A first time author's book writing experience

WWW.RUNNINGINTOTHEDARK.COM

Has anyone ever told you, "you should write a book"?  My guess is that we've all heard this, or told another person this statement at some point in our lives.  Usually, it is prompted as a result of hearing a story that moves us, and we subconsciously think - That story needs to be told. This blog is about my experience as a first time author of Running into the Dark.

HAVE A GREAT STORY

When I first contemplated writing a book, I doubted whether my story would be of interest to anybody.  The truth is, my story is the same as any other person's story.  At it's core, my life has had ups and downs, and despite setbacks I have continued moving forward.  Despite my confusion about whether people would be interested, I continued to have family, friends, strangers and audiences tell me that I should write a book.

I thought long and hard about what I would write about.  I had a degenerative eye disease that I had battled my whole life, and sometimes I won and sometimes it won.  I also had a running habit, and managed to complete some difficult races and runs, including a run from LA to NY.  I also thought about the knowledge I had developed as a business leader, and the people I had mentored and developed over the years.  I thought all of these topics had value, but I wasn't sure that any single one would make sense or have a significant impact standing on its own.

I decided that I needed to tell it all, and then some.  I needed to document my story.  I wanted my kids to know the real me.  I wanted to have a legacy that would long out live me, and survive when I was dead and buried.  I wanted to tell the story of one person's life, an average looking person who is routinely passed on the street and not recognized by anybody; although, if the time was taken to get to know this person, we may discover that they are anything but average.  The story I would write would have to be an honest, raw and vulnerable account of struggle and success.  To me, an honest story of any person's life is a great story.

CAN I WRITE?

I never realized how widespread "ghost-writing" is in autobiographic literary works.  Ghost-writing is where a person (the subject) hires a contract writer to write their book, but the subject person says that they're the author.  It seems more like a biography than an autobiography.

I had time on my hands, as my speaking calendar usually has me talking only 5-10 times per month. I had a bachelors degree and a law degree.  I'd written many briefs and memos as a lawyer, and a thesis for my university honors program.  Surely I could put fingers to a keyboard and write a memoir, or could I?  Insecurity in my writing abilities was the first crippling factor to be overcome.  The only way to overcome this insecurity was to take it head-on.  Either believe I couldn't write and hire a ghost-writer, or believe I could write and start pecking away at the keyboard.  I chose the latter.

I had heard that a "Good Book" does not require great writing.  A good book requires a great story and decent writing would suffice.  With the help of an editor, I was hoping my writing would be decent.

GET ORGANIZED

The story needed a coherent structure.  If the story was great, but was not be told in a way that could be understood, the story would not be impactful and its greatness would be lost in the ramblings.

I sat at my computer and thought about the story.  It really broke down into 3 parts, and could be told chronologically.  Part I would be character development and would encapsulate 44 years of my life.  It would tell the tale about how I became who I am.  Part II would talk about the preparation for my 3,000+ mile run across America and would encapsulate 18 months of my life.  Part III would talk about the actual run across America and would encapsulate 2 months of my life.  It seemed like a good format, taking the reader from general to specific, from surface to intimate, from observing to participating in the story.

I figured I would sprinkle my eye condition, running stories, and business/life lessons I'd learned throughout the book.

I continued building the outline and for Part I, listed stories in chronological order that I remembered about my life and growing up - an eye disease, a broken family, a poor parental relation, being bullied, being smart and resilient, mentors and role models, family, and a love for running.  For Part II, I easily identified key areas I had to focus on in order to prepare for the run - training, fundraising, routing and logistics, and building a team.  For Part III, I would take the reader with me state-by-state as I ran for almost 60 days.

START TYPING!

It took me one full month to complete the first page of the book.  I committed that writing this book would be my full-time job - Monday-Friday, 8 am - 5 pm.  I would sit at the computer and type, then delete.  Then type, then reorganize.  Take a break.  Start over.  I was a frustrated mess trying to get started.  I never thought the book would happen, or that the words would come out.  After about 30 days, however; the words did come out....they started flooding out.

I had a set schedule and routine for writing.  I always did my morning non-writing routine, which included eating and exercising.  Then, when I was fresh I started into my writing.  I'd write chapter by chapter until I felt too fatigued to continue on.  I knew that if I was fatigued, my writing would be poor and require a lot of editing later on.  

