Dear Subscribers,
In this post, I will share the summary of a chapter from my new book titled The Zen of Book Authoring: Write with Purpose, Teach with Clarity, and Earn with Integrity



As a science and technology professional, I never thought I would consider myself a bookseller. Writing had always been my strength since childhood. I used it in my profession, for therepeutic purposes, and to sharpen my mind to create cognitive reserves.
I also did marketing both in the academic and corporate worlds methodically and innovatively, which certified me as a distinguished enterprise architect. But selling belonged to another world with pitches, persuasion, polished smiles, and transactions in my perceptions.
In creative circles, the word "selling" can carry a shadow. Some imagine it as manipulative or insincere, tangled with images of deception.
Yet, in truth, we all sell something, such as our time, our skills, or our creations. To exchange is part of being human.
The difference lies in how it is done. When selling becomes an act of respect, offering real value in return for what is received, it is no longer a burden or a compromise. It is a fair and mindful exchange, a way of sustaining both the creator and the community.
So, I am happy to challenge my own old perceptions and change them to a realistic and optimistic one to serve my goals.
Life has its way of proving us wrong in a good way. Like the body, the human brain and mind are flexible. My perceptions of selling changed when I tried it in an area close to my heart.
My goal was to pass along my knowledge and experience to a broad audience in an affordable and timely manner.
After my retirement from the corporate world, the first time I sold over a thousand books in a single month in 2021, it felt like something had shifted deep inside me.
It was not the money, though the extra income was helpful in my retirement years. Back then, I wrote a story about it on Medium, which inspired thousands of book authors to emulate my bespoke approach.
Now, I also included this unique strategy in my new book, titled "Income Beyond the Bookstore via Substack: Why Substack Is the Best Platform for Book Authors and How to Leverage It."
My first sales achievement was the realization that my words could move beyond manuscripts and shelves, into real hands and real lives, without depending entirely on publishers or middlemen.
For years, I had worked with traditional publishers. They gave me a platform and a royalty statement that was more symbolic than substantial. The royalties could barely cover a fraction of the time, research, thought, and sacrifice I had invested in each book while working full-time and raising kids.
I accepted it as the cost of being an author until I was introduced to a hybrid model, one that allowed me to sell my books independently while still partnering with a trusted publisher.
At first, I doubted I could move even a handful of copies.
I thought my weakest muscle had been selling. But with the encouragement of mentors, I tried something different: I shared my books with my mailing list, wrote blogs about my ideas, ran tiny ads on Facebook, and accepted help from unlikely allies.
One freelancer I hired for just a few dollars surprised me by reaching audiences I never could have reached on my own.
Another mentor nudged me to share more freely on social platforms, not to push sales, but to create visibility and trust.
Slowly, the numbers grew. Each morning, I checked my dashboard, almost disbelieving. A few dozen books became a few hundred. Then a thousand at the end of the month. Wow! I was able to sell books that I wrote and published myself.
But the real shift was not numerical. It was internal. For the first time, I felt the difference between creating in silence and creating with confidence.
Selling a book no longer meant manipulating readers. It meant finding those who were already searching, already longing, and showing them that your work could serve them.
The income gave me joy not because of what I could buy, but because of what I could give. With my wife, I used the royalties to support charities, help people in urgent need, and give back in ways I never imagined writing could allow. Selling, for me, became less about profit and more about service to those who need my help.
That month changed my understanding of what it means to be an author in the modern age. We are not only writers. We are also stewards of our words.
Now, I can sell multiple thousands of books published by over 100 different platforms with thousands of landing pages, which I discussed in a previous story titled What's a Landing Page and Why Freelancers, Startups, & Book Authors Need Many.
I am pleased that now 774 domains drive daily traffic to my 50+ books and academic papers.

Where to buy the Zen of Book Authoring? It is available in many bookstores.
Here is the universal purchasing link to the Zen of Book Authoring by Dr Mehmet Yildiz: https://books2read.com/zenofbookautho...

I also made it available in audio format via Google Play : https://play.google.com/store/audiobo...

Thank you for reading my perspectives

I'd like to share a list of books I added to the Digitalmehmet Discount Bookstore to give you an idea. They include PDF, EPUB, MOBI, or MP3 formats for downloading.


Audio + Digital Bundle: The Mysterious Leadership Mind of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Substack Mastery Version 2 (Digital + Audio Bundle)
Agile Business Architecture for Digital Transformation (Audiobook)
Audiobook: Monetize Your Passion with WooCommerce
Monetize Your Passion with WooCommerce (Book)
Agile Business Architecture for Digital Transformation V2
Cortisol Clarity (Audiobook)
A Powerful Toolkit for Substack Newsletter Mastery (Audio)
Smart and Ethical SEO (Book)
Train Your Brain for a Healthier and Happier Life (Audio)
Modern Affiliate Marketing for Writers (Audiobook)
Modern Affiliate Marketing for Writers (Book)
4 Pillars of Enterprise Architecture
Smart Email Marketing Content Integration
A Powerful Toolkit for Substack Newsletter Mastery
Cortisol Clarity (Book)
Train Your Brain for a Healthier and Happier Life (Book)

Thank you for reading my post. You can connect with me on my author platform Digitalmehmet Content Ecosystem.

If you are a book author, you can join our book club on Substack and share your book chapters at Illumination Book Chapters on Medium. Here are the links:

Illumination Book Club on Substack
Illumination Book Chapters on Medium