I’m Brian Jackson—author, publisher, and Udemy instructor—and I teach the same practical, step-by-step systems my wife and I use in our own publishing business.

Over the years, I’ve written roughly a dozen books, published well over 100 titles, and built 40+ Udemy courses focused on writing, self-publishing, and the tools and workflows that help creators get real work done. Since July 2011, I’ve earned over $715,000 online through a combination of Amazon Kindle publishing and online video training.

My background: from tech to creative work

I was born in Los Angeles, California, and later graduated from Humboldt State University in Northern California. My first career was in tech. I worked for Lockheed Missiles and Space for 14 years as an IBM systems programmer, then spent 12 years at Cisco Systems as a test engineer. I retired at 48, thinking I’d enjoy unlimited free time.

I was wrong.

The “retired at 48” problem: boredom

Retirement lasted about five minutes before boredom set in. To keep my brain engaged, I enrolled at Columbia Community College and took 24 units in a single year, including classes in writing, art, acting, and statistics—and earned straight A’s. I loved learning, but I still wanted something bigger than coursework: a creative challenge that could turn into a real project, and ideally a business.

Writing and self-publishing: starting in July 2011

In July 2011, I began writing and self-publishing both fiction and nonfiction. Like many first-time indie authors, I experimented widely—publishing on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords—learning everything the hard way: formatting, metadata, categories, covers, blurbs, pricing, and (most importantly) consistency.

I wrote and published several books, but the business didn’t truly take off until a key thing happened: my wife joined me.

Melanie Jackson: traditional publishing to indie cozy mysteries

My wife, Melanie Jackson, was already a professional author. She had published 24 romance novels through her New York publisher, Dorchester Press, releasing more than two novels per year. When Dorchester folded, Melanie suddenly found herself without a publisher—and at the same time, she was ready to pivot genres anyway. She wanted to write cozy mysteries, and I saw a clear path: bring her professional writing discipline into self-publishing, then build a repeatable production-and-release workflow around it.

I convinced Melanie to join me in indie publishing—and that decision changed everything.

The self-publishing years: building a real catalog

For more than a decade, Melanie and I wrote and self-published cozy mysteries. Early on, we continued distributing across multiple platforms, but we eventually chose to publish exclusively on Amazon to simplify operations and concentrate our marketing efforts. Over time, I became the “production and publishing” side of the business—formatting, uploading, managing product pages, series consistency, and all the non-writing details that most people underestimate.

To date, I’ve self-published well over 100 of Melanie’s books on Amazon. Across Amazon publishing alone, our revenue totals $499,122.10.

Udemy: turning the workflow into training

In July 2014, I began publishing online courses on Udemy (and briefly on Skillshare and other sites). My focus was simple: teach the exact processes we were using—writing workflows, self-publishing steps, formatting, covers, and the “small technical stuff” that tends to stall people out.

I moved fast. Within about ten weeks, I’d published my first 10 Udemy courses. Over time, I narrowed my focus and now publish almost exclusively on Udemy, where I currently have 40+ courses. Udemy revenue to date totals $215,826.57, and my tenth year on Udemy was in July 2024.

What students get in my courses

If you’ve taken one of my courses, you’ve probably noticed a theme: I don’t teach theory and inspiration alone—I teach workflows.

I’m interested in helping you:

-- start (even when you don’t feel ready),

-- finish (even when you feel stuck),

-- publish with confidence,

-- and build repeatable systems you can use again and again.

I’m especially passionate about practical, tool-based instruction—because the right setup and process can save you hundreds of hours over the lifetime of your writing career.

Today

I currently live in Las Vegas, Nevada, with my lovely wife, author Melanie Jackson, and Chloe the cat. We’re still creating—still writing, publishing, testing workflows, and turning what works into training that helps other writers and creators move from “I want to do this someday” to “It’s published.”

If you’re here because you want to write, self-publish, or build a sustainable creative workflow—welcome. You’re in the right place.

I'll see you in the classroom,

---Brian