Can an Average Person Write a Memoir?

 

Can an Average Person Write a Memoir?

One of the questions new writers often ask is simple:

Can an average person write a memoir?

My answer is yes.

In fact, some of the most meaningful memoirs may come from people who never considered themselves famous, important, or extraordinary.

You do not have to be a celebrity, politician, athlete, millionaire, or historical figure to have a story worth telling. You only need memories, experiences, and something you believe is worth passing along.

For many years, I had writing ideas swimming around in my head.

Before I retired, I worked in science and broadcasting, and throughout those years I was blessed with more ideas than I had time to develop. I kept notes. Sometimes I created outlines. Occasionally I managed to move an idea a little farther along.

I certainly wrote.

I completed class papers, employee reviews, screenplays, technical and professional writing, and assignments I was paid to produce.

But personal writing was different.

The memoirs, biographies, family stories, and other ideas I wanted to write always seemed to be waiting for that magical thing called free time.

And there never seemed to be enough of it.

I Kept Scheduling My Stories for “Someday”

Like many working people, I kept pushing my personal writing projects into the future.

I would write them when work slowed down.

I would write them when I had more time.

I would write them after I retired.

The problem with putting everything off until someday is that someday is not guaranteed to arrive the way we imagine it will.

My mother taught me that lesson in a way I have never forgotten.

She had stories of her own. Memories. Experiences. A life worth putting on paper.

But like so many people, when she had the physical ability to write, she did not always have the time, motivation, or opportunity to sit down and do it.

Then she suffered a stroke.

The stroke took away her ability to write.

Suddenly, she had something she had not had enough of before—time.

But now she could no longer physically do the writing herself.

That realization was painful for her. She became depressed and felt as though an opportunity had been lost.

That happened not long before my retirement from Stanford University, and it changed the way I looked at writing.

My Mother Found Her Ghostwriter

Fortunately, her story did not end there.

I stepped in.

I listened to my mother's memories, helped organize them, and completed her memoir for her.

I gave her the writing credit.

It was her life.

Her memories.

Her experiences.

Her book.

I was simply the person who helped move those memories from her mind onto the page.

And the smile that book brought to my mother's face gave me something I would carry into retirement.

Looking back, I sometimes joke that my mother found herself a ghostwriter.

That ghostwriter just happened to be her son.

Helping her finish that memoir became the spark that started another chapter in my own life.

Retirement Gave Me Time, but My Mother Gave Me Urgency

When retirement finally arrived, I began digging through those old notes, ideas, unfinished outlines, and stories I had saved for years.

One by one, I started bringing some of them to life.

Not quickly.

Not perfectly.

But slowly and surely.

That distinction is important.

People sometimes imagine writers sitting down with a brilliant idea and effortlessly producing a finished book.

That has never been my experience.

Writing is a process.

You sit down.

You remember.

You make notes.

You write a paragraph.

Then another.

You discover that one memory leads to another memory you had not thought about in twenty years.

Eventually, pages begin to accumulate.

The important part is starting.

You Do Not Have to Be Famous to Write a Memoir

A memoir is not valuable simply because the person writing it is famous.

It is valuable because the experience means something.

A memoir can be about growing up in a particular neighborhood.

It can be about military service.

It can be about raising children.

It can be about a marriage.

A career.

Caregiving.

Immigration.

Faith.

Loss.

Survival.

Education.

Starting over.

A family tradition.

A relationship with a parent.

Or one period of your life that changed the person you eventually became.

Readers often connect less with a person's fame than with recognizable human emotions.

Love.

Fear.

Ambition.

Regret.

Humor.

Mistakes.

Family loyalty.

Disappointment.

Hope.

Those things belong to ordinary people every day.

And that is exactly why ordinary lives can make extraordinary memoirs.

Memoir Is Not the Same as Autobiography

New writers sometimes believe that writing a memoir means starting with:

“I was born on…”

and then documenting every year until the present.

That is closer to an autobiography.

A memoir can be much more focused.

Instead of telling your entire life story, you might write about one period or one theme.

You might write about:

• the neighborhood where you grew up,

• your years in the military,

• becoming a parent,

• caring for someone you love,

• surviving a difficult period,

• working in an unusual profession,

• your spiritual journey,

• moving across the country,

• going back to school later in life,

• or one relationship that changed you.

You do not have to tell everything.

You only have to decide what story you are trying to tell.

That can make memoir writing much less intimidating.

Your Ordinary Life May Not Be Ordinary to Someone Else

Another problem people have is believing their lives are not interesting enough.

You lived it, so naturally it feels ordinary to you.

But someone else did not live it.

The house you grew up in may be gone.

The neighborhood may have changed.

The job you performed may no longer exist.

Family members who knew certain stories may no longer be here.

Traditions may disappear.

Places change.

Technology changes.

Communities change.

Language changes.

And people change.

What feels like an ordinary memory today can become valuable family or historical information tomorrow.

Sometimes we do not realize we are living through history until years later.

Write the Truth as You Remember It

A strong memoir is not about making yourself look perfect.

Readers usually connect more strongly with honesty.

That means acknowledging mistakes.

Confusion.

Bad decisions.

Lessons learned.

Things you misunderstood when you were younger.

Times when you were afraid.

Times when you failed.

And times when you surprised yourself.

A memoir becomes more powerful when the writer is willing to examine not only what happened, but what the experience eventually taught them.

You are not simply recording events.

You are trying to understand them.

That reflection is often where the real story lives.

Start With Memories, Not a Book

One thing that can stop a new memoir writer is thinking immediately about producing an entire book.

Do not begin by worrying about 200 pages.

Start with one memory.

Write about your childhood kitchen.

Your first job.

The first person you fell in love with.

A teacher you never forgot.

The day you left home.

The moment you became a parent.

Something your mother always said.

Something your father taught you.

A terrible mistake.

A wonderful surprise.

Write one memory.

Then write another.

You may eventually discover that those separate memories belong to the same larger story.

That is often how a memoir begins.

Record Your Stories If Writing Is Difficult

My mother's experience also taught me something else.

Writing does not always have to begin with a keyboard or pen.

Today we have options my mother did not have for most of her life.

You can speak your memories into a phone.

Record conversations.

Use speech-to-text software.

Ask a family member to interview you.

Work with an editor.

Work with a ghostwriter.

The important thing is preserving the story.

If physical limitations, eyesight, mobility, or another challenge makes traditional writing difficult, that does not mean your memoir cannot be written.

The storyteller and the person physically typing the words do not always have to be the same person.

My mother taught me that.

Do Not Wait for the Perfect Time

This may be the most important lesson I learned from her experience.

