From the first words to a published book in 183 days
I started writing on Saturday, June 25, 2022. I like Saturdays. I am not sure why but it always feels good to start something new on a Saturday. I began collecting a thick stack of notes and sketches when I got sick, but it was chaotic, poorly organized, and lacking a clear vision. Still, it was an excellent repository of moments that informed my project.
So I put my head down, and with disbelief, words started to flow as if someone was whispering into my ear sentence after sentence. Within three weeks, the first draft was ready. It took me another week to make changes and send the manuscript to a few friends seeking their comments. Last summer was, let's say, a bit difficult to navigate from the work perspective, and my Health by Design Project offered a nice alternative with a clear goal, the intention to share my story.
I got a very positive reaction from my "beta readers," which was very encouraging and gave me the energy to continue, primarily since a common theme pointed to adding another chapter. It was tricky as the book ending was quite good - nevertheless, I decided to follow the feedback—design always listens closely to the input—and I managed to add what was missing.
There was one area, though, with which I disagreed. The feedback from my colleagues in the advertising industry suggested adding a lot of visual content, pointing out that such an addition would "break" friendly but traditionally organized text pages. It was a thorny question. Should I follow the advice or not? On the one hand, I could add sketches and drawings (I like making drawings), but will this help the reader? I am a designer. I worked as a creative and art director for many years. Adding visuals was not a problem. So why I decided otherwise? I realized that if I add drawings, sketches, and diagrams, although it would certainly enhance the reading experience, at the same time, it may alienate some of the readers. My message was straightforward - changes to my diet and lifestyle cured me of an incurable disease. It should be presented straightforwardly - simple and easy to follow without distractions because the changes I made to my lifestyle were also simple. Although I am the main character in the book, I wanted to avoid the "it is all about me" feeling, the ego of an artist who writes, draws and shows off his skills. No, I wanted to be a narrator who communicates the events that led me to uncover truths known for centuries but, due to certain interests, are not present in the mainstream understanding of what makes us healthy. So I preferred not to showcase my artistic skills despite the feedback, and I think I was right.
With the manuscript ready and the accompanying website created, I was prepared for the next challenge - publishing. Unfortunately, I had no experience in this area at all, despite being part of the process in several book projects where I was the lead designer. However, this time I was also the author. I thought I would send the manuscript to a few publishers, and perhaps one or two will contact me. Nope. It doesn't work this way. Many publishers are part of a few mega publishing houses, and "unsolicited manuscripts" will not be accepted without an agent who takes a 15% commission to represent an author—a hoop after hoop to jump through. To be fair, though, the traditional path offers the backing of the established marketing machine, editorial support and many small things that matter.
I started asking myself why so many books were published that obviously did not arrive on Amazon via traditional channels. Then, I discovered the world of self-publishing. One option was to pay to be published, while the other was to go through a fully independent route. I suppose the last six years that I spent in the B2B SaaS company, in the agile, scrum and sprint-defined environment in the Director of Product Design/Creative Director role, where time is pretty important, I chose to publish my book through Amazon KDP, and the experience was very positive.
The eBook was more complicated than I thought, mainly because of the technical limitations, around the type selection. But, after a few attempts, it was done. The paperback was more straightforward, as it followed the steps of pre-press that any print-based project would follow, with just a few differences (no trim or crop marks in the press-ready PDF).
I could not believe that on Christmas Day, after 183 days, Health by Design Project was available on amazon.ca, with the Polish paperback appearing a couple of days later on amazon.pl - I did not expect that. Of course, now I need to work on marketing. Perhaps I will do the hardcover as well. Still, I must say, I am grateful for all the support I got - from the initial group of readers to the family and friends, and lastly, to the Amazon KDP allowing me to hold a physical book that I wrote in my hands. One tiny area in the KDP process could be improved - ordering authors' copies. Because we already have an Amazon Prime account, I did not sign up for another one, so the authors' copies take three weeks to arrive! I think, setting aside the glory of being an author (I don't have a designer's ego) - the copies should be sent via Amazon Prime channels - any author awaits the arrival with anxiety. Hence, the shipping time makes a difference from being pleased with the service to loving it.
PS Initially, when an eBook appeared on this website, I set the price at CAD 19.99 - what was I thinking? An unknown author with only an eBook asking for almost twenty bucks! Besides, I wrote my story to share it, not to become wealthy. So, I changed the price and returned the difference to those who decided to purchase it. To be totally transparent, now a PDF-based eBook, a Kindle eBook on Amazon, and a paperback will grant me equally $5.00 in royalties, while the Polish edition (a smaller market) will make me one dollar richer.
Find out why I got sick and how "incurable" became "curable."
