My first ever book and fully written by has been out to reach its targeted readers last week.
The is published with fully funded by Malaysia Association of Energy Service Company(MAESCO) which is industry association for companies like mine in energy efficiency industry.
My efforts started to write this book about 3 years ago.The idea came when one of my friends who is a publisher of a green magazine told me that I should produce my own boon after she read articles in my blog.
Why I wrote about energy manager?
It simply because I am in energy management field and as a competent energy manager myself, feel have something that I know a lot that I can write and share with others.After I left the government in 2012 and started to offer and provide services in energy management system consultancy as a registered electrical energy manager with Energy Commission, I could see that there is a need for a reference that can used by all about REEMs and services that can be offered as REEMs.
So, after I wrote few articles about REEMs and EMEER 2008 in by blog www.zaini4ee.blogspot.com , started to receive good feedback and encouraging responses for friends and fellow REEMs in the industry abiut what I shared.Then I tried to gauge their response by asking them, if I write a book on REEMs, would they buy it?
All of them said definitely yes.
In the same time, I have been gaining more and more experiences as a REEM in selling and delivering REEM services to my clients.These experiences also have given me more confidence and belief that I may have something useful that I can share that will benefit fellow REEMs out there and the market that require REEM services as well.
From 2013, some of my articles about energy efficiency industry have also been published in several publications such as The Heat weekly newspaper and Green Plus magazine where I was invite to be their columnist.Positive feedback from editors from these publishers also have given me more boost and motivation to write a book that finally I can published.
I started to write this book by assessing all articles that I have written in my blog that are related to REEMs,energy managers, EMEER 2008 and energy management system.
Then I arranged each article according its category for me to start to figure out the outline of potential contents and suitable chapters in the book.
The process of assessing articles in my blog and columns that I have written for the two publications has made me realized how much I have written and how much I enjoy writing actually.Good words to me by some of those who read my blogs and articles gave me the belief that I can write and I should continue writing on what I am good at in my areas of expertise. There are people out there will appreciate it.
Once I have structured my book with the outline of its contents and chapters, I started to insert all write-ups that I have written into its chapter with its own sub-title.By the time I completed this, I concluded that I have already had about 70-80 % of contents of my book.
While I was doing all that, I started to share with some of friends about my intention to publish the book.All of them were very supportive especially my friends in MAESCO.Some even said that they could not wait to buy my book.
All that encouragement keep the momentum to me to carry on and gave me more challenge within myself to wrote something more that will benefits it readers.
All that encouragement keep the momentum to me to carry on and gave me more challenge within myself to wrote something more that will benefits it readers.
However, there are still some doubts in me especially about risks in publishing the book.
How many people will buy it?
How much would it cost and how am I going to fund it?
Would it be a loss in term of money if I fail to sell enough book to cover the cost?
I just kept that question at one place in my mind and giving my focus in writing because that will make me feel much better.
The first preliminary draft of the book completed sometime in the middle of 2014.What I did after that was, I requested helps from some close friends in the industry to review and give their feedback and input to the draft.
I sent to about 10 of them and all of them are familiar faces and very well known too in the market for energy efficiency as industry players.All of them replied with their comments and inputs within about 2-3 months after they have received the draft.This was the time I felt so thankful to each them for their willingness to support my writing efforts from their reviews and replies to me.Their comments and inputs gave me so much more critical ideas on how can I improve the contents and how I write the book.
A long the way, I also share my intention to publish the book at my online media platforms such as my Facebook Page, Linkedin and Whatsapp groups that I participated.
I was suddenly lost the momentum to write and completing the book not long after that until the end of the year.I was unsure but it could be due to my other commitment especially related to works for my business.
Then, I tried to reactivate myself my creating the pressure within me.Meanwhile I started to receive queries from my social media contacts about my book.Some even asked when and where can they copies.All that have created some pressure that I have never expected to come but started to ignite my motivation again.
To tie myself with the commitment to finish writing my book, I made an announcement in all my social media channels sometime in Feb-Mar 2015 that I will published the book by Oct in the same year.With all inputs from friends who have helped to review my book, the content of the book was about at the 80-90% stage.What really trouble my brain that time, I still felt that there was still something missing but I did know what.
Finally I have managed to find my breakthrough to complete the final piece of the jigsaw for my book.The idea came when I was writing my article for my column.That really brought my motivation to its peak to complete the write-ups for my book!
