The Treasure Trove on a Computer Store

byJMaluth

189 followers

Updated 2 months ago

Over the years, I worked harder and smarter to publish 100 titles. But that's not it. When I look at my disks (internal and external hard disks), I find hundreds of raw and yet to be polished articles and large chunks of texts. This is a treasure trove on a computer's storage system.

The Point

Am I boasting too much? Yes, mainly to myself so that I could keep pushing the boundaries, to even get better at my craft and achieve many more goals ahead. But...I want my hard work to pay back and pay now, not some day. How then do I make sure my books are making me a living?

Tough question, isn't it? As I write this, I'm working on the 7th book of a ten-book series, Academics Series. I want to make sure that what I have on Amazon is the latest version, not some old version, written on Microsoft Word 2003. I can tell you. Self-publishing alone is hard work. Never try it if you're not ready to give it your time and attention.

Mistakes?

I still find small issues that I have to fix, no matter how many times I have been going through each manuscript. It can just be as little as text alignment or font mismatch. It can be as small as having an inconsistent formatting for the headers. Consistency is key.

The point is clear. No matter how good my books are, or how many are on Amazon, Smashwords, or my website. It matters if people are finding them. It matters if they solve real-world problems. It matters still if people are risking their hard-earned money to buy them.

Paying Taxes?

I know. The US government cuts 30% of each sale, and they call it a tax withholding fee, which I will surely claim, should I make it to the land of the immigrants, one day, one time. But am I planning to go to the United States of America? It's much more difficult than you think.

I assume Amazon cuts another 40% (based on every payment made) even though they don't say that anywhere on their KDP website. This leaves me with only 30% of...let's say $3.99 Kindle eBook price tag. That's not going to pay my bills unless I sell 100 copies a day.

My Writing Purpose

I will still write regardless of whether it's paying my bills or not. But why? Because writing is therapeutic. It's my lifeline, my blood. I express my fears and hopes better in a written form than when I speak to someone or crowd of humans. For this reason, I will be writing, for life.

And why I share this here? I do so to inspire you so that comes what may, you need to have a purpose, a reason for doing anything, including but not limited to your Wealthy Affiliate business. If you have been here for a while, you know that it might be easier said than done to earn your first dollar. But don't give it all up.

Have your own Plan B or even Plan C if both A and B don't work. That's the purpose. I do have other things that I do to fuel this WA business, or is it a side hustle? Yep! Planning is king. But execution of the plan is key. Why are you here today?

Finally

I have many or rather, a lot of content unpublished. It's not even polished yet. Since most of it was written before AI was born, it's raw, original and naturally mine. I have published 100 titles so far and I'm not planning to publish more sooner because I want these to make me a living first.

I have several plans for doing my WA business. I don't want to miss a month because I haven't paid my membership fee. If it happens, I'll try my best to get back as soon as I can. This is because I know that with WA, I have a platform, a system in line with my work, with myself. I am a content creator. Content is my commodity.

Wealthy Affiliate (WA), Google Ads (GA), Amazon Books (AB), and Language Services (SL) are the fruits worth working hard for, each day towards their harvest. I know that with planning and persistence, I will one day reap the rewards. I can't be sure when things will start working as planned, but if I am sure now, that's not hope or faith. I am planting the seeds and weeding the weeds till harvest time comes.

I hope this piece encourages you to plan your business along with what matters most to you. Do you love what you're doing? Why or why not? Let's chat below.

Best regards,
John