The Accidental Author: How the Heck Did I Write a Book?
You Wrote a Book? But You Don’t Even Read!
How One Reluctant Reader Became a Published Author (and Lived to Tell the Tale)
A funny thing happened on my way to being a book author. I don’t read books, as I never had the patience. The family joke was that I would read the first page and then the last page. After accomplishing that feat, I would either state publicly, “Never saw that coming,” or “That was so predictable.”
I did read books that interested me. Anything about Michael Jordan and the 1990s Chicago Bulls was an easy read, likely as the source material was so very familiar.
I also devour anything written about the progressive rock band Yes, especially covering the band’s 1971-1978 years, by Chris Welch, Martin Popoff, and Stephen Lampe, all British book writers and/or publishers.
My wife Joanne, who coincidentally thinks she spent a previous life in England, is in two book clubs; neither of which includes finished works from those three authors named above.
Which begs the question: How in the hell did Jeff write a book?
Easy answer: I didn’t.
Heart Valves, Book Clubs, and a Midlife Manuscript
Let me go back to where it all started about eight years ago. In no particular order, I have had a bovine heart valve replacement (it must have been a Wisconsin dairy cow, as I have been craving cheese ever since), a right knee replacement, a left hip replacement, a stroke, three various left knee surgeries, topped off by two heart ablations three years apart which control irregular heartbeats by scarring tissue on your heart. Of course, being on blood thinners ever since that stroke results in the slightest nick or cut resulting in a red oil gusher.
Of course, we need to include all those continuing daily medications. (Hey, it’s likely not a HIPAA violation when the patient discloses the information.)
Now, back to the question at hand. Why did someone who rarely read a book write one?
With all those health concerns going on, honestly, I was not sure how much time I had left in this world. All I was hoping for was for my three kids to have some legacy of how this happened for Dad, AKA Mom’s fourth child.
Simultaneously, in July 2023, upon retiring from the company I founded in 1999, I knew something needed to be done to get those last forty-five years in the computer industry out of my system, if only to focus on something new.
That was when I decided to draft my story, which began in late 1979 with my dad calling me out, and then followed my business journey that led me to where I am today. Some five months and 150,000 words later (I ramble when I write, too!), my now-manifesto was completed.
From Draft to Deal: My Author Journey Fueled by Friendship and Serendipity
Through one of Joanne’s book clubs, I met a neighborhood published author, Dr. Michael Lewis, an orthopedic surgeon for the Chicago Bulls when Michael was still there. Joanne suggested I send the very rough piece to Michael for his opinion.
I really was unsure what to do. I had put so much blood, sweat, and tears into this project, and it felt so raw to me. Using his “book club crush” on Joanne as my lead-in, I forwarded him the 450-page rough draft and asked for his opinion should he ever have the time to read it, let alone finish it.
Michael got back to me roughly five weeks later, if only to tell me that he loved what I wrote, it needs some work, and he had forwarded it on to a friend of his, Jamie Malanowski, another author of multiple books, who was previously an editor at Spy, Time, and Playboy magazines.
I was taken a little aback. My primary thought was “How dare he?” He never even gave me the “Mother, may I?” When I revisited it two minutes later after a quick Google search on Jamie Malanowski, I realized he must have really liked it to send it off to Jamie.
Jamie and I spoke a few days later. He never wanted to be considered a ghostwriter, more of a “pore-opener.” He would unclog wordy sentences and “Jeff-isms.” Over the year-plus we worked together, we were able to downsize the original document by 80,000 words and 115 pages, without lessening the story.
I DID say that I tend to ramble, right? It was Jamie who had me turn the clump of words into titled chapters, with proper cut-offs.
All I did, or meant to do anyway, was to write a “History of Dad” for my kids, should I not be around. Jamie helped turn it into a publishable document.
Once the final piece was completed, Jamie suggested that I send it off to Charles Levin at Munn Avenue Press, and the rest is, as they say, history.
Munn took it from there. All I added was the recommended creative designer for the book cover. Happily, Sana was local to me.
Since publication, Charlie’s extended team has helped to create my author page and introduced me to an excellent social media expert, BadRedhead Media, LLC, who now has the book on X, Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, as well as other book marketing efforts. (Me. Who knew.)
I still don’t really think of myself as an author; rather, I’m just someone who accidentally wrote a book.
The Accidental Author Is Me!
In the end, it was mission accomplished! My kids (all in their thirties) now have Dad’s story, and happily, while I am still around to witness it, especially now with a grandson.
This happy ending was made true only because somehow Joanne still wanted me around. There is likely no greater trust than having your spouse control your meds, as she does mine. I am truly in the best of care.
Not sure I have another book in me. Doubtful. Well, we’ll see…
***
To learn about this entire journey, pick up a copy of 𝙄𝙩 𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙈𝙚: 𝙈𝙮 𝙇𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙎𝙚𝙞𝙯𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙊𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝘽𝙪𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙎𝙪𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨 today!
100% of all royalties go to the Wounded Warrior Project!
