I am an author of a book, which is something I never had on my bucket list. Yet this whole process ended up being an unforgettable ride, as the vision and the execution of my idea turned into a gift that kept on giving.
Despite the fact I was a freelance journalist and content creator for years, I never seriously considered creating a work that might one day actually have a front and back cover, in digital or a physical form. But I pulled the trigger in my impulse-operated brain, simply because I could, and I decided to see how far I can take it.
To my delight, the result was nothing but positive, both on a personal and career front, and now Pegasus Elliot Mackenzie Publishers, an independent publishing house based in the UK, has taken my book under its wing.
Inspired by the fact I have been creating some kind of content for 1/3 of my life, I decided to use my first blog post to point out the benefits of putting a pen to paper.
Writing unlocks your brain
During my early writing days, I immediately realized the brain/muscle analogy had some substance to it. My head did hurt, for two weeks in fact, and I am still convinced this was a result of my brain getting used to the new ways of thinking. One thing is for sure, the longer I trained, the better I got.
My head stopped hurting, and after that It was all about keeping the form and stretching before exercise.
Flowers grow in dirt
As I was creating my written work page by page, I occasionally encountered some obstacles, but I never reached the point of giving up – not even close. But who knows, maybe the less experienced me would be discouraged since every single chapter of my book was written at least twice. Instead of that, I just accepted this as normal, because it is.
Things rarely come out perfect, and it’s important to first get the idea out, and then you work your magic.
The act of writing a book impresses people
Writing in a foreign language is challenging, but certainly fun. I am from Croatia, I wrote a book in English, and I am proud that the structure was left intact even after the English professor looked it over. I’m gonna be honest with you, I was proud of myself, and you know what – I was not the only one impressed by the fact that I am an author. Other people were too, and not just my friends – but employers also.
With that, the book continued to serve me even though it’s still not published (in a traditional way), as it opened a few doors even before I thought about knocking.
It’s super easy to publish
As I was sharpening my pen, the publishing part became less important. I need to have something to publish first, right? Well, as it turned out, this is easier than ever. With Kindle Direct Publishing, literally, every human being with a book, computer, and internet connection can share their pages with the world – even in paperback form. That’s really awesome!
However, in the end, I went the traditional route and published my book in the old-fashioned way – which resulted in the most professional version of my book. You can read about the reasons in my other blog post.
Final thought
If you are already a writer, I salute you, my content-creating friend, and if you aspire to become one, please go ahead and do it. Try, try again, and never get discouraged. It’s all about practice.
Inush Digital 