Here goes: If I can write a book anyone can. No, really. You can. I know what you’re thinking: I could never write a book. Yes, you can. There’s an idea inside of you that you always wanted to get out. There’s a story you have no one else does. There’s a skill or talent you have that you can teach us. If you take it one step at a time, little by little, bit by bit, before you know it you’ll have a book for us to read.

The whole process of writing a book took me about a year-and-a-half. I could have, and should have, done it much more quickly. But it’s finished now and about to be released. The book is called Fully and Creatively Alive: How to Live a More Joyfully Fulfilling Life. It will be available on Amazon very soon. I’m excited for you to read it.

Here are the steps I took to write and publish a book.

1. Come up with an idea. I had an idea floating around in my head for a number of years. I wanted to interview young, creative entrepreneurs and share their lessons and knowledge with the world.
2. Interview subjects for the book. I had a blast interviewing people. I learned so much and had a great time talking with each and every person. There was no problem getting the subjects to agree to do interviews and to share their wisdom. They were happy to do it.
3. Lay out your map. In order to write the book, I used the assistance of an online platform called Author Launch. It helped me lay out where I wanted to go, what each chapter would be about, and what the flow of the whole thing would look like.
4. Write it. This was, by far, the most time consuming part. I would set aside time on my day off every week, as well as free evenings, to do the writing. I was able to base much of the writing on the interviews I did. It was fun to finally get something down on “paper.” I used Scrivener software to do the actual writing of the book. It’s software that allows you to move around the document without having to scroll through the entire thing. I can’t recommend it highly enough.
5. Edit. It was my privilege to have a professional editor do the editing of the book. He was able to catch typos and grammatical errors, as well as make some structural suggestions.
6. Get it Designed. I had two wonderful designers. Megan Phillips did the cover. Lindsay Galvin did the interior of the book. I couldn’t be happier with the job they both did.
7. Publish the book. CreateSpace was the company I used to publish the book. It’s an affiliate of Amazon, and there is no charge to upload your interior and cover design. The beauty of CreateSpace is that they print each book as it’s ordered. You don’t have to order 1000 books and store them in your garage. They do take a cut of each book you sell on Amazon. But you can order your own physical copies to sell on your own at a very minimal price.

So there you have it. Start with an idea and work your way through the steps. I would love to help you do it. I’m always happy to guide people through this process and help along the way. If you need me, I’m here.

Why not start your own today? The world is waiting.