For years, much of my personal writing had a place on my imaginary calendar called:

Sometime in the future.

Retirement eventually gave me the time to return to many of those ideas.

But my mother's stroke showed me why waiting can be dangerous.

Life changes.

Health changes.

Memory changes.

Circumstances change.

Stories disappear when the people carrying them are no longer able to tell them.

So when someone asks me when the best time is to begin thinking about writing a memoir, my answer is simple:

Now.

You do not have to finish it today.

You do not even have to know exactly what the book will become.

Make some notes.

Record your voice.

Write down names.

Describe places.

Save photographs.

Create a timeline.

Write one memory.

Then another.

Give your future self something to work with.

The Average Person Is History Too

We often think history belongs to presidents, generals, entertainers, inventors, and famous people.

But history is also carried by factory workers, teachers, caregivers, mechanics, scientists, broadcasters, nurses, parents, grandparents, veterans, students, immigrants, neighbors, and children growing up in places that may look completely different fifty years later.

The so-called average person is part of history too.

Your story may never become a bestseller.

That does not determine its value.

Maybe your children will read it.

Maybe your grandchildren will.

Maybe someone researching your neighborhood, profession, culture, family, or generation decades from now will discover something in your story that exists nowhere else.

Or maybe a complete stranger will read what you wrote and think:

I thought I was the only one who felt that way.

That alone can make a memoir worth writing.

So, Can an Average Person Write a Memoir?

Absolutely.

You do not need fame.

You do not need an extraordinary life.

You do not need a perfect memory.

And you certainly do not need to wait until retirement.

You need a story, some honesty, and a willingness to begin.

My mother waited until she could no longer physically write her own story, but fortunately she had someone available to help her finish it.

Helping her preserve those memories changed my own relationship with writing.

It reminded me that stories do not remain available forever.

So if there is a memoir swimming around in your mind, do not keep assigning it to someday.

Sit down.

Turn on a recorder.

Open a blank document.

Pick one memory.

And begin.

Because the best time to start preserving your story may not be sometime in the future.

It may be today.

—Giftkone Publishing

Free ISBN or Your Own ISBN? What Self-Published Authors Need to Know

 

Free ISBN or Your Own ISBN? What Self-Published Authors Need to Know

One of the first pleasant surprises a new self-published author may encounter is the offer of a free ISBN.

Free sounds good, especially when you are already paying for editing, cover design, formatting, advertising, proof copies, and everything else involved in publishing a book.

But after years of self-publishing, I have come to believe there is another question authors should ask:

What am I giving up in exchange for that free ISBN?

Personally, I own the ISBNs on about fifty percent of the books I have published. That has allowed me to experience publishing from both sides. I understand the attraction of allowing a print-on-demand publisher to provide the ISBN, but I also understand the value of having an ISBN that belongs to me and my publishing operation.

The difference becomes particularly important when you begin thinking beyond getting your book published today.

You have to think about where that book may be five, ten, or twenty years from now.

First, What Is an ISBN?

ISBN stands for International Standard Book Number.

It is the identifying number attached to a particular edition and format of a book. Booksellers, libraries, distributors, wholesalers, and publishing platforms use ISBNs to identify books in their systems.

A paperback and hardcover version of the same book normally require separate ISBNs because they are different formats. IngramSpark specifically advises that each book format needs its own ISBN.

Think of the ISBN as part of your book's publishing identity. If you plan to have a Hardcover, Paperback, eBook, and Audiobook version of the same book title, you'll need four different ISBNs.

And that brings us to an important distinction.

Owning Your Book Is Not the Same as Owning Its ISBN

Suppose you publish through a print-on-demand service and accept its free ISBN.

You still own your writing and copyright, assuming you have not signed those rights away under some separate agreement.

The publishing platform does not suddenly become the author of your book.

What it controls is the ISBN it issued.

For example, Amazon KDP currently states that a KDP-issued free ISBN is registered with the imprint "Independently published" and can be used only through KDP. If you provide an ISBN you purchased yourself, you can use your own registered publishing imprint and publish that edition outside KDP as well.

IngramSpark has a similar distinction. Its free ISBN carries its designated imprint, is owned by IngramSpark, cannot be transferred to another account, and cannot be used on another publishing platform.

That may not seem important when everything is going well.

But what happens when it isn't?

What Happens If Your Relationship With the Publisher Sours?

This is the question I believe every independent author should consider.

What happens if you become unhappy with your POD publisher?

What happens if its printing prices become unreasonable?

What if its quality declines?

What if its distribution changes?

What if your account is closed?

What if the company is sold, reorganized, or someday disappears?

You may still own your manuscript, cover, and intellectual property, depending on your agreements and who created those materials.

But you do not suddenly acquire ownership of the publisher's ISBN.

If you want to move that book somewhere else, you may have to assign it a new ISBN and establish it as a new or revised title with your new publishing provider.

IngramSpark states this directly: if an author uses its free ISBN and later wants to own the ISBN, the book must be established with a different ISBN as a new or revised title.

That is one of the hidden costs of "free."

You saved money at the beginning, but you accepted a publishing identifier that you cannot take with you.

Your Book Can Survive, but Its Publishing Identity May Change

This distinction is important.

Losing access to a platform-issued ISBN does not mean your story disappears.

Your manuscript is still your manuscript.

You can take your work elsewhere and republish it, provided you retain the necessary rights.

But you may need a different ISBN.

And a new ISBN can mean establishing a new publishing record for that edition.

That can create headaches involving metadata, retailer listings, distribution records, and ensuring readers find the correct edition.

For an author publishing one book as a personal project, that inconvenience may never matter.

For someone trying to build a publishing business or a catalog of books, it can matter considerably.

When You Own the ISBN, You Control the Publishing Identity

Purchasing your own ISBN changes the relationship.

Instead of borrowing part of the publishing infrastructure from a POD company, you become the publisher attached to that ISBN.

Your publishing imprint can appear in the book's metadata.

For example, an independent author could publish under an imprint such as:

Giftkone Publishing

rather than having the platform's default publishing designation attached to the ISBN.

KDP confirms that authors using their own ISBN can enter the imprint registered with their ISBN agency, while its free ISBN uses "Independently published."

That is more than cosmetic to me.

It represents ownership of another part of the publishing process.

My book.

My copyright.

My publishing imprint.

My ISBN.

My decision about who prints and distributes it.

Portability May Be the Biggest Advantage

This is probably the strongest argument for owning your ISBN.

If you own the ISBN for a particular edition and format, you are not tying that ISBN to one POD provider.

