Have you ever finished a book and wondered about the journey it took to get from a writer’s mind to the pages in your hands? Although my novel, Two Lanes to Goodbye, is still a work in progress, I have published other books.  My work this far is: My Caregiver Planner, The Achieve Planner, other custom planners, and my Guided Journals.  My self-publishing journey from a whisper to a finished book has been a mix of exhilaration and frustration.  But a road I would take over and over again. Find more information about My Caregiver Planner here.

Today, I wanted to expose a glimpse of my process as I transform a spark of an idea into a tangible, published book.  The journey is not grandiose, it started with an idea from experience.  My Caregiver Planner was born out of a need, as I am a veteran and a caregiver for my husband.  I found that typical planners were not enough to cover the needs of appointments, medication, and symptom management.  I had notes everywhere in a planner I bought online. There were other planners online, but they were printouts that I had to organize and hole punch for a binder.  That is when I sat down with InDesign and began mapping out sections that made sense for a family caregiver.  I began branching out to other styles of planners and adding guided journals.

Creating these was easy for me in that I knew what was needed.  I had a focus group made up of caregivers for veterans, and began making adjustments to My Caregiver Planner based on others’ needs.  Finding a printer was a challenge.  Getting my first box of planners was amazing!  I felt such accomplishments.  However, finding a printer for low-volume prints was difficult and expensive; my first print had a cost of $52 per planter.  This created very low profit because I am a self-published creator, and I had no financial backer.  I bootstrapped this venture as I have in the past.

The first couple of years were a rollercoaster of emotions.  But I continued.  The Marine Corp taught me to embrace the suck, put your head down and keep going; and I did.  Eventually, I found a printer that really helps drive down cost and still gives me a great product.  A company that I will use forever.  I hear that some people use the phrase indie author and I can embrace that title for myself.  The process for writing a book, creating a journal, or a planner is long, but if you have a vision, use checklists and organize yourself into building your dream into a reality.