I went on vacation and had about a week without internet this past week. Enjoying things like the sunrise pictured. And because I can’t help myself… I finished a draft of a business fable that’s about 13 years in the making. A part of my editing phase is “reading it out loud” to see how the writing flows. Maybe two or so years ago, ElevenLabs released its ElevenReader app. Have you ever used it? You can upload a doc and have it read by voices that sound like Maya Angelou, Burt Reynolds, or just about any other voice you choose. So I put my writing in a doc, uploaded to ElevenReader, and had my fable read to me by “Archer”. It was great to listen to it without reading it myself. It helped me catch a few things that made more sense on water than back on dry land 🤪. Pretty cool experience!

I found an old podcast from a talk I did back in 2018 about the SCBWI. I think you all will get a lot of benefit from this talk. You can learn how to move your books further by meeting the editors and top players in all of the major houses. I'm more than happy to answer questions about the organization and all of the benefits of joining their membership. It's a short listen, but really worth listening to. I'll post the link here. Like I said, it's from 2018, but the info is gold! And their Membership price hasn't changed.

Holiday shopping season is about to kick into high gear, and one thing I want to remind you of is that 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗺𝗮𝘇𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀! People LOVE supporting small businesses, especially during the holidays. And if you're a self-published author, this could be a great opportunity to get your books into the hands of local shoppers. One of my favorite things about self-publishing with Amazon KDP is that you can order 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁! Depending on your book's size, page count, and printing specifications, you might pay as little as $3–$5 per book. Now imagine taking those books to a local craft fair, holiday market, book signing, or community event and selling them for $20 each. That's potentially $𝟭𝟱–$𝟭𝟳 𝗶𝗻 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝘀, 𝘁𝗮𝘅𝗲𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲𝘀! And here's another reason I LOVE this business model: 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗡𝗢 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗺𝘂𝗺 𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗞𝗗𝗣 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗲𝘀! You don't have to invest thousands of dollars ordering hundreds of books and hoping they sell. You can start small, test the demand, and order more as needed. Think about all the opportunities around you this holiday season. Children's books make wonderful gifts, coloring books are great stocking stuffers, and even nonfiction books can be positioned as thoughtful gifts for the right audience. Remember, Amazon is just ONE way to sell your books. As a self-published author, you're building a business, and sometimes your next customer isn't searching on Amazon. They're walking through a local holiday market looking for something special! 💬 𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝗮 𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗳𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗿, 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗼𝗿 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁? 𝗢𝗿 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻? Let's hear your thoughts! 👇

If you missed today's live event, make sure you CATCH THE REPLAY HERE. 👉📅 JOIN SUSTAINING LIFE LAB FOR $5 ANNUALLY! The price will be increasing soon so take advantage of it while you can. Thank you @Rasheed Hooda

Creating a children's book sounds easy enough, right? Write a short story, generate some illustrations with AI, and publish it on Amazon KDP. But then reality hits… 😩 ❌ Your AI characters look different on every page. ❌ Creating beautiful two-page spreads becomes a formatting nightmare. ❌ Your text gets lost in the illustrations. ❌ And how the heck do you turn your finished book into an EPUB? That's exactly why I built StorySmile! 💗 👉 SETUP YOUR STORYSMILE ACCOUNT HERE I've been working behind the scenes on something designed to make children's book creation a whole lot easier, and I'm SO excited to finally share it with you! 🎥 Watch the video below to see StorySmile in action and learn how you can start creating your own illustrated children's books. ✨ StorySmile is FREE to try, and special launch pricing is available! PLUS, if you're a Premium member of this community, you automatically get 3 StorySmile credits included with your membership! 🎁 Let's bring those children's book ideas to life! 📚💕 💡 (Quick Disclaimer: StorySmile is an AI-powered tool, so results may vary and occasional adjustments may be needed. For the best experience, we recommend using a desktop or laptop rather than a mobile device.)