It’s out! I’m so excited, proud, thrilled, ready to collapse – it’s out! On Monday, I published my second book,
Becoming Off-Worldly: Learning from Astronauts to Prepare for Your Spaceflight Journey.
This
is a book for future astronaut hopefuls like me. I loved hearing all
the fun and insightful stories of what surprised astronauts about
their spaceflight experiences. I was so touched by the stories of
space pioneers who helped create this new era of commercial human
spaceflight as well as those who have signed up to put their lives on
the line to fly.
It
took me almost two years to write Becoming Off-Worldly and it
was worth it. It’s my favorite work I've ever written. I really love this
book.
If
you’ve ever published a book, you know it’s a feat. It’s also a
labor of love. I’m not aiming to be a best selling author, yet only
best sellers are financially successful enough to justify the many,
many, MANY hours of research, interviews, writing, rewriting,
editing, publishing, marketing, and everything else. It’s a lot
more work than typing a blog article and pressing publish. It’s a
project!
I
call my first book, Rise of the Space Age Millennials, my
“starter book.” I raised initial funds on a Kickstarter
crowdfunding campaign and stumbled my way through self-publishing. I
made so many mistakes and learned so much along the way. I’m still
very proud of it, but there are many things I want to change. I plan
to release a new edition later this year to improve and add to the
work with voices from a younger generation.
I
didn’t make the same mistakes the second time around. I made
completely new ones! And yet, with all the learning as I go, I
created a truly good book that I’m immensely proud of. Becoming
Off-Worldly earns its place among the other books on your
bookshelves.
Not
that I expect the book to be on many bookshelves because I’m
embarrassingly bad at sales. But that’s getting ahead of myself.
Starting
from the top. If any of my readers want to put yourself through the
roller coaster ride that is book writing and publishing, I’m
rooting for you! If I can do it, you can do it! I’m a scientist,
not an English major. Here are some lessons I learned the hard way
that I hope you can avoid.
Lesson
1: Too Many Interviews
This
was a lesson I mostly but not entirely learned from my first book. I
did just admit to being a scientist, yes? Maybe because of my X-ray
astrophysics background where photons are scarce and each one
valuable, I really wanted more data. People provide data. A large
number of interviewees provide a collection of quality data!
But
I was writing a book, not creating a survey. It was difficult to
introduce readers to the 103 interviewees in my first book. There
were many diverse voices but the reader couldn’t remember one from
another. It was too much noise.
So
of course I’m adding a few more interviews in the next edition.
Will I never learn?
With
my second book, I set out to focus on telling the stories of just a
few individuals. I really thought maybe 5 astronauts tops would agree
to speak with me. But I kept hearing yeses and making new
connections. Who can say no to an astronaut agreeing to tell a space
story or two? I ended up with 17 flown astronauts interviewed plus 4
“future fliers” who flew before the book was published.
Altogether there are 32 interviewees featured plus a foreword author.
I
had a cut-off time for interviews, really I did. I called it my
biological deadline. I planned to finish the interview stage of my
book by the time my third child was born in August 2020, take a few
months’ break, then enter the writing stage.
But
I kept coming across new people I just had to include! The
Inspiration4 crew was announced in early 2021. I heard a fun, quirky
interview with a future ISS private astronaut who I just had to
connect with. My friend Kellie got her ticket to fly. How could I
pass on anyone whose voice could add so much value to the insights in
the book?
I
am so, so thankful to everyone who agreed to be interviewed for the
book! This book wouldn’t exist without their stories and insights.
Lesson
2: Persistence Can Pay Off, But I Can’t Win Them All
Even
with over 30 interviews in the book, the ones I didn’t get still
bother me. There was the one who agreed to an interview then ghosted
me. There are the two who acknowledged receipt of my request then
became unresponsive. Seriously people, just reply to decline, don’t
make me send email after email and then leave you an awkward
voicemail! Those three interviewees could have added such great
perspectives and it’s our collective loss that I could not include
their stories in the book.
I
also tried and failed to interview a Russian cosmonaut. They all seem
to be connected to the Russian government, even after they retired
from their spaceflight careers. I asked for help from NASA astronauts
who flew with cosmonauts as well as assistance from an organization
whose entire membership has flown in space and got nothing. My goal
was for the book to be culturally diverse and I succeeded in many ways,
but the lack of a Russian perspective is a hole.
There
were also the companies who were completely uncooperative despite the
book being free positive publicity for them. I’m figuratively glaring
at two spaceflight facilitators in particular. But their silence made
room for me to shine a spotlight on their competitors who did add
their voices to the book and got that free publicity.
Lesson
3: Be Quiet When Recording Interviews
Do
you know how hard it is to accurately transcribe an interview over an
imperfect connection? It’s even harder to transcribe when I’m
tapping my fingers, moving around paper, laughing over what someone
is saying, or doing who knows what to make whatever noise I’m
hearing as I listen to the same sentence ten times trying to
understand the words coming from my interviewee’s mouth.
It’s
a skill to be still and quite and just let the other person talk.
Lesson
4: Write Without Distractions
Everyone
works differently. Some people like to write in coffee shops or
libraries or parks among noise and crowds and endless distractions.
That’s not me.
I
need a quiet room alone for a solid hour or two or three to really
get into the flow of writing. Bonus if I can keep away from email and
social media.
I
have young children so this is very difficult to arrange. A
supportive husband who has been working from home since the start of
the pandemic gets the credit by providing me with those solid blocks
of time alone to get into the flow.
