Merry Christmas!!!

As of the time of writing this newsletter, the calendar reads December 23rd!  That means today is the Eve of the Eve before Christmas Day!  Are you excited??? Are your kids excited while you are worn out already???  Have you literally dropped because of all the preparations, services, shopping, etcetera that were on your todo list this year?

If it weren't for a handful of newsy items, this particular newsletter would have written itself with the last three entries added to my blog this month.  It's always good every so often to just turn off from the noise of such a busy season, and remember why this season even began in the first place, what our role is in it, and to be reminded that God still works miracles today.  You can find those three themes in the "latest content" entry at the end of this newsletter.

However, before you head to the end already, let me welcome more subscribers to the Songdove Books family!  It's great to have you with us!

This newsletter is coming to you a few days early for two reasons:

• First, because of the holidays.  Between Christmas eve services, Christmas Day celebrations, visiting family, and a daughter exercising her horse, I just wanted to know that my monthly communication with you has already been looked after.  Normally I send newsletters out near the 27th or so each month, but not this month.

• Secondly, because of word of an ebook sale going on for 7 days at four online retailers.  I wanted you to know about this a couple days in advance.  Because of time zones and datelines, the sale actually begins in my timezone on Christmas Day, but if your Christmas Day is actually on my Christmas Eve, such as for those living in Australia, then your Boxing Day week begins the day I'm having my Christmas celebrations.  So the sale starts on the 25th for me, and the 26th for anyone on the other side of the dateline.  Make sense?  Don't you love international planning??? lol. . . It gives some of my friends headaches just thinking about it.

So without further adieu, lets get into December's news. . .


Amazon Added Another Domain in November!

This tidbit of information didn't quite make it into November's newsletter, so I do apologize.  Amazon last month, added the Netherlands to their list of official websites.  At this time, you can only find ebooks there, but that means if you live in the Netherlands and click: https://smarturl.it/MarilynnDawson you will see all four of my current ebooks!  It's great to see all the locations around the world where Songdove Books can be found and the new locations popping up every now and then too.


Boxing Week Sale!

As already mentioned in the opening paragraphs, Songdove Books is having a 50% off sale from December 25th to December 31st at four participating retailers online:

Google Play:
https://play.google.com/store/search?q=Ms.%20Marilynn%20Dawson&c=books
(note: sometimes Google Play will list other books after mine in this search string)

Gumroad:
Select ebooks with coupon code: Boxingweeksale
Excluding Dressed for Eternity, both e-courses, and Becoming the Bride of Christ: A Personal Journey
https://gumroad.com/songdove

Smashwords:
Practical Thoughts on Becoming an Author: coupon code:  TD37B
A Year in Prayer With Jesus: coupon code:  GH89M
Pumpkin Pie From the Ground Up! (Well, sort of!): coupon code: QL99U
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/songdove

Tomely:
coupon code: Boxingweeksale
http://songdove.tomely.com/

So if you missed the 12 Days of Christmas Discount Tour at the beginning of the month, you have another opportunity following Christmas to take advantage of this 50% off sale on e-books only.  No paperbacks are on sale this week, which is why they are excluded over at Gumroad.


BECOME A SONGDOVE BOOKS AFFILIATE!!!

YES!  As of the month of December, Songdove Books has ventured further into the affiliate space (read more about that under "Affiliate Sales" below) by not merely becoming an affiliate to the bookstores listed in that section of this newsletter, but by becoming an affiliate vendor myself!  Both publishing e-courses have been added to the Click2Sell affiliate platform to create the Songdove Books Affiliate Program!  The price for each course continues to be $15 USD, but that is in rough estimate now as I have everything in Canadian funds, which makes that price $17.50 Canadian.

If you choose to join this program, you will earn 20% of each sale generated through your affiliate link, or $3.50 per course sold.

