Call it unconventional or weird; I’ll simply call it a promise made and kept. As mentioned in my post yesterday, I want to do some self-deprecation with regards to my book. Despite me hyping myself up and stroking my own ego, I am human after all.

Combined with the fact that there is always some room to grow, there are some flaws with my book.

No one is perfect after all, and so instead of trying to be coy or sneaky about it, I want to be up front with you. If these things about my book turn you off from picking up a copy, that’s fine. If they don’t bother you at all and you’ll still support me, that’s also fine.

My goal is for you to be aware of the flaws of this book.

After all, this book is not a self-help book.

It’s Too Steep A Price

For a more or less debut book from an author and the book being pretty small, it doesn’t make sense to be spending nearly $20 Canadian dollars to pick this up. Especially when it’s compared to other books of this kind that sell for cheaper.

This is furthered by the fact that the ebook version is under half of that price too.

You could go on Amazon right now and pick up The Zen Monkey and the Lotus Flower for a slight upcharge and get double the amount of pages!

And we all know longer books have way more value in them.

I’ve been writing for several years now, and I’ll be the first to admit that even now I’m still a relatively unknown writer and self-help guru. My contributions have amounted to very little in the grand scheme of things. I haven’t “changed people’s lives” all that much, and I’m nowhere near being able to afford to buy a boat or a jet.

I’m just some random guy who wanted to publish a book.

Meanwhile, there are several other trusted individuals who have put out some amazing books. There are professional psychologists who have devised interesting theories for how to overcome mental barriers. There are iconic gurus like Oprah Winfrey, Tony Robbins, Arthur Brooks, and Rachel Hollis who command more attention.

Why take the gamble on some random guy?

Clearly I have no right to be talking about such silly topics like that.

Not when you have a motivational speaker who will willingly kill participants in a sweat lodge. Or a giant of a man allegedly berating victims of assault when he looks like he could strangle a bear. Or a white woman so steeped in her white privilege and girl boss attitude that she thinks her life is just as “unrelatable,” much like Harriet Tubman’s.

Utterly disqualifying.

When looking at the solutions provided, there are several of them that are provided to address specific problems. While it’s focused on that, the fact that it’s covering multiple problems dilutes the amount of time and attention given to each and every one of the problems that’s being brought up.

And because the book is also brief, it doesn’t always provide the clearest and most distinct path to take.

Clearly more guidance is needed, and it’s obvious what I’m looking to gain by publishing a book that only scratches the surface of a wide variety of problems.

There’s no denying it, as there’s an obvious tab on the website suggesting I’m offering coaching services. And this book aims to position me as a somewhat trusted source. After all, people who will potentially buy my book are also given links and an email in which to get in contact with me.

I won’t lie about the fact that by dumping this information and giving people access to me, I’ll stand to make some sales on coaching products.

It all just feeds into the capitalist machine, and it’s so counterintuitive to what a guru should be doing. After all, their work requires so much sacrifice in giving people the right answers.

When opting for brevity, some sacrifices have to be made. One such sacrifice is just how captivating the words on the pages are. There are few jokes, there are fewer life stories, and there’s less of a sense of me trying to connect with you, the reader.

I’m just spewing out word-salad advice on a page in the hopes that something is going to stick.

And as a result, the writing slips into more generic life advice giving than a compelling self-help book.

We’ve seen some iconic book covers over the years. The Secret is just some papyrus paper with a big red splotch in the middle with an S in the middle. Tony Robbins’s books have his likeness plastered all over them in a professional-looking photo.

So many designs out there are so basic and all made professionally by great artists and graphic designers.

Meanwhile, this book’s cover was created through basic Canva settings. It doesn’t even have a proper spine with a title on it, so you can’t even tell what the book is from your bookshelf! How weird is that?!?!

All of this comes down to the fact that regardless of my best efforts, a lot of self-help books are bound to the same depressing fate. If any of this didn’t deter you, then you’re resigned to the fact you probably won’t read the book.

After all, with such mild expectations that this book isn’t trying to hype you up, you’d rather be getting high off the excitement and energy that other big-name gurus tend to deliver. You’re hooked to dopamine so much that practical approaches and giving you some avenues to consider feels like too much work.

On top of the fact that there is so much spacing and big font used, clearly the book is being padded to make it look bigger than it actually is.

In the end, the book might be bought by you only for it to collect dust and be forgotten entirely. After all, it’s so small, and the title isn’t even on the spine of it.

So go ahead and pick it up. You won’t.