@Brenda Hiatt this is very smart! focus on the ONE tentpole newsletter for a resend :D

I've also done this in the past and it does work!

@Raven Vespo Books-in-true-series (w/ cliffhangers at the end of each book leading to a link to the next book) will always see a drop from book to book (40% of my readers make it to book 9 in my Fated series, I lose readers throughout the journey although much less after book 3). Series of standalones will see subsequent books make less than others, but sometimes one book later on in the series will pop up as a huge earner (this signals it is a second 'entry' point book that you should send paid traffic to as well as your first in series book). It's better to shift how we see our catalogues instead of looking at them as individual books - look at the value of an entire series. Every book you put into a series makes that series more valuable. So book 3 might make 50% of book 1, BUT book 5 means the whole series suddenly becomes a net-earner when you send paid traffic to book 1 on a daily basis. It can be a real hit to our sense of safety when we put out a book that sells 100 copies when book 1 in that series sold 400 copies, but if we see this as a long-game instead, and the value is the completed series, not individual books, we can sort of game our brains into being okay with the dips on individual books.

@Raven Vespo it is REALLY hard to be in a posi mindset when our safety (finances being dire) is threatened. I'll also say... take a few deep breaths, put your hand on your heart to calm your vagus nerve, and shift focus off of the AI slop. What matters is your author network, funnels, audience capture, packaging, and good storytelling. Before AI slop it was people rapid releasing, or people using ghostwriters, etc etc etc, every genre will always be crowded because the barrier to entry is low. Yes it's hard-er to make a splash now, but I was publishing in 2016 and 2017 and 2018.... and there were a LOT of people making only $10 on a book, crying on forums that they couldn't figure things out or get any attention. It has always been hard to be wildly over-the-top successful, it is a combination of having the goods, having the strategy, being right time right place, and having the luck. Don't let anyone tell you differently. But middle-class success that scales over time? Always possible w/out luck. Do what you have to do to get calm. Can you take on some client work, or get an extra job for a bit to save up a cushion for yourself? Publishing is not going away, it's not a race. It is critical we feel safe, or that we learn to operate when we don't feel safe (much harder). Just be so, so so kind to yourself about not feeling safe and it knocking you for six. That's your biological processes trying to keep you alive, doing the best they know how. You're doing the best you can with the skills and experience you have. <3 I'm here anytime you need a friend.