A Self-Publishing Journey: I Laid the Egg!

It was an amazing adventure, one requiring a focus so intense that for a few months I had to set almost everything else to the side.

It was an insightful journey one in which I came to understand that the "self" in self-publishing is really more of a "we" and may want to be called team-publishing.

It was a fulfilling journey, one in which I knew my patience would have to increase and my desire for self-gratification would have to be willing to wait.

It was an eye-popping journey, one in which I ended up with five more books in progress than I had when I started the journey.

Self-publishing this, my first book, has been an exhaustive and gratifying experience. I use the word exhaustive because frankly I'm exhausted! Once I had decided to proceed with self publishing the book, I found myself editing, refining, rewriting, tearing apart, reconstructing, and "wordsmithing" until the cows came home.

I enlisted the help of several editors - friends, family, and the former chair of the English department at a large state university. Their critique and comments are all wonderfully helpful ... and sometimes it created a healthy amount of rework for me.

I tell you this: I thought I was a decent writer going into the process, but now I can look back and realize "I don't know jack." Oh, I'm learning, that's for sure. But I've got a heck of a long ways to go before I'll think I'm where I want to be.

I published through AuthorHouse, and I can honestly, sincerely, and joyfully say that it was a delightful experience from Day One all the way through to "going live."

The proof is in the pudding. Will the book sell like hotcakes? I don't know. I do know that I'm proud of it and I'm thrilled how it has turned out.

I'll still do some online writing to keep in touch, but I'm really in book writing mode now and that's where the bulk of my time is going to be spent.

To all of you aspiring to write your first book, I hope this is encouraging to you. If a forty-eight year old male who is dealing with effects of Parkinson's Disease (and all the side effects that come with the medication) can make this happen, so can you!

And I should offer a special thanks to Associated Content, one of the online writing forums where Aunt Ruth first saw the light of day. The encouragement and feedback from folks here that really helped motivate me on the project.

Get out there and do it!

The book can be ordered at: I Laid an Egg on Aunt Ruth's Head