🤖 Where Do We Draw the Line with AI in Self-Publishing?Last week, I published a YouTube video about how authors and creators are getting attacked online for publishing what people are calling "𝗔𝗜 𝗦𝗟𝗢𝗣." It got me thinking... 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗦𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗟𝗗 𝘄𝗲 𝗱𝗿𝗮𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗜 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀? I'm planning a follow-up YouTube video about this, but before I record it, I want to hear what YOU think! First, let me be clear. 𝗜'𝗺 𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶-𝗔𝗜. I actually love AI and think it's one of the most powerful tools available to self-published authors, especially those of us who don't have huge budgets or teams behind us. But I also think there's a difference between 𝗔𝗜-𝗔𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗗, 𝗔𝗜-𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗗, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗜-𝗗𝗘𝗣𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴. Here's how I see it: ✅ 1. AI-ASSISTED: AI Helps YOU CreateThis is where I think AI really shines! Brainstorming book ideas and titles Helping with research (while verifying the facts!) Organizing your ideas and creating outlines Improving the flow of your own writing Identifying plot holes and gaps in your story Offering feedback and suggestions for improvement Helping with editing and formatting 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿. 𝗔𝗜 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿. I'm 100% supportive of this! 🎨 2. AI-GENERATED: AI Creates Some of the Content Now we're getting into a more interesting area. For example, using AI to generate illustrations for a children's book. Personally, I'm supportive of this, too! Not everyone has the artistic skills to draw their own illustrations, and not everyone has hundreds or thousands of dollars to hire a professional illustrator. AI has made publishing more accessible to people who might otherwise never be able to bring their ideas to life. 𝗕𝗨𝗧 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝗮 𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵. AI-generated illustrations are often the FIRST thing critics notice. If an illustration has that recognizable AI look, people are quick to call it out. And unfortunately, some immediately assume that if the illustrations were AI-generated, the entire book must have been written by AI, too.

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! 👇

You spent all that time writing, publishing, and marketing your book, but have you taken the time to optimize your Amazon Author Page? One thing I see authors overlook is 𝗔𝗺𝗮𝘇𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹, which is a completely FREE tool that allows you to create your own author profile on Amazon. Think about it. Someone discovers your book, gets curious about who wrote it, and clicks on your author name. What are they going to find? A professional-looking author page that builds credibility and showcases your books? Or an incomplete profile with little information? 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝟱 𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗔𝗺𝗮𝘇𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿 𝗣𝗮𝗴𝗲! 👇 ✅ 𝟭. 𝗪𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗮 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿 𝗕𝗶𝗼 Your author bio is an opportunity to establish credibility and connect with potential readers. Don't just list your accomplishments. Explain who you are, what you write about, and why readers should trust you. For nonfiction authors, highlight your experience, expertise, or personal connection to your subject. For fiction authors, introduce your writing style, genres, and what readers can expect from your stories. ✅ 𝟮. 𝗨𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗮 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿 𝗣𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼 📸 Readers want to connect with the person behind the book! You don't need an expensive professional photoshoot, but you should have a clear, high-quality photo that represents your author brand. If you write under a pen name, consider how you want that author identity represented. ✅ 𝟯. 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 This is a BIG one! Your Author Page is an opportunity to cross-promote your books without spending additional money on advertising. If someone discovers one of your books and enjoys it, you want to make it EASY for them to find your other titles. Log into Author Central and make sure all your published books are properly associated with your author profile. Check your Kindle, paperback, and hardcover editions, too. ✅ 𝟰. 𝗔𝗱𝗱 𝗘𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝘀 ⭐ Did you know Amazon Author Central allows you to add editorial reviews to your book listings in the US marketplace?

💰 You Published Your Book on Amazon KDP… Now How Do You Get Paid? I've been seeing this question pop up quite a bit lately! Authors finally get their books published on Amazon, but then they're wondering… 🤔 How do I know if someone bought my book? 🤔 Where can I see how much money I've made? 🤔 When does Amazon actually pay me? If you're new to Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), here's how it works! 💵 1. How Do You Make Money With KDP? When someone purchases your paperback, hardcover, or eBook, you earn a royalty. Your royalty is the portion of the sale that Amazon pays you after applicable costs and fees. You can also earn royalties when Kindle Unlimited subscribers read pages of an eligible eBook enrolled in KDP Select! 📊 2. Where Do You Find Your Earnings? This is the part many new authors miss! 👉 Log in to your KDP account at https://kdp.amazon.com 👉 Click Reports at the top of your dashboard. 👉 Select Royalties Estimator to see how much you've earned. You can filter your earnings by book, marketplace, format, and date range. Want to see how many books you've sold? Check the Orders report! You can also go directly to your reports here: https://kdpreports.amazon.com 📅 3. When Does Amazon Pay You? Here's the important part: Amazon doesn't pay you immediately after a sale! KDP typically pays royalties approximately 60 days after the end of the month in which the sale was reported. For example: 📚 January sales → Paid at the end of March 📚 February sales → Paid at the end of April 📚 March sales → Paid at the end of May Expanded Distribution royalties generally take longer (approximately 90 days). So don't panic if you made sales this month but haven't received a deposit! 🏦 4. How Do You Receive Your Money? Amazon sends your royalties using the payment method you've set up in your KDP account. Make sure your banking information and tax details are completed correctly. Good news! Electronic funds transfers generally have no minimum royalty threshold, so you don't need to sell hundreds of books before receiving your first payment. Check and wire payments may have minimum thresholds.

This is an open invitation to talk about your book. 👉 If you already have a book published, feel free to share about the book. 🔗 Links are OK. 👉 If you're working on a book, share about what you're working on and where you're at in the process.