10 Things I learned Writing a Book

So it has been almost two months since the launch of my first but not last book. It has been quite a learning experience and so I will share with you ten things I have learned about the book writing process.

1. (If you are married) It is very important that you have the support of your spouse. I am fortunate enough to have that. There will be those times where 10:00 p.m. you are all of a sudden feeling creative…it is great to have a spouse that understands that.

2. If you are not writing about something vanilla then don’t expect to get the endorsement from people/organizations you would have thought or asked. People get very nervous around people who are not afraid to look at things differently and truly share their opinion. This point was and remains a huge let down for me. Unreturned emails and phone calls are something I would never expect but it happens.

3. You can expect to get endorsements from those you least likely expected. I was amazed and blessed by those who are simply jazzed by authentic conversation and opinions. From missionaries to those would call themselves atheists, I got endorsements from these people. Awesome.

4. Be sure to get a great publisher. I am blessed to have one and it makes the process all the more easy.

5. People automatically assume because you wrote a book then you must be rich. Quite simply put….NOPE. I went the route of self-publishing and that is no different than an independent artist…lots of leg work.

6. Surprisingly those who you thought as near friends will end up bailing because your thoughts are not their thoughts. Again…people get very nervous around people who are not afraid to look at things differently and truly share their opinion.

7. It is amazing how many people mention “I am not sure about your book…would you mind giving me a free one?” What?

8. Don’t release your book too soon. As my friend, Darin Hufford told me “There is a lot of preliminary work that needs to be done before you launch your book.” I now know that to be true.

9. Self-publishing is a great route to go. If you do get picked up with a book deal stay true to who you are.

10. No matter how silly or irrelevant something may be that you are writing…use it. I am simply amazed at the comments I get from people on entries in my book that I thought were actually kind of goofy.

Fact of the matter is that the book writing process is long, fun, hard, great, difficult and yet rewarding. My biggest let down has not been lack of sales. The fact is I gave away many copies. My biggest let down is with those who I thought would have supported this project. Ah well…the things you learn to make the journey all the sweeter. I sure have made many new friends through the process and for that I am so grateful!