Day 1771 and Counting… — Derek Barton

By the year 1998, I had already given up the idea of being the next Stephen King; concentrated all my efforts at “getting up the corporate ladder” at a local insurance company. Money is always an easy reason sell out your dreams.

It was in 2011, my good friend and fellow author, Doug Sanburn and I reconnected — we had lost touch after high school.  He told me that he was shocked that I wasn’t a writer and “always figured that out of all of us, you were the one to get published”. That really meant a lot to me and it hit home. Now Doug is an accomplished writer himself (you can find him on Twitter Doug A Sanburn) and has written already a dozen novels.

Why is it that what others are always able to see that is right in front of you, you are completely blind to?  

Now I am not saying that I don’t work hard any longer or that my career isn’t still important to me, but writing is just a part of who I am and I could no longer ignore.

Back on September,10 2011, I made my first baby steps back into the world of writing.

So…it is now Day 1771 (Sunday, January 17, 2016) and I have written my first novel, Consequences Within Chaos. My goal is to get it published by mid-September this year. Currently I am working through my last read-through, formatting the interior and deciding on a book cover.

First tip I can give you concerning self-publishing:  if it is cheap, you WILL get what you pay for.  I paid for a book cover design at bargain pricing and what did I get for my book cover design for my medieval fantasy story?  Three soldiers walking in a field carrying submachine guns!

I created this blog for several reasons:  one, the most obvious reason is to promote and market my name and my upcoming book; two, detail some of the actions I have had to take and some of the trials you will face when you delve into the world of self-publishing; and three, I wanted to also have a forum to relay another battle I have taken up in this same time frame and that is weight loss.

At the end of May this year, I luckily spotted a video link made by one of my Facebook friends.  Scott Arrieta has created a Youtube Channel called Project Reboot.  What the man has done is simply mind-boggling and nothing short of heroic.  He made his weight loss and life extremely public for all to see and judge.  Scott is coming back from 378 pounds and it is thrilling to watch as it unfolds through his often humorous and touching videos.

I have included the link to Project Reboot on my Contact Page but I will do it here again as well:  Project Reboot

I highly recommend anyone and everyone who has had any issues with weight to watch these and feel the enthusiasm and energy for life that Scott brings into your own world!

On My Weight Loss page, I have included my Daily Weight Log and Year To Date Weight Chart.  I cannot take credit for these ideas — I am following one of Scott’s tips.  With his help, I have now lost more than twenty pounds in less than two months.

Now perhaps it is an unusual combination for blogs, writing and weight loss, but who says that there are clear cut rules to all of this?  I wanted to have a place where I could discuss and debate these two subjects with the two possibly different types of people.

I am dedicated to write at least one post a week (possibly more) by Sunday nights.  I hope that this will not only help give you insight into the self-publishing world if you are an amateur or first time novelist like me or you may find motivation or that one spark you needed to start your own journeys toward your goal weight.

Above all I guess I am just offering you an extended hand that you can take and we will walk down this next path together.

I would love to hear what you think of the site!  Please comment below on what you may have experienced yourself with self-publishing.  And feel free to pass on this blog post or the links to Project Reboot!

UPDATE:  I decided to concentrate solely on my efforts into writing and self-publishing after all and have removed the My Weightloss Page from the site.  I still highly recommend Project Reboot and Scott’s great motivational videos — as of today I have lost over 30 pounds myself!  Thanks to all for your continued support.  — 8/18/16