Do-It-Yourself

I hope you'll indulge me with some thoughts surrounding the impending release of my book, Teacher Tom's First Book.

This blog has always been a do-it-yourself endeavor. I blog on a free platform using one of the most basic off-the-shelf designs. I accept no advertising. I only endorse products in which I genuinely believe. To me DIY is all about integrity and that's something I've always strived to maintain. I might make mistakes, but I'd rather they be mine than finding myself at the mercy of the mistakes of others. I'm proud that this book is similarly DIY. I've been writing almost daily here since 2009. Over that time I've been approached by publishers and agents of various sorts and, perhaps regrettably, I've responded with some version of, "That sounds like a lot of work," which effectively ended the conversations.

About a year ago, however, responding to frequent reader prompts along the lines of, "When are you writing a book?" I began to explore the idea of sucking it up to do the work. I quickly recognized that I wanted to continue doing it myself. My publisher and partner, Peanut Butter Publishing, is owned by Elliott Wolf, a man I've known as a friend for over 30 years. He's been wanting me to write a book since I first met him. He too is a man whose professional life is a testament to DIY.

So that's what we're doing here: Elliott and myself, with a big assist from my wife Jennifer, are presenting this book to the world. I didn't think I'd be this excited about it.

Right now, the only place you can buy the book is our website (North America) or via my friends at Inspired EC in Australia. (We will figure out how to ship to other countries in the coming days.) I hope you understand why we're doing it this way. Retailers like Amazon take a huge cut. I reckon that some day the book will available from other sources, but for now I want people to deal as directly as possible with Elliott and me. That's the kind of blog I've had and it's the kind of book I want to sell. We won't do it perfectly, but no one ever does.

I feel good about Teacher Tom's First Book because I am confident that those who buy it are fully aware of what they are buying. After all, I've been giving this stuff away for nearly a decade. I tried to think of it as a kind of "best of" collection. I hope to write a second book. And a third. And even if you don't buy the book, you'll still continue to get my best efforts day after day right here on the blog.

I've been a reluctant author, but now that I am one, I'm eager to see where it goes. People have liked my blog for a long time: I have faith that people will like the book. But nevertheless, like all DIY projects, it's sink or swim, those are the options, and that's what I like most about doing it myself.

Thank you for indulging me.

I put a lot of time and effort into this blog. If you'd like to support me please consider a small contribution to the cause. Thank you!

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