What do you do, or more precisely, what can you do if you want to write a book and get it published for the first time but don't exactly know how to do it? Needless to say, you can ask those who have done it or you can read up some how-to-write-and-get-published books. Such books are usually quite thick, filled with information, from cover to cover, that are good to know but not necessarily helpful especially at this early stage of your putting-pen-to-paper-and-then-getting-it-published journey right now. Researchers (such as psychologists Paul Slovic and Daniel Kahnema, a Nobel laureate, in their 1974 study) have found that too much information can be counter-productive and deliberating - it leads to what is commonly known as analysis paralysis. This is especially so when the we cannot decide how much information is enough and when enough is enough. Obviously, we can't do without any information at all. But at some point, we need to stop thinking and start doing! Before I got our first book (which I co-authored with my brother) published, I too bought one and borrowed (from the library) a few how-to books on book writing and publishing. Since they were, and still are, very thick, I never did complete any of them. I felt bad for a while. I remember telling myself in the mirror, "Hey Ken, if you can't even finish reading them now, how on earth can you even start and complete writing your own books later on " Eventually, I got fed up of being fed-up. It finally dawned upon me that I did not have to read all of them first before I start writing! Not that there were anything wrong with those books. They were doing perfectly what they're supposed to do - to show readers the A to Z of how to get published! The problem was not with the books. It was me. I was just using them the wrong way. Those books were not meant to be read page by page and chapter by chapter - only to be used as a guide, as a go-to place when one gets stuck. So, I stopped reading them altogether, went straight back to doing what I was supposed to be doing - writing my manuscript until the very end. Trying to read up the entire how-to-write-and-get-published book first before you start writing the first draft of your manuscript can be likened waiting for all the traffic lights ahead of you to turn green before you even start the engine of your car! Once awakened, I never looked back. I didn't go back to those books again. Even if it was just for referencing purposes only. I chose to rely on good old common sense to guide me through. So far it has got me published twice with two different publishers. Unlike what's being suggested in most American-authored how-to-get-published guides, I didn't need an agent to get me any book deals in Malaysia. And I suspect if you approach a small or even medium-sized publisher in America directly, you probably won't need any agents either. I might be wrong, but if you don't try, you will never know. One of my mentors and a dear friend, Mr Tansel Ali, a four-time Australian Memory Champion, TEDx speaker, corporate keynote speaker and celebrity memory coach who had authored two best-selling books with his publisher in Australia, never had to deal with any agents either. This book tells you only the few things that you really need to know - no fluff. The entire writing-and-getting-published process really isn't as difficult as what most people would have made it out to be. The difficulty of writing and publishing is more mental than physical. Ten topics covered: My First Book Their First Books The Road to Success is Paved with Painful Rejections Different Ways to Publish Your Words Who Should Write & Publish a Book? What to Write? Zero Cost Marketing Strive Hard to Become Yourself Write Truthfully & 'Miracles' Will Happen Five Skills You Must Possess & Apply Daily