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Draft worksheet, not final. Fill/confirm the OPEN DECISIONS section before upload. Content is not final (see book/PUNCH-LIST.md, 177 VERIFY / 97 INSIDER tags open as of 2026-07-08), this worksheet exists so metadata work isn't a bottleneck once the manuscript is ready.

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Working title

Retire to Ajijic

Subtitle (draft, needs Annette's pick)

Candidates: 1. A Real-World Guide to Moving to, Settling In, and Thriving at Lake Chapala, Mexico 2. The Honest Guide to Life in Ajijic and Lake Chapala, Mexico 3. What You Actually Need to Know Before You Move to Lake Chapala, Mexico

Book description (draft, 150-200 words)

Every year, more Americans and Canadians look at their retirement savings, their winters, and their healthcare bills, and start asking the same question: what if we just moved? Ajijic and the villages around Lake Chapala have quietly become one of the most established expat communities in Mexico, home to thousands of US and Canadian retirees, remote workers, and snowbirds who've traded high costs and cold months for a lakeside town with a real, functioning community.

This book comes from seven years of living it: as a resident, a former real estate agent working with incoming expats, and the admin of a Facebook group where thousands of people ask the same practical questions every week. It answers them here, in order, the way you'd actually need them: is this the right move for you, what your visa options really involve, what it costs to live here in real numbers, how to find a place, how to set up a household, how healthcare actually works, and what daily life looks like once the honeymoon period ends.

No sales pitch. No "everything is perfect here." Just what you need to know before you go, and what you'll wish someone had told you on day one.

Keywords (7 slots, KDP allows up to 7 x 50-character phrases)

1. retire in Mexico
2. Lake Chapala Mexico
3. Ajijic Mexico expat
4. move to Mexico guide
5. expat retirement Mexico
6. best places to retire abroad
7. Mexico residency visa guide

(Candidates only, refine against actual Amazon search-term data before final upload; a keyword tool pass is a cheap pre-publish step.)

Category candidates (KDP allows 2, up to 3 via support request)

1. Travel > Mexico
2. Business & Money > Personal Finance > Retirement Planning
3. (Optional third, via KDP support ticket) Reference > Relocation

Author bio (draft)

Annette Thompson has lived in Ajijic, Mexico for seven years. She previously worked as a real estate agent helping US and Canadian buyers navigate the Lake Chapala market, and she is the admin of the Friendly Gringos Facebook group, where thousands of members ask and answer questions about moving to and living in the area every week. Retire to Ajijic distills those years of lived experience and community knowledge into one practical guide.

(Annette: add/adjust credentials, confirm whether to name the FB group publicly in the bio, add any additional credibility markers you want included.)

Pricing worksheet

This book is a B2B credibility tool for the real estate agent outreach channel, not a primary royalty play. Price should optimize for: - Being credible/professional enough to hand to a real estate agent as a lead magnet or co-branding asset - Being cheap enough that a reader buys on impulse after finding it via search - Supporting bulk/agent-copy purchases if that becomes a referral mechanic

Rough KDP royalty math (ebook, 70% royalty tier requires $2.99-$9.99 list price, delivery fee deducted): | List price | Royalty rate | Approx. royalty/copy | |---|---|---| | $2.99 | 70% | ~$1.85 (after delivery fee) | | $4.99 | 70% | ~$3.30 | | $9.99 | 70% | ~$6.80 | | $0.99 or $1.99 | 35% | ~$0.35-0.70 |

Recommendation to weigh, not a decision: given the B2B framing, a $4.99-$6.99 ebook price likely balances "looks legitimate" against "low-friction impulse buy." Final call is Annette's.

Format decisions

• Ebook: yes (this pipeline builds toward it)
• Paperback: not yet decided (adds KDP print-cost math, trim size choice, and a print-interior build this plan explicitly does NOT cover, see PLAN-kdp-build-pipeline.md step 1)

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The 8 open decisions

• [ ] Final subtitle, pick from the 3 candidates above or write your own
• [ ] Price, see pricing worksheet; confirm ebook list price
• [ ] Paperback: yes or no, if yes, this needs a separate print-interior build (trim size, margins, bleed) before it can ship
• [ ] Pen name vs. full name, publish as "Annette Thompson" or a pen name?
• [ ] KDP Select enrollment, exclusivity to Amazon (enables Kindle Unlimited, promo tools) vs. wide distribution to other retailers
• [ ] Whether to name the Friendly Gringos group publicly in the author bio / back matter
• [ ] Final keyword set, the 7 above are drafts; worth a real keyword-research pass before upload
• [ ] Category selection, confirm the 2 (or 3, via support ticket) categories above

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Generated 2026-07-08 as part of the KDP build pipeline (PLAN-kdp-build-pipeline.md). Update this file, don't fork a duplicate, when decisions are made.

🔒 Private · annettethompson.com/hub/ajijic-kdp-decisions