials, which can’t entirely be related to the crazy inflation we’ve all seen lately.

Speaking of inflation, this makes it a lot harder for the average Joe to join up with the Mikkelsens, but at least they let you pay through installments if that makes it easier.

Publishing.com Refund Policy

A 3 day refund window isn’t exactly ideal, especially if there’s a lot of material to go through. You may be comfortable with the first couple days, but by the end of the week you could run into some trouble that’ll have you running for your money back…

…but the Mikkelsens won’t be returning it.

Is Publishing.com Legit Or Not?

There are some great reviews about the Mikkelsen twins on their Trustpilot, but we also have some folks suggesting that fake reviews are not just an accident, but a designed feature for the Mikkelsens both on Amazon and for the promotion of their program:

“I think it is this part that has helped them explode as far as they have. It wasn’t illegal as such, but it was a loophole and still is. And it was to do with how to get reviews. Basically, you pay someone from India and those kinds of places, a small amount to get their friends to flood the books with reviews. It’s still being done today because Amazon generally can’t tell the difference between a legit and fake review if it is done right, although they are getting much better at detecting it.”

I used to think that the Mikkelsens were just helping struggling authors get their work out there, which would be a pretty decent business model…but it’s really starting to look like these guys just wanna make some cash and help their students’ exploit a loophole in Amazon’s system.

And because they’re not the only company out there pushing this kind of operation, that means self-publishing as a whole is going to suffer. Even if you have a legitimate, great book with quality content – it’s going to be drowned out by this strategy the twins are pushing, where algorithm manipulation reigns supreme.

It sounds weird to say, but this is one time I’d like to see Jeff Bezos and his huge corporation crack down a little more.

So, is Publishing.com legit?

Depends what you mean. Are they selling a real product and could make you money?

Sure.

But is it ethical, and are the chances of actually making a career out of this any good?

That’s a different story altogether. I do suspect that Amazon will continue banning these kinds of accounts more and more, especially as the twins start to offer more and more AI writing shortcuts to their students.

As good as AI writing bots are getting, the big corporations are getting even better at designing their own AI that can detect other stuff written by robots…in other words, you won’t have a long career by learning what the Mikkelsens teach you.

Personally, I think you’re way safer with something like Digital Leasing, which is a way more stable option. They operate in the lead generation industry – where your job is to help businesses gain clients, and that’s not a line of work that’ll ever get old.

Personal Opinion On Publishing.com

The more I learn about Publishing.com, the less I like it. That’s just me being honest.

I don’t know if the Mikkelsen twins have any real writing ability, or if they just know how to market themselves really well when it comes to their course. It’s hard to say.

But how good are they going to be at teaching something they don’t really know about?

And even if they just teach you about making money – which the seem to be good at doing for themselves – that doesn’t mean they’re going to know how to help you make money.

Over the years, I’ve dug into it all: self-publishing, ecommerce, lead generation…you could say I’ve gotten the hang of which programs work, and which don’t

But the real question is…how do we find the right course for you?

• Dig into some online reviews to see how students feel
• Make sure the gurus know what they’re doing
• Take a peek at the refund policy, just to know if there’s a way out

The Mikkelsen Twins aren’t the worst gurus we’ve see, but still far from the best.

To be fair, here are 3 things I like about the course:

1. They clearly know how to make money for themselves
2. If it’s as easy as it sounds, then making money could come quick
3. Many positive Trustpilot reviews, even if they are up for debate

…and, on the other hand, 3 things I don’t really like:

1. They tell their students to swap fake reviews with each other
2. The course just went up 4 grand in price
3. Three-day refund means you won’t have much time to escape

What’s Inside AI Publishing Academy?

The Mikkelsens seem to constantly come up with new names for their courses, but they’ve basically always been the same.

However, AI Publishing Academy might actually have a few concepts that make it different from the other ones. The course has always been about finding the easiest way possible to sell a book, like copy and pasting other people’s existing work, or hiring foreign workers to do it for cheap.

Now, you’ll be feeding instructions to AI and hoping for the best.

Let’s dig into the modules and figure out what’s actually going on inside this program.

Module 1

This intro session is all about mindset training. Basically gearing you up to start your day right, and to enter their course with the right attitude.

I think it’s reasonable to dive into this sorta stuff, because it will help anyone in any industry when taught right. You should always work hard and hold yourself accountable, so if the Mikkelsen twins teach that, then good for them.

Some courses also teach patience, which can be tricky when some students are sold on the idea that they’re gonna get rich really quick.

Module 2

Inside the second part, the gurus talk about what it takes to make a successful book, in their opinion:

• how to best use AI to help you write audiobooks
• Inputting good ChatGPT prompts
• Their personal “Ultimate Prompt Sheet”

Now, if you’ll look really closely at those three points…you might think that all three sound like the same thing.

