The creative process is the part of being a writer that I enjoy the most. Nothing beats when a character talks to me while I’m doing household chores. Alas, it’s another story when one’s creation is set free into the world. Getting my novels into the hands of readers is not easy. I’m a service-oriented person. Giving away stuff is much easier for me than selling stuff, even when it’s my own books. But, as I’m doing now, I do what I can to promote them. No pressure.

As depicted in the captioned ad, I also promote my books in the Poets & Writers Magazine. I set aside funds every year for advertising. Though I never recoup the cost through sales, it’s also my way of supporting my favorite poets/writers magazine. Our support has become even more critical with federal cuts in funding for the literary arts.

Judging from the length of time since I last received a royalty check from Lulu Press, my book printer and distributor, sales have been slow. Then again, it’s hard to say since Amazon and other major booksellers take their time in forwarding sales royalties to Lulu. My last “Unpaid Revenue Record” dated June 30, 2025, only covers receipts for sales January to November 2024. No sales since then?

As if slow sales aren’t bad enough for an indie author bookseller, I got an email from Lulu Press on May 29, 2025, about changes in the book market in the European Union (EU). With effect from June 30, 2025, the European Accessibility Act (EAA) mandates that eBooks sold in EU countries must meet WCAG 2 Level AA standards for accessibility. After I browsed Lulu’s guidelines for compliance, the tech side of my brain locked down. I was not up to the task.

“If you do not take any action, [Lulu] EPUB ebook projects will be marked non-accessible when the EAA goes into effect,” the Lulu Team advised. “Declaring your ebook as non-accessible will not limit your ability to sell on the Lulu Bookstore, though EPUB ebooks using Global Distribution may be unavailable in some regions based on your accessibility status.”

Given my negligence, if you live in an EU country, only the paperback editions of my novels will be available. I don’t know if you would have any difficulty in purchasing eBook copies directly from Rosaliene’s Bookstore on Lulu.

As a former international trade professional, I consider this new EAA regulation by the European Union as a non-tariff trade barrier. Such is the nature of trade across foreign borders.

That’s not the only bad news. On July 1, 2025, I received another email from the Lulu Team: This time it’s about a price increase. All those recent tariffs/import taxes on US imports also affect our printing industry. Beginning on August 1, 2025, Lulu will apply a 5 percent increase for all print products. This means that readers will now have to pay more for the paperback editions of my novels.

“In the last few years, we were able to avoid any changes,” the Lulu Team said. “However, during this year’s review, we determined that a price adjustment to all of our print products is necessary.”

Even with this price adjustment, I don’t anticipate an increase in my royalties for paperbacks sold which are already a pittance. For example, in 2024, I received US$0.40 from Amazon USA and US$0.26 from Ingram Print-on-Demand (POD) distributors.

* * * * * *

Happily, not all the news was gloomy. Two more readers and blogging friends brightened my days. On June 16, 2025, American poet Cheryl Batavia, blogger at Gulf Coast Poet, posted her review of my novel The Twisted Circle on her blog and on Amazon.

More Praise for The Twisted Circle: A Novel by Rosaliene Bacchus

The Twisted Circle is a window on a fascinating time and place. It provides timeless insights into human nature and relationships.

Author, Rosaliene Bacchus was a young, idealistic Guyanese nun for seven years during the tumultuous 1970s and early 1980s in Guyana. Her novel, The Twisted Circle, provides vivid insights into the politics and corruption of both the Roman Catholic Church and the Guyanese government of that period. Nuns and priests are portrayed as human beings with human desires, ambitions, and flaws.

You can read Cheryl’s full review at Gulf Coast Poet.

Then on Friday, June 27, 2025, I had the immense delight of meeting face-to-face with writer and blogger Rebecca Cuningham from Madison, Wisconsin. When she first emailed asking if I would be able to meet with her during a proposed visit to El Segundo in Los Angeles County, I thought it was a spam message. What a joy! Since I don’t drive, my son gave me a ride. With little traffic, it was a scenic, thirty-minute trip along the Pacific Coast from our home in West Los Angeles.

Rebecca and I have been blogger friends since 2019. Her review of my novel The Twisted Circle was the first I received from a blogger in our WordPress community. Meeting her face-to-face was like meeting a dear friend. What an added gift to also spend time over lunch with her husband Evan and their teenager Eagle! Check out Rebecca’s account with lively photos of our Los Angeles visit.