KDP specifically says an ISBN you purchase yourself can be used to publish outside KDP. IngramSpark likewise explains that owning your ISBN gives you greater freedom to use other printers and publishing platforms.

That means your printer and your publisher do not necessarily have to be the same thing.

This is an important idea for independent authors to understand.

Amazon can print my book without owning its publishing identity.

IngramSpark can print or distribute my book without owning its publishing identity.

Another printer may manufacture copies of my book later.

The service provider can change.

The ISBN and the publishing identity behind it can remain under my control.

That is a much different business relationship.

But Free ISBNs Still Have Value

I don't believe every author needs to purchase an ISBN for every project.

There are legitimate reasons to use a free one.

A new author may be publishing a first book with a very limited budget. Someone may only be interested in selling a paperback through Amazon. Another person may be producing a family memoir, church history, reunion book, or small project with no intention of creating a publishing company.

Under those circumstances, a free ISBN can make perfect sense.

It removes an expense and makes getting into print easier.

There is nothing automatically wrong or unprofessional about making that decision.

The important thing is to understand what you are choosing.

Free ISBN: lower upfront cost, less control.

Your ISBN: higher upfront cost, greater publishing independence.

The Cost Question

For authors planning only one book, buying an ISBN can feel expensive.

For authors planning multiple books, however, buying ISBNs in blocks can substantially reduce the per-number cost.

And remember that you may need several ISBNs for one title if you release multiple formats.

So I would encourage writers to stop thinking about an ISBN only as another publishing expense.

Think of it as publishing infrastructure.

A business buys its domain name.

A company registers its name.

A publisher establishes its imprint.

And an independent publisher may decide that owning its ISBNs is another part of controlling its business.

Something Else I Learned: Think About Your Catalog, Not Just Your Next Book

This is where my thinking has changed over time.

When you're publishing your first book, you're usually thinking:

How do I get this book published?

After you have published a number of books, you begin thinking differently.

You start asking:

How do I manage my catalog?

That is a much bigger question.

A catalog may survive several printers, distributors, websites, retailers, technological changes, and publishing companies.

The company you use today may not be the company you use ten years from now.

That means the more of your publishing infrastructure you control, the easier it may be to move when circumstances require it.

I own the ISBNs on about half of my published books. Looking back, I can understand why I accepted free ISBNs on some titles. Saving money was important, and sometimes convenience won.

But experience has also taught me the value of owning the publishing identifiers attached to my work.

Before You Click "Free ISBN," Ask Yourself Five Questions

Before accepting a POD company's free ISBN, consider:

1. Do I intend to sell this book only through this platform?

2. Might I want another printer or distributor later?

3. Am I building a recognizable publishing imprint?

4. Is this a one-time book or part of a growing catalog?

5. How important is long-term control of this edition to me?

There isn't one correct answer for every author.

But there should be an informed answer.

Free Today Can Create a Cost Tomorrow

Self-publishing gives writers something authors of previous generations often struggled to obtain:

control.

We can choose our subjects, editors, covers, prices, formats, printers, distributors, and publishing schedules.

Owning your ISBN can be another part of that control.

A free ISBN can be a perfectly reasonable publishing tool. But understand that you are using an ISBN belonging to someone else's publishing system.

An ISBN you purchase is different.

It travels with your publishing operation, rather than your publishing operation being tied to the company that supplied the number.

And that leads to the question I wish more new writers would ask before publishing:

If the company printing my book disappeared tomorrow, how easily could I take my book somewhere else?

Your words should outlive your relationship with any particular publishing platform.

For writers planning to build a serious catalog, that alone may make owning your ISBN worth considering.

Self-Published Book Distribution

 

Self-Published Book Distribution: Publishing Your Book Is Only the Beginning

When I first entered the world of self-publishing, most of my attention was focused on getting the book finished.

Write it. Edit it. Format it. Design the cover. Publish it.

Those are all important steps, but over time I learned something that every independent author eventually needs to understand:

Publishing a book and distributing a book are not the same thing.

You can write a wonderful book, edit it carefully, create an attractive cover, assign an ISBN, and successfully publish it, and still have very few places where readers can actually find or order it.

That is why I have come to believe that distribution can be every bit as important as writing, editing, and publishing the book itself.

For the self-published author, distribution can range from selling a few copies locally to making a book available to readers, bookstores, libraries, and online retailers around the world.

The distribution route you choose helps determine just how far your book can travel.

What Does Book Distribution Really Mean?

Distribution is basically the system that connects your book with the places where readers can obtain it.

That might mean:

• Amazon

• Your own website

• Local bookstores

• Independent bookstores

• Barnes & Noble

• Libraries

• Schools and universities

• Apple Books

• Kobo

• Online bookstores

• Ebook subscription services

• Audiobook platforms

• International booksellers

There is an important distinction here.

Available to bookstores does not necessarily mean sitting on bookstore shelves.

A distribution service may place your book in a wholesale catalog so that a bookstore or library can order it. That does not mean the store has automatically purchased copies and put them on display.

Amazon makes a similar point about its Expanded Distribution program: enrollment can make eligible paperbacks available through distributors to bookstores and libraries, but it does not guarantee that a particular bookseller or library will actually order the book.

Understanding that difference can save a new author a lot of disappointment.

Start With the Reader You Want to Reach

Before choosing distribution services, ask yourself a more basic question:

Where is my likely reader going to look for this book?

If most of your audience buys books through Amazon, then Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing may be your most important starting point.

If your goal includes independent bookstores, libraries, schools, and international booksellers, you may want a wider wholesale distribution network.

If you write ebooks, you may want your books available through several digital retailers rather than only one.

And if you produce audiobooks, you have another distribution decision entirely.

There is no single distribution strategy that is right for every author.

Amazon KDP: An Important Starting Point

For many independent authors, Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing—KDP—is the first distribution system they encounter.

KDP allows authors to publish Kindle ebooks as well as print-on-demand paperbacks and hardcovers. Amazon says those print books can be manufactured and shipped to customers in markets around the world.

For eligible paperbacks, KDP also offers Expanded Distribution, which can make a title available to distributors serving bookstores, libraries, online retailers, and academic institutions.

However, there are limitations. For example, KDP's Expanded Distribution currently applies to qualifying paperbacks, not hardcovers. There are also eligibility requirements, and some types of books are excluded.

That means authors should never assume that clicking one distribution box automatically gives them complete worldwide bookstore distribution.

Read the requirements.

Know what your particular book qualifies for.

Going Wide With IngramSpark

Authors interested in broad print distribution often consider IngramSpark.

Ingram is deeply connected to the traditional book supply chain, which is one reason independent authors interested in bookstores and libraries frequently use it.

