Hi everyone,
I am Aaron, and I recently finished something that started as a distant dream back in 2009. I wrote a book. But this post is not about promoting it. I just want to share what this journey felt like and hear about yours.
So before I start: what is that one thing that makes you stand out from the crowd?
And do not say “nothing.” Everyone has something they do with passion or skill. Carpentry, plant growing, sculpting, writing, repairing old cars. What is yours?
Now, my story.
It began with that old saying: a man should build a house, plant a tree, and raise a child. Later I learned that writing a book is sometimes added to that list.
My wife had already been writing thrillers back then, and she was so focused that I often did not see her all day. I was both amazed and a little jealous. So I decided to find out if writing a book was really as consuming as it looked.
Spoiler: it was.
I was inspired by books like I, Robot and Neuromancer, movies like Terminator and Aliens, and video games like System Shock. I also read an endless stack of tech and nature magazines. Someday, I started jotting down every single idea, piece of tech, plot point, or emotional moment, and years later I had a mountain of notes.
Eventually, I typed them all into an Excel sheet, color coded everything, printed the notes, and spread them across the floor like a conspiracy theorist trying to solve the universe. It took weeks to arrange everything into a timeline. Then came the writing, four and a half years of it.
And when I finally finished, I thought I was done. But of course, that was only the beginning. Editing took forever. My wife, the seasoned writer, kindly pointed out all my mistakes. I went through that book at least twenty five times, sometimes reading backward just to keep my brain fresh.
Then came formatting, cover design (which I did myself with Blender because there was no budget), and the nightmare of Amazon’s publishing tools. In January 2014, I finally published it.
I did not do any promo. I was just proud to have finished. But a few months later, I checked my reviews and found people who genuinely connected with it. That moment was worth all the effort.
Now, more than a decade later, with AI being such a big topic, I revisited the story, updated it according to honest critique, and translated it into English. It took another year, but I am proud of what I created entirely on my own. It feels amazing, even if I know this chapter might be the last.
So now I am curious: what is your “book”? The thing you poured your soul into even when it seemed impossible? What skill or project taught you patience, humility, and perseverance?
I would really love to read your stories.
by AaronKArcher