Kindle Publishing Even Without Sight

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, I jumped on the bandwagon and started a Note account, following a friend's lead.

It was a modest theme with no real profit potential, and I had no particular ambition to increase my followers or go viral.
Besides, I didn't know any tricks for that, so I just kept adding articles, wondering if anyone would even read them.
In the midst of this, some people suggested, "Many people publish books on Kindle through Note, so why don't you try it too, Kawai-san?"


However, only a few people read my articles. It was mostly a world of self-satisfaction.
Thinking that, I got carried away and looked into it, only to find that it was something I couldn't do without sight!! The world was indeed made of barriers. I gave up in a second.

Then one day, my favorite Noter, Roro-san, published a spectacular historical novel.
I had to read it, so I bought it on Kindle right away.

Amazon.co.jp: Rondo of Egypt <Historical Romance Novel> Vol. 1 (Non-fiction Romance Novel) eBook : Masashi Shirakawa: Books
https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B0CPLQQZML?tag=aa1090e5-22&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc


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Amazon.co.jp: Rondo of Egypt <Historical Romance Novel> Vol. 2 (Historical Romance Novel) eBook : Masashi Shirakawa: Kindle Store
https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B0CPP2PW49?tag=aa1090e5-22&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc


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Amazon.co.jp: [Revised Edition] Rhapsody of Egypt ~Rondo of Egypt Series~ <Historical Novel> eBook : Masashi Shirakawa: Books
https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B0CVRNF637?tag=aa1090e5-22&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc
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The novel was even more interesting than I expected.
I read it using Kindle's text-to-speech, but since the historical details were quite complex, I would have preferred to read it as a talking book (tears).
I wonder if someone could make it into a talking book. It would be fine as an Audible book, too.
As I was getting carried away and writing reviews and such, I was actually able to connect directly with the author. It's the magic of modern social media. And to my surprise, Roro-san also encouraged me to publish on Kindle.


When I said, "I can't see, so..." they kindly offered to help me. What an honor!!
A blind person can never achieve anything in life unless they grab the hand that someone reaches out to them. I decided to take Roro-san up on their kind offer, within reasonable limits.
By the way, I hadn't written anything like a self-introduction on Note.
I thought no one would be interested in the biography of a disabled person they didn't even know.



However, if it takes the form of a book, there needs to be a premise of "this is the kind of person who wrote this."
If I don't write about what I thought and felt with the background understood, it would just end with people wondering who this person is.
So I added my profile.
Also, many of the Note articles I adopted were from the early days, and since they were short and even more casual than now, I added to and corrected them.


I have read several books about disabled people, but most of them were autobiographical, focusing on how they lived and how hard they worked.
I, too, have felt many things as my eyesight has gradually declined.
However, I have never encountered a book that answers the questions I have daily, or one that writes about the same things I have been thinking about.

So I decided to take this opportunity to compile a book as a culmination of what I have felt since I began to lose my sight.
Some of the content might really annoy the people involved.


Some of it might annoy the friends I used as material.
Even so, I think it would be interesting if what I wrote could spark a discussion, even if people say, "That can't be right."
So even if I get a 1-star rating, to me, that is in a way a badge of honor.


In making the book, Roro-san went through more trouble than I expected.
The original manuscript was full of typos and omissions, so they corrected them and processed it to make it easier to see.
They also made the cover and inserted photos.

The cat in the photo is a tortoiseshell female I had when I was in junior high school. She was a lovely cat with a bobtail.
When I first uploaded it, the title text didn't fit properly, so they had to take it down and re-upload it for me.
Apparently, my computer is quite heavy because it has voice software installed, and it seems that characters aren't reflected unless I press each key firmly.
I didn't know this either, and when I asked my computer teacher later, they said that was correct, which surprised me.
I type while listening to voice feedback, so my typing speed is significantly slower compared to sighted people.

I remembered a time when I had a sighted person help me with work, and her key operations were so fast that the output voice couldn't keep up at all.
I didn't really understand how difficult each task was, so I asked lightly, but this time I really put Roro-san through a lot of trouble.


When you can't see, you sometimes ask sighted people for help without understanding how difficult the work is, which can lead to awkward situations later.
At those times, I feel truly sorry.


Just because you can see doesn't mean you can do everything like magic. So, sighted people, please tell me when it was difficult.
Even so, the fact that my dream of publishing a book, which I thought would never come true, has come true is entirely thanks to Roro-san. I cannot thank them enough.