More questions with author Ethan Tucky
- What inspired you to write this book?
I was at a crossroads in my life and had some time on my hands. I was thinking about things I’ve always wanted to do but either didn’t get around to or was too afraid of trying. Between all those factors, I always wanted to be an author, and I had the chance to go for it. I also wanted to help encourage people to just go for it at times.
- How did you choose the title? Does it hold special meaning to you?
So I have 3 books currently out. “Keep On Chopping,” “Roots of Resilience,” & “Go Beyond Your Limit – 365 Days of Motivation & Meditation,” all of which hold some special meaning. Keep on Chopping is a phrase my family has used for years when facing challenges, so I wanted to connect what helped me achieve my goals/what that saying meant to me and share it with the world. Roots is my tribute to my Psychology background, I wanted to share some helpful advice to people who might be fighting some personal battles. I have always wanted to be a psychologist, so it was also a way to stay informed on some topics. 365 is a tribute to anime & Ryan Holiday, which I know is a wild combination. The Daily Stotic is one of my favorite books of all time (where the 365 day concept comes from), the go beyond your limit part is for the countless hours of anime I’ve watched/a play on sayings from those shows.
- Can you share your process of writing and how long it took to complete the book?
For these 3 books, I followed the same formula and slightly tweaked it each time. Each one took about 3/4 months to finish. Over a year ago, I started putting together advice I’ve received for coaches. After refining those notes, I put together Keep on Chopping. The idea led to doing it with my psychology notes as well, slightly reworking how I displayed & connected the notes (led to Roots). 365 was similar but slightly easier. I took the actual quotes I had recorded and created a template for each day of the year. From there, it was just a matter of reusing a template and finding additional quotes if needed. I’m rather excited about my next book because I’m taking more of a creative approach compared to a formulaic one, however, it never hurts to have an easily repeatable model for future releases.
4. Were there any challenges you faced while writing or publishing it?
I faced a lot of challenges being honest. I didn’t realize how hard it can be to sit down and write without distractions. I will admit, I have ADHD, so that didn’t help at first. However, I started to realize that I was working on myself while working on the books. So, those challenges were growth opportunities. Outside of the personal battles, it was also the sales, marketing, publishing, & additional factors that come along with promoting the book. I started a business a year ago, so that helped for sure, but writing while trying to also start a business took a while to figure out. In the end, I went with an ebook model to start (working on getting physical copies using KDP at the moment), but I do have a feature chapter in physical copy coming out in a book called “YSM2 – Your Story Matters 2” (by Legacy Publishing), I’m very excited for that!
5. How do you feel about sharing your work with the world?
It was a very interesting experience. I quickly learned that not as many people as you’d think will read it, but, you’ll find out a lot of people you never met/worked with will appreciate it. It was a cool experience to overcome a lot of self-doubt and fear, so at this point, I’m only worried about refining my work and being excited about the next release. The fear and doubt slowly fade away with time.
6. Are there any parts or characters in the book that are especially personal or meaningful to you?
Being honest, it is all very personal to me. Everything I’ve learned from my 27 years of being alive was put into those books. The information in those books helped me overcome some very real challenges, and being able to share that was super meaningful.
7. What do you hope readers will take away from this book?
Between the 3 books, I hope people find 1 important take away. I wanted to create a wide spread in terms of content I covered, since everyone is at a different point in their life. Some people might need a daily reminder, some might need some advice for overcoming hard times, some might need help putting together a dream/turning it into reality. So if I’m able to help 1 person with 1 thing, it’s all worth it.
8. Did you experience any memorable moments during the research or creation of the book?
The entire process was a rather memorable moment/experience. I love to research the topics I discuss and learn new things in the process. It not only helps me, but it also provides the reader with more take aways. Anytime I was able to learn more or improve my craft, it was a cool moment, along with wrapping up any of the books/releasing them.
9. What surprised you the most about the publishing journey?
What surprised me the most was what I learned about myself during the writing process and the people you’ll meet. I’ve had the chance to become a better person from the journey, while also making new friends along the way. I did not realize how hard it can be at times to get your work published, though. You gotta know the right people.
10. Do you already have ideas or plans for your next project?
I’m currently working on my next book,”Tanren” which is set to be released on May 29th. I’m also working on/helping with a couple of childrens books as well. “The Emotional Shoes was a project I helped with that’s sent to release in the next month.
All about author Ethan Tucky
With a masters degree in applied behavior analysis, Ethan went from being an athlete to a business owner, being the founder of Phalanx Digital. It is a multifaceted organization dedicated to digital content, education, and personal development. In addition, he used his personal experiences and expertise in the field of psychology to write three books with more on the way.
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