So, with the book finished and so many technical production and layout matters concluded, my reflections are that it is very hard to complete and publish a book.
It may or may not surprise you to hear that industry stats anecdotally say that 75% of books are never finished. I can completely believe that. I nearly fell the same way myself many times. In fact, my metaphorically titled book, Lost & Found in China, resulted in additions to the journey of life and the journey around China, with two more journeys: an incredibly tough one writing and finishing the book, and even the printing, with final print in central Europe and the finished books themselves going on their own physical journey before reaching me, the author. Yes, now I’m finally holding my book in my hand, I can experience life as an author. The stamina, as well as the creativity required, with the many processes all unique to publishing, all being learned as a first experience, will deter all but the most determined or stubborn—I’m not sure which I am at this point.
Of course, I’m not a full-time author; my day job remains very busy, but in my spare time, I am slightly lost once again without a book to write, with my big mission of the last few years now completed and not easily replaced or replicable.
Writing a book or even journaling is such a good way to gather and process one’s thoughts. Speaking as someone who often lives life at 100 miles per hour, pausing for a few minutes each day to collect and curate one’s self-talk, that all humans have, I have found both healthy and productive.
Of course, the workflow on the book has shifted to my publicist, who has diligently picked up the reins on creating digital platforms and content, along with lots of technical know-how that insulates me from needing to get my hands dirty with metadata and the like. Even this blog that you are reading needed a home.
I have come a long way since the early idea of a book. Gathering the digital photos from old phones and finding a way to download them after some of the manufacturer’s software was no longer supported! I am still slightly scarred by the thought that my digital images were stuck—visible but trapped—on my phones. Sadly, some images were somehow lost on their own digital journeys across the years of upgrades and phone changes, but most survived, thankfully.
I am still locked in the moment of euphoria when I thought so many images were stuck forever, and then in desperation, all hope lost, I upgraded to a high-end professional version of an online storage product. Minutes later, I had five phones connected via different hardwire links and interfaces, and simultaneously, over a couple of hours, with lots of different display screens on my laptop flashing. Live with no further touches, each phone was copied and each file re-indexed correctly on the fly. Remarkable. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Still one of my more exceptional technical achievements. The motto is: keep your phone backed up all the time in a secure online storage location. Avoid my many Gaviscon moments associated with possibly lost photos!
After all this, there was still one stubborn batch of images that hadn’t fully copied or moved, but with three more manual pushes, they finally went! Hey presto! 11,000 digital images from across the years safely backed up and portable online. Next came many hours of curation to gather the China photos from the rest and then categorise by trip, topic, and quality. Finally, a preferred opening image list for the book, some 200 images.
If you are considering writing a book and experiencing life as an author, do it, but get organised and start getting into a daily pattern of writing, even a few words every day. Don’t overthink initially; just start writing and start finding your own flow. You’ll be able to explore whether you have the mettle for your own journey to capture your thoughts and experiences in a book.