It took a couple years of intermittently working to write the story, find an illustrator, find a way to publish, and then get the courage to finalize the project. I am excited to share that my first book is complete! Physical copies have arrived and Print On Demand (POD) is available for ordering your own copy.
So what is the story!?
While visiting with family in northern Michigan people kept losing track of their phone and tablet chargers. It started to feel as though each time we sat down together someone was asking, “Have you seen my charger?”. I felt compelled right then to grab a pad of notebook paper and start rhyming out lines to go along with the situation taking place. It is becoming a question asked more often, “Have you seen my charger?”. Common replies seem to be “No”, “Yes, on the counter”, or “Where did you leave it last?”.
As the lines started to flow out and family members kept adding their own input, a short story was quickly developing. For the character in the story the search for a charger takes them on a journey. In searching, they find something even more valuable than the charger they were looking for in the first place.
After several tweaks and edits to the manuscript “Have you seen my charger?” is more than just a common question, it is also the title of my first book.
How can you get your own copy? Great question! There are two main options for purchasing your own copy. Book Baby’s BookShop and Amazon.com Even searching for the book, or my name, on Amazon boosts the status of the book. Please consider at least giving it a search or clicking the Amazon link.
BookShop sends 50% of the sales back to the author.
Amazon sends 13%. Amazon does have a much larger reach and you could add the book onto an order quite easily.
The price is actually set below the BookBaby suggested price. I would go even lower if the cost of printing allowed since I think the message of the story is worth spreading.
There are several people I will not be able to thank enough for helping this all finally come together, but I will try.
Illustrator Tracy Burnett took the manuscript and ran with it, really bringing the words to life. I am very thankful for her willingness to take a chance on the story and work through all my short-comings as someone publishing their first book. I asked a lot of Tracy and she helped make it work. Without her there literally would not be a physical copy of the story.
My family. I am blessed to have two loving families to belong to. A big thanks to the Skalecki/Haggerty side for inspiring this situation. A big thank you to the Johns family for building my confidence to continue after the initial story was written.
A special thank you to my wife and kids for listening to the story and helping with feedback. Also thank you for patience as a “quick project” stretched into multiple hurdles to overcome and a lot of new learning taking place. Also, thank you for believing in the book enough to self-publish. Another spot which could have stopped the process, but I am thankful the book is now complete.
Thank you to Kevin Kammeraad for meeting up with me at Panera Bread and encouraging a complete novice like me to find an avenue to create a finished book.
Thank you to my teachers. I recently found a few papers I had written in high school… I would say looking back that writing is not necessarily a natural gift, but I know I would lack an ability to express my thoughts through writing without their guidance. This includes my colleagues as an educator. Several of you have encouraged me to “do hard things” or build my skill set.
The process from notebook in a cabin living room to printed book was riddled with obstacles to overcome. Perhaps another blog post will help explain how each these challenges added meaning to the project overall. Peace.
