How it Started

As an avid reader, I realized in recent years that I wanted to author a book myself. I am fascinated by the multitude of subjects and writing styles I experience when I read. I had no idea what the subject matter or the genre would be if I were to draft a book myself. Shortly after my exit from the corporate world in early 2024, I found the answer to that question. I took a two-month, 12,000-mile train journey back and forth across the United States. What I learned during that trip was so consequential to my life, that experience became the answer. I had discovered the subject of my book.

As I began the plans for drafting my book, I gathered what knowledge I could find on the subject from blogs and podcasts. I knew no one who had authored a book completely by themselves without help from colleagues or a support staff. I was going it alone. As it is often said, I made it up as I went. In hindsight, if I had known these handful of things I am about to share from the start, it would have made a meaningful difference in the process. If you aspire to author a book yourself, I hope these lessons I learned are helpful for you.

The “Why”

Before you start, decide the “why” for writing the book. Are you doing it as a personal accomplishment with little or no concern for sales? Are you writing this book with aspirations to have it be a big seller on some level? If it is the latter, it will affect the level of outside help you engage in drafting the book. Are you going to hire an editor, someone to do the typesetting, help with illustrations, design a book cover, or do the physical publishing of the book?

I did it to experience the process of writing a book and as a personal accomplishment. I had no illusions of being the author of a “best seller,” whatever that means. Although I did hire an online editor, I did everything else myself. I prepared the document into its final form; what I call typesetting. I designed the cover. I loaded the files onto the Amazon self-publishing tool. Trust me, getting a book that is several hundred pages long to paginate correctly with illustrations and photos is no easy task. Have you ever noticed in a published book that the first page of every chapter in a book is on the same side of the open book – left page or right page throughout the book. Never back and forth.

Just Start Writing

Once you answer the why, just start writing. Pick up some blank sheets of paper and a pen and just start writing.

Do Not Edit During the Writing Phase

In preparing to write the book, I learned that there are two phases to writing a book – writing and editing. Writing is what I referred to in the prior step. Editing comes later. While in the writing phase, do not edit. Just let it the words flow onto the page and keep going.

Write Long-hand on Paper

If you are going to separate writing from editing, which you should do, it helps to write longhand with paper and a pen. If you are typing during writing, you will be inclined to edit as you go. It is almost impossible to resist. Periodically, I would stop and type in what I had written so that I did not have all that to do at the end. But I did the writing, hundreds of pages, longhand.

Outside Help with the Book

Depending on the “why,” determined in step one, you may want outside help on the book – editing, typesetting, book cover design, publishing mechanics. There are online outsourcing services that can help through all aspects of the process. It is about what you are willing to pay another person to do. I used Fiverr for editing.

Do Not Wait to get Started

If you are like me, you will want to understand the full process down to every minor detail such as getting an ISBN. An ISBN by the way, (International Standard Book Number) is a unique number assigned to each published book. You do not need to know all the steps along the way to begin. You can learn it when you get to each point. There are countless online sources to help with this. The hardest part is drafting the book. The mechanics of publishing can be learned on a YouTube video. It is not that difficult.

Publishing is not Essential

Although I did publish my book, it is not essential depending on your “why.” Publishing, in my simple definition, is simply making it available to the public. In my case that was Amazon, but there are many other options for publishing. You can write a book, share it with family and friends, and never publish it. You still authored a book.

So, if you have ever wanted to author a book, do it. You will learn some things about yourself in the process. You may realize in the process that you have more stories to tell than you thought. Some of the stories of our life will write themselves if you just reflect on them with a pen in your hand. I am already planning my next book. I just need to find a subject.

(”Can Travel Restore My Faith In My Country” is available on Amazon.)

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