My First Self Published Book

While Developing Stories To Include In My New Publishing Guide I Found the First One

After I finished writing the housing rehabilitation book published by the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials, I decided to begin writing and publishing books about housing rehabilitation on my own.

To do that, I created a one-person publishing business called Rehab Notes Library.

The first book published by the Rehab Notes Library was titled How to Develop and Operate A Successful Housing Rehabilitation Program. Although is was the fourth manuscript in the series, it was the first one I published.

This was 1978. The equipment and software I use today didn’t exist, at least not for someone like me.

The book size was 7 inches by 8.5 inches. I chose that size because I could create the pages using 8.5 by 14 inch paper, cut in half and typed on my typewriter.

I typed the entire 73 page book using a monospaced font. By today’s standards, the pages were not particularly attractive, but they were easy to read and contained information that was valuable to communities across the country that were developing housing rehabilitation programs.

Below is a photo of the cover, printed in black and white on cardstock.

I drew all the illustrations and designed the cover myself. In fact, I liked the design well enough that I used the same illustrations and layout on the next five books in the series.

Once the manuscript was complete, I delivered it to a local printer, who produced 500 copies. I then contacted housing programs across the country by mail, introducing the book and offering copies for sale.

That simple book did far more than generate sales.

It led to starting a successful consulting business that allowed me to work directly with communities throughout the country as they developed housing rehabilitation programs.

At the time, I thought I was simply publishing a useful book, but that decision changed the direction of my career.

Looking back, I realize that I was publishing without permission long before I had a name for it.

I didn’t have sophisticated software, digital publishing platforms, social media, or only bookstores. I had a typewriter, an idea, and a belief that the information would be useful to others.

The lesson remains the same today.

Use the tools you have.

Create something useful

Then publish it.