IngramSpark says its distribution network gives publishers access to more than 45,000 retailers, libraries, universities, independent bookstores, chain stores, online stores, and other outlets. Its network covers major markets in North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East, and other parts of the world.

That kind of distribution can make an independently published book much easier for a bookstore or librarian to locate through the systems they already use.

Again, though:

Being orderable is not the same as being stocked.

The author may still need to market the book to bookstores, libraries, organizations, teachers, community groups, and readers.

Distribution opens the door.

Marketing gives someone a reason to walk through it.

Bookstores Think Differently Than Individual Readers

One of the things new authors may not realize is that bookstores purchase books differently from ordinary consumers.

A reader might see your book online for $14.95 and simply buy it.

A bookstore needs room to make money from that $14.95 sale.

That is where the wholesale discount becomes important.

Book wholesalers and retailers generally purchase books below the retail price. That discount helps provide the margin from which the distributor and retailer operate.

Authors using wholesale distribution therefore need to calculate their list price carefully. The retail price has to account for printing expenses, the wholesale discount, and whatever compensation remains for the publisher.

Authors interested in bookstore sales also need to understand returns.

Some bookstores prefer or require books to be returnable. Making a book returnable can make it more attractive to certain retailers, but it also creates financial risk for the independent publisher because returned books can be charged back against publisher compensation.

That is one of those small-looking publishing decisions that can become a very large business decision.

Ebook Distribution Gives Authors Even More Choices

Print books are only one part of distribution.

An ebook can potentially travel around the world without printing, warehousing, or postage.

You can publish directly with individual retailers, or you can use what is commonly called an aggregator.

An aggregator allows an author to upload the book once and then distribute it through multiple participating stores and library systems.

Draft2Digital is one example. Its current distribution partners include Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, OverDrive, cloudLibrary, Hoopla, Everand, Tolino, BorrowBox, and others. Amazon ebook distribution through Draft2Digital is currently invitation-only, which is one reason many authors continue to publish directly to Amazon KDP while using another service for additional retailers.

That creates what many independent authors call a wide distribution strategy.

Instead of depending upon one bookstore, your ebook can potentially appear in multiple digital ecosystems.

Don't Forget Libraries

Libraries can be an important and sometimes overlooked part of an author's distribution plan.

For some books, particularly history, education, memoir, children's books, community-interest titles, reference works, and specialized nonfiction, library availability can be very valuable.

Services such as Draft2Digital and IngramSpark can provide access to library-related distribution channels. Draft2Digital, for example, currently distributes digital titles through systems including OverDrive, cloudLibrary, Hoopla, and BorrowBox.

A reader discovering your work through a library today may become the person who purchases your next book tomorrow.

Print-on-Demand Changed Everything

Independent publishing became much more practical when authors no longer had to purchase hundreds or thousands of books in advance.

With Print-on-Demand—POD—the book is generally printed when someone orders it.

That changes the financial equation considerably.

Instead of filling your garage with cartons of books and hoping they eventually sell, you can maintain a title in distribution without carrying large quantities of inventory.

Draft2Digital Print, for example, describes its service as print-on-demand, with books produced and shipped when customers purchase them. Its print books can also be made available through Amazon and distribution channels served by Ingram.

For an independent publisher, POD can turn worldwide availability into something that would have been financially impossible for many authors just a generation ago.

Local Distribution Still Matters

Worldwide distribution sounds impressive, but don't overlook your own neighborhood.

Depending on the book, local distribution may include:

• Independent bookstores

• Museums

• Visitor centers

• Gift shops

• Churches

• Schools

• Historical societies

• Senior centers

• Cultural organizations

• Festivals

• Conferences

• Community events

• Author appearances

• Local libraries

Sometimes a book with a strong local connection can sell better through ten carefully selected community outlets than through thousands of online listings nobody knows about.

A local-history book, for example, may belong in a neighborhood bookstore, historical society, museum gift shop, or library display.

Distribution should follow the natural audience for the book.

Your Own Website Is Also Distribution

Authors sometimes think of distribution as something only large companies provide.

Not necessarily.

When you sell books directly through your website, at speaking engagements, through social media, at festivals, or at author events, you are creating your own distribution channel.

Direct sales can also give authors something large retailers often cannot:

a direct relationship with the reader.

That relationship may lead to newsletter subscribers, repeat customers, reviews, recommendations, and interest in future books.

Audiobooks Need Their Own Distribution Strategy

Audiobooks have become another major route for reaching readers, or perhaps we should say, listeners.

Today's independent author can distribute audio separately from print and ebooks.

Spotify for Authors now allows qualifying self-published authors to publish audiobooks directly to Spotify. Spotify also works with Voices by INaudio for authors who want broader non-exclusive distribution to additional audiobook retailers.

That illustrates an important principle:

Every format can have its own distribution path.

Your paperback does not necessarily need the same distributor as your ebook.

Your ebook does not necessarily need the same distributor as your audiobook.

The important thing is understanding where each system sends your book.

Be Careful About Distribution Overlap

This is an area where new self-publishers can easily get into trouble.

More distributors do not always mean better distribution.

If two companies are trying to send the same ISBN for the same print edition into the same wholesale system, conflicts can arise.

Draft2Digital, for example, advises authors not to place the same print title into D2D Print if that book is already using IngramSpark or KDP Expanded Distribution.

Before adding another distributor, ask:

Where does this company actually send my book?

You may discover that two services eventually feed into the same system.

Distribution Is Not Marketing

This may be the most important lesson of all.

Distribution answers:

Where can someone buy my book?

Marketing answers:

Why would someone want to buy my book?

Those are two entirely different problems.

You can distribute a book worldwide and sell almost nothing.

You can also distribute a specialized book through a relatively small number of carefully selected outlets and do very well.

The strongest strategy brings the two together.

Make the book available where your readers shop, and then give those readers a reason to look for it.

Think Beyond the Launch

Distribution should not be something you think about only when your book is released.

Your options may change over time.

Perhaps your book begins on Amazon.

Later, you decide to expand to independent bookstores.

Then libraries.

Then international ebook retailers.

Perhaps an audiobook comes next.

Maybe a local organization wants to purchase copies in quantity.

The distribution plan can grow along with the book.

That is one of the great advantages we independent authors have today.

We are not limited to a single road.

From Local to Worldwide

There was a time when getting a book distributed nationally, much less internationally, usually required acceptance by an established publishing company with existing relationships with printers, wholesalers, bookstores, and sales representatives.

That world has changed.

Today, an independent author sitting at a home computer can potentially make a book available to someone across town, across the country, or across the world.

But the technology does not eliminate the need for planning.

