Finally, a library responded and invited me to present. The librarian was very difficult to deal with and changed the date once which wreaked havoc on my Substack. Finally, the day was yesterday and eight people showed up. I was fine with that as a first experience. It went really well and I was very surprised when she gave me a $200 check! AND told me that she bought six copies for the library!

Hi everyone, where do you go to legitimately research facts? If I put anything into Google, it's AI that automatically responds, which, as we know, isn't always correct... Thank you in advance 😇

I read this interesting Substack take on nonfiction and publishing today. While many are crying out that nonfiction publishing is failing, this veteran publisher has a different take. https://kathleenschmidt.substack.com/p/nonfiction-isnt-the-problem Some of my favorite gems: “I think nonfiction's future then is niche. Most independent publishers have known this for a long time, and they are better for it.” “the most challenging categories right now are diet/fitness, business, thought leadership, parenting, and self-help (I covered memoir above). There is so much free content in relation to these categories that the barrier to entry is high.” “The question is no longer, “Is this an article or a book?” Rather, it is, “Is this an article, social media post, Reddit thread, YouTube vlog, or a book?” She also makes an interesting case for mini docuseries style content, which has worked wildly well for fiction. What are your thoughts??

Julie always says that sales are not necessarily the goal. My goal has been legacy and last week I brought my book to UCSF Medical Center Archive and Special Collection and 4 of my paintings that the archivist wanted to see. She took all four paintings into the archive to be preserved forever (if the planet survives). And she wants to come to my home studio to see two more.

Editing, design, ads, coaching, all of it together. Hoping this might be helpful to set expectations for new authors who join. If there was anything you wish you didn't spend money on or that you should have, feel free to mention that in the comments!