For the new people in our list today, each e-course comes to you via your email inbox, once a day.  Each daily session is relatively short with step-by-step instructions to learn how to use suggested tools in preparing your book for print or ebook distribution.  These courses are aimed at those venturing into the self-publishing arena and who perhaps don't have the funds to hire out a professional formatter for themselves.  I've been told I could price both courses at much higher rates than $15, but I am keeping them this low in order to appeal to authors and writers who are struggling just to get by, let alone publish what God has gifted them to write.

Information about the affiliate program, with links to more information about each course can be found at this url here: http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress-mu/songdovemusings/become-a-songdove-books-affiliate/

So if you've been wondering how you can help other authors get their manuscript ready for printing digitally or physically, check out this program, check out these courses, and consider joining the team.  It would be great to have you!


Affiliate Sales

Various bookstores around the 'net, such as Kobo, Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble and others, offer affiliate programs.  An affiliate program is where you sign up, and you're given promotional links.  If a person buys a product through your promotional link, then you get paid a commission for having facilitated that sale.  If you follow my blog, you'll have noticed a number of squarish banners showing up down the right-hand side of the blog.  Those are all affiliate programs.

Some of those banners have a text link under them.  Those text links go to pages on my site where I have linked to any Songdove Books that those affiliates carry, so that you can find them immediately.  This has been done for New Christian Books, Smile Amazon (so you can support the charity of your choice when buying from Amazon's website), Barnes & Noble, and Kobo Writing Life.

In addition to these banners and pages, sometimes affiliate programs offer time-sensitive deals.  In order to make sure that visitors to my site can access these time-sensitive deals, another page was created, simply called "Bookstore Deals".

"Bookstore Deals" currently has a raft of promotions from Barnes & Noble, but in a day or two will also have some from Kobo Wrting Life as well.

Sharing discounts and sales with you is important to me, because I myself am one for counting pennies!  If I can buy something for less than retail, and if the money and the time are available to make that happen, then I'll do it.  With so many families struggling to make ends meet, especially around Christmastime, it doesn't make sense not to fill you in on ways you can do any desired Christmas shopping in a manner that may save you money.

This kind of thinking tends to make me a bad promoter, because I'd rather see you save a penny than spend it.  I get in trouble for this kind of thinking offline by people who tell me I charge too little for my day job rates.  I finally raised my going rate from $40 over the past 5 years to $45 per hour for most services that I offer in my day job as a computer repair tech.  I just can't justify high prices when so many around me are struggling.

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Wrap-up

Sheesh, even when I think I have nothing to say, I still have quite abit to say!  Perhaps its a good thing I wrote this today instead of trying to figure it all out on Boxing Day or the weekend.

As you'll see in the blog posts below, this time of year gets me contemplating.  As with any form of contemplation, it comes out through my fingers.  Blogging lets you be privy to those thoughts and musings as we prepare to celebrate Jesus' birthday.  Every year since my youngest was three, we have a birthday cake for Jesus just as we do for any other birthday in the home.  A picture of it is here above.

We don't do a tree every year either, we broke with common tradition and have our own tradition in the form of our own depiction of the Cross over the Manger.  The painting I had seen as a child has resurfaced as an online graphic that I am having trouble tracking down the source for.  Whenever I learn whether this online version is of the original painting or a custom-drawn image, and when I finally learn of it's copyright status, I may start using it in my blog posts in the future.  Ever since first hearing of this painting as a child, I've always wanted a copy of it.  Pray I find out the origins of this image and its status.

Let me close for now by wishing you an extra special Christmas holiday greeting.  May God truly be welcome in your home this Christmas.  May He sit with you as you open gifts and may you feel His presence around the festive dinner table.  May the grown Son of God be welcome in your festivities as that of every other adult in your midst.

Lastly, may you look forward to the soon return of our Heavenly Bridegroom, the King of the Universe, and the Lover of your Soul, Jesus Christ!  Are you ready?
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View past newsletters.


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