I am not suggesting for a moment that everyone even wants to write a book but I do find it fanciful you may indeed wish to! I always hear people say, ‘Oh, I’d love to write a book’, but never hear them say, ‘I have a song that really needs finishing,’ but that may because I surround myself in a book industry, with passionate writers and readers!
We would all love to write a book, and should write a book, because in all honesty, everyone DOES have a story to tell, and it may be in the form of legacy writing of a family history; a personal adventure; learning one of life’s big lessons; writing fiction and curating a cast of characters from your own world…
We need to tell stories because we need to share.
Christopher Booker in his tome, The Seven Plots and Why We Tell Stories, explores the idea that stories keep our morality in check in order to support the wellbeing of the herd. By keeping our egos in check, we prioritise the herd over the self. The potential pitfalls for our actions are pointed out as a consequence in stories, and it means we learn from the ‘armchair perspective’. I love travelling to Afghanistan through the eyes of a child; to Canada as a teenager; challenge my contribution to society as I learn through an autobiography.
‘Human imagination seems to be so constituted that it naturally works round certain ‘elemental’ shapes and images.’ Christopher Booker You tell your story through the prism of your own experiences and this is why it is unique. It will resonate with someone! (Finding that ‘someone’ is the subject for another entirely separate article!)
Fortunately, that whilst it is indeed good for us to share our stories, now, right now, is the best time to do so. The self publishing industry is in a golden age, with over 1million titles created by independent authors in 2017 alone. Bowker, who manage the ISBN’s reported a 26% increase from 2016 in the number of ISBN’s issued. This is a response to the changes in the printing industry, with the increase in the number of providers for print-on-demand, as well as the increase ability for self-promotion to target groups via social media.
It is a time in the history of writing where one copy of book can be created as a love gesture, or 1000’s can be printed and sold by an independent who has a great business plan!
Just like the individual nature of your story, you can create a business model that suits you, and knowing your story is important, well, not only do you have the right to publish a book, you have the means to do so too!
