2025 will always stand out to me as the year I published my debut book – Silent Courage: An Introvert’s Authentic Journey with Hearing Loss. Other highlights were welcoming a new puppy and upgrading my hearing aids.
1 Silent Courage 2025: From Book to Business
1.1 The Early Days
Don’t think you’ll publish a book and stop there. I published my book on 12 February 2025, and looking back, I am amazed at how much it has evolved. I’ve enlisted it in Kindle Unlimited and promoted it on Substack and LinkedIn.
I’ve written my posts on Substack, and that is where I’ve gained most of my current subscribers. I’ve built a simple website without a blog because my content lives on Substack.
1.2 From Ebook to Print
I didn’t know what I’ve let myself in for when I decided to make Silent Courage available in print. It was a perilous journey, with technology rarely behaving as it should.
There were many formatting challenges. I had to check every page for widows, orphans, and callout blocks that split between pages. Amazon rejected my uploads due to inconsistent page numbering, and I had to figure out how to fix it. Creating a cover for printing based on Amazon’s template tempted me to give up a few times. I pushed through and am grateful to those who trusted me enough to buy my book in paperback.
A highlight was when Australian audiologist and author, Keith ‘Earman’ Chittleborough bought a paperback copy and wrote an extensive review of my book.
1.3 Silent Courage Digital – My Store
My books are available on Amazon, but Silent Courage Digital houses a variety of digital products – singles and in value bundles.
My journal, Daily Reflections for Introverts with Hearing Loss, is close to my heart. It is available in my store as a printable download (formatted for US and A4) and a fillable copy. It is also available as a paperback on Amazon. And boy, did I struggle to get Amazon to accept this one! I did treasure that glow of accomplishment when it was finally approved.
I had started and am making significant progress with my course: Empowered & Heard: A Practical Course for Introverts with Hearing Loss, which I am very excited about. It will be available as a complete course of five modules, with each module available separately. It will cover topics like communication, visibility and inclusion, unpredictable social settings, advocacy, and balancing solitude and social needs.
1.4 Silent Scribbles – My Blog
Eventually, I decided to move my content to a dedicated blog on my website, and Silent Scribbles was born. It is where all my content now lives.
Subscribers receive a newsletter every second and fourth Tuesday of the month. The first one is a general post about various topics. The second one is the one that stretches me as a writer. It is a series with four questions per post: two about introversion, and two about hearing loss.
I didn’t want it to be a FAQ-style piece, but a deep dive into the challenges faced by introverts and people with hearing loss.
As it progresses, it will become my first series. Quiet Connections, the first book in the series, is already available on Amazon, as an ebook (enrolled in Kindle Unlimited) and paperback.
1.5 Amazon Ads – A Waiting Game
I read a few books about Amazon Ads, but when I tried it, I found it too overwhelming. But with time, I felt ready to try it again. What I like about it is that Amazon doesn’t aim to spend your whole budget in a day, but rather to show your book to the right readers. It means you can experiment and fine-tune without spending a lot of money. It is still early days, but between Kindle Unlimited and the ads, Silent Courage is slowly gaining traction.
These are the highlights of my year with Silent Courage. But it doesn’t tell you about the emotional toll of a new author publishing and marketing their first book. A business? Maybe not yet, but hopefully in the future.
As Silent Courage slowly progressed, our new puppy kept us entertained at home. His playful antics and curious nature brought a fresh energy to our lives.
2 Kanta: A New Buddy for Sassy
Kanta Kid, aka Captain Chaos!
He was a tiny Chinorkie when we got him, but he grew into a stocky guy with a huge personality. There is never a dull moment with Kanta around. He loves to explore and carry big sticks with huge thorns into the house. He quickly learned how to open cupboards – not good news for our shoes and groceries.
Typical boy, he likes to aggravate Sassy (our Japanese Chin female) by pulling her tail. But they quickly became fast friends and love chasing each other around the house.
The problem with Kanta is not so much that he likes to chew, but that he swallows everything, so we have to watch him closely.
He also loves to talk with various whines, but when he gets excited, he sings operas in the car.
He is a gentle giant with a soft heart who notices quickly if something is off with his humans.
As a puppy, he had no control when it came to food. Sassy eats a bit slower, and today, he lies quietly until she finishes her food. He knows he always gets an extra kibble or two as a reward.
Sassy and Kanta are the chinnertjies in our house, and I can’t imagine life without them.
We have just settled in with Kanta around, when a new challenge arose in the form of new hearing aids.
3 New Hearing Aids: Facing Unexpected Challenges
I had to replace my hearing aids this year, and earlier than expected. Besides the unplanned expense, I struggled to adjust for the first time. Every brand is different, so I had to get used to a new soundscape. Sounds I’ve barely noticed before suddenly were painfully loud. I couldn’t understand why my husband was suddenly screaming at me all the time. And how on earth did our newish car suddenly become so loud?
My hearing aids connect wirelessly to the settings app on my phone, but don’t support wireless streaming. Suddenly, my hearing aids became another thing to manage. It felt like I was constantly changing settings and had to remember to switch back to the default. In my frustration, I felt a disconnect between my user experience and what the manufacturers thought I needed in my hearing aids.
It was exhausting. Fatigue from cognitive overload and sensory overwhelm became my constant companion. My husband commented that I was constantly zoned out and became quite concerned. I struggled to keep up at work because my brain needed extra resources to process all the new stimuli.
Only now, after five months, can I embrace my new ears. Voices are sounding more normal. I have a profile that helps with phone calls. My new portable speaker makes listening to music pure joy. Using it with the TV helps me follow the speech better when we watch a movie. Although it still depends on the movie’s sound quality.
Patience. Resilience. Strength.
These same qualities are needed when adjusting to new hearing aids and in building Silent Courage.
Since this is the last newsletter of the year, I am wishing you a peaceful holiday season with plenty of quiet moments. And during those challenging holiday events, may your Silent Courage shine!
Quiet Words that Linger.
If you’d like more reflections like this, you’re warmly invited to subscribe—or drop a comment to share your thoughts. You can also browse the Silent Courage store for stories and tools created with care.
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