The End of the Year 2015 – Reaching for New Horizons 2016

As 2015 fades and another New Year approaches, the plethora of shows reviewing the year that was is upon is. Perhaps it is appropriate to do a little review of how the year progressed for each of us too. It may not be on your agenda, but it is on mine because this was the year I became a published writer. In the interest of full disclosure, I am now a self-published author.

Looking back to February 9, 2015, the day Through a Lens of Emptiness: Reflections on Life, Longevity and Contentment was published, was a day which passed largely unnoticed and in heralded by all but myself and those close to me. That was the day my book officially went live (jargon for the time a book becomes available to the public). I expected nothing more than that, of course, I hoped to sell a few copies. Recently, I received a first royalty cheque from my publisher, albeit a small one. Add that sum to the amount earned through direct sales, my author account holds a princely sum of a little more than $500.00. Okay, it’s not much to write home about after eleven months, but it is a start.

People outside my own person might not see three years of work writing, editing, and revising a manuscript as a sound investment in time, and the several thousand dollars spent in bringing my first writing project into actual being, as the best way to spend money. The return on investments in time and money seems absurdly small to the casual observer, but in the grand scheme of things, the return on investment is significant for this first-time author. It would be useful to share some back-story and personal philosophy with my readers now. Perhaps then my positivist stance will make more sense to them.

The main character in this saga is a 65-year-old retired school teacher (me) who spent his career urging students to reach beyond perceived limitations and strive to achieve what someone said was beyond their capability. His charges were all learning disabled children in various stages of surrendering to their respective disabilities. Retirement day was now three and a half years behind him and it was time to take his own advice. He too had almost surrendered to his own moderate dyslexia and all but given up on his goal to become a writer.

Moderate dyslexia can be addressed through the use of appropriate supports. Those of a proof-reader and someone to read his work back to him; the proof-reader to assist with deficiencies in spelling and grammatical skills, and a reader to provide a way for the dyslexic to review the substance of what he has written without the added cognitive stress experienced when reading and writing. These are exactly the supports this teacher had provided for his students to help them succeed. Now, these very same supports were available to anyone with modest financial resources, a computer, and the correct software. With technology as a crutch and a determined spirit that retired teacher was able to achieve his goals, including writing a book and learning as much as possible about what it takes to produce a publishable work.

The first positive for him was the ability to write an extended prose work. The second positive experience came in the form of a package of supports which cost him well over $2000.00. I can hear all the gasps from my readers at this expense, but if you are serious about publishing your work, professional support is essential. No matter how good your language skills are, a thorough, dispassionate examination of your writing with comprehensive commentary and suggestions makes a significant difference to the end product. The publishing package selected provided three stages of editing, the most important of these was the developmental edit, and the most critical was the content edit. He looked at this expenditure as a course fee for a program of his own design. He learned much about writing a work of creative non-fiction through these editorial processes, and would have paid as much or more for a creative writing course through distance education and far more had similar services been purchased from independent providers.

His publishing package also included a professional cover design and profession layout and formatting. He also purchased additional services in the form of copy editing and indexing. These are necessary tasks and best left to professionals. The publisher obtained the necessary copyrights and ISBN numbers. They marketed the book through major online book sales channels (Barnes and Nobel, Amazon, Chapters and their own channel, iUniverse).

The final product is highly professional in layout and appearance and has received praise for its style, the quality of the writing, and research that went into the work. Thanks to good editorial services, copy editing, and indexing, the final product is a polished piece of work. The other final product, the author himself, understands what it takes to produce a book worth publishing; hard work, determination, dedication, persistence, technique and professional support.

I wrote the last few paragraphs in the third person so I could look at what was accomplished through someone else’s eyes, both critically and dispassionately. The ability to step back and look at one’s life and work from outside himself is a make or break attribute of the creative process. You can’t rely on the critique of others in your day-to-day writing. You need to apply a critical eye to your work as it unfolds, else your first draft manuscript will need a massive rewrite as mine did. What was my return on investment? Here’s a list for your information and consideration.

Knowledge of the processes involved in bringing a writing project to successful completion.

A sense of accomplishment similar to completing an advanced degree program in University.

Learning how to make the most of the critique and professional supports.

Investing time and mental processes in the act of writing something for others to read allows one to think beyond themselves and toward a greater audience.

The confidence in one’s ability to with writing as a means of creative expression.

The limits of personal commitment and intention to complete a project with no apparent external rewards were extended beyond anything else achieved in life thus far.

The final, and most significant return on my investments can be measured regarding achieving a certain credibility. Regardless of the niche nature of my work, I am now established as a memoirist allowing me to work toward one further goal in life; the goal to become a public speaker and a presenter of memoir writing workshops. This is a goal in line with my professional experience as a teacher and particularly as a special educator. My target clientele is individuals older than fifty in the main, but what I have to offer is appropriate for anyone wishing to write a memoir.

The initial steps toward reaching that goal have been limited in 2015 in the shape of a presentation to a small local group by their invitation. Opportunities to present are looking up for 2016. I already have one workshop engagement and one speaking engagement scheduled. There is potential for additional opportunities to present a few more workshops and speaking engagements.

Experience has taught me yet another important lesson in life. Just go for it, whatever it is. Impediments are in the mind of the doer. Set goals and work toward them. Forget financial gain, it may come to you, but personal gain is assured. The artist known as Grandma Moses began to pain in earnest at the age of 78. I’m just a young pup at 69, so I have years to go before I sleep.

Yours as always, your faithful blogger,

L. Alan Weiss (Larry) – Author and Public Speaker