How This Book Happened
So…How DID this book happen? What made you write it? Why did you write it? I’ve heard all of these questions from my family and friends.
It started as a project to write something small, maybe just a quick e-book, on a few tips I had learned when I was a struggling single mom.
It started with Google slides – pre-made slides – that looked awful – and it resembled something of a business Power Point presentation. When I had been in the corporate space all those year ago – I wasn’t even good at making Power Point – so why was I trying this method now? It was ridiculous.
So from that emerged a PRETTIER looking PowerPoint-y looking thing…and I started to get more excited. I added pictures and quotes and started to realize that what I wanted to tell people wasn’t really JUST about tips and tricks I had learned along the way – even though that had been VERY useful information to share.
I realized that I needed to share that there is HOPE. That we all have a story within us and we all have the love and strength to persevere and get to where we need to be.
So, I began to WRITE.
I took all of my notes from my pretty PowerPoint-y looking thing and put them into Google Docs and began to WRITE some more. Yes, there are lots of tips. I put together in order – what someone should do – should they find themselves nearly homeless, like I had nearly found myself (and my children). But I also focused on the stories of hope and humor that kept me going…that, and, of course…LOVE.
I put the writing away for long periods of time, as my children, often seemed to NEED more and more of me and my writing seemed to get lower and lower on the priority list. Plus, that’s just another great excuse for not getting things, done…isn’t it?
I did another read-through, some editing, some more additions, and it came time for the table of contents, and it was at that point that I realized that KDP Publishing wasn’t going to accept Google Docs and I was going to have my best luck with MS Word. Can you say ‘setback’?
I tried Microsoft’s cloud version on my Chromebook, but it didn’t have complete functionality for publishing standards and I finally relented and realized it was time for a new laptop. I had been saving some cash in a ‘rainy day pocket’, if you will, and bought an out-of-box laptop.
It sat there for a few weeks in my dining area.
*****
My children were complaining about Language Arts.
All. The. Time.
Grammar had been covered minimally, at best, at their public school, and their writing skills suffered for it. Because their poor grammar skills made editing such a daunting task, their attitudes toward writing was terribly negative. They avoided writing whenever they could. It became a vicious cycle.
I saw an opportunity.
*****
I was on the couch one night and I proclaimed to my significant other: “I’m just going to do this! Enough already! What am I putting off this little book for?! I just need to get it done already! Geez! What the heck!”
He didn’t even hesitate.
He knew.
He calmly said, “Ok.”
So, within a few days, I figured out how to put together a table of contents, edit a manuscript, and upload it to KDP publishing. I did a generic ‘create-a-cover’ with KDP for the 1st edition paperback (I have since gotten rid of that!) it went live.
*****
I had to upload and re-upload that manuscript so many times because I CONTINUED to find little errors – and I showed my children the process and talked about it – over and over.
THIS was THE most important Language Arts lesson I think they have ever had.
They have watched me find more errors and correct them. They have seen the editing process. They have watched the publishing process. They have seen me excited – and have been proud and excited with me – with the final product.
My children have completely different attitudes about writing now. If I never sold a single book, this was all worth it. They now understand that editing, re-editing, and editing some more, and maybe even some more after that, is all a very necessary part of the writing process. They no longer hesitate to write, fearing the next stage. They understand that there is NO PERFECTION in the draft.
They had this weird idea that I was perfect. Boy, I set them straight about that.
*****
While my children needed to understand the editing process, I needed to understand the publishing process; and that was a major factor in writing an easy, short read the first time around.
I also needed to be true to what I had to say in my heart – that there is hope – and to please take from what I have learned – and to hang on.
And now that I’ve written that, I’ve been asked what I will write next. At the moment, we are in production for an Audible release for ‘Making Ends Meet with a Popcorn Popper’ and we are still doing some promotional and marketing activities.
However, I cannot abandon what I really love to do…and that is to express myself. I don’t want to abandon my keyboard again, so regardless of the other activities – I have begun the planning stages of something very different with a bit more meat to it. Stay tuned…
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