Why Write, Why Self-Publish?

So a few times over the past few weeks I've been asked about my books and my writing - how did I come about doing it?

I have given this quite a bit of thought recently and actually it could be broken down into a few sub-questions. Who did you think would?be interested? How did you come up with the content? and the one question I always get is, Why?

Why?... Is that meant in a derogatory way? or is it simply just exploratory?

Where I grew up, and I still experience it today in extended circles, someone who has done something against the status quo is often sneered at. I still live near where I grew up, still see some of the people, there are those who are full of support for everyone doing well and there are those who can't just be happy for others, they would rather put that person down even though their achievement is anything but negative. I think this is probably where any cynicism comes from - I have it programmed into me that the question of why would be obstructive rather than complimentary. It's difficult to reprogramme?that mentality.

In reality, Why? is such a difficult question to answer.?My initial foray into writing I explain below but why I continued and chose to write my children's books and writing poetry is something that I'm not sure of but maybe me putting this down I will come to an answer.

I cut my teeth into writing by exploring the need for a training course within the signage industry. I wanted to create an induction based resource that would give beginners in the industry basic product and methodology?knowledge. An expansion?of this idea was that other people associated within the industry would be able to also gain knowledge for their own requirements such as architects or main contractors / construction companies. This was purely from experiencing this need whilst working for multiple companies within the industry.

The course itself was created using a website called Thinkific and I launched the course at a fixed price. I tried all sorts of tactics but the course never took off, with Thinkific you have to market and advertise the site as you would with your own business, from scratch. I didn't have time for that. Maybe it would have been better suited to a marketplace type service, meaning people could just find it natively, so it probably could have been a different story with more time and a different?delivery method.?However,?I did came across another course creator's idea where they had created a course that came with a free textbook attached to it and I realised that I could transform the course into an accompanying textbook and rather than a free e-book this could be in print form.

So my print version of the course was put together and individually published (self-published) via Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) service.?

Foundations of Signage: Understanding the Basics of the Signage Industry

This print version did OK in terms of sales. The benefit of self-publishing with Amazon's KDP is that you have worldwide reach. Anywhere from the UK, USA, Germany, Australia, Japan etc. Uptake for an unadvertised, self published paperback wasn't too bad. However, the format of the book was rushed, even the cover was just a generic template I used from KDP and it definitely needed its own identity.

That sat with me for a long time, a project I'd re-explore down the road at some point.

Next came a Children's book.?

I had already started drafting the story for Bob's Wonderful Life. Long drives around the UK for work means my head goes into overdrive and my creative juices start flowing. I had voice notes, written notes on my phone, scraps of paper in the car, all sorts going on. The basic plot is that my Grandad had a false eye. Ironically, I?never really spoke to anyone about it, but secretly I was fascinated by the?fact. When I got older, had kids of my own, and long after he died I started to wonder what that must have been like for a young man in the 1940's/1950's onwards. So the story was brought up to date and told from my point of view as his Grandson.

Bob's Wonderful Brother is more loosely based on my Grandad but he did have an adopted brother and I have always thought what adoption must be like for kids welcoming someone new into their lives. So, I continued the story.

Maybe one day I'll finish Grandad's story as a final act in his trilogy.

So whilst I publish the two Bob books and they do well, I'm still selling the Foundations of Signage, even though I believe it needed a fair bit of work. Visually, grammatically, it's orginisation, everything needed looking at.?

Time for the second edition. This time a hardback. Initially you couldn't individually publish a hardback book with Amazon but they had added it to the KDP service and it better suited the textbook feel I wanted.

The hardback was published as Foundations of Signage. This second edition is much more like a standard textbook, laid out much more clearly and even room for notes. I added chapter headers, tips within the chapters and really tried to stay true to the induction resource that I was initially looking for within my original online course approach.

?So in answer to why I do this I think comes down to two things:

1. Initially, I found a need for information to be shared. That is what mattered most to me at the point of writing my online course. Developing that further to the second edition printed book meant that I could get that message out to a much greater reach of people, and to be honest with less effort than running a fully fledged online education business.
2. My continuation of writing is purely because I enjoy it, it serves as a great relief for me. At the end of those long drives, with all the creativity in my head wanting to get out, its a great opportunity to be able to spend an huge amount of 'me' time writing down words that can hopefully help someone else too. Especially if that someone is a child, maybe going through some of the issues that I have highlighted in my stories.

All my work can be found on Amazon around the world. Here are some links for UK and USA readers.

UK:

Foundations of Signage: https://amzn.to/40oko1r

Bob's Wonderful Life: https://amzn.to/3QjppUF

Bob's Wonderful Brother: https://amzn.to/40okupP

USA:

Foundations of Signage: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B5QL4HZC

Bob's Wonderful Life: https://a.co/d/61pIKm0

Bob's Wonderful Brother: https://a.co/d/3K0nOS3

All work is also available in these countries via your local Amazon site:

UK US DE FR ES IT NL PL SE JP CA AU

Interesting in creating your own book or e-book?

I have only published with through Amazon's KDP service so I can only offer this information but if you have an idea for a book or e-book of your own take a look at kdp.amazon.com and read their help section for loads of helpful guides.

Happy Writing.

Paul