The Dream of Writing a Book Comes True for New Author

A Day of Celebration!!! I met this lovely and fascinating lady, Sandy, 2 years ago. It was one of those "meant to be, kindred spirits" friendships that immediately developed. She had been working on writing a book for years but could not find anyone to design what she wanted. With her life so rich in experiences and creative talents, she did not wish to have just an ordinary book. So soon after I moved to Tennessee, I was introduced to Sandy. When the two of us met, we immediately hit it off. Sandy unloaded multiple hard drives and flash sticks full of photos and images, stacks and folders of articles, information, and more photos. Knowing where to begin and how to sort it all out was a bit overwhelming. But we did it, working together for over a year, complying and designing. We are thrilled to see Sandy's dream come true; she got to hold her very own book!!

Sandy wanted her book to be like a magazine style with many different stories and designed with a lot of color and images. Being presented with several challenges, we have learned many important lessons when writing and compiling a book involving so much archival and historical content. Here are a few helpful suggestions we would encourage before starting such a book:

- Have all stories written and edited before any layout begins

- Sort through and select photos and images along with writing the stories

- Secure all historical, archival, and or copywriting images ahead of time

- If using an interview with a now-deceased person, confirm you have permission from the family

A good thing about involving several people in your research, they start getting interested and involved in the book. Pretty soon, you develop a following and waiting buyers for the book's release.

Combat Boots by the Door by Sandy Lawrence Zeigler coming soon!