They say hindsight is 20/20. “I Thought There was a Road There” are hindsights told by Lynn Assimacopoulos of her ordinary but fascinating life. Lynn is also the publisher and marketer of the book. Her dedication and determination inspired us to request for an interview. We are very fortunate to have her tell us about her experience in this transformation from being a regular grandma in the midwest to an author of a published book.

1. Can you tell us about yourself?
I am a Registered Nurse graduated from the University of Minnesota School of Nursing and am now retired; I have worked in hospitals, home health and long term care. My family consists of 3 adult sons and 4 granddaughters. I like reading, writing, fossil hunting, gardening and movies.

2. Are you still looking for shark's teeth?
Beside me is the small jar of sharks teeth that I found on that day 1977. I would love to look for more, but unfortunately, it is not possible for a couple of reasons. one of which is that I am a lot older and not as good at climbing through barbed wire and through cow pastures. (besides I just had a knee replacement and am going to have another one in August). The second reason is interesting because I am not sure that anyone knows where that area is that contained the sharks teeth in the mud. I stopped by there one day a few years ago (in Mitchell, SD) at a tourist stop right by the creek where we had found the sharks teeth. They had lots of souvenirs, Indian artifacts and even prehistoric bones, but no sharks teeth. When I asked them about that they said they did not know there were any prehisotoric sharks teeth in the area. Now they have built up the area with lots, roads, businesses, etc. so I am not sure anyone will ever find that place again!

3. What sparked your determination to write a book?
I have always written throughout my life starting at age 8; my early writings were mainly poetry just for fun and I entered some poetry contests. Later I wrote some articles for professional nursing journals. This book came about because at my place of employment I was presenting devotions quite often on a volunteer basis. At the same time I was sort of collecting these on my home computer. Then one day one of my co-workers said, “Why don’t you write a book?” to which I brushed the comment aside, but later thought about it and wanted to try it, knowing it would be a challenge. I also wanted part of the proceeds to go to the place I worked which was non-profit and inspired me every day.

4. What was your first impression when you started to write “I Thought There was a Road There...”?
My first impression was that since I had never done it before, I thought it would be very much an overwhelming task and maybe even impossible. However, then I decided that the only thing to do was just start and take it little by little. No one knew I was writing a book except me, so what could it hurt?

5. The book is composed of many of your self-reflection and self-realization messages, how and when did you begin to question were there lessons learned on the roads you traveled?
I wanted to show that my own and probably others varied life experiences were sometimes tough and sometimes funny and that these could very well have more of a deep meaning and serve as lessons and connections to Christian faith.

6. The stories in “I Thought there was a Road There...” cover many aspects of your life and span over 50 years in time, how did you decide in the ordering of these stories?
Truthfully I guess I did not pay much attention to the order of the stories, it was just that I decided to place them in an order that sounded good to me. I spent a lot of time thinking back over the phases of my life looking for material anywhere I could find it.

7. You speak to the reader with a colloquial narrative voice throughout the book, what made you decide on this format?
Actually and honestly I did it all wrong when I first started, because I was writing with a “speaking” voice, until an editor friend, was courageous enough to straighten me out. He explained that in a book I was “telling” not speaking so I was most grateful to him for his honesty. I also wanted to make sure that I spoke to the reader in an understanding and familiar way to make for easy and informal reading. I always checked the reading level while I was writing to make sure it was an “easy read” for almost anyone.

8. What do you think is your biggest achievement in this entire process?
I am afraid that I must admit it is personal, because I so wanted to actually write a book, even if no one else would ever want to read it. It gave me so much satisfaction and pleasure. In addition, it was (and still is) a non-stop learning experience in writing, marketing and business aspects. Another achievement was learning from my mistakes and I most certainly made some.

9. On your website, you describe that you sold 500 copies in the first six months and actually had to do a second printing. What do you think attributed to this success?
One thing is that a lot of people that I knew at my place of employment bought copies and I had several book signings there. The other item is that I took my book in hand and visited all the bookstores in town and asked them if they would carry my book on a consignment basis. I also tried to place it on any web site that I could, without too much expense. I learned that advertising is an enormous task, and a huge expense. However, public speaking is a great boon to advertising and selling a book too and I have been a speaker at several groups.

10. It has been 7 years since your first publication of this book and you are still very much actively marketing it. In fact, you are the one that found us. What keeps you going?
I chose to self-publish which means that I have to also do self-marketing, which is a hard task, but I learn a lot by doing this. However, now I have a “bug” for a new book, so I must try to sell the copies I have left. I cannot spend 100% of my time trying to sell my book so I just do what I can when I can.

11. As a self-publishing author, what do you think is the toughest part in this journey?
It is kind of scary when you venture out and actually write something that you hope someone else will like. There is no guarantee at all that any one will even want your book. So marketing is difficult and extremely expensive and time consuming. And you have to always ask yourself, why should people purchase your book when there are so many others around? As I have never been a good salesperson, I had to force myself to get over the shyness of trying to promote my own book. Also a huge factor is trying to find the inspiration and the time to write. Then there is the copyrighting, editing, printing and promotion of the book which all add up to “tough”! Editing was shocking, printing was risky and marketing was difficult; all were educational.

12. If you were to write about this self-publishing experience a few years down the road from now, how would you describe it?
It was and will always be a self-satisfying experience and I would encourage those who want to write to d so, even if you can’t expect to make a lot of money. It was so much fun and such a great learning experience.

13. What wisdom would you impart to it?
In one of my presentations to a librarian group I referred to writing as a “Magic Carpet” because it can take you on all kinds of journeys and adventures. I know that there are a lot of people who write but just don’t tell anyone or show anyone their writings. Writing, even for oneself should always be encouraged. I think that writing adds a unique dimension to a person’s life whether they write just for themselves or others. Everybody has their own unique experiences and can write down the words to describe them; one can always get help with the correct language, format, etc. if publishing is the goal. Writing to me is a kind of reward to yourself that you feel inside for a long, long time and it is a gift that no one else can give you...you can only give to yourself.

For more information, please visit Lynn's web site at LasaBooks.com

Disclaimer: At the time of this publication, Lynn is a sponsor of The Elders Tribune.