9 MONTHS LATER

I did not have a baby, but I did birth a first draft manuscript.  In order to complete the manuscript, I went to the mountains for a week and wrote non-stop.  As I finished the manuscript I was in tears reliving the final moments of the run, not wanting it to end, but desperate for it to end, all in the same moment.

I remember paging through the manuscript, and doing a final word count.  135,000 words!  I had expelled my life into this manuscript and I was exhausted.  In putting my life story into this manuscript, I had opened every Pandora's Box that I had neatly tucked away, repressed and suppressed.  I was an emotional mess, not knowing how to feel, and just feeling everything all at once.  A very close friend of mine would routinely tell me that I was "very emotional."  I wanted the ones I loved to know I loved them.  I needed to right the wrongs that I had done, as best I could.  I understood myself better than I had before this book writing journey.

But, now what???  I had a manuscript and had to get it into book format for others to read.

FINISHING TOUCHES

Nobody told me that it was a lot of work to get a manuscript into a final book product.  I talked to many authors, some published and some self-published.  There are 5 major publishing houses, and it's hardwork to get a manuscript picked up by one of these publishing houses.  Usually an author needs an agent - there are thousands of authors for each agent.  Then the agent submits manuscripts to these publishing houses.  There are hundreds of submissions for each book that is eventually published.  For the lucky few authors who get their manuscript picked up by a publishing house, they receive an advance payment, have an opportunity to earn royalties on their book, and sell their intellectual property rights to their book for almost 2 decades.  This process takes about 2 years, on average.

Because my manuscript was done and I wanted to retain control of my work, I chose to self-publish.  I found a company that helps authors publish their works, Parker-Hayden Media.  For a fee, they provide editing, cover art, consultation and upload the book to hardback, paperback and digital distributors. The final book would be available on Amazon, through bookstores, and digitally on Kindle, Nook, iBooks and Kobo. The fee I paid was nominal when compared to the value I received from Parker-Hayden.  They are experts in self-publishing, and were expeditious in their work.

The cover picture for my book was shot by a lady I met at my daughter's back to school night (www.pilcherphotography.com).  She had never shot this type of photo before, but that didn't stop her from trying.  She rented a generator, borrowed a smoke machine, enlisted the help of her family and scouted out the perfect location for the shoot.  The graphic design concept for the cover, and moving the letters behind the silhouette was done by a friend of mine who has the same eye disease as me, and he has won and Emmy for graphic design.  I discovered that a lot of people came from out of the woodwork to help me finalize the book, just like in my run.

I selected a group of trusted confidants to give the manuscript a pre-read, and tell me whether it was OK or garbage.  In my mind, it would be worse to put out a crappy book, than to write an entire book and not put it out because it was no good.  I needed these people to honestly tell me whether the book had legs to stand on.  The feedback I eventually received was positive, and I made the decision to publish the book.

And as they say......the rest is history.

ONWARD!

AMAZON READER REVIEWS

“This is THE most inspiring book I have ever read.”

“This was a great read! Whether you are a runner or not, visually impaired or not, Jason's story is compelling and entertaining.”

“As I read I found many parallels to personal situations and found meaning and inspiration in the philosophies on how to overcome adversity and deal with difficult times. I feel inspired to take on new challenges and accomplish new things.”

“Jason’s inspiring story is told by him in an interesting and inspiring way, sparing no details including his lowest and highest points.”

“Jason's story is riveting, compelling, and raw in its honesty of his failings as well as his successes.”

“(Jason’s) book was well-written, inspiring, uplifting and also relatable. Finishing his book on New Year's Day has me motivated and inspired to set high goals and believe I can achieve them.”

"This is an incredibly inspiring memoir written about a man doing the seemingly impossible against all odds. It left me with a renewed determination to go after my dreams with gusto. This book is well written and captivating. A must read!"

"I read this book in two days because I simply could not put it down. This is a must read for every adult and young adult. You will be inspired!"

Jason Romero is a highly sought after inspirational speaker and the 1st and only blind person to run across America.  Jason is a member of the US Paralympic Team, holds 10+ world records in ultra-running, a former attorney and business executive, and a single father of 3 children.  More information can be found on Jason at www.relentlessromero.com.