Hi there

When I wrote to you last month, South Africa was in its fifth day of what everyone expected would be twenty-one days of lockdown, to flatten the curve of COVID-19 infections. After which, everyone thought, we'd return to normal.

How naive were we?

Just two weeks in, our president went on national television and announced that it would be extended for a further three weeks. Three weeks which officially end on Friday.

Well, it's not going to end on Friday, either. At least, not abruptly; last week, our president again addressed the nation, and announced that for the foreseeable future, the lockdown would be eased off gradually based on level of risk.

From Friday, we'll be on what's called "Level 4", which entails a slight easing of the restrictions we've been under (but not much: alcohol is still prohibited, for example, and most businesses will still remain closed), but the introduction of some new ones (a nationwide curfew will be introduced from 20:00 to 05:00 each day, and it is now a legal requirement to wear a cloth mask whenever you're out of the house).

If you're interested in reading a bit more about how South Africa's handling the COVID-19 pandemic, see here and here.

As you can imagine, lockdown is seriously starting to get to some people. For myself, it's weird: on the one hand, not much has changed in my life, since I work from home and seldom go out anyway. On the other, my enthusiasm for things is waning.

On a third hand (don't you sometimes wish you had one of those?), I've found renewed passion and inspiration for certain things, but I haven't found the motivation to actually do them. I barely managed to write a single blog post in April, for example.

Maybe next month, things will be better.

I hope you're staying safe and sane out there!

Blog Posts

Here are all the blog posts I've written since the last newsletter (just the one, like I said). Click on a title to view it in your browser.

Creative writing plays an essential role in our lives, the profound value of which cannot be underestimated. This book is a great transitional step from the author’s first book, IN LIFE SUCCESS DOES NOT COME FROM A VACUUM, a book which played a great role in the lives of those who read it. This wonderful anthology explores the transition of life experiences to convey messages in the religious, socio-economic and political scene.

§ The hunky dory of my heart § Darling § The treasured soul § My Valentine §

§ SA value property than lives § There is no death for God §

§ J.Z- Senzeni/What have we done?

Finances: March 2020

Another loss in March, but nowhere near as significant as February. 

I again sold a copy of my Animals colouring book. It must be because the whole world is on lockdown... in South Africa, ecommerce is banned except for essential goods (which doesn't include physical books), but not so in other countries, so I can imagine parents elsewhere in the world buying colouring books to keep their kids entertained.

I also sold a copy of Heaven and Earth: Paranormal Flash Fiction on Amazon US, and I'm sure that's a direct result of Joni's review. Thanks again, Joni!

Unfortunately, my annual domain renewal happens in March each year, so that's what pushed my expenses over the edge this time....

Here are my March figures (as always, everything's been converted to South African Rands using the exchange rate at the time of this writing):

• Income:  R  63.58
• Expense: R 197.62
• Loss:    R 134.04

Want to Help?

If you'd like to help support me and my business, there are plenty of ways.

First, buy and read my books. It sounds obvious, but so many people open this email religiously every month, click on my links, even reply to tell me how happy or proud they are of me... and haven't read any of my books.

Second, if you've read one of my books and enjoyed it, tell a friend. Although authors like me put a lot of effort, and spend a lot of money, on marketing, the very best marketing remains word of mouth. Nobody's going to know about us unless people tell them.

And if you're really passionate about the book, don't stop at just telling your friend about it. Why not buy it for them as a gift? Plenty of ebook stores allow gifting, and if they don't, you'll surely be able to buy them a voucher or gift card, and gently suggest that they use it to buy my book.

Third, write a review. Reviews are word-of-mouth marketing meant to reach people you've never met. It takes very little time to pop onto Goodreads and rate and review one of my books. In fact, my personal philosophy is, "If there's no review, it never happened!"

Finally, if you're really dedicated and want to make a living out of it, have you considered becoming an affiliate marketer? Most stores have this option: sign up for their affiliate programs, then advertise their products (which hopefully includes my books), and earn commission when people buy them. It's a lot of fun, and many people make respectable livings on affiliate marketing alone.

Month in Books

Back to three books read this month. 

About average for me... although Goodreads says I'm a book behind schedule if I want to reach my target by the end of the year. How did your reading go this month?

Click on any of these covers to view my review on Goodreads, which also contains a link to where you can get the book.

Have you read any of these?

That's it for me, everyone. Until next time, stay safe, stay healthy, and stay sane. And remember....

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Affiliate Marketing Notice

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