The Author Letter · For fiction authors
A weekly letter on building an author business on your own terms.
Royalties, ads, and the life behind your books. Read by over 18,000 authors.
One letter every Saturday. A 5-minute read. Unsubscribe anytime.
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Recent letters
Fresh from The Author Letter.
Letters for fiction authors on ads, royalties and building a business around your books.
Latest letter
Issue #178 · Oct 31, 2026
The Most Expensive Way to Spend $500
Your first $500 on Facebook Ads isn’t buying sales. It’s buying answers.
Issue #177 · Oct 24, 2026
The First Book Is The Front Door
Most authors running ads can’t say for sure whether they’re working, because nobody ever told us what “working” was supposed to look like.
Issue #176 · Oct 17, 2026
Four Books, Three Platforms, Ten Dollars a Day
Spreading $10 a day across every book feels responsible. A month later, none of the numbers are big enough to tell you anything.
Who’s writing
Hi, I’m Matt.
I help fiction authors make their ads profitable, sell more books and grow their royalties.
In 2020, Covid wiped out my video production business overnight, so I threw myself into self-publishing my wife’s fiction. Our first month brought in $133.
Since then, her books have sold more than 350,000 copies and earned over $750,000 in royalties. I’ve also spent over $1,000,000 on ads, for her books and for fiction authors across multiple genres.
Now I help other fiction authors do the same: ads that pay for themselves, and books that keep selling.
350,000+
books sold
$750,000+
in royalties on my wife’s books
$1,000,000+
spent on ads, across genres
3,500+
authors worked with
Ways to work with me
When you’d like more help.
Both are built for fiction authors who are ready to grow their royalties.
Author Mastery
A community to make your ads profitable, sell more books and grow your royalties.
The curriculum, live calls every week, Ask Matt, tools, and a community of fiction authors working on the same things you are.
Facebook Ads Audit
A personal video review of the ads you’re already running.
I’ll go through your ads, your numbers and your book pages, write new ad copy and image ideas for your books, and give you clear next steps.
The Author Letter
One letter, every Saturday morning.
For fiction authors building a business on their own terms. Join 18,000+ authors.
One letter a week. A 5-minute read. Unsubscribe anytime.