Interview with David Charles, author of Think for Yourself

David Charles has been a professional construction manager involved with public school construction in the Southern California region. He has been active in the construction industry for over thirty years. His past writings include web based reporting, project progress documentation and classic business correspondence on all aspects of the public school construction progress for the projects under his jurisdiction. David is the author of the book; Think For Yourself - The Importance of Maintaining Individuality and Freedom of Thought, which discusses the significance of taking charge of your destiny and living life on your own terms. Links: (http://sites.google.com/site/dcbookstfy,
http://twitter.com/bukbuzz and www.dcbookstfy.tumblr.com.)

Q: Welcome to The Writer's Life, David. Can you tell us how long you’ve been writing professionally and how your journey led to writing your latest book, Think For Yourself - The Importance of Maintaining Individuality and Freedom of Thought?

Writing is actually a large part of the responsibilities that go along with being involved in construction management. There is a considerable amount of project documentation, letter writing and progress reporting that are required. I had always been complimented on my writing, by my colleagues, and have even heard once or twice that I should consider writing professionally. My book project was something that had been in the planning and outline stages for quite some time. I received a little inspiration when I read something from a prominent businessman in New York. He said; “Twenty percent of your priorities will yield for you eighty percent of your productivity. If you have something important to do then get to it.” With that I finally decided that the timing was right to go ahead and complete the work.

Q: I love your title. Can you tell us why you chose it?

Originally this book’s title was going to be Its Your Life - Live It On Your Own Terms, but as I was reviewing the original table of contents I saw the title for one of the chapters was Think For Yourself. That title was better suited for the final project and the book became Think For Yourself - The Importance of Maintaining Individuality and Freedom of Thought. This is the first published book and the culmination of nearly a decade of outlining, planning and dreaming.

Q: Why did you believe your book should be published?

I think this book is important now because so many of the covered topics seem to be taking a hit when it comes to freedom of choice. With so much propaganda on either side of a given issue, it is paramount that the individual stay involved in decision making process in order to make effective choices. It’s about why you should draw your own conclusions and the importance of self accountability in our daily lives.


Q: Can you tell us the story behind your book cover? Did you choose it or did your publisher, CREATESPACE have full control? Were you happy with the decision or did you have something else in mind?

The cover is actually my own design and I am very pleased with the results. I wanted it to resemble a caution sign so I chose the yellow background with the black color lettering. The font itself resembles ancient script with a modern twist, which I also felt was appropriate. The simplicity of design was also taken into account. The book is informative and I did not want the cover to be too flashy and diminish the value of the contents.

Q: How have you approached marketing your book? Do you have someone doing it for you or have you had to do most of the marketing yourself?

From every angle under the sun. I set up a webpage, a blog page, sent out review copies and contacted some online publicists. Press releases have also been sent out. It is a fair mix of self promotion and professional assistance when available.


Q: What book on the market can it compare to? How is it different? What makes your book special?

I am not sure if such a comparison would be accurate. I think this book stands on its own. It is a friendly reminder of why it is important to take charge of one’s own circumstances. It’s written from the perspective of an ordinary individual and is based on real life observations. There is not an abundance of technical or clinical language. It’s a down to earth look at key topics from everyday life that all of us can easily relate to.


Q: Open to a random page in your book. Can you tell us what is happening?

Page 2, Preface

It is not the writer’s intent to provide the answers to any given question related to the topics discussed herein. It is more important to provoke thought, raise questions, and out of those questions generate appropriate action.

“Think for Yourself” encourages an individualized approach to the uniqueness of each and every life.

Individuals can still be a part of community. One does not have to be sacrificed for the other.
Not everyone who reads this book will have questions regarding these topics, but if one question on any topic is raised by any reader, and appropriate action is taken, then the writer will have done his job.

This is just a part of the writer’s overall message for this book.

Q: Do you plan subsequent books?

I have a couple of possibilities in the works. I don’t mean to be vague; however I do want to keep the readers guessing just a little. One of the outlines that I am currently working on is about perception. There are a few other outlines in progress as well, and one of those may jump out ahead.


Q: Thank you for your interview, David. Would you like to tell my readers where they can find you on the web and how everyone can buy your book?

Here are a few links. The book can be purchased on Amazon.com and can be found with a title search. These links can also connect the reader to the point of purchase.
www.dcbookstfy.tumblr.com
www.myspace.com/tfydc
http://twitter.com/bukbuzz

No comments

Powered by Blogger.