Self-publishing in 71 simple steps
A semi-helpful look at bringing a book into the world
“This one (this one….) goes out to (goes out to…) all you (all you…) future authors (future authors).” Why the quotation marks and echoes in parentheses? Well, because as I read that sentence in my head, I inexplicably could hear it like it was crackling over an old-fashioned radio broadcast. There are things my imagination conjures up for which I have no good reason; this is one of them. See also Elizabeth Gilbert in Big Magic. Since you also are a writer or will be one day, you probably already understand this.
In this piece which—sorry to disappoint—does not actually include 71 simple steps, I will share some of how I wrote and self-published a book (soon to be two) and how you can, too. Hopefully you’ll find it conversational and sort of worthwhile, but not overly prescriptive, because:
a) That’s not my style, and
b) The whole reason you write a book is to unearth things in yourself and what you end up sharing with your readers. Half the fun is the existential crises you’ll have as an author and I will not, nay, cannot deprive you of those.
I’m not downplaying my learnings or what I could share with you. It’s just that to share everything with you, I’d need to write an arduously long piece that might not be fun for either of us. In fact, I wrote said piece (coming in at nearly 2,700 words) and it rather bored me. It also felt way too long for what you probably want.
Plus, if you haven’t noticed, I’ve very much been breaking up with advice-giving and writing “how-to” pieces. If I’m going to give advice, I’d much prefer giving specific answers to specific questions from real people. Plus, I’m bent on keeping More to Your Life focused on sometimes funny stories and observations about what makes life cool and people interesting. Some people circularly make our lives interesting by sometimes being smelly and the owners of bad names.
Back to writing a book
Before I share a summary of steps to writing a book, I just wanted to set the stage a tiny bit more. Drag a few more folding metal chairs onto our pretend TED stage, so to speak.
Right now is an interesting moment for me to be writing this piece and an interesting point for you to be getting my perspective. Why’s that? Well, because I’ve written and self-published one book, Dear Fellow Spender, and created some respectable success with it already—see stats below.
And I’m in the messy middle (or final quarter) of my second book, Dear Fellow Dreamer. What’s ironic is that this very thing—taking leaps and living in the messy middle—is a big theme of this second book. I’m not a hot shot who’s experienced a meteoric rise (yet), but I’m most definitely on the field, playing, and scoring some goals. And I’m happy to share part of my journey with you, my future fellow author.
Okay, now for those steps for writing and self-publishing your own book:
Have an idea.
May I recommend your life story or something you feel strongly about or something you’ve learned the hard way or overcome. May I also recommend any other type of book you want to write.
Write the book.
Set a goal for how many pages per day you want to write in said book, and by when it will be finished, then diligently work away at it. Or, here’s another possible second step: Start writing the book, stop, then restart the book. Repeat countless times. Finish a draft or two, then have an existential crisis and stop. Said crisis may last anywhere from 10 minutes to one year or in some cases longer. But whichever method you choose, you finish your final draft.
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