Why have I written “And time stopped”?
In my first quarantine in Japan (September 2020) I had two weeks to think at long length and I said to myself that, writing a blog was a nice thing, but what I really wanted to write was a book (or a few). I could keep finding excuses, just waiting for the perfect moment to write. But, since there is not such a thing as the perfect moment to do something, why not make the most out of those two weeks of quarantine and try to come up with an idea for my book?
During my adventures abroad I have come to realize that the evils on Earth have a common denominator: human beings, or, more precisely, human beings’ minds. Europe, America, Africa, Asia or Oceania. No matter the place. The pollution of the planet, the exploitation of the rich to the poor, racism, money obsession, unhappiness, social differences, the fear to the unknown, the dissatisfaction with reality, etc. From my humble point of view, all this is motivated by the human beings’ minds or, rather, by their lack of control. Emotions and sensations come without making noise and, by the time you realize, it is already too late: you have been controlled by them and have done something you are going to regret the rest of your life.
I have read many interesting books that have kept me reading for hours non-stop. Books that have made me evade reality and enter magical, exciting and unbelievable worlds. Those have been very good books. Nonetheless, there have been a handful of books that, other than entertaining me, have helped me grow, know myself better, pursue my dreams and understand better the planet I live on and its inhabitants. Those books have marked me forever.
Pondering in a hotel room on a lost island in the Southern Chinese Sea, I told myself that I, too, would like to write one of those books. I wanted to write a book that was both interesting and readable, while at the same time, could help readers become aware of the evils on Earth and how they could contribute to make the world a better place. I wanted to write a book that helps readers reflect, grow, lose their fear of the unknown, get out of their comfort zone, pursue their dreams and enjoy their lives while taking care of the planet. I wanted to write a book that would inspire as much as those books had inspired me.
In my first quarantine, once the idea for the book took shape, I had to choose between continuing to write the blog or dedicating a large part of my free time to writing the book. I chose the second one. In my second quarantine, I started to write the book. In my third and last quarantine, I managed to finish writing it. “Thanks” to the global pandemic I have been able to stay in Japan not one, but two years. “Thanks” to the multiple quarantines, I have been able to outline, start and finish the writing of “And time stopped”. You already why this book was born. Now I just hope I don’t need another global pandemic or multiple quarantines to write the next one. 😁✌️
How have I written “And time stopped”?
From the beginning of my second quarantine (mid-February 2021) to the end of the last one (January 30, 2022), I tried to dedicate a bit of my free time every day to the writing of “And time stopped” . Some days I managed to write several pages at once. Others, however, trying to write a short paragraph seemed like the most arduous of tasks. Nothing new, I guess. Not every day we feel the same predisposition or motivation to do something. Similarly, we do not always react to different situations or scenarios as we would like. Despite everything, regardless of my mood or what had happened to me that day, I always tried to find some time to write a small paragraph or to review what I had written the day before.
Willpower is one of my favourite qualities in human beings. In my case, thanks to my father, I am lucky to have a good dose of it. His way of teaching me to never give up and to fight for my dreams until I achieve them, has been key for the book to go from being a dream to becoming a reality. Thus, despite the fact that not every day I was able to write as much as I wanted or with the ease or fluency that I wanted, I never stopped writing. Thanks to that willpower, I was able to combine a normal life (working 8 hours a day) with writing my first book. During that period of about a year, day after day, as my fingers were typing on a blank document what my mind was imagining, I felt happiness in the form of reward.
The writing time for “And time stopped” has been around a year. Once finished, I spent several days trying to choose the best way to publish it. Bearing in mind that I am not (yet) Paulo Coelho or Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, I had the feeling that publishers would not welcome me with open arms and, in all probability, would not fight among themselves to publish my book. I decided to proofread and layout the book myself. I was in no rush and had nothing to lose. On the contrary, doing some of the editorial work myself would help me better understand what the steps were to go from a draft to a published book. And boy did I get it…
Misspellings, number of words per paragraph, redundancy in the use of words, presentation, margins, indentation, style, etc. Every time I thought that this was the final one, that there would be no more corrections and I could finally publish my book… boom! Out of nowhere a tiny detail appeared which, like a shinobi, had managed to go unnoticed in front of my word filter. This sneaky little devil was forcing me to go over and check everything again 😅.
The writing, proofreading and layout of “And time stopped” was not the only thing I did by myself. Since I was already on it, I told myself that I could rekindle my days as a child when drawing was one of my passions and try to draw my own cover. Having a passion for something doesn’t mean you’re good at it. Specially if lustrums have passed since you last exercised that passion 🤣. Still, with all I had come through and this being my first book, what was the point of taking a step back and letting something as important and personal as my book cover design to be handled by an outsider?
My mother and sister volunteered (did they have a choice?) to read the different drafts of “And time stopped.” Although I’m sure they weren’t totally unbiased, their corrections and advice helped me improve the content and presentation of the book. Thanks to them, my writing took a leap in quality and, just like my father, they are also to blame for my first book finally becoming a reality 😃.
Where can you get “And time stopped”?
If you’ve made it this far, you probably have an idea of what this section is about. Bearing in mind that it was my first book and that I had been in charge of the writing, proofreading, layout and cover, and that I did not have much faith in seeing my book in the windows of the country’s major bookstores… I decided that, at least for the first weeks or months of the book, I would sell it on Amazon Spain, both as paperback and e-book. It is also possible to buy it in Amazon.com (for those living outside of Spain).
I’m not a big fan of watching how a single company get richer by leaps and bounds as it absorbs its competitors until it becomes a global monopoly. Once at the top, with no one to stand in the way of their actions (or market prices), they may end up drifting a bit from the ethical path that was their beacon when they were just starting out as a company. I understand that with my action of selling “And time stopped” on this platform (as well as the products I buy through it) I am also contributing to Amazon moving closer and closer to the dark side.
That said, although the main reason why I decided to write the book was to fulfil one of my dreams (since I can remember I always wanted to write one or several books) and to get a little closer to the select group of all those who have planted a tree, written a book and have a child (the latter is resisting me a little more), the reality is that, in addition, I would like my book to be sold. And there, at this moment, with all my circumstances, I understand that Amazon is the best option.
This doesn’t mean that I’m only going to sell my book on Jeff Bezos’ ubiquitous titan. Today, fortunately, those who do not have the approval of publishers have several platforms to sell their works online. I’ve briefly researched some of them, and in the future, my idea is that “And time stopped” can be purchased not only on Amazon, but on other alternative websites. Speaking of the future, for those who follow the blog, it will be a bit strange to find a post in Spanish.
I am aware that if I write the book in English, it can reach a larger number of readers (this is the reason why the blog is written in the language of Shakespeare). However, this time, being my first book, I wanted, first and foremost, my family to be able to read it and enjoy it in their mother tongue. For this reason, the first version of “And time stopped” has been written in Spanish. But fear not, because I hope to publish the English translation sometime next year 😁.
Until then, to all those who are not Spanish speakers, I encourage you to keep working hard with Duolingo so you can read it soon 😉. And to both groups, Spanish speakers and non-Spanish speakers, in addition to thanking you for reading this post, I would encourage you to share it so that it reaches as many people as possible because, who knows, thanks to you, maybe one day “And time stopped” or some other of my books will appear in the windows of the country’s great bookstores.
P.S: If you happen to buy the book, please, leave a review on the book’s page in Amazon, it will help me a lot. Thanks! 🙂
