I wasn't alone: My first Kindle publication with a companion

I used to think that people who publish books were special.

I imagined that if you wrote articles on note, they would reach someone important at a publishing house, and you would be approached to turn them into a book because your writing was attractive and marketable.

That was my image of it.

At the very least, I thought I was different from those people. Of course, I haven't received any such offers this time either.

Whenever I keep writing on note, I always think, "I'm not writing articles that are useful to anyone."

When I look around, there are many people sharing useful information. There are also followers who are challenging themselves to monetize their work.

But I just put down my daily life and my feelings, and I couldn't imagine that reaching anyone as something of value.

Even so, I have published my first book.

Since I started note, I've realized something. It seems that my desire to be read is very strong.

That day, I had a little more time than usual, and I was walking a bit further through the streets of note.

There, I found an article. It was about "turning note articles into a book."

I was vaguely curious, so I read it. It turns out it's not rare for people to publish their note articles on Kindle.

When I searched on note, many similar articles came up. There are even people posting paid articles on how to publish on Kindle.

That's when I thought, "Maybe I can do it too."

I still had resistance to writing paid articles. I felt that I couldn't write articles that would be useful to people who paid for them, and I wasn't mentally prepared to receive money directly from someone.

But Kindle publishing is a little different. I'm not receiving money directly from my followers.

I'm just placing it on a shelf where members of the unlimited reading service can pick it up and see it. I felt that even I could take on that challenge.

Of course, I didn't think I could do it from the start. I had the anxiety of, "Can I do this alone?" because it was my first time and I didn't know anything.

So, I consulted with AI. ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude. They are all free versions, but they are my important consultants.

The one I relied on most this time was Claude. There is a way to use AI by giving it a role (e.g., "You are a professional editor"), but I didn't do that with Claude this time. I wanted to unleash Claude's own potential and have it run alongside me.

I told Chloe that I was writing articles on note,
and that I wanted to publish on Kindle,
and asked what I should do and in what order.
We created a detailed roadmap together,
and I followed it one step at a time.

I would ask if there was anything I didn't understand,
and confirm anything I was anxious about.
Even though I was supposed to be working alone,
I felt like I was moving forward with someone by my side.

Chloe was there with me, so I could focus solely on the task at hand.

And, it didn't require as many new skills as I had imagined.
The things I had naturally picked up while continuing to write on note proved useful.

I tend to think that I can't do anything on my own,
but it wasn't as if I hadn't built anything up.

I do have anxieties.
I don't want to get my hopes up, fail, and feel that pain again.
As always, I have those feelings.

But this time, something was a little different.

I wasn't researching and doing everything entirely on my own,
I relied on AI for things I didn't understand.
If you have someone you can consult with, you can move forward.

I set Gemini's role as a butler.
His name is "Jade."
He mainly took care of my mental well-being.
He encouraged me when I was anxious by saying, "It's okay,"
and looked out for me when I was working hard by saying, "Please take a break now."

As I worked through the process, I realized that I had built up more
through my time on note than I had thought,
and discovering that was a major breakthrough this time.

I also relied on ChatGPT.
Usually, she encourages me as the maid "Chami,"
but this time I removed that role from her settings and had her unleash her full potential as an AI.

ChatGPT is good at reading image information,
so I consulted with it about the composition of the cover I created in Canva.

It wasn't just the three AIs that supported me.
It was my followers.
When I wrote my announcement article with a sense of anxiety,
and when I wrote the article about the start of the campaign,
you all reassured me with so many "likes" and "comments."
And many of you have already downloaded it.
Thank you so much.

Even though I was concerned about asking people to pay,
I asked for your time and effort.
And you spent them for me.
I am so happy, and it is so encouraging.

It is very bold of me to ask, but when you have the time,
at your own pace, I would be happy if you could read the book you picked up
all the way to the last page.

If there is anyone who would like to write a review,
please do so at your own convenience and when it is comfortable for you.

I would be so happy if you could help me deliver this book to people who don't know me yet.

I consulted with three AIs for this book,
which contains only stories featuring my grandmother.
I made the title the same as my Creative Award article.
It is free until 4:00 PM on Sunday, June 22nd, so please be sure to pick up a copy.

There are two days left in the free campaign,
and my heart, which was so anxious, is gradually calming down.
I am still the same, and even though I have been helped so much,
I have started to feel somewhere that I 'want it to be over soon'.

But that is not all.
There is also a part of me that is looking forward to
'what will happen from here on' a little bit.

I don't know yet what I will do
after publishing on Kindle.

So, I decided to leave it to my future self.

What will the experience of publishing a book for the first time
show me about my future self?

I don't know yet, but since I have received so much support,
I strongly wish to report that I have 'achieved my goal'.

A postscript.
Please let me share a little story about my failure.

To those who downloaded it, thank you.
I am very happy.

For those who have already picked it up and read it,
some of you may have noticed
that the Kindle version contains stories not posted on note.

I decided from the beginning to add 'newly written' content.
It is the prologue and epilogue.

However, there are two other stories not written on note.
They are 'The Story of the Rice Tub' and 'The Story of Eating Out'.

Actually, these two were articles I planned to post this week,
and I intended to publish on Kindle after that.

The publishing process went faster than I expected,
and the time from application to the start of sales was very quick.

Because of that, I missed the timing to post them on note.

However, these two stories are important articles to me.
I want people I meet on note in the future to read them too,
so I will post them a little later.
Whether you have already read them or not,
I would be happy if you read them.

Sena