The author still has to decide:

Which road do I want this book to travel?

Amazon?

Bookstores?

Libraries?

Schools?

Direct sales?

Ebooks?

Audiobooks?

International markets?

Maybe all of them.

The important thing is to think about distribution as part of publishing from the beginning—not as something that happens automatically after you press the Publish button.

I have learned over the years that finishing the manuscript is only one victory.

Editing makes it better.

Publishing makes it real.

Marketing makes people aware of it.

But distribution gives the book somewhere to go.

And for the independent author, choosing the right roads can determine just how far that book travels.

— Giftkone Publishing

The 5 C's of writing

For a new writer, writing a book can seem simple in the beginning.

You have an idea. You sit down. You start writing.

Then reality arrives.

Before long, you discover that writing a book and publishing a book are two different jobs.

The writing itself has an internal reality: the creative process, the structure of the story, the choice of words, the development of ideas, and the effort required to communicate something worth reading.

Publishing introduces an entirely different set of external demands.

Now you may be dealing with manuscript formatting, trim sizes, margins, page counts, ISBNs, copyright pages, cover dimensions, bleed requirements, image resolution, file types, distribution rules, and the technical specifications of whichever print-on-demand publisher or publishing platform you choose.

I have struggled with both sides of that process.

My difficulties have ranged from something as basic as selecting the right topic to write about to trying to determine the exact measurements required for a book cover.

And one thing I have learned is that nearly every print-on-demand publisher seems to have its own rules, specifications, and publishing requirements.

Most of those rules exist for a good reason: the goal is to produce a professional-quality book.

But that does not make the process any less confusing.

Publishing requirements can sometimes confound experienced self-publishers. For a new writer encountering them for the first time, they can become overwhelming.

That is why writers need strong principles they can return to regardless of what they are writing or where they eventually publish it.

One useful framework is known as the 5 C's of writing: Clarity, Conciseness, Coherence, Correctness, and Consistency.

These principles will not solve every publishing problem, but they can help you build a stronger manuscript before you ever start worrying about cover templates and upload requirements.

1. Clarity: Make Sure the Reader Understands You

A writer knows what he or she intends to say.

The reader only knows what actually appears on the page.

That difference is important.

Clarity means making your meaning understandable without forcing the reader to work unnecessarily hard to figure out what you meant.

This does not mean every sentence has to be simple or every idea has to be basic.

It means the reader should not have to untangle confusing wording before understanding your point.

For fiction writers, clarity helps readers understand who is speaking, where the action is taking place, what is happening, and why it matters.

For nonfiction writers, clarity helps readers follow an argument, lesson, explanation, or historical discussion.

When reviewing your writing, ask yourself:

Will the reader understand this the way I intended it?

That question has saved many paragraphs.

2. Conciseness: Use the Words You Need

New writers sometimes believe that better writing means bigger words, longer sentences, and more description.

Usually, it does not.

Good writing means using enough words to communicate the idea effectively—and knowing when you have said enough.

Conciseness does not mean stripping all personality from your writing.

It means removing words that are doing no useful work.

Consider the difference between writing something because it strengthens the story and writing it simply because you like the sentence.

Those two things are not always the same.

Every sentence should have a purpose.

Every paragraph should move the reader somewhere.

Sometimes that movement is physical action. Sometimes it is emotional development. Sometimes it is information. Sometimes it is simply giving the reader a moment to breathe.

But the words should be there for a reason.

3. Coherence: Give the Reader a Road to Follow

You may understand how all your ideas connect because they developed inside your own mind.

Your reader was not there.

Coherence is what builds the bridge.

One sentence should naturally lead into the next. One paragraph should connect to the next. One chapter should feel like it belongs beside the chapters around it.

This is especially important when writing a first draft.

A first draft may contain wonderful scenes, facts, arguments, memories, or ideas that do not yet fit together properly.

That does not mean the material is bad.

It means the road still needs work.

Think of coherence as putting up road signs for your reader.

Where are we?

Where have we been?

Where are we going?

And why are we going there?

When readers can answer those questions, they are more likely to remain engaged.

4. Correctness: The Details Matter

Correctness includes grammar, spelling, punctuation, word usage, and factual accuracy.

For nonfiction writers, factual correctness is especially important.

Readers may forgive a typo.

They are much less forgiving when they discover that the information being presented as fact is inaccurate.

Correctness also becomes important once the manuscript enters the publishing process.

A missing word in a manuscript can be corrected relatively easily.

A mistake discovered after hundreds of books have been printed is more painful.

This is one reason editing and proofreading should never be treated as unnecessary steps.

Your first draft is where you discover what you want to say.

Editing is where you improve how you say it.

Proofreading is where you search for the mistakes that survived both processes.

5. Consistency: Make the Book Feel Like One Book

Consistency may be one of the least exciting parts of writing, but it contributes enormously to professionalism.

Are character names spelled the same way throughout the book?

Are chapter titles formatted consistently?

Are dates written the same way?

Are headings handled the same way?

Are you using American spelling in one chapter and British spelling in another?

Does the tone suddenly change without a reason?

These may appear to be small details, but readers notice when enough small inconsistencies accumulate.

Consistency also becomes extremely important during book production.

The interior of the book, the cover, the title page, the copyright information, and the publishing metadata should all agree with one another.

Even something as simple as changing a subtitle can create several places where that change must also be made.

The Sixth C That Sometimes Appears: Creativity

Depending on which version of the 5 C's you encounter, Creativity may replace Consistency or appear as an additional principle.

For writers of fiction, poetry, memoir, and narrative nonfiction, creativity certainly deserves a place in the conversation.

Creativity gives your writing personality.

It determines how you approach a familiar subject differently from everyone else.

Two writers can tell the same type of story and produce two completely different books because their experiences, voices, perspectives, and imaginations are different.

But creativity works best when supported by the other C's.

A creative story that nobody can understand is still difficult to read.

A brilliant idea buried beneath unnecessary words may never reach the reader.

And an imaginative book filled with errors may lose the reader's trust.

Writing and Publishing Require Different Kinds of Thinking

One of the hardest lessons for new writers is understanding that the creative side and the publishing side of the business require different ways of thinking.

While writing, you may be thinking:

Is this interesting?

Does this character feel real?

Is this information important?

Will the reader understand my point?

Later, while publishing, you may suddenly be asking:

What trim size should I use?

What size should the cover be?

How much bleed is required?

What resolution should the images have?

Will the spine width change if the page count changes?

Those are very different questions.

Trying to solve all of them at once can stop a book before it is ever finished.

The new writer should understand something important:

You do not have to publish the book while you are still writing the book.

Finish the manuscript.

