I spent most of this weekend in full hustle mode trying to gather all my tax documents together. Let’s just say my bookkeeping skills are… not exactly my strongest area. 😅 But I did something new that actually helped a lot. I used Notebook LM for the first time to upload all of my bank statements and credit card statements and turn everything into a master spreadsheet so I could start itemizing my expenses. Honestly, I feel like @Bradley Deacon and @Gemma Coles would be proud of my AI progress… working smarter, not harder. But the real reason I’m sharing this is an important reminder: If you’re publishing and selling books on Amazon, this is a business. Amazon will send you a 1099, so if you sold books last year you’ll want to make sure you’re looking out for that when doing your taxes. And if you’re just getting started this year, it’s something good to be mindful of early. The cool part of doing all this paperwork though was looking back at the numbers and seeing the growth. To be transparent, last year I earned roughly: • $28K from Audible • $25K from Amazon KDP • About $12K from TikTok Shop sales So the question is… Can you actually make money from self-publishing? I’ll let you be the judge. 👀📚

Ok let's do a little fun engagement post today. Steal this prompt, modify it to your vision for your book, and see what comes out of it. Yes this is a long prompt. GRAB ALL OF IT 🤪 (POST YOUR RESULTS IN THE COMMENTS) 👇 Book title: [BOOK TITLE] Subtitle: [SUBTITLE] Author name: [AUTHOR NAME] Genre / category: [GENRE OR NICHE] Target audience: [WHO THE BOOK IS FOR] The design should include: - A front cover with bold, readable typography optimized for Amazon thumbnails - A back cover that includes placeholder text for a book description and a barcode area - A 3D mockup showing the front and back covers together, slightly angled, as if the physical book is standing or floating Style & mood: - Overall tone: [modern / minimalist / bold / soft / premium / authoritative] - Color palette: [COLORS OR BRAND VIBE] - Typography style: clean, professional, high contrast, easy to read Visual elements: - Relevant imagery or abstract design elements that reflect the book’s theme - No clutter, strong focal point on the title Technical requirements: - Looks like a real paperback book - Correct spine thickness for a standard nonfiction paperback - High resolution, realistic lighting and shadows - Clean background (white, neutral, or soft gradient) Do NOT include: - Real ISBN numbers - Trademarked logos - Low-quality text or distorted lettering

I just want to pause for a moment and say thank you. Reaching 500 members is a huge milestone, and I’m truly grateful you chose to be here and learn more about Amazon KDP with me. This community keeps growing because of you, and I don’t take that lightly. If you’re new here and have never self-published before, your first step is the Future Author Energy mini course in the classroom. It’s short, action-oriented, and designed to help you get clear on your book idea before you overthink or get stuck. The goal is simple: when you finish, you’ll know exactly what book you’re moving forward with. If you already have an idea and you’re ready to take action, this is where Premium really shines. Premium members get instant access to the Book Challenge, which walks you step by step through the full DIY process of listing your first book for sale on Amazon—outlining, cover creation, formatting, and uploading your assets the right way. 👉👉 UPGRADE TO PREMIUM HERE Premium also includes access to weekly live workshops plus all replays, so you can learn at your own pace and never fall behind. If you’re looking for guidance, accountability, and momentum, this is where it happens—for $40/month. Again, thank you for being here and for helping make this community what it is. I’m excited about what we’re building together, and I can’t wait to see the books that come out of this group. 💛

Most people in here are building (or planning to build) an online business. But let’s be honest—almost none of us started right away. 😱 Was it: - Fear of failing (or being judged)? - Not enough money? - Feeling like you didn’t know enough yet? - Being way outside your comfort zone? Now here’s the interesting part 👀 When you started thinking about writing your book… did the same thing show up again? Fear, overthinking, waiting for the “right time,” second-guessing yourself? 👉 Drop a comment: - What held you back then? - And did you notice any overlap when it came to starting your book? No wrong answers—patterns are where the breakthroughs usually start. **Funny side note I searched "stuck" in the GIFs and saw this image pop up and this is exactly why my son has a fear of the BIG POTTY. I'm actively in a potty training process and he only insists on using the kids potty**

I have the first iteration of the Book Directory now launched thanks to @Mona Weathers who inspired me with the directory template. So far I have a few people's book's featured in the directory including @Mona Weathers @Jenny Watz @Gwen Taylor @Sybil Hall @Frederick Dudek please go in the CLASSROOM, and check your links and let me know if there is any problem getting to your book. 💬 For anyone else who already has a book published on Amazon, please DM me your link or drop a comment here I would love to get your book also added and sorry if I missed anyone. We also have a CELEBRATION 🎉 as a new FUTURE AUTHOR @Gale Bates has leveled up to PREMIUM to learn the self publishing process. Stay tuned, because you will be hearing a lot more about Gale! We just recorded a podcast together that will be coming out soon and I will be happy to share that here as well. Please check out her YouTube channel here. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 🚨WE ARE CURRENTLY AT 399 MEMBERS SO PRICING FOR PREMIUM WILL LIKELY BE INCREASING TOMORROW FROM $20 PER MONTH TO $40. LOCK IN YOUR SAVINGS NOW.