How Publishing an E-book Changed the World for an Around-60 Mom of a School-Refusing Child

I want to publish a book.

One Sunday, while gathered around the dinner table, I gathered my courage and told my family.

“I want to write about school refusal.It might be a memory the kids would rather forget, but for me as a mother, it became the catalyst for significant growth. I used to be so irritable, but now I spend my days laughing, don't I? I hope this experience can be of help to someone else.”

Everyone was silent at my sudden confession.
The heavy silence was broken by my daughter, who had overcome her own school refusal and was now attending a vocational school.

“Why not? You should try writing it.”
“If the kids are okay with it, I'm okay with it too.”

My husband and daughter agreed. Now, only my son was left.
My son, who had been living a reclusive life since graduating from junior high. When our eyes met, he gave me a sad smile.
“Should we stop if you don't like it?”

“No.”
“Is it okay if I write it?”
“Yeah.”

With my family's consent (though I never truly knew my son's real feelings), I set off to publish my book.

Diving into a writing school

When I thought, 'I want to publish a book,' a certain event came to mind.

“Come to think of it, A-san published an e-book.”

A-san, whom I had interacted with on X (Twitter) which I had just started. A-san was a student of the writing course 'Monokaki Camp' (hereafter 'Monokyan').

The person who hosted that course was Mayo-Mayo Sensei.

Her students were publishing e-books one after another, and all of them were hitting number 1 in the rankings.
She shared useful information daily on X (Twitter), and my bookmarks were filled with her posts.

Convinced that 'this is the one,' I decided to sign up for a free trial session.

I decided to join immediately due to the rich content of the trial session. The deciding factors were the following three points:

Even when I posted on X (Twitter), I would only get single-digit 'likes.' For me, who was on the verge of giving up, not only being able to publish a book but also learning how to manage X (Twitter) was a huge attraction.

Reaching 1,000 followers

Before the course even started, a mountain of materials was sent to me. My eyes widened at one sentence among them.

“Let's aim for 1,000 followers on X (Twitter).”

At the time, I had 68 followers. While feeling overwhelmed by despair, I followed my teacher's instructions and tidied up my icon, header, and profile.
What gave me strength was the presence of my peers. We followed each other, liked each other's posts, and replied to one another. X (Twitter), which had felt so lonely, gradually became fun.

That said, the road to 1,000 followers was a difficult one. Perhaps because I did too many "follows" or "likes," I even ended up shadowbanned. It was my peers who encouraged me when I was feeling down. They were a reassuring source of support.

My first note became a popular article

The note article I submitted as an assignment. As someone posting on note for the first time, I couldn't bring myself to press the publish button.

"Is there anyone who will actually read this?"

Ignoring that anxiety, and with the help of my friends, it actually became a popular article for the search term "truancy."

My writing skills were still lacking, but thanks to the proofreading, it became an article that was at least readable. Having my writing proofread with an objective eye is one of the great attractions of Mono-Can.

The 20,000-character e-book journey

Next was finally writing the e-book. To publish an e-book, I had to write 20,000 characters. Could I really do it? However, having declared to my family that I would "publish a book," I couldn't afford to complain.

I wrote by locking myself in the bedroom on weekdays and in a workspace on weekends, creating an environment where I could focus alone.

Thanks to the Mono-Can method, I managed to safely reach the 20,000-character mark.

Just as I requested a designer to create the cover, an unexpected situation occurred. To my surprise, the designer turned down my request.

Rejected by the designer!

What went wrong? The rejection email didn't state a reason, and my head was spinning. Were my design instructions bad? Or did the style not match?

Anyway, I decided to review everything once more.

So, I consulted my daughter, who is studying illustration (the illustration of the dog on the cover is also her work).

"Shouldn't you make the text bigger?"
"This color scheme is better."

After going back and forth, we created a rough design draft. I hired another designer, and the cover was successfully completed. I remember feeling both moved and deeply relieved when I saw the delivered cover.

Ranked #1 in category

A lucky day in November. I published my long-awaited e-book. With the support of my friends, I achieved "#1 in 3 New Release categories" and "#1 in 2 Bestseller categories". Thanks to Monocam, I was able to make one of my big dreams come true.

"I want to publish a book."

When I told my family that, there was actually one more thing I conveyed.

"I'm sorry for being unreasonable. Think of this as your mother's last will and testament and read it someday."

"What are you saying? That's bad luck! I don't know what I'd do if you said things like that and passed away early!"

My daughter, who had such a dark expression while in the midst of truancy, is now energetic and talks back to me.

But since I really don't know when I might pass away, I want to leave my thoughts in writing. With that feeling, I am now writing my second e-book.

The world changes

The three months I spent learning at Monocam changed my life significantly.

I, an ordinary housewife with no knowledge, published a book and made irreplaceable friends.

Turning my life around from being a shut-in, I started participating in offline meetups and hosting X (Twitter) Spaces when invited.

The other day, I gathered the courage to attend a charity party, where I was even able to meet people I had only seen on TV.

And now, I have new dreams I want to fulfill.

Worlds I have never seen appear before my eyes one after another.
Dreams I want to fulfill are overflowing.
And I can believe that dreams come true.

Literally, I feel that my world has changed.

If you have a dream of publishing a book, please, by all means, try knocking on the door of Mono-Can.

Gather your courage and take that first step. If you do, your world will surely change.

Thank you for reading until the end.
I hope that all of your dreams come true.