It took me a week to pull myself away from working on my books after a wellspring of insights at the London Mastermind. It seems that YouTube and communities are becoming less and less relevant as sources of information in a world where LLMs commodify knowledge. At the same time, for building mutually beneficial tools and finding new ideas, communities become more important than ever. It's the way the Guild will be developed - the place to make our publishing experience delightful. Together. Let me tell you about the major updates in the Guild: 💥 All resources temporarily become free for everyone, regardless of tier. Till the end of Q3. Why? Because the only way to create the best tools is to collect as much feedback as humanly possible. The wishes shared by @Yannick Di Mondo and @Sven Georgiev led to changes in the Guided Publishing System, prompting me to create books I would not have created without the system. I want to empower this feedback loop by making the tools available to everybody. 💲 What is the reason to keep the Premium tier if everything becomes free for a few months? In the short term, there are no visible reasons other than the willingness to show your support (and I cannot find the right words to express my appreciation to all of you who support my actions). In the long term, if you keep your $10/month subscription, it will pay off in half a year and then become profitable. Anyway, I hugely appreciate all of the Premium members' support. 💻 Fridays at 15:00 UTC online meetings are open to everyone. This Friday, I will share my ideas after the London Mastermind. It will be: 7:00 (PST) in Los Angeles 8:00 (MST) in Denver 10:00 (EST) in New York 16:00 (CET) in Berlin 23:00 in Singapore Any thoughts? Wishes? Ideas?

Most people think book formatting is just “make it look clean.” It’s not. It’s structure, rhythm, and psychology on a page. Here are mistakes I caught while formatting a western fiction manuscript — and what I did to fix them: 1. Chapter pages started too high The opening felt rushed. No presence. Fix → Pushed chapter openings to about 1/3 down the page. Result → Instant “published book” feel. 2. Inconsistent spacing between chapter elements Chapter title, subtitle, and body were fighting each other. Fix → Standardized spacing (title → subtitle → body). Result → Clean visual hierarchy. 3. Drop caps breaking the flow Looked good in some chapters… awkward in others. Fix → Removed drop caps entirely for consistency. Result → Smoother reading experience. 4. TOC dots looked heavy and cheap Too dense = cluttered. Fix → Adjusted leader dots spacing + right tab alignment. Result → More premium, breathable layout. 5. Page numbers too close to the edge Small detail, big impact. Fix → Pulled them slightly inward. Result → Balanced page composition. 6. Copyright page sitting awkwardly Floating too high = amateur look. Fix → Lowered content block intentionally. Result → Proper publishing standard. 7. Title page lacked presence It didn’t feel like a “moment.” Fix → Increased space before/after title and subtitle. Result → Stronger emotional entry into the book. 8. TOC and body styles not aligned Fonts and spacing didn’t match the book’s tone. Fix → Unified typography system across the entire book. Result → Cohesion. The truth? Formatting isn’t about making things “look nice.” It’s about removing friction so the reader disappears into the story. Most authors don’t lose readers because of bad writing. They lose them because the reading experience feels off. That’s what I fix.

A few posts ago I shared the mistakes I was making with book formatting. A lot of you asked to see what the final result actually looks like. Here it is. This is the complete interior of Gold Fever! — a 540-page western fiction novel I just finished formatting for Amazon KDP. Here's what was fixed and done right: ❌ MISTAKE: Using Enter key for spacing ✅ FIX: Space Before/After in paragraph styles ❌ MISTAKE: Drop caps on chapter openers ✅ FIX: Small caps first sentence — cleaner, more professional ❌ MISTAKE: Indenting the first paragraph ✅ FIX: No indent after any heading — traditional publishing rule ❌ MISTAKE: Inconsistent font sizes between styles ✅ FIX: Every style matched to exact pt size and leading ❌ MISTAKE: Manual formatting line by line ✅ FIX: Paragraph styles — change once, updates everywhere The pages you see in this post are the result of getting every one of those details right. If you're formatting your own book — save this post. If you want it done for you — DM me. Drop your questions below 👇 Happy to help.

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.