New Achievement Unlocked: Published Author and POD (Print-on-Demand) Milestone Achieved

This will be brief, but I wanted to mark an important milestone:

As of (very) early this morning, we unlocked the achievement of getting our POD (Print-On-Demand) partner platform (HEY! Fun with ALLITERATION!) fully configured. We have a title uploaded for production, virtual proofing has been completed, and a physical proof copy has been procured and will be shipped within the next seven days. Very soon, I’ll have the POD platform tied to this website so readers can purchase the book directly here and have it fulfilled by my partner—with only a modicum of hassle, hand-waving, and (hopefully minimal) hand-wringing.

This has been an astronomical amount of work when combined with the fact that 1) I’m still working full-time for “The Man,” and 2) there are very few “free” hours in the day. I guess you could say that—proof review notwithstanding—I’m now, officially, a Published Author.

It’s extremely exciting but still massively surreal.

I first started down the road to authorship over thirty years ago when I mustered out of the Marine Corps. It’s been a rocky road full of fits and starts, and there were honestly times when I never thought this day would arrive. But here we are. I hope readers enjoy the book as much as I enjoyed writing it. It’s been a labor of love (and hate, and frustration, and uncertainty, and indecision, and unmitigated imposter syndrome).

And speaking of imposter syndrome, there are about three-quarters-of-a-billion-with-a-“B” quotes about it. Apparently it’s a thing. But there’s a particular anecdote I’ve always loved—about a writer at a gathering of remarkable people: scientists, artists, and thinkers—who felt certain he didn’t belong there.

On one evening of that multi-day gathering, he spoke with an older gentleman about their shared first name. The man gestured toward the room and said, “I just look at all these people and think, what the heck am I doing here? They’ve made amazing things. I just went where I was sent.”

The writer replied, “Yes. But you were the first man on the moon. I think that counts for something.”

And in that moment, he realized that if even Neil Armstrong could feel like an imposter, then maybe everyone does.

That story comforts me. It reminds me that feeling out of your depth often just means you’re still growing.

I don’t know that there’s anything further I can add to that—at least not without sounding pretentious or pedantic.

So now, if you will, please allow me a gratuitous call to action: HEY! GO READ MY BOOK! I think it’s pretty decent, and you may well enjoy it—but you won’t know until you try.

—That is all.