David Kadavy's Blog, page 3

March 2025 Income Report

To listen to an audio version of this report, join the Patreon »

March’s revenue was $3,974, up from January’s $3,658. Profits were $802, up from February’s -$983.

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuck

Well, this isn’t good. After a record-low-profit, indeed losing money last month, we have the third-lowest-profit since I started writing these reports seven years ago.

My total profit three months into 2025 is less than $2,000, which would be well below-average even if it were for one month.

Shit. This sucks. It’s an...

How I reduced my microplastics exposure (without going crazy)

Microplastics are so ubiquitous that the common choices are to either surrender to the inevitable exposure or drive yourself crazy trying to eliminate every possible source – which is impossible because microplastics are in our bodies from birth, and a main source of exposure is the air we breathe.

I recently started trying to reduce my microplastics exposure. Here’s what I’ve changed.

My TL;DR for microplastics reductionStart with what goes in your bodyAvoid plastic when it’s wet, hot, or on...

Enter to win a Mind Management paperback on Goodreads Giveaways

For the first time in nearly six years, I’m running a giveaway on Goodreads Giveaways. Enter to win one of twelve paperback copies of Mind Management, Not Time Management.

In case I haven’t talked about it enough, Mind Management, Not Time Management is an approach to productivity when creativity matters. Creative thinking doesn’t stand up to the traditional time management paradigm of “time put in = value taken out.”

This is becoming even more true in the age of AI. As the “stacking bricks” typ...

February 2025 income report

To listen to an audio version of this report, join the Patreon »

February’s revenue was $3,658, down from January’s $5,815. Profits were -$983, down from January’s $2,143.

This isn’t the first time I’ve lost money, but it was enough this time I added a “-$1,000” mark to the income graph.

Record-low profit (loss!)

This month’s “profit” is not a typo. I actually lost nearly $1,000 running my business this month, and this after two consecutive months in which I profited barely $2,000.

These days a...

So Amazon has blocked your book. Now what?

Recently, while trying to publish a book on KDP, Amazon blocked my book. I saw this message in the KDP dashboard.

I wasn’t even able to make edits to the book. After months of struggle, I was finally able to get my book un-blocked and published with no changes. Here’s what I did. (Spoiler: This is yet another case where my membership to the Alliance of Independent Authors paid off.)

Why did Amazon block my book?

If Amazon blocks your book, the first thing you need to ask is, Why? Unfortunately,...

Submit your questions for the AMA/Livestream

I’ll be holding a live AMA on March 26th at 11 a.m. Central Time. Add it to your calendar (the event has the YouTube link).

Feel free to submit your question(s). Some good ones from a previous livestream:

How should I start marketing my books?
How can you pick a creative project when you have too many ideas?How can you cope with burnout that gets in the way of creative work?How do you hack learning a new language?Ask me about self-publishing, book marketing, writing, productivity, and more...

January 2025 Income Report

To listen to an audio version of this report, join the Patreon »

January’s revenue was $5,814, down from December’s $6,298. Profits were $2,143, up from December’s $2,022.

This month’s profits were below the 12-month average of $3,552. This is the third month in a row below the trailing 12-month average.

These low profits are not ideal. Profits over recent months were boosted by new product releases, such as the Journal Prompts Workbook and How to Sell a Book. As I dig in my heels once again to...

Join my Patreon (and don’t pay too much)

Over the past year or so, I’ve been reinventing what I’m offering to Patreon members. I’m enjoying it as a place to share the more tactical and applied things I’m doing and learning in my creative business, without the algorithmic pressure to keep it flashy and superficial.

So, I’ve been adding many screencasts and videos. In one of the more-popular recent additions, I compare audio recorded with various new acoustic treatments in my office, including curtains and bass traps.

Some other new con...

ActiveCampaign Review 2025: Why I’ve stayed 9 years

ActiveCampaign has been my email marketing platform for nine years. I just paid for another full year up-front, and I’ll probably still be a customer in another nine years.

In this ActiveCampaign review, I’ll tell you what I love, what I don’t love, and what in the past has made me consider switching.

(If you prefer video, watch here.)

ActiveCampaign free trial: 14 days (then 20% off)

If you decide you want to try ActiveCampaign, use this link.

After a 14-day free trial, this will get yo...

December 2024 Income Report (and 2024 review!)

To listen to an audio version of this report, join the Patreon »

December’s revenue was $6,298, down from November’s $6,968. Profits were $2,022, down from November’s $3,351.

This is also the last report of 2024. 2024’s revenue was $82,673, down from 2023’s $88,202. Profits were $43,301, down from 2023’s $56,722.

Low profits, high year-end expenses

This month’s profits were pretty low, barely breaking the $2,000 threshold. The last time profits were this low was June, when they were only $2,006...