Lesson
5: Allow More Time for Editing and Release
I
rushed my first book. I spent so long self-doubting and
procrastinating on the writing, by the time I finished the
manuscript, I just wanted it done. I wanted it published on my
birthday, very soon after I finished writing, and it shows. I ended
up with cover art I didn’t like, writing that needed more
refinement, and a boatload of typos.
With
my second book, I hired not just an editor, but also enlisted the
help of proofreaders. I allowed for more time to prepare the
manuscript and art. I had a last-minute manuscript edit when an
interviewee needed me to change her introduction, but that didn’t
feel like an emergency because I had the time to make those changes.
Not
only did I feel that I could prepare the book better, I felt that I
could prepare myself better for the release date. I was physically
(well, digitally) and mentally prepared by the time of book launch.
The extra time even allowed for a soft release to ask for endorsement
blurbs and early reviews.
I
still wanted it published on my birthday (this past Monday). And I
have another biological deadline. Today I’m T-7 days away from the
estimated due date of my fourth child. I knew there was a possibility
I might publish the book while nursing an early-arriving newborn if
circumstances arose. Life is always happening no matter what
deadlines you give yourself which is all the more reason to allow for
buffer time if possible.
Of
course, even after all that extra time and help, I still managed to
find all kinds of typos after publication. Oops. I’ll fix them
eventually.
Lesson
6: Pay For Good Help
One
thing I did right with my first book as well as my second book was to
pay someone I trust to edit my book. Bonus that he works in the space
sector and could fact-check as well as edit. Good editing is worth
paying a professional for.
Advice
everywhere is to pay a professional artist for cover art. I had great
luck with finding an interior artist for my first book. And my
company’s graphic designer is invaluable. But I’ve had terrible
luck finding a quality cover artist. I’ve paid artists twice now
for cover art I didn’t like. So, I went against common advice and
designed my own cover for my second book. I think it turned out
better than the first time! The key here is to pay for good help, and
I just haven’t found a good cover artist yet.
There
have been issues with formatting and typesetting with both of my
books. The end result is good, but not without the struggle of
multiple revisions. Both individuals came highly recommended so I’m
not sure what to do differently next time (if there is a next time).
Maybe I just need to accept that formatting a book takes extra time
due to the need for revisions. In the end, I am glad I’ve paid for
professionals to format my books this instead of attempting to do it
myself.
Lesson
7: Get Those Early Readers
One
thing I didn’t do – didn’t even think to do – with my first
book was to ask anyone to write a foreword, endorsement blurb, or
early review. I didn’t allow for enough time between finishing the
book and publication to allow for such extras. Nor did I know who to
ask or how.
If
it wasn’t for my editor introducing me to Frank White, I wouldn’t
have thought to include a foreword. Frank’s generous words offered
valuable context and insight right at the start of the book. Among
the holiday season and his work responsibilities, he needed time to
read the book and write such thoughtful words. I’m glad I factored in that extra time before publication.
Frank’s
kind offer to write a foreword gave me the courage to reach out to
some of my interviewees and one person who had no connection to the
book to ask for blurbs, essentially testimonials from people whose
opinions matter. I don’t know if I would have been brave enough to
even ask for words of praise from such high-profile individuals if I
hadn’t already been encouraged by Frank’s involvement. I was
thrilled when I got so many positive responses, more than I could
include on the back of the book! I’m so thankful for the
encouragement.
I
rejected the very notion of caring about reviews with my first book.
I was writing for myself, so what did reviews matter? But reader
reviews really do matter to potential customers who want the
assurance that the product is good before they invest their money and
time. If a book is brand new and it has no reviews, potential readers
might pass it over compared to a new book that has several early
positive reviews.
I
really didn’t focus much on early reviews with this second book,
either, but at least I understand them better. I was shocked to see a
recent space book receive over 100 of 4- and 5-star reviews on Amazon
despite it being pretty poorly written in my opinion. I realized that
the author probably gave out hundreds (or thousands) of free copies
to get so many reviews, just as he had given a free copy to me to
read. The sheer number of decently good reviews is enough to
encourage people to take a chance on a product.
I
have been giving out more free copies of my book this time around,
but more as a thank-you gift rather than a request for reviews. If I
could go back in time, I’d make an extensive list of people I want
to give books to and do so before book launch so I’m not in the
situation I’m in today, suddenly realizing I should gift someone an
ebook copy days after publication.
Lesson
Still In Progress: Marketing and Sales
Readers,
I have no idea what I’m doing as I try to get this book into
others’ hands. I’m a scientist, not a salesperson. Even after
founding my own company 6 years ago, I’ve been learning the
business side as I go and I’m still terrible at sales.
I
know I created a quality book. I know so many people would enjoy it
and learn from it. I have no idea how to get “so many people” to
even know about it, much less read it.
Becoming
Off-Worldly has the potential to touch so many lives. It gives
hope to those who long to have their chance to touch the stars and
admire our planet from above. It gives actionable advice to anyone
preparing to fly to space, whether next week or some future unknown
date. It explores lesser known perspectives about what surprised
astronauts about spaceflight and what motivates commercial space
pioneers.
If
I had a larger budget, I’d go back to Lesson 6 and pay a
professional to design and execute a marketing campaign. But alas, my
marketing budget is just not that large as of yet.
Have
any advice for me on how to get my book into reader’s hands? Or can
I help you with your book writing or spaceflight preparation? Post in
the comments, reply on social media, or send me a message.
You
can buy a copy of the book on Amazon or Astralytical. Get
a free Becoming Off-Worldly sticker when you buy an autographed copy (US shipping only). Request a copy through your local library or favorite bookstore.
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you enjoy the book, please consider leaving an honest review on your
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