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. 👀📚

I wanted to share something a little different that I’ve been working on. I’m currently putting together my very first children’s book, and this one is extra special to me because it was inspired by my son. A few weeks ago at bedtime I randomly made up a story on the fly about “Billy the Horse.” It was one of those completely improvised parent moments where you just start talking and hope it turns into a story 😄 A few nights later my son asked me… "Billy the Horse story?" And then he kept asking for it. That’s when I realized… this might actually be a real book. So now Billy the Horse is officially becoming a children’s book. Yes, I used AI to help bring the story and illustrations together. Yes, it’s not perfect. But this one is coming straight from the heart 💖 for my four-year-old. It’s been a really fun creative process and also a great reminder that sometimes the best book ideas come from real life moments. I’m still putting the final touches on it, but I wanted to give you all a first look preview before it becomes official 👀 Attaching the cover concept ... what do you think?

We are so close to hitting 700 members in this community, and I wanted to ask for your help as we continue growing. 🚀 If the content here has helped you… If the resources have been valuable… If you’ve picked up ideas that are helping you move closer to becoming a published author… I would really appreciate your help spreading the word about what we are building here. 🗓️ At the start of the year, I wrote down a goal for Q1 to reach 800 members in this community, and I am pushing hard to make that happen before the end of this month. A lot of people out there want to publish a book but feel overwhelmed or don’t know where to start. This community exists to help people take that first real step toward becoming a published author. 💡 Did you know you can earn money by inviting people here? I have affiliate tracking turned on in this community. That means you can grab your personal affiliate invite link and share it with people you think would benefit from being here. If someone joins through your link and later upgrades to Premium or VIP, you earn up to 40% commission on that sale. 💰 So yes… you can literally: - Share the community - Help someone start their publishing journey - And collect cash when they upgrade This is exactly why I pay for the Pro plan on Skool, so I can create win-win opportunities for members of this community. 👉 What to do: 1. Grab your affiliate invite link 2. Share it with people who want to publish a book 3. Earn up to 40% on upgrades from people you invite Let’s push past 700 members and work together to hit the 800 member Q1 goal. 📚🚀