Strengthen the manuscript.

Apply the 5 C's.

Then begin dealing with the technical demands of production.

Publishing Platforms Have Rules—and They Change

Self-publishing has given writers opportunities that previous generations could hardly imagine.

But independence comes with responsibility.

The author may now be responsible for decisions once handled by editors, designers, typesetters, production departments, and publishing companies.

That includes learning the requirements of the platform you plan to use.

Different print-on-demand services may have different rules regarding trim sizes, cover templates, margins, bleed, acceptable file formats, and image quality.

Even experienced self-publishers sometimes have to stop and look something up again.

There is no shame in that.

The important thing is learning not to confuse the technical requirements of publishing with your ability to write.

You may be a very good writer and still need three attempts to get a cover template correct.

Those are separate skills.

Both can be learned.

Let the 5 C's Become Your Writing Checklist

Before you begin worrying about uploading your manuscript, ask five questions:

Is it clear?

Is it concise?

Is it coherent?

Is it correct?

Is it consistent?

If you can answer yes to those questions, you have already solved some of the most important problems a writer faces.

The technical specifications can be learned.

Cover measurements can be corrected.

Formatting can be changed.

Files can be uploaded again.

But the real foundation of every successful book remains the same:

Something worth saying, written in a way that another human being wants to keep reading.

That is where publishing begins.

Not with the cover template.

Not with the ISBN.

Not with the upload button.

It begins with the writing.

Writing and Editing Are Two Different Jobs

 

Writing and Editing Are Two Different Jobs

One of the biggest lessons I have learned as a writer is that writing and editing are not the same job.

They may both be part of creating a book, but they require very different ways of thinking.

Writing asks you to create.

Editing asks you to judge.

Writing asks, "What happens next?"

Editing asks, "Is this the best way to say it?"

Writing moves forward.

Editing often looks backward.

When a new writer tries to do both at the same time, that can become a serious problem.

I know because I have done it.

The Trap of Trying to Fix Everything Immediately

Early in my writing experience, I thought good writing meant getting everything right while I was writing it.

If a sentence did not sound good enough, I stopped and rewrote it.

If a paragraph seemed weak, I worked on it until I was satisfied.

If I thought a scene might need more detail, I stopped moving forward and began adding to it.

Sometimes that worked.

But many times it damaged my momentum.

Instead of finishing the story, I became trapped polishing pieces of a story that did not yet exist as a complete book.

That is like decorating one room of a house before the foundation has been finished.

The room may look beautiful.

But you still do not have a house.

Writing Requires Momentum

There is a certain momentum that develops when you are creating a story.

One idea leads to another.

A character says something you did not expect.

A scene introduces a possibility you had not considered.

Something happens in Chapter Four that suddenly gives you the answer to a problem you were worried about in Chapter Two.

That creative momentum is valuable.

Stopping every few sentences to edit can interrupt it.

You move from imagination into criticism.

Then back into imagination.

Then back into criticism.

Eventually the writer can become tired before the story has had a chance to develop.

That is why I now believe the first draft should mostly be about movement.

Keep going.

Get the story onto the page.

You can come back later.

The Writer and the Editor Think Differently

I sometimes think of the writer and editor as two different people sharing the same desk.

The writer is imaginative.

The writer takes chances.

The writer says, "What if?"

The writer is willing to explore.

The editor is more cautious.

The editor asks whether a scene works.

The editor looks for repetition, weak language, confusing sentences, pacing problems, and inconsistencies.

Both are important.

But they do not always work well when they are shouting instructions at each other at the same time.

Imagine trying to tell a story while someone stands behind you saying:

"That sentence isn't good enough."

"You already used that word."

"Would a reader really believe that?"

"Maybe you should rewrite the beginning."

"Are you sure this chapter belongs here?"

You probably would not get very far.

Yet that is exactly what many writers do to themselves.

The First Draft Is for the Writer

The first draft is where you discover the story.

Even when you begin with a strong outline, things may change once you start writing.

Characters can surprise you.

Research may reveal something better.

A subplot may become more important than you expected.

The ending you originally planned may no longer fit the story you actually wrote.

That is not failure.

That is part of writing.

Your first draft gives you permission to explore those possibilities.

It does not have to be ready for the reader yet.

It only has to be useful to you.

Editing Is Where You Begin Thinking About the Reader

Once the first draft is complete, your thinking can change.

Now you can ask:

Does this make sense?

Is the beginning strong enough?

Does the middle slow down?

Are the characters believable?

Did I explain too much?

Did I explain too little?

Does every chapter contribute something?

Does the ending satisfy the promise made at the beginning?

This is where editing becomes powerful.

Now you are no longer trying to imagine the entire book.

You can see it.

You can study what is actually there instead of worrying about what might be there someday.

You Cannot Properly Edit What You Have Not Finished

This is something I wish more new writers understood.

A chapter that seems weak while you are writing it may make perfect sense once the entire story is finished.

A scene you keep rewriting may eventually be removed altogether.

A character you are struggling to perfect may later turn out to need a completely different role.

If you spend hours polishing those things too early, some of that work may be wasted.

Finishing the manuscript gives you perspective.

It allows you to see the book as a complete structure.

Then you know where your editing time will do the most good.

Give Yourself Permission to Leave Notes

One thing that can help keep a first draft moving is leaving notes for yourself.

Suppose you realize you need to research something.

Instead of stopping for two hours, write:

[CHECK THIS FACT]

Suppose a character needs a better description.

Write:

[ADD DESCRIPTION LATER]

Suppose you know the scene needs more emotion but you do not want to lose your momentum.

Write:

[STRENGTHEN THIS SCENE]

Then keep going.

Those notes become instructions for the editing stage.

You have acknowledged the problem without allowing it to stop the story.

There Will Be Time to Make It Better

Some writers worry that if they do not fix a problem immediately, they will somehow forget about it.

You probably will not.

And even if you do, you may discover during editing that the problem was not as important as you thought.

Your first draft is not being published tomorrow.

There will be another pass.

And another if necessary.

That is one of the freedoms of writing.

You do not have to get everything right the first time.

You simply have to give yourself something to work with.

Editing Is Not Proofreading

It is also helpful to understand that editing and proofreading are not exactly the same thing.

Editing looks at the strength of the writing and the story itself.

You may move scenes.

Rewrite chapters.

Cut material.

Add details.

Strengthen characters.

Clarify ideas.

Improve pacing.

Proofreading usually comes much later.

That is where you look carefully for spelling mistakes, missing words, punctuation problems, and other small errors.

If you are correcting commas while major sections of your story still need to be rewritten, you may be working in the wrong order.

