One of the Biggest Problems Authors Face Today

byshawn8183

963 followers

3 days ago

Hey WA !

Today I want to talk about one of the biggest problems authors face online.

Not writing the book.
Not uploading the book.

But getting real eyes on your books and making consistent monthly sales.

That part is brutally hard.

I told you guys I’d be putting together a blog about being an author, and I figured I’d start here before walking you through the actual tools and steps I use. I do have other blogs about becoming an author, and I’ll probably link those at the bottom later, but today I want to talk about you first.

Because becoming an author today isn’t the problem.

Anybody can become an author now.

Writing Isn’t the Problem. Visibility Is.

For people like us who actually like writing, it’s a stress reliever. Writing puts us somewhere else. It lets us build worlds, ideas, questions, and stories. This isn’t copy-paste content. This isn’t “AI writes a book in 10 minutes.”

This is heart.
This is time.
This is figuring out what your readers want and delivering it honestly.

Today I published my 15th book today and it hit me I have completed most of my goals.

Early on, I only learned how to upload a book because of a YouTube video. It sounded great.
“Upload your book for free.”
Cool.

Then came the hard part.

Promotion.

That’s where it turned into:

• Buy this guru course
• Pay thousands to hit #1
• Watch it crash the second you stop paying

I hate that.

I understand it’s business, but it bothers me because most people don’t have that kind of money. People want stability. They want to build something real online. Not everyone can drop thousands on ads just to feel successful for a week.

That’s when I stopped chasing that model completely.

The "Author’s Seven": My Low-Cost, High-Reward Stack

I sat down and asked myself a hard question: What is the absolute cheapest way to become an author and actually earn? I stripped away the "guru" fluff and landed on these seven essentials. Tools don’t replace your creativity they give it a megaphone.

1. Wealthy Affiliate – The Foundation. This is where you learn the "business" of being an author: SEO, traffic, and the support system you need when things get tough.
2. Amazon KDP – The Engine. It costs $0 to publish. They handle the printing, the shipping, and they pay you.
3. Reedsy – The Architect. Forget paying for expensive formatting software. Reedsy gives you a professional-grade manuscript for free.
4. ChatGPT – The Brainstormer. My 24/7 sounding board for plot holes, character arcs, and "What if?" scenarios.
5. Gemini – The Specialist. I use this as my secondary AI support for deep research and checking my blind spots.
6. Canva – The Visualizer. For when you need a social media graphic or a quick layout that looks like you hired a pro.
7. YOU – The Most Important Tool. None of the above matters if you don't bring the heart and the hustle.

The Reality Check: Notice how many of these are free or already included in your WA membership? You don't need a $5,000 loan to be a successful author. You just need a system that works while you sleep.

Why I Don’t Chase Trends (And Never Will)

I don’t chase trends. Never have.

Trends die fast. That’s the problem.

You chase one, it spikes, then it’s gone, and now you’re stuck with a book no one cares about anymore. I avoided that entirely. I wanted people to find my books because they were interested, not because something was temporarily hot.

But to do that properly, I had to learn how Wealthy Affiliate actually works and apply it to my own way of thinking.

The AI Image Studio (The Image That Changed Everything)

One of the biggest tools inside Wealthy Affiliate for authors is the AI Image Studio.

I was in the middle of writing my 15th book, and I didn’t want just a cover. I wanted something that stopped people. Something cinematic. Something that actually felt like the book.

So I went into the AI Image Studio.

I already knew what I wanted because I worked it out in ChatGPT:

• Mountains
• Wilderness
• A sense of mystery
• Subtle cryptid presence
• Soft, faded typography

So now you can really see how powerful this one tool is on its own.

I start by creating the image right here. I already know what I want because the book is written, the idea is clear, and the tone is set. I’m not guessing. I’m building intentionally.

Once the image is right, I take it into Canva. That’s where I fine-tune sizing, layout, and any small adjustments needed for different formats. Nothing fancy. Just clean, professional presentation.

From there, it goes into Reedsy, where I handle the interior layout and formatting. Reedsy makes sure the book actually feels like a real book when someone opens it. That matters more than people realize.

Then it goes to KDP.

No chaos.
No guessing.
No starting over.

Each tool has a purpose, and they all work together. That’s the difference between struggling as an author and operating like one.

You’re not just uploading a book.
You’re building an asset.

