I'm John Read, a full time author currently living in Halifax, Nova Scotia (previously SF Bay Area). My most recent ten books were traditional published (Sourcebooks/Formac), but prior to that I'd self published a half dozen stargazing guidebooks (still the bulk of my royalties). I'd like to get back to self publishing since the margins tend to be much, much, higher. I have an inhouse InDesign "team" (my wife, AKA Mrs. Stargaze) and had an in-house editor / brand manager (currently an open position). I have a following on social media 100K+ followers (@LearnToStargaze mainly on YouTube), and do quite a lot of advertising on Amazon. I also run "Astronomy Club" here on Skool. My flagship titles are: 110 Things To See With A Telescope (With Chris Vaughan and Tim Russ [yes, from Star Trek]), A Kid's Guide to the Night Sky, 50 Things to See With a Telescope for Kids, 50 Things To See On the Moon (winner of the Simon Newcomb award), and 50 Animals that Have been to Space (Gold Medal Junior Library Guild). I'm currently working on self publishing an updated flagship title: The Ultimate Beginner Telescope Guidebook (I own an observatory, and we capture all our own epic images) and another kid's stargazing guidebook to replace our aging titles. Here's where I need help: - Automating the logistics of self published titles through Amazon Advantage. The distributors I've reached out to are either too expensive, or don't understand Amazon Advantage. - Shopify / website sales. Automating the process of direct-to-consumer sales through a third party logistics (3PL) provider, primarily for direct sales through our website or a shopify site. - Creating a sales funnel and collecting email addresses. We have an email list of about 1000 people, mainly people who stumbled upon our website, but I haven't yet figured out how to convert subscribers to readers. Images (this is also where I write / do research): - Filming promotional videos at Saint Mary's University (Halifax) - Our observatory where we do research for our books (Near Peggy's Cove) - School Visits in California (no clouds makes for good stargazing)

@Julie Broad thanks!!! Yes, the resources have been extremely helpful! More news to come!

My goal is to see my book(s) at the airport!

@Chris Pedersen wonderful!!! Enjoy the books, and thanks for the feedback!

@Sage Hobbs persistent. In 2015 I translated my first book into 10 languages. Wrote a second, which was a flop, but learned a LOT, then a third which was a massive success.

Getting the book printed in bulk at a reasonable price.

This was great. Updated my two ACX titles today.