A Simple Writing Process

Every writer eventually develops a process that works for them, but mine has become much clearer over time.

First, write the story.

Second, finish the first draft.

Third, step back and look at the whole manuscript.

Fourth, edit for story, structure, clarity, and engagement.

Then revise the language.

Finally, proofread.

That does not mean I never make a small correction while writing. Sometimes fixing something takes only a few seconds.

But I try not to let editing take control of the writing session.

The goal is still to move forward.

Do Not Let the Editor Silence the Writer

The editor inside us is useful.

We need that voice eventually.

But during the first draft, it sometimes needs to sit quietly in the back of the room.

Let the writer work.

Let the characters talk.

Let the story develop.

Let yourself write something imperfect.

There will be plenty of time later to decide what stays, what goes, and what needs to be better.

Writing creates the material.

Editing shapes it.

Proofreading cleans it.

Each has a job.

Understanding the difference can keep a writer from getting trapped in endless rewriting before the book is even finished.

So when you sit down to work on that first draft, remember:

You are not editing yet.

You are building.

Keep going until there is something complete enough to improve.

Because a rough finished draft can become a good book.

A perfect first chapter followed by 200 blank pages cannot.

— Giftkone Publishing

What Every New Writer Should Know Before They Start Writing

 

What Every New Writer Should Know Before They Start Writing

When I first began writing, I did not understand one of the most important lessons I know today:

Your first job is not to write the best book possible. Your first job is to finish the first draft.

That may sound simple, but for a new writer, it can change everything.

In the beginning of my own writing experience, I thought differently. I believed that when I sat down to write, I needed to make the story as good as possible right then and there.

I wanted the sentences to sound right.

I wanted the story to flow.

I wanted the ideas to make sense.

I wanted the book to feel finished while I was still creating it.

What I did not yet understand was that writing a book is a process.

And the first draft is where that process begins.

My First Book Taught Me Something I Did Not Yet Recognize

The first book I wrote was for my mother.

She had suffered a stroke and had lost her ability to write, but she still had her memories, her experiences, and the stories of her life.

I became the person who helped put those experiences on the page.

In many ways, I was able to complete that book because my mother was helping guide me through it. She knew what she wanted to tell. She could share memories from growing up, explain what had happened, and help point me toward the next part of the story.

Without realizing it at the time, I had something very valuable:

A road map.

The story already had a direction.

My job was to listen, capture it, and keep moving forward.

That first experience gave me confidence.

Then came my second book.

That one was different.

When the Story Had to Come Entirely From Me

My second book grew from my own creative thoughts and ideas.

There was no one sitting beside me telling me what happened next.

There was no established life story to follow.

I had characters, ideas, scenes, and imagination.

But I was still trying to write the finished book while I was creating the first draft.

That is where I ran head-on into one of the great enemies of new writers:

The writing sag.

Sometimes I would move along well for a while, and then the story would slow down.

I would begin questioning what I had written.

I would go backward.

I would rewrite.

I would second-guess scenes that were not yet finished.

I would try to fix problems before I even knew what the complete story was going to look like.

Eventually, progress could come to a stop.

More than once, I stayed away from a manuscript so long that returning to it felt almost impossible.

I could barely remember where my thinking had been when I stopped.

The characters were still there.

The unfinished story was still there.

But the momentum was gone.

Today, I understand why.

I had been trying to edit, perfect, create, and finish the book all at the same time.

Those are different jobs.

The First Draft Is Your Framework

I approach writing differently now.

I think of the first draft as a framework.

It is the road map that shows me where the story is going.

The road may eventually change.

I may take a different turn.

I may remove a scene, add a character, strengthen a conflict, or discover that something I planned in Chapter Three works much better in Chapter Eight.

That is fine.

A road map does not prevent you from changing direction.

It simply prevents you from wandering around without knowing where you are trying to go.

For a new writer, that distinction can be extremely important.

Your first draft does not have to impress anyone.

Nobody even has to see it.

It only has to carry your story from the beginning to the end.

Once you reach the end, you finally have something you can study as a complete work.

Then you can begin making it better.

Know Who You Are Writing For

Before beginning a book, it also helps to think about your audience.

Who do you imagine reading your work?

Are you writing for children?

Young adults?

Mystery readers?

Romance readers?

People interested in history?

People trying to solve a particular problem?

Readers looking for inspiration?

You do not have to know every detail about your future reader, but understanding your general audience can help you make important choices.

It affects your language.

It affects your pacing.

It affects the amount of explanation you provide.

It can even affect the length of the book.

A children's story and an adult historical novel may both begin with wonderful ideas, but they will probably require very different approaches.

Know Why You Are Writing

It also helps to understand the purpose behind your book.

Are you trying to entertain?

Teach?

Preserve family history?

Persuade?

Encourage?

Share an experience?

Make readers laugh?

Make them think?

A book can certainly do several of those things at once, but knowing your primary purpose can help you decide what belongs in the manuscript and what does not.

When a writer becomes lost, sometimes returning to one simple question can help:

What am I trying to give the reader?

That question can bring the story back into focus.

Know the Heart of the Story

You do not necessarily need a detailed outline before writing.

Some writers love outlines.

Others prefer discovering much of the story as they go.

Both approaches can work.

But I do believe a writer should have some idea of the heart of the book.

For fiction, you might ask:

Who is this story about?

What does that person want?

What stands in the way?

What could be lost?

What changes by the end?

For nonfiction, ask:

What problem am I helping the reader understand?

What information do I want the reader to walk away with?

What is the main message?

You do not need every answer before you begin.

You simply need enough direction to start moving.

Learn the Mechanics, But Do Not Let Them Stop You

Grammar, spelling, punctuation, sentence structure, and word choice matter.

They help readers understand what you are trying to communicate.

Every writer should continue learning these skills.

But new writers can also become so afraid of making mistakes that they stop writing altogether.

Do not allow a comma to kill your story.

Do not let one misspelled word end your writing session.

Do not spend thirty minutes trying to make one sentence perfect while an entire chapter is waiting to be written.

Those things can be corrected.

Ideas that are never written cannot.

Research What You Need—But Keep Writing

Research is another important part of writing.

If your story takes place in another historical period, profession, city, country, or culture, you may need to learn more before certain scenes can be written accurately.

That is part of responsible writing.

But research can also become another hiding place.

A writer can spend months researching a book that never gets written.

Sometimes you can simply leave yourself a note in the manuscript:

Check this fact later.

Then continue writing.

Research should support the story.

It should not become a substitute for finishing it.

Do Not Fear an Ugly First Draft

One of the best pieces of advice a new writer can receive is permission to write an imperfect first draft.