And once you understand that flow, everything becomes repeatable.

Keywords, Categories, and Where Authors Mess Up

This is where a lot of authors get stuck. But I'm lucky as I have wealthy affiliate tools like jaxxy that I can see what keywords are getting for traffic .

Keywords

On KDP, you get seven keyword slots.

These do not magically rank your book.
What they do is tell Amazon who your book is for.

They’re about visibility and search intent.

Categories

Categories are your shelf.

If you pick the wrong category, your paranormal book might as well be sitting next to My Little Pony. It doesn’t matter how good your book is if it’s on the wrong shelf.

This is where Wealthy Affiliate training matters.

Understanding:

• Keywords
• Categories
• Intent
• Placement

That knowledge changes everything.

How Amazon’s Ranking Actually Works

This part confuses a lot of people.

KDP ranking is driven by sales velocity, not keywords.

Keywords help people find your book.
Purchases are what push it up the charts.

That’s it.

And if you’re not directing people to your book properly, it will never move. This is exactly what WA teaches: getting the right eyes on the right thing.

When I joined WA, I didn’t know:

• How to rank anything
• How to get on Google
• How to build a website

I just had a book.

Blogs, Not Just Amazon Links

Once the book is live, the real work starts.

You need:

• Google
• Bing
• Social platforms

And that means blogs.

I don’t send people straight to Amazon anymore.

I send them to my blog first, where I talk about the book, the idea behind it, and what they’ll get out of it. From there, they choose to go to Amazon.

That builds trust.
That builds authority.
That lasts.

Social Runs, Not Paid Ads

I don’t pay for ads.

What I do instead are what I call "Organic Engagement Blitzes"

For a week, I’ll post:

• Four posts a day
• Four questions
• All centered around the book’s topic

No links in the posts.

Facebook hates that.

If I link at all, it’s usually in the comments, or I let curiosity do its job. People ask. People click my profile. People find the book.

In December, i sold 20 audiobooks.
In January, 12 more.
And i'm just getting started.

I’m not just thinking about my income anymore. I’ve got a narrator working with me now, and his time matters too. This becomes a shared ecosystem.

What This Looks Like in the Real World (No Ads, No Tricks)

Before I go any further, I want to show you something important.

These are my real analytics from the last 28–30 days. No paid ads. No boosted posts. No buying traffic. Just organic reach, consistency, and understanding how platforms actually work.

Facebook Performance

• Total Views: 627,638
• 100% Organic Traffic
• Content Interactions: 15.4K
• Watch Time: 2h 41m
• Viewers Reached: 305,632

Not a single dollar spent on ads.

What matters here isn’t the number. It’s the behavior behind it. Posts that ask questions. Posts that sit in curiosity. Posts that make people stop scrolling instead of selling.

That’s what Wealthy Affiliate teaches at its core.
Intent before pitch.

Facebook Monetization (Quiet, But Growing)

I don’t push monetization hard on Facebook. I use it as a discovery engine, not a cash machine.

Even with a soft approach:

• $58.25 earned
• Up 192% month over month

No trust burned. No pressure.

Pinterest (Where Long-Term Traffic Lives)

Pinterest compounds.

Over the last 30 days:

• Impressions: 163,020 (+62%)
• Engagements: 6,060 (+48%)
• Outbound Clicks: 174 (+58%)
• Saves: 1.1K (+60%)
• Total Audience: 51,260 (+68%)

Pinterest doesn’t spike and die. It keeps working while you sleep. This is where books get discovered months later.

Again. No paid ads.

Why This Matters for Authors

I’m showing you this for one reason.

This is what happens when you stop trying to sell a book and start building a system.

• Facebook creates awareness
• Blogs build trust
• Pinterest compounds discovery
• Amazon converts when people are ready

Wealthy Affiliate didn’t teach me how to sell harder.
It taught me how to position properly.

That’s the difference.

The Takeaway

If you’re an author and you’re stuck:

• It’s not your writing
• It’s not your book
• It’s not even Amazon

It’s visibility and structure.

Once you understand how to get eyes on your work without burning money or trust, everything changes.

No shortcuts.
No tricks.
Just a system that works.

Here are the links I promised for

How I Upload My Books to Amazon KDP (And How You Can Too Step by Step)

How I Publish a Book for Free Using Reedsy (Step-by-Step Guide)

Talk soon,
Shawn