The book cover
I knew that I want to have a different kind of look of the cover. I did not want to look like typical books for energy efficiency that have been published which often showing photos of buildings,factories, equipment, engineers/technical people at work, data logging equipment and etc.
In the same time, the cover should reflect the image of energy manager I have always like the market to see.The book should not look like a typical technical book as well.It should look like more of management book that indicate some business and professional elements related to energy at the demand side as well.
The photo shoot to get photos for the cover
Managed to find a friend who is a professional photographer of one news agency.
He was willing to help me to shoot some photos for my book on his personal capacity.
We had the photo shoot on Sunday in the fasting month.
Then I posted few photos and requested my social media friends at my Facebook Page and Whatsapp group to have their say.
The progress of the book cover design.
How the conceptual ideas was tried to be translated by the designer into the cover page...
The important feedback from MAESCO committee members from the previous designs was it looked more like a cover for biography and potraying energy managers as the key feature of the book although I am the energy manager myself.I agreed with them and immediately asked the designer to come with something after I gave him some more photos than can be used for the cover.
So, finally the book was finalized from its contents until its cover by the end of February this year.
On 8 March 2016, I was shown by the printer for the first time the complete version of my book that will be printed in the following week.
I could not describe feeling when seeing it!I was speechless because it meant so much to me when another one of my biggest dreams has been finally come true. I have my own book! I am now call call myself an author and this book is another key milestone that I have achieved in my career.Something I can call as a legacy for me to remembered on what I have been doing and what I have been good at in my profession that can benefit others.
I sent to about 10 of them and all of them are familiar faces and very well known too in the market for energy efficiency as industry players.All of them replied with their comments and inputs within about 2-3 months after they have received the draft.This was the time I felt so thankful to each them for their willingness to support my writing efforts from their reviews and replies to me.Their comments and inputs gave me so much more critical ideas on how can I improve the contents and how I write the book.
A long the way, I also share my intention to publish the book at my online media platforms such as my Facebook Page, Linkedin and Whatsapp groups that I participated.
I was suddenly lost the momentum to write and completing the book not long after that until the end of the year.I was unsure but it could be due to my other commitment especially related to works for my business.
Then, I tried to reactivate myself my creating the pressure within me.Meanwhile I started to receive queries from my social media contacts about my book.Some even asked when and where can they copies.All that have created some pressure that I have never expected to come but started to ignite my motivation again.
To tie myself with the commitment to finish writing my book, I made an announcement in all my social media channels sometime in Feb-Mar 2015 that I will published the book by Oct in the same year.With all inputs from friends who have helped to review my book, the content of the book was about at the 80-90% stage.What really trouble my brain that time, I still felt that there was still something missing but I did know what.
Finally I have managed to find my breakthrough to complete the final piece of the jigsaw for my book.The idea came when I was writing my article for my column.That really brought my motivation to its peak to complete the write-ups for my book!
The book cover
I knew that I want to have a different kind of look of the cover. I did not want to look like typical books for energy efficiency that have been published which often showing photos of buildings,factories, equipment, engineers/technical people at work, data logging equipment and etc.
In the same time, the cover should reflect the image of energy manager I have always like the market to see.The book should not look like a typical technical book as well.It should look like more of management book that indicate some business and professional elements related to energy at the demand side as well.
The photo shoot to get photos for the cover
Managed to find a friend who is a professional photographer of one news agency.
He was willing to help me to shoot some photos for my book on his personal capacity.
We had the photo shoot on Sunday in the fasting month.
Then I posted few photos and requested my social media friends at my Facebook Page and Whatsapp group to have their say.
The progress of the book cover design.
How the conceptual ideas was tried to be translated by the designer into the cover page...
The important feedback from MAESCO committee members from the previous designs was it looked more like a cover for biography and potraying energy managers as the key feature of the book although I am the energy manager myself.I agreed with them and immediately asked the designer to come with something after I gave him some more photos than can be used for the cover.
So, finally the book was finalized from its contents until its cover by the end of February this year.
On 8 March 2016, I was shown by the printer for the first time the complete version of my book that will be printed in the following week.
I could not describe feeling when seeing it!I was speechless because it meant so much to me when another one of my biggest dreams has been finally come true. I have my own book! I am now call call myself an author and this book is another key milestone that I have achieved in my career.Something I can call as a legacy for me to remembered on what I have been doing and what I have been good at in my profession that can benefit others.
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