Maybe it is rough.

Maybe some dialogue sounds awkward.

Maybe you repeat yourself.

Maybe a character changes personality halfway through.

Maybe Chapter Five turns out to belong before Chapter Three.

Maybe your ending changes while you are writing it.

Good.

That means you are discovering the story.

Your first draft is not evidence of how good or bad a writer you are.

It is raw material.

Think about a sculptor beginning with a block of stone.

The first cut does not look like the finished sculpture.

Writing works much the same way.

Finish Before You Judge

This may be one of the hardest lessons for a new writer:

Do not judge the entire book while you are still standing in the middle of it.

You cannot always see what a story is becoming while you are creating it.

Something that feels weak in the middle of the first draft may become powerful once the ending is written.

A character who seems unnecessary may suddenly become essential.

A scene you almost deleted may later provide the perfect setup for something important.

Give yourself the opportunity to reach the end.

Then judge the book.

Then edit.

Then rewrite.

Then strengthen it.

Writing and Editing Are Different Jobs

This distinction has helped me tremendously.

When I am writing the first draft, I am building.

When I am editing, I am inspecting what I built.

When I am rewriting, I am improving it.

When I am proofreading, I am cleaning it up.

Trying to perform every one of those jobs at once can make writing exhausting.

Separating them makes the process much more manageable.

Your First Draft Is Not the Book—It Is the Beginning of the Book

Today I am much more comfortable accepting that story writing is a process.

The first draft gives me the framework.

It gives me something to follow.

It gives me a road map.

Most importantly, it gives me a complete story that I can improve.

I wish I had understood that more clearly when I began writing.

It might have saved me from some of the long writing sags when my work came to a complete stop.

It might have kept me from believing that every sentence needed to be perfect before I could move on.

But perhaps learning those lessons the hard way is part of what allows me to share them with other writers today.

So if you are thinking about writing your first book, here is what I would want you to know before you begin:

Know generally who you are writing for.

Know why you want to tell the story.

Understand the basic heart of what you want to say.

Learn your craft.

Research what you need.

But above all else:

Finish the first draft.

Do not try to write the perfect book on your first trip through the story.

Build the framework first.

Create your road map.

Reach the end.

Then go back and turn that first draft into the book you imagined.

Because you cannot improve a book that only exists in your head.

But once the first draft exists, almost everything about it can be improved.

That is where the real writing journey begins.

— Giftkone Publishing

How Reading Damaged my Ignorance

 

A Letter From the Writer Behind Giftkone Publishing

How reading damaged my ignorance.

I do not mean that one book, one library, or one source suddenly gave me all the answers. Reading gave me something more valuable: a way to ask better questions, do my own research, compare different accounts, and hear more than one side of a story.

My writing journey began during a time when research often meant physically going to the public library, looking through shelves, checking indexes, and following one subject into another. Later came computers and the internet, and suddenly there were even more doors to open.

For me, those doors led to a deeper understanding of history.

I began looking into the dark spaces in my own understanding of family history, educational history, spiritual history, social history, and especially Black history. The more I read, the more I discovered how much had never appeared in the textbooks I was educated with.

That realization disturbed me.

I began to understand that inaccurate history does not usually survive because of one person. It can take an entire system to create it, repeat it, protect it, and pass it from one generation to another.

For misleading information to become accepted history, books have to be written, approved, printed, distributed, purchased, taught, and repeated. Educators may inherit material they did not create. Publishers may rely on accepted sources. Political, religious, scientific, and social institutions may reinforce ideas that have gone largely unchallenged.

Sometimes people may simply repeat what they were taught.

Other times, inconvenient facts may be ignored, minimized, distorted, or left out altogether.

That became one of the strongest motivations behind my writing.

I wanted to investigate some of the subjects that had once been missing from my own education and then share what I discovered with others. I wanted to write about people, history, culture, family, faith, health, caregiving, relationships, and ordinary human experiences that deserve another look.

I am still learning.

That may be one of the most important things I can say about myself as a writer.

I do not write because I believe I know everything. I write because there is still so much I want to understand.

Reading taught me that learning does not end when school ends. Sometimes our real education begins when we finally become curious enough to question what we were originally taught.

That curiosity eventually became Giftkone Publishing.

Why I Created This Blog

I want the Giftkone Publishing Blog to become more than a place where I talk about my own books.

I would like it to become a meeting place for writers, readers, and curious people.

Writers are invited to share what encourages them to keep writing, what inspires their stories, where their ideas come from, and what writing prompts help them when the page seems empty.

Readers are invited to talk about the books and stories they enjoy. What makes you keep turning the pages? What kind of characters stay with you? What subjects do you wish more authors would explore? What makes you recommend a book to somebody else?

And you do not have to be a writer or an especially devoted reader to belong here.

You may simply be someone interested in history, family, culture, creativity, publishing, storytelling, or learning something you did not know yesterday.

You are welcome too.

What I Hope My Writing Accomplishes

Some of my books are meant to entertain.

Some are meant to inform.

Some are meant to preserve memories.

Some grew from questions I carried for years.

Others began with nothing more than an idea that refused to leave me alone.

Whether I am writing fiction, memoir, history, wellness, activity books, or stories about ordinary people facing extraordinary circumstances, I hope there is something in the work that causes the reader to think, remember, question, smile, learn, or see something from a slightly different direction.

I have learned that a book does not have to change the whole world to matter.

Sometimes changing one person's understanding of one subject is enough.

Sometimes helping somebody remember part of their own history is enough.

Sometimes entertaining someone through a difficult afternoon is enough.

Sometimes a book simply needs to start a conversation.

And That Is Where You Come In

Writing can begin as a solitary activity, but books are not completed by writers alone.

Readers complete them.

Every reader brings personal memories, beliefs, questions, experiences, and imagination to the page. Two people can read exactly the same story and walk away carrying something completely different.

That is one of the things I love most about writing.

So I hope you will participate here.

Tell me what you enjoy reading.

Tell me what you are writing.

Tell me what inspires you.

Tell me about subjects you believe deserve more attention.

Share the writing advice you wish someone had given you earlier.

Share the books that changed your thinking.

And when you read something from Giftkone Publishing, I hope you will tell me what worked for you, and even what did not.

That conversation can help make the next book better.

My ignorance has suffered a great deal of damage since I first discovered the power of reading.

I hope it never recovers.

There are still too many books to read, too many questions to ask, too many stories to hear, and too much history waiting to be rediscovered.

Thank you for visiting Giftkone Publishing.

More importantly, thank you for being part of the conversation.

Giftkone Publishing
Books, stories, ideas, and conversations worth sharing