Leave a Legacy by Writing a Book

Writing a book has something magical to it. It is like having a meeting with an empty sheet of paper and being invited to color the canvas with what resides inside of you.

You get to communicate your thoughts, emotions, frustrations, desires and even your deepest fears. It’s a very liberating process and if you have written a book yourself, then you know exactly what I’m talking about.

The following real-life story demonstrates the potential and power that lives in every single one of us. I’ve read about it in the Amazon Kindle newsletter that I receive monthly. I usually skip the stories that are highlighted in the “Author Spotlight” section, but this time it was different. The title really caught my attention: “Running out of time, a writer races to leave a legacy.”

Jane Lotter’s Story

Jane Lotter knew that the end was coming but she didn’t want to give up on her dream, her late-life career as a novelist. She wanted to publish a book.

Her uterine cancer had metastasized to the liver and abdomen. The treatment she was receiving wasn’t working. She needed to face the harsh reality. This is when she put all her remaining energy into finishing a novel that she was apparently working on for a decade.

Jane chose fiction. The title of her comedic novel was “The Bette Davis Club”.

In 2009 the book won the first place in the mainstream novel category of the Pacific Northwest Writers Association Library Contest. And yet, no publisher was willing to give Jane’s book a chance. No one wanted to publish her work.

But Jane didn’t have more time to wait. Her clock was ticking. So she went ahead and edited the book herself. As she was getting weaker, her family and friends joined forces to help achieve Jane’s dying wish. The book was published on Amazon’s self-publishing service, Kindle Direct Publishing.

And here’s the best part:

Jane was still alive when she received a box with the first copies of her book. She was able to hold her book and celebrate what she had accomplished. She turned her dream into reality.

“It’s easy to get emotional when you’re just talking about a book. Because the book is, to us, a part of her life and a part of her death.” – Bob Marts, Jane’s husband

Source: Amazon News, YouTube

Write Your Book, Don’t Wait

Do you have a book in you?

As an author of 4 books, with the 3^rd edition of my German bestseller “Die Podcasting-Goldgrube” to be published in a few days, I’d like to use this space to encourage you to self-publish a book.

It’s true; a lot of books get published these days and unfortunately, a vast majority of them aren’t a quality read. But that shouldn’t keep you from writing and publishing your own book.

If you have a genuine intention of adding value to other people’s lives by sharing experiences and insights that will benefit your fellow humans, then go ahead and write that book.

Don’t let common myths and misconceptions stop you from writing a book. It doesn’t have to be a 500-page novel nor do you need to write a highly sophisticated scientific paper.

Get a pen and paper or open up a text document and start typing.

Don’t overcomplicate the process.

Don’t let other people’s good opinions infuse self-doubt and shatter your confidence.

Amazon makes it super easy to self-publish your book. The upload process is self-explanatory and if you need help designing a better cover or formatting the document, you’ll find valuable instructions and guides inside the dashboard.

I’ve written a few blogs on how to write and self-publish a book on Amazon. You might find the following articles helpful:

Kindle Marketing: 10-Step Checklist for Publishing Your