Ken Uchikura Newsletter Vol. 407 Thumbnail
Learning by Doing: What Publishing a Book Taught Me
I recently published a book titled 88 Japanese Wisdom: For Business, Leadership, and Life. I selected 88 Japanese words and sayings that have had a meaningful impact on my work and life from those I’ve shared over the years on social media and my blog, and brought them together in English.
Social media posts quickly disappear as new posts take their place. I wanted to preserve these words in a way people could pick up and read again and again whenever they pleased. Rather than trying to teach my readers something, I simply wanted to share some words I personally value.
Publishing a book was a completely new experience for me. I handled everything myself, from editing the manuscript, designing the page layout, and creating the cover to securing the ISBN, preparing both the print and ebook versions, and registering the book for sale.
At first, I thought that once I wrote the manuscript, I’d be almost ready to publish. In reality, I still had a lot to do. Writing text that flows on a screen is very different from creating a book that reads comfortably on paper. Font size, margins, and page breaks are details I hadn't noticed while looking at the manuscript on a screen. They became much more obvious when I held a printed proof in my hands.
The print and ebook versions also required different preparations. Even though the content is the same, I had to change the presentation, depending on how people will read it. I thought I understood the process after researching the instructions, but once I actually started working through it, I still found myself unsure about certain things.
Launching the book came with its own set of lessons. At one point, I thought the book had been successfully published and announced its release. However, I soon realized that it wasn't showing up in search results, so I had to withdraw the announcement. After further research and troubleshooting, I was finally able to re-announce the release properly. I learned that completing the work on my end is completely different from making the book accessible to readers.
This process reminded me that there’s a vast gap between knowing something and being able to do it. You can read a manual and understand the steps intellectually, but when you actually do the work, questions arise that you never anticipated. Working through those challenges one by one is how true understanding takes shape.
I have worked in the software industry for nearly 40 years, yet I’m just a beginner in a new field. Researching what I didn't know, testing ideas, making mistakes, and correcting them—it reminded me of the sheer joy of learning something new.
Of course, I’m happy when someone buys my book. But there’s also so much value in experiencing the entire process myself—from writing a book to actually getting it into the hands of readers.
If there’s something you’ve been wanting to try, why not start small? It’s almost impossible to understand everything before you begin. Sometimes, simply getting started shows you what you need to learn next.
Thank you to everyone who has purchased the book and to all of you who read my posts regularly. I hope this book will become something you can occasionally pick up, open, and find a moment of inspiration or reflection.
Kenichi Uchikura
Founder & CEO
Pacific Software Publishing, Inc. (PSPINC)
Uchikura & Co., LLC.
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ABOUT THIS BLOG
I was born and raised in Japan and have spent most of my adult life in the United States. Through this blog, I share Japanese culture, language, expressions, and wisdom. My goal is not to say one culture is better, but to explore different perspectives and what we can learn from them.
Your comments are always welcome.
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