That’s what some of us in the industry call “fluff“, where it sounds like you’re getting a lot of something, but it’s just different ways of saying the same thing.

That said, it seems like an important module if the whole course is about interacting with AI to write books.

Module 3

The brothers seem to get a little more specific in how to use AI here. They suggest starting with getting AI to help you with:

• Create book titles for you
• Do the customer research so you don’t have to
• Make up some kind of book outline

After that, you’ll get four extra lessons on how to get the most out of “ghostwriting“, as it having someone else write for you. This used to mean humans, but I’m guessing the brothers have discovered that robots can be even cheaper.

Module 4

This one gets into the creation of your book’s cover, how to check through and make sure your content looks good, and how to lay out the book overall.

It looks like AI will be doing all that for you, but I’d hope they have some kind of instruction on how to do your own proofreading to make sure the AI writing actually makes sense.

At the end of this module, they have you tell the AI to make you a description for the book that’ll go up on Amazon, and maybe on the back of the book.

Module 5

It seems like pretty much all the content about “writing” the book is already done by this point. Module 5 is all about the dirty work you’ll be taking care of after all the creative stuff is done.

In my opinion, this part is a little controversial. The Mikkelsen twins show you how to use a platform called Pubby to help get good reviews for your books…which is a site where you pay for other “authors” to give your book good reviews.

This kinda defeats the purpose of reviews, in my opinion. When I’m looking to see if something is actually worth my money, I wanna see other people’s experience with it. If I have to filter through fake reviews to find anything real, I might just get annoyed and move onto something else.

I think it’s unethical at best, but apparently it’s so normal in self-publishing that the Mikkelsens don’t even try to hide it.

Lastly, this module will show you how to get your work copyrighted and how to figure out how to get through Amazon Author Central, the back-end of your seller profile.

Bonuses

Ah, the “bonuses”. Such a weird way to put it, when you were going to get it all along, and everyone else gets it too. Not really a bonus, if you think about it that way!

Anyway, apparently the Mikkelsen twins paid someone to develop Publishing.ai, their own AI writing software. I’ll admit the web page looks pretty slick, although the quality of the actual tools remains to be seen.

Their main selling point with this tool is that it’s specifically aimed toward Amazon audiobooks, as opposed to be more generalized AI software like Jasper or ChatGPT.

Here are some other things you’ll get when you fork over $6,000 to Publishing.com:

• A 500 dollar “cash bonus”, which is unclear if you have to earn it or not
• A private Facebook group where you give each other fake reviews
• They teach you how to get a Kickstarter so people can pay you to write your book
• Training on all the technology they talk about (seems obvious)
• Ways to get around the tax man, which I respect
• Apparently you get an Audiobook Income Academy membership, which is their old program

Publishing.com Conclusion

Well, that was longer than I expected! But I guess it’s important we figured out what’s really going on behind the scenes with these guys. That said, let’s answer the burning question for anyone who isn’t sure just yet:

Is Publishing.com worth your money?

I would say no.

Maybe if you’re really into making money and just happen to like books, then these guys are might be decent bets for you. But if you care at all about actually writing a high quality story, then you’re barking up the wrong tree.

Honestly, even if you are just in it for the money, these guys aren’t really giving you the best opportunity. Do you really wanna wake up every morning, hoping that Amazon hasn’t banned your account and forced you to start the whole process over again?

Sounds like a bad time.

If you wanna generate passive income online while making some big-time money, then I’d recommend some online courses in the lead generation industry. Getting clients for local businesses is not going outta style anytime soon, and the pay is very good.

If you want that kind of upside and freedom, then there’s one company I think does it best.

What Is My #1 Way To Make Money Online in 2024?

I have spent years researching, reviewing, and vetting dozens of business models and thousands of programs.

While there may be no “perfect business,” the research IS conclusive:

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

Whether you’ve never made a dollar online or been in this space for a while but never really “made it,” Digital Leasing is for you.

Why?

1) It’s Flexible: got an hour a day? You can do this. Ready to drop everything else and dive in full-time? You can do this. Yes, the more time you put in, the faster you see results. But even with a little time each day, you can move the needle 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 products when you give all the power to AI. And since you’re giving all your power to AI and Amazon, you don’t even 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.

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 without getting paid in advance, you can have your first Digital Rental Property up, running, and generating profits for less than $100.

4) Easy To Duplicate: Ok, here’s the best part: once you have your first Digital Rental Property up and running, you can literally DOUBLE your income with a few clicks, a couple of keystrokes, and a single phone call (and you don’t actually need the phone 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. 

If you wanted to double your income with self-publishing, you’d probably need to double the number of hours you spend working. Because, again, Publishing.com doesn’t scale.

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, 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, the choice is yours. You could continue browsing, looking at opportunities like Publishing.com which could one day make you money.

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.