Rick Carle here.  When I started the journey of writing my memoir, GO FIGURE – My Wacky Journey From Outlaw To Leading Citizen, I had no idea how hard it was going to be. It took forever to come up with enough material to make a 250 page book, not to mention the mental exertion of trying to (accurately) remember all of it. Then came working with an editor through the rewriting process. That took over a year. When I finally reached the final draft, I had to find someone to take it from manuscript form and format it for paperback and e-book version. And let’s not forget hiring someone to design the cover.

The next step was publishing and finding a source to print the books. I decided to go with self-publishing. The book was now ready for print, so I put in my order. Once the first shipment arrived, and there was my “mug shot” on the cover, the excitement was overwhelming. I am now a published author. What a fantastic feeling!

As my brother, the editor, said, THAT was the easy part—now comes the hard part: selling the book. I had many ideas going through my head, like book signings, social media via the Internet, building a web page, email blasts, etc.  I started out by doing two book signings at a Hy-Vee Market & Drug Store. I also have the book for sale on my desk at work, Graham Tire in Fort Dodge, Iowa. I frequently send out emails to friends and acquaintances and ask them to buy my book on Amazon.com so the sale is recorded. That’s how you establish a sales record that can get you various types of free promotion.

I am now learning the next step, which is Twitter and blogging. I have never done either of these before so this is quite a learning process. I will be writing a weekly blog (or approximately thereabouts) sharing my ideas, thoughts, and views. I hope you will follow me each (mostly) week in the wonderful world of blogging. All you have to do is go to my website, www.rickcarlegofigure.com and click on MY BLOGS on the Home page. Thanks you for sharing this adventure with me!