I wanted to share a small milestone I'm genuinely grateful for—I recently reached Top Rated on Upwork. Looking back, it wasn't one big breakthrough that got me here. It was a lot of small improvements repeated over time: writing better proposals, communicating clearly, meeting deadlines, listening to client feedback, and always trying to leave every project a little better than I found it. One lesson that surprised me is that clients rarely hire the person who talks the most about themselves. They hire the person who understands their problem and explains how they'll solve it. That mindset changed the way I approach both my work and my proposals. I'm grateful to every client who trusted me with their publishing projects and to communities like this one where I've continued learning from others. Still learning. Still improving. On to the next milestone. 🚀 Thank you @Laura Diaz @Meggy Halfon @Igor O for trusting me with your projects

Finally got to creating my book cover. My first attempts where shot down dramatically, by my own daughter (designer) and my stepdaughter (artist). 😆 Of course I didn’t believe them at first, but then I found out that the critics' report from https://www.diybookcovers.com/ completely agreed with their opinions. Learnt a lesson (or two). ☺️ The picture is mine (Wat Arun temple in Bangkok). I have created it in Canva. Dimensions are as stipulated by Amazon KDP: 1600 width and 2560 height. I've run it through the website above several times and refined it with Gemini; this is version 9.b. 😗 Second pic shows the progression from really bad to where it is now. Feedback welcome.🙏

If you could go back and give yourself one piece of advice before publishing your very first book, what would it be? For me, it would be to focus on building relationships with readers from the beginning, not just finishing the manuscript. I'm curious to hear your answer. What's the one thing you wish you had known sooner?

KDP recently tightened its payment requirements, and many authors worldwide are now seeing errors like “Only deposit-taking banks are allowed.” This means KDP no longer accepts virtual banks, e-wallets, or fintech-only accounts that don’t hold a full banking license. Examples of virtual banks that may be rejected include Revolut virtual accounts, N26 “Spaces” virtual sub-accounts, Wise virtual balances, Monzo virtual pots, and CashApp/PayPal balance accounts. To continue receiving royalties, KDP now requires authors to use traditional banks or approved Payment Service Providers (PSPs). Examples of accepted traditional banks include Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, HSBC, Barclays, Santander, TD, ANZ, NAB, Scotiabank, RBC, and other banks with full deposit-taking licenses. Approved PSPs KDP currently supports include Payoneer, Wise (approved business accounts), and a limited list of compliant providers under Amazon’s PSP Program. If your current payout method is a virtual bank, KDP may hold your royalties until you switch. Go to KDP → Your Account → Getting Paid to review your payment status. To avoid interruptions, your safest options are: a traditional bank account in your country or a PSP that KDP officially recognizes. This update is part of Amazon’s compliance process, but it means authors must avoid virtual-only banking solutions to prevent payout delays.

I am a total beginner in this type of business that starts their journey right from today. I think of publishing my first medium content book (crossword puzzle book) until 5th July. I would be happy if some experienced ones in this area see this post and leave a comment on how difficult it is to make the book and sale it, or what paid and unpaid tools I will definitely need in order to support this journey, or any tips they have to give to a true beginner like me in general.