Lots of changes have been coming down the pipeline lately when it comes to audiobooks and Audible, and I’m still feeling out what some of these changes are going to mean for us as authors. But when I logged into my Amazon Ads account today, I noticed something NEW… 𝗔𝗺𝗮𝘇𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝘂𝗻 𝗮𝗱𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀. This officially rolled out in the U.S. at the end of August, and authors — including ACX creators — can now advertise Audible titles using both 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗱𝘀. Before this, authors could only directly advertise their print and digital book ASINs. Personally, I’ve never really 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥 to advertise my audiobooks separately. I would run Amazon Ads to my paperback books, and readers could see that an audiobook version was available and simply choose that format instead. And that strategy has worked pretty well for me. But now we have another option. You can add the audiobook format into new or existing campaigns alongside your paperback and ebook. One thing I find particularly interesting is that Amazon says this will also help with 𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀-𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴. So if someone clicks on an ad for one format of your book but ends up buying another format, that sale can show up in your campaign reporting. That could give us a much clearer picture of how our Amazon Ads are actually contributing to sales across paperback, ebook 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸. Amazon says we’ll also be able to track the usual metrics like impressions, clicks and attributed conversions. ⚠️ 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲: Right now, Amazon says audiobook advertising for authors is available in the 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀, and you need to have your pen name claimed through Amazon Author Central before you can begin advertising. I’m definitely going to be playing around with this because audiobooks have been a significant part of my publishing business, and I’m curious to see whether directly advertising the audio version actually moves the needle — or whether I’m better off continuing to advertise the paperback and letting readers choose their preferred format.

I am so grateful for this group. You all keep showing up, breaking barriers, supporting each other, and helping us hit milestone after milestone. It’s the engagement happening here that keeps people coming back. I never want this to become a community that simply creates more noise. My goal is to balance 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 with opportunities to keep things light, fun, and interactive so we can continue building real connection and collaboration. And a BIG shoutout to @Loretta Wells — thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review for the community! ❤️ Reviews make a huge difference in helping other authors discover what we’re building here. That is also one of the reasons I’m currently running the 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗔𝗻𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗨𝗽𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲. I know many of you originally joined this community as free members, and I truly appreciate you being here and contributing. The one disconnect is that free members aren’t able to leave a community review. So for a limited time, you can upgrade to the 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗔𝗻𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗳𝗼𝗿 $𝟰𝟵 and also get access to the 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗞𝗶𝘁 I created to help both authors working through the publishing process and those looking for an easier way to market their books. ⚠️ 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗶𝗱𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗘𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟳𝘁𝗵. Only members who upgrade during this promotion will receive access to the Author Success Kit with their Standard membership. And if you’re already a 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗶𝘂𝗺 𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿, you already have access to the kit. 💛 Thank you again for continuing to show up, participate, share your wins, ask questions, and help make this community what it is.

Level Up & Unlock Bonus Content Let's Help Each Other LEVEL UP to Unlock BONUS CONTENT. Here's what you'll unlock along the way: 📚 Level 1: Top 25 Book Categories 🎤 Level 2: Guest Event Replays 🤖 Level 3: AI Prompts to Speed Up Your Book Writing ✅ Level 4: Self-Publishing Checklist 🎯 Level 5: 1:1 Strategy Call with Me 👇 DROP AN INSPIRING WORD AND FOLLOW COMMENT ON SOMEONE ELSE'S WORD WITH A GIF 🙌 Engage with these people they need it the most: @Isa Leka @E. V. Wright @Martine Brown @Demetrice Odds @April Edwards @Lauren K @Mike Bayer @Angeline Mortime @Kim Tinkler @Aj Silvers @Cameron Garrett-Rose @Danielle Andria @Amy Brauer @Christine Svendsen @Tracy Cook @Christy Sanning @Heather Marie @Sholanda Smith @Natalia Love Angelou @Skyler Pyzynski @Kathy Freeman @Christine Vabre @Lacy Adams @La'Shonn Boateng @Kassie L @Onengiyeofori Obeahon @Lazandria King @Kelly Otis @Mindy Molein @Alli Gatlin @Maria Lupita @Anna McLain @Rachel Salinas @Mitta Wise @Denise Jones @Suzan Lovelace @Sabrina aka Bri Gouveia @Ceyhun Kapucu @Mary Massey @Sharon Prahl @Taiyaba Saleem @Sola Samuel @Tiffany M Ruffner @Barbi Wiest @Darrell Stout

𝗜𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗔𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗪𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗕𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀? Okay… I have been hearing about 𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 for over a week now, so clearly there is some BUZZ happening around this platform. 👀 So naturally, I had to check it out. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲? Think of it as a mix between Pinterest, affiliate marketing, and curated recommendation lists. You create lists of things you personally recommend books, products, travel, business tools, resources, and more and other people can browse those recommendations. But here's where I think it gets interesting for 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳-𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘀. 📚💰 I just opened my account and I'm starting to map out my strategy. 𝗠𝘆 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲: 📖 Lists recommending books I personally love 💼 Lists around business, publishing, personal growth, etc. ✍️ A dedicated list featuring 𝗺𝘆 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳-𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 You can connect recommendations directly to Amazon, which means someone could discover one of your books through your Benable list and click over to Amazon to purchase it....And there is another potential income layer. Benable automatically monetizes eligible recommendations through its affiliate partnerships, including Amazon, and if you already have your own affiliate relationships, Benable says you can use those as well. So theoretically, your book recommendations can create multiple opportunities: 👉 More exposure for your books 👉 Another source of traffic going to your Amazon listings 👉 Potential affiliate commissions on qualifying purchases 👉 Your normal book royalties when someone purchases your book 👉 Another searchable piece of content working for you online 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗺𝘆 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. I'm always looking at ways we can build MORE places for readers to discover our books instead of relying only on Amazon search or constantly posting on social media. And Benable says it has a built-in audience and can distribute recommendations through feeds and search engines, which makes me especially curious about what kind of visibility these lists can generate over time. 🔎

I have been working on something that brings together several parts of what we are building at Oasis Builders. Lila and the Sleeping Seed is the first book in the new Backyard Nature Stories series, and the Kindle edition is now available for preorder. At first, it is a story about a little girl planting a bean seed. Underneath that simple story, Lila begins learning that caring for a living thing does not mean controlling it. Sometimes we help. Sometimes we observe. Sometimes we wait. The heart of Book 1 is patience, supported by trust, curiosity, compassion, grace, and thoughtful care. The larger goal of Backyard Nature Stories is to create stories that teach both the child and the adult reading with them. Each book will combine a natural learning experience with a deeper value: - Book 1: Patience — germination, observation, helping without forcing - Book 2: Generosity — seed saving, continuity, and sharing - Book 3: Kindness — friendship, compassion, and learning across generations - Book 4: Responsibility — caring for living systems - Book 5: Belonging — seeing how soil, plants, wildlife, food, family, and community connect Those later values will remain flexible as the stories grow naturally from Lila's experiences. The child gets the adventure. The grown-up sees something deeper. They discover it together. Lila and the Sleeping Seed releases September 21. Kindle preorder: https://amzn.to/4gvDsEZ As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. A special Thank you to @Krista Brea and @Nick Nebelsky for their teaching and motivation to pull me through. What value would you most like to see Lila explore in a future story?