How often have you thought of writing your own school book - that is right - being an AUTHOR of your OWN work, which schools or students could use!? I would imagine that most teachers and school administrators have at some time in their lives had this wonderful thought. The only problem is that most of these people did not go the next step - BEGIN THE WRITING TASK. And what a task it is!!! But well worth it - take it from me - extremely rewarding!!!

Yes, the Beginning!!!

I found the most difficult step was actually BEGINNING! That's 'write' - actually putting pen to paper - well not really - actually putting finger to key board!

In my case I got to the point where I knew I had something beneficial to offer others and that the time was now right.

I locked away a four week block of time - moved to a quiet island near my residence and reflected and reflected and reflected...

• put pen to paper for basic introductions and outlines
• did drawings and sketches which would hopefully help the process
• exercised
• paddled my surf ski through mangroves and observed turtles and sea hawks - day after day until I realized the theme I had planned on was not to be.
• My book of reflections and retreats would have to wait another day!

But No - There is More

But! When I sat down to my computer that night after realizing that it was probably all over, and that this whole experience was going to be either a waste of time or just a fantastic quiet holiday, another theme surfaced.

And before I really grasped the significance of this new direction, I had actually written almost a chapter on this new theme, over the first couple of days of this new session. From then on, as they say, the rest is history.

The first book was a hardcopy. It was written in two major sessions - the first three week block on the island, followed by over a year's break and then a four week Christmas holiday break. All up the final edition took eight weeks of intense work, spread over a fifteen month period. This was followed by another couple of weeks of proof-reading, final editing and deciding how best to market and sell the book.

The e-Book was Born

I eventually decided to change my hardcopy book into an e-book. I believed that this was the easiest and cheapest way to enter the world of the author! Since placing my first e-book online, I now realize that there are a variety of ways to sell e-books, each with varying costs, benefits and disadvantages.

The commercial online e-book store on the internet is still developing and is the new and probably best approach. It will in some cases allow for both the sale of the e-book and of the creation and then sale of this as a hardcopy through their online store - a double whammy! This is my main avenue now, which is combined with my own professional website.

The Challenge, Time, Sweat - Worth It!!!

Writing your own book or e-book needs dedication and commitment - no need to be put off by the challenge though. My marketing e-books are proof that it is possible! I am no different to anyone else.

I took the challenge, locked in the time and energy needed and went for it. Twenty-five weeks over three years and 6 books later, I am a very contented author, e-publisher and e-book seller.

You may also like to read the Write Your Own Book or e-Book and Get it Sold - the How to for Schools blog post for further information.

The 'How Can I Write an e-Book Myself - My Experience Writing 5 Quality e-Books' blog post was written by Bryan Foster, author of School Marketing Manual for the Digital Age (3rd ed), (2011) - the paperback and ebook manual for school communications and marketing personnel - 340 pages of easy to read and implement summarized points - allowing for a considerably large number of quality strategies and examples to be detailed - with copyright remaining GDPL. Book available from Amazon.com and Createspace.com