What I Learned About Self-Publishing in the Arab World (And Why It Matters for All of Us)

Last week, I sat down with a pioneering Palestinian journalist Daoud Kuttab who’s been shaping conversations about media freedom in the MENA region for over four decades and has authored multiple books.

Our conversation was a masterclass in how radically different the publishing landscape is depending on where in the world you happen to be sitting.

And, surprisingly, it made me appreciate KDP in a way I never had before.

Let me break down what I learned.

1. The Arab press is “totally free” — except about itself.

Daoud put it perfectly:

“The press in the Arab world is totally free in everything except what’s happening in that country. Syrian news is great when it comes to Lebanon. Egyptian news is great about every country except Egypt.”

That self-censorship doesn’t stop at journalism. It bleeds straight into book publishing.

Writers in the region carry an internal censor in their head before a single word hits the page. Many end up writing in English, or publishing abroad, just so they have room to breathe.

For those of us writing freely on Substack, that’s worth sitting with for a moment.

2. Sometimes writers PAY publishers.

In parts of the Arab World, your only choice to self-publish is to pitch a publisher, and they ask you for money to put your book on their roster.

No advance. No real editorial vetting. No marketing.

You pay them to:

* Design the cover

* Run a basic copy edit

* Print the book

* Stick it on a shelf at the annual book fair

Then you wait. And hope.

It’s essentially how self-publishing worked in the U.S. twenty years ago — before KDP changed everything.

3. Amazon doesn’t ship to Jordan. So print-on-demand basically doesn’t exist.

This is the part I keep thinking about.

I asked Daoud how authors in Jordan, where he is mainly based, handle print-on-demand the way I do: list on Amazon, let Amazon print and ship, no inventory in your basement.

His answer: they can’t.

Amazon doesn’t deliver to Jordan. KDP isn’t a real option for Arab readers. So if you self-publish in Amman, you’re physically printing copies, stacking them in a spare room, and hoping you sell them at book fairs and town halls.

The risk is entirely on the author.

I told Daoud this is a million-dollar gap. Someone needs to build “Arab KDP.”

Who wants to partner with me?

4. Marketing still falls on the author — everywhere.

Here’s the part that translates universally:

Even Daoud’s traditionally-published U.S. book didn’t sell well, while his self-published State of Palestine Now book — which he toured virtually across Italy after the war in Iran grounded all flights — has sold close to 1,000 copies through small town hall events.

His takeaway echoed something I say constantly:

“You need to keep the book alive. Keep talking about the book. That’s what sells books.”

Doesn’t matter whether you’re with Simon & Schuster, Amazon KDP, or a small press in Amman. Nobody is going to market your book harder than you will.

5. The lesson for all of us

Whether you’re sitting in Maryland, Amman, Milan, or anywhere in between, the gatekeepers are different, the obstacles are different, but the answer is the same:

* Tell your story.

* Find your readers.

* Show up consistently.

* Stop waiting for permission.

The infrastructure to publish freely is one of the most underrated luxuries those of us in the U.S. have. If you have it, use it. Don’t sit on a manuscript while writers in places without that access are paying out of pocket just to be read.

P.S. Daoud and I are launching a new Substack together — Two Arab Journalists, One Levant. He’ll bring you the view from Jerusalem and Amman. I’ll bring you the suburban-mom-with-a-press-pass take from Washington. Half an hour every week on Monday at 12:00 PM EST. Stay tuned.

P.P.S. If you’re a writer in the MENA region trying to figure out how to publish your book, hit reply. I’d love to hear what’s working, what isn’t, and where the real gaps are.

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