Hi there

Really? What do you mean there's only a week to go of January 2020? Like, really?

What have you been up to this month? Are you back into the swing of things at work, yet? Set any reading goals for the year?

I've actually had a whirlwind of a busy month, and I've got lots of things to share, so without further ado....

Blog Posts

Here are all the blog posts I've written since the last newsletter. Click on a title or image to view it in your browser.

Finances: December 2019

December was hectic! On the one hand, I haven't sold this many books in a single month in a long time (both print and ebooks); I sold so many, on so many different platforms, that I'm not even going to list them here.

On the other hand, it's been a while since I've spent so much in a single month, too, so consequently, I made a big loss.

My biggest expense came because I bought enough of my print books (yes, I have to pay for those) to replenish all my stock. I was hoping to have sold some by now, but alas... Anyway,  I now have stock of all my paperbacks, so if you're in South Africa and want a copy of any of them, let me know and I'll give you a price.

Here are my December figures. As always, they've been converted to South African Rands using the exchange rate at the time of this writing:

(Incidentally, if you're new here and want to know why my reporting is always a month delayed, that's because I don't get the final figures for many of my distributors and retailers until well into the new month.)

• Income:  R 113.28
• Expense: R 447.23
• Loss: R 333.95

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

I have a confession to make: it's been such a hectic month, I managed to read... two books!

Well, two's better than nothing, I suppose, and it's probably better than most people. Not you guys, of course. My subscribers are all committed readers, aren't they? Right?

Aren't you?

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

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Affiliate Marketing Notice

Many of the links shared in this newsletter are affiliate links. If you click on any of those links, and make a purchase from the site in question, I stand to earn a small commission from them.