It was my first day of kindergarten at a new school and I was the only kid in class who didn’t know how to read.

It was the early ‘80s and our family had moved halfway through the school year from Omaha to my parents’ hometown of Fort Dodge, Iowa. My memory of kindergarten in Omaha was mostly coloring and games. At the time, Iowa had the number one public education system in the US. In Fort Dodge my kindergarten teacher was Mrs. Marquis. She was also my mother’s kindergarten teacher.

Mrs. Marquis, with her curly bouffant hair and effervescent smile, had the kids take turns reading aloud in class. On my first turn, the words on the page didn’t make any sense. I bumbled through it the best I could. I wouldn’t be embarrassed like that again.

My parents always encouraged reading at home. They read books to us every day. They helped us understand the alphabet and I learned to memorize Dr. Seuss and Little Critter books.

Then in Mrs. Marquis’ class a light turned on. Soon, Mrs. Marquis had me sit in the hallway with a couple of other kids in the “blue reading group” to read advanced books.

By the time second grade rolled around our family had moved to Cedar Falls, Iowa. The library there at Hansen Elementary School became my favorite nook. I was reading all the books about inanimate objects in specific places (The Castle in the Attic, The Indian in the Cupboard) and anything with a recklessly tragic ending (Old Yeller, Bridge to Terabithia).

The second grade teacher, Mrs. Guenther, launched the Hansen Writers’ Workshop Project. In our first creative writing class I fell in love. I knew what I was going to do for the rest of my life. I was a writer.

To write my first novel, seven-year-old me came up with a clever plan. If I wanted to write a story that was over 100- or 200-pages, all I had to do was write one page a day. So I rode my bike to Osco Drug store, and I picked out the perfect notebook and the perfect pen for which I would use to write my first novel.

I wrote one page.

Nearly 40 years I still have the dream of writing a novel. Unfortunately, I also have the penchant for starting writing projects without finishing them.

However, since we moved to Singapore I was able to start a new chapter in my career. As a stay-at-home dad and part-time volunteer I have made time for creative writing. Finally, I finished writing that first novel. Not only that, I polished up and completed a novella that I wrote between the ages of 19 and 21 when I knew everything. I knew that I was the best writer in the world. I knew I would be rich and famous. I didn’t know that you had to work at it.

It was back then in college that I set aside creative writing for journalism. Writing for the university newspaper was the quickest way to get my writing published and my name in print. I was hooked.

For 20 years I operated in the journalism and mass communications sectors in America and Japan. I adhered to AP style and accuracy at all costs. I battled with advertising execs wanting favored coverage for clients. I battled with publishers who wanted less controversial articles. I went toe-to-toe with clients and their ridiculous demands. I came out of it battle-tested, but weary.

Leaving Japan for Singapore three years ago, I also left behind that career in journalism. At the age of 19, when I started writing that ridiculous novella, my friend and I left Iowa with nothing but the wide-open road before us. The feeling that I could go wherever and do whatever I wanted was exhilarating. I had the same feeling beginning a new career as a fiction writer here in Singapore. I can write about whatever I want. No compromise. No negotiations. Total creative freedom.

As I began this foray into fiction-writing in my mid-40s, I came to realize there was a lot to learn from a business perspective. Writing a book is one thing. Selling a book is another. Hundreds of thousands of talented authors are out there chasing the same eyeballs of agents, editors, and publishers.

More than one colleague in the publishing industry suggested self-publishing. My creative fiction work doesn’t possess the commercial appeal traditional publishers are seeking.

So dragging along my older brother Aaron, who has spent two decades building a solid reputation in Iowa’s creative writing circles, together we launched Hayseed Press LLC.

As of today we officially have a website and everything.

The first phase of Hayseed Press is to self-publish our completed fiction works. This is a work-in-progress as we navigate the print-on-demand world of online publishing.

Aaron and I also offer professional editing services. Between the two of us, we have more than four decades of professional fiction and non-fiction editing experience.

We’re both pretty good at it, and we are nice people to work with. If you or anyone you know is looking for a professional editor to help polish a work-in-progress for self-publishing, give us a holler. We are happy to negotiate a price that works for all of us.

As we gain more expertise and know-how, we hope to help other authors with unique voices. Perhaps one day we will have our own library of books published by Hayseed Press.

Check us out and become part of the Hay P community at hayseedpress.com

Feature image by Darkmoon_Art courtesy of Pixabay