P3k

Just for the record:

  • It took me 924 days to get to post number 1,000.
  • From there, it took 736 days for me to reach the 2,000 milestone.
  • But I’ve slowed down just a bit to reach 3,000, because it took me 749 days to write the last thousand posts.

Still, I have made it and I have you, my faithful readers, to thank.

Normally I write about what I’ve done over the previous period of time, but today I’m going to write about my future. This seems the opportune moment to reveal a secret of sorts.

For the last couple years I have been on-again, off-again working on a book manuscript and it’s nearly done. I’m calling it So We May Breathe Free: Solutions From A Common Man (as a working title, although I may change it slightly.)

There was a period of time I actively sought an agent and traditional publisher, but after reading into the subject of actually writing books I found out the timeline for getting this to market would likely be long after the desired timeframe. Simply put I should have started on that road about 18-24 months ago. Obviously I didn’t.

So my idea is now to put this out as an e-book, whether through Kindle, Pubit, Smashwords, or someone similar. That way it’s released at the time I want it to be out in the public hands. Ideally, this would be around the end of July or early August. Aside from going over the final draft and doing about 3-4 pages of additional writing, the text is written.

Of course, I realize the odds of success are as long as the unemployment lines – somewhere I read that the average book sells fewer than 100 copies. I would hope all my readers buy the book so I can at least beat those odds. But I won’t sneeze at selling a million, either!

Yet there are a number of other factors which could lead to the success of the project. I’m not going so far as to do a Kickstarter campaign like my blogging friend Bob McCarty did – although a rattle of the tip jar would help – but I am looking for ideas and suggestions. Probably my biggest need is cover art, since I know the concept I want but don’t think I have the software to do it. If you have e-publishing experience, well, I have some questions for you too!

The other piece of the puzzle I think is necessary is for me to get the word out and market the book. Once I get the book released, I’ll be looking to spread the word through any means possible. If you need a radio guest, I’m your guy. Have some questions you need answered for a blog post? Fire away. I figure every new person I reach is another potential customer and I need a national base for this endeavor.

I’m hoping to have a number of new milestones in place by the time I get to post number 4,000. But one thing which will never change is my appreciation for the support I’ve received from my readers, and hopefully I’ll have a far larger family of them the next time I hit a thousandth post.

Author: Michael

It's me from my laptop computer.