I’m Published!

So today is finally my formal publication day. Everyone keeps asking me about whether or not I’m excited. My answer is either:

(1) I don’t know; or,

(2) if a tree falls in the woods and there’s no one there the hear the noise it makes as it falls, does it truly make a sound?

The Journey to Publication Day

On (1), this journey towards publication day. has been a very long one, not without its ups and downs. There have been many milestones:

• the day I first completed my manuscript;
• the day Michael Garrett (Stephen King’s first editor) agreed to edit my work;
• the day on which I finished his edits;
• the day on which I signed a publishing deal with Greenleaf Book Group;
• the day on which I finished my developmental edit with Erin Brown of Greenleaf;
• the day on which I first saw my book in print (shockingly several months ago);
• and finally, today, when sales of my book go “live” for the first time.

I guess one of the reasons for the answer “(1) I don’t know,” is because I have seen the book in its present, beautiful physical form for a long time already, and there have been so many important milestones along the way, creating the impression that this, the most important milestone of all, is simply yet another step in the process.

So really, in ways, I don’t know how I feel.

On (2), I really need and want my book to make an impact:

• I want people to be completely hooked from sentence number one;
• I want them to lose hours and hours of sleep, hanging on every word on the pages in front of them;
• I want people to laugh, cry, and both love and hate me for the plot twists;
• I want people to excitedly long for book number two in the trilogy (yes, book two is indeed in progress);
• and I want people to understand and learn a bit more about the complexities of helping sub-Saharan African countries to improve the standards of living for their citizens, and that Western ideals and political structures don’t always provide the answers.

The Excitement Of Pub Day

So in order for me to be excited, the book has to reach many, many people, and help shed light on the actual and actionable path forward for developing countries. Since my attention was first piqued in Africa four decades ago, very little has changed; in fact, some countries have worsened and become less well-off, despite billions of dollars of foreign aid and the implementation of political reforms.

Similar to the tree falling in the woods debate, if you write a book to deliver important messages, and no one reads it, is it truly a success worthy of excitement?

I say only one thing in response to the age-old tree/sound debate as it relates to my book:

🎉 LET’S MAKE SOME NOISE!!!!! 🎉

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I look forward to sharing this journey with you. Let’s connect on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Instagram; or my newsletter here.

Those Who Would Be King: The People’s Prince is available to order now on Amazon.ca, Amazon.com,

and anywhere fine books are sold.