May was quite a month. Dad Was Right was published in both paperback and digital editions. I’ve received messages from people who read the book and really enjoyed it. I’m still getting used to the idea that I’m a published author, but I do like it.
I’ve also been surprised with numerous requests for autographed editions. I thought a writer had to be John Grisham or Michael Connelly for people to want signed copies of their books. If it’s possible to be both excited and humbled by the response to the book, then I’m definitely both.
One of the most interesting things about Dad Was Right is the fact I never intended to write it — at least not in this form.I didn’t intend to publish it for sale either.
Dad Was Right simply started off as a list. It wasn’t conceived as a book.
A few years back my pastor asked me to say something about the influence of my dad on me for our church’s Father’s Day service. I came up with a list of 11 things I learned from my dad.
11 is a bit of an odd number so I later whittled it down to an even 10. I posted the list to Facebook and shared it with my friends.
Sometime later I published the list on one of my previous but now defunct blogs. It got a lot of attention and I wondered if I should flesh out the list more.
My first thought was to take the list and make it into a bigger post. Each item on the list would be backed up by three sentences or expanding on the lesson I learned from my dad. That didn’t work. I had to much I wanted to say.
When the time came to launch this website I knew I wanted to have a free book to share with readers. I figured I’d take the dad list and write a short book called Dad Was Right.
I planned to devote a full page or two to each item on the list. It would be a short and quick read. You could get through it in one sitting. Yeah, well that didn’t work out.
Sitting down to write I realized I had far more to say on each topic than I’d originally believed. A part of me wanted to hold back but another part kept urging me forward. Internally I knew I had to get the book out.
What came out at the end of the process is more or less the book that’s out now. I still didn’t intend to put it up for sale. I thought Dad Was Right would be the perfect give away to readers of my website.
I sent the book out to four people to read for their input on the book. When their feedback started coming in I finally realized I might have written something a bit special. The turning point came when I was discussing the book with my friend and writing partner Robert Slawsby
I told him I was going to offer the book for free on my new website. He said not to do that.
Robert convinced me people would buy the book if I published it. I don’t always agree with Robert, but I know he’s honest and only offers suggestions that’s are my best interest.
I took his advice, wrote another book to give away, and published Dad Was Right. And from the sales report Amazon provides and the feedback I’ve received, it appears that Robert was right too. He disagreed with me on the cover, but he was outvoted on that one.
There’s another reason I went ahead and wrote this book too. It’s my dad.
I wouldn’t be the man I am today if it hadn’t been for him. He wasn’t a perfect parent, but he was and is a good parent. He taught me, he trained me, he disciplined me, but most importantly he loved me and raised me.
It seems only fitting that my first book would be about the person who first instilled the confidence in me to work hard and take the risks necessary to make the dreams in my heart a reality.
There you have it. The story of how not only Dad Was Right came into being, but also I went on to write Why We Need Great Stories, the book I’m currently giving away for free on my website.
~ Brian