Becoming a published author

At least I achieved one of my childhood dreams

My books in electronic and paperback format. Source: screenshot from Amazon

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” My answer, since I was in elementary school in Italy, was that I wanted to be a writer. Our school teacher made us write short stories and I enjoyed the challenge. I could see myself becoming a published author.

It took me a few years, but I did it. Do I feel particularly proud of my achievement? Right now, not particularly, but nothing beats the feeling of publishing your first book, it’s absolutely exhilarating!

I published a total of four books, plus I translated one of them into Italian. Then I thought of doing something a bit quirky and published that same book into a new edition with the English version on one page and the Italian version on the next page, because why not?

The titles are:

• Keep Calm and Pay Off Your Debt, a guide to manage and clear credit card debt;

• Confessions from the Massage Couch, my thoughts about my experience as a qualified massage therapist;

• Strictly Walk Slimmer, where I shared my fitness journey using walking as my main form of exercise;

• The Foraging Home Cook, a recipe book using wild mushrooms and greens.

You can find my book listings here.

Why I decided to self-publish

Back in 2013 there was a lot of excitement around self-publishing with many independent authors finding success in this relatively new route to market.

I chose Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing because it was very straightforward and I could create a whole book from cover to listing all by myself.

My book was featured in Spirit & Destiny magazine in 2014

What I’ve learned by self-publishing my books