Big News: My Book Is Launching! Keys to a Successful Retirement

Posted on by

That picture up above was taken in September 2019 as I wrote the first words of my first book.  That day was a significant occasion and I chose to memorialize it with that photo, taken in the World HQ of The Retirement Manifesto. 

Starting this book was a special milestone in my life, and I’m pleased I have a picture that captured the moment. On September 26th, I told you I’m Writing A Book, but you’ll have noticed I’ve been a bit coy about the details since then.

That changes today!

Effective today, the marketing campaign for my new book officially kicks off and I’m dedicating this post to giving you some insight into what I’ve been working on for the past 6 months.  It’s been an incredible journey, and I’m excited to share the finished product with you in 6 short weeks (or, you can simply skip this post and pre-order it on Amazon now! That’s my Amazon affiliate link and I’ll get a small commission at no cost to you if you click).  

As a teaser, I’ll be sharing a few sections from the book with you between now and it’s official launch date – stay tuned!

First:  The Name of The Book

Today, I'm officially announcing the launch of my book!  Keys to a Successful Retirement: Staying Happy, Active and Productive in Your Retired Years. Available May 5th! Click To Tweet

The Story Behind Keys to a Successful Retirement

I am excited about this book and trust that those of you who enjoy my blog will find it to be worthy of your time.  Writing the book has given me the opportunity to look back over the past 5 years of my life, from the point when I still had three years of work left through the first two years of my retirement.  They’ve been some of the most interesting years of my life.

The Transition To Retirement.

It’s a fascinating time in life, and it’s the focus of this book.

Some folks do well with the transition, and some folks don’t.  I’ve studied the difference between those two camps, and I’ve been writing on the topic for five years on this blog.  Keys to a Successful Retirement highlights 24 keys that increase your chances of having a successful retirement.  It’s been a pleasure to summarize all of my learnings over the past five years into a concise, easy to read book which summarizes the keys to a successful retirement.  These are the keys that work, based on my personal experience and research I’ve conducted on the subject.  

Important stuff, this.

Like my blog, the book focuses on both the “Hard” (financial) and “Soft” (lifestyle) issues related to retirement.  However, I found the process of writing a book significantly different than writing my blog posts.  Writing the book allowed me to be more expansive, to more thoroughly examine relevant topics, and to organize my thoughts into a broader perspective than is possible in a 1,500-word post.

The book isn’t long, and that’s by design.

It’s meant to be read and applied, quickly and easily, by folks who are +/- 5 years of their retirement date.  It’s a lot of the stuff that matters, and not much of the stuff that doesn’t.  After going through four organized rounds of edits with various editors at the publishing house, you’ll find it’s a “tight” read.  

I couldn’t be happier with the result.

 

Keys to a Successful Retirement – Now On Amazon!

I’m excited to announce that Keys to a Successful Retirement is now on Amazon! (Affiliate link)

It won’t be available until May 5th, but’s it’s available for pre-order at that link now.  If you’re thinking of getting the book, I’d appreciate if you’d consider pre-ordering.   The marketing folks at Callisto Media (parent company of the Rockridge Press division that published the book) tell me that pre-orders are important in the algorithms used by Amazon to “rank” a book, and we’re striving to be in top rankings when the book comes out.  Interesting how this stuff works, and all new to me.

Between now and May 5th, I’m going to be a pretty busy guy.

Working in conjunction with the marketing team, we’re planning an organized marketing campaign to raise awareness of the book.  I’m looking forward to the process, it’s always interesting to do something new. 

A few of the highlights:

  • Most important for you, I’ll be publishing a few “sneak peaks” on this blog between now and the launch.  Stay tuned for some free glimpses of what’s inside the book!
  • I’ll be hosting a Book Giveaway drawing when I get my first copies of the book sometime in April.
  • If you listen to podcasts on retirement, you’ll likely hear me talking about the book (I’ve already had my first interview, and have several more scheduled).
  • You’ll notice an uptick in my social media promotion on the book.  Hey, it’s a business, and we have to get the word out.  Nothing wrong with that, right?
  • I’d appreciate your help – please let any of your friends who are within +/- 5 years of retirement know about the book, or buy them a copy.  I believe this book will help many people have a great retirement, and that’s the deepest motivation behind my writing.

I appreciate all of the loyal readers who have joined The Retirement Manifesto team over the past five years and look forward to having you on the journey as we move toward the launch of Keys of a Successful Retirement.

The Moment I First Saw The Book

Last week I received my first copy of the book, a day after my birthday.  It was the perfect birthday present and a moment I had been waiting for a long time.  In spite of our horrendously slow internet speed here in the mountains, I decided to share the excitement Live on The Retirement Manifesto Facebook page:

What’s It Like To Write A Book?

In closing, I wanted to share a bit of insight into what it’s like to write a book.  I hope you’ll find it of interest.

For years I’ve thought about writing a book.   I’ve declared in the past that I Am A Writer, but I’ve always felt a bit of an asterisk was required since I was a writer who had never written a book.  Consider the asterisk erased.

What’s it really like to write a book?

That question has bounced around in my head for years.  Similar to “What’s it really like to retire?”, it’s a question that can only be answered after you’ve actually done it. For those of you who have actually retired, you can relate to what I mean with that statement.  

Perhaps I have an unusually curious mind, but I’ve found many of the milestone events in my life started with that curiosity of “What’s it really like to…”.  It’s the reason I ran a marathon.  It’s the reason I worked in Yellowstone National Park. It’s why I swam in 48-degree water in London, England. Curiosity is a trait we should all embrace, it makes more life more exciting and often leads to good experiences.  It’s also something you’ll read about in my book.  (It might even be one of the 24 keys to a successful retirement…hint).

Just like it’s impossible to describe what it’s really like to live in retirement (though I do try, with a section of the book dedicated to answering that question), it’s difficult to explain the process of writing a book.  In a few words…

  • It’s a blast. 
  • It’s a challenge. 
  • It’s stimulating. 
  • It’s exhausting.

I wrote the majority of this book between 3:30 am – 6:30 am.  As I mentioned in It’s The Little Things, I “discovered” my love of early morning writing while working on this book.  I experienced “Flow” numerous times when writing in those early mornings, that surreal experience of being entirely absorbed in your thoughts and having the words flow without effort for hours on end.  I love Flow and will be interested to see if you can find which parts of the book were written when I was in the deepest current. 

Flow is a great place to be, and one of the things I most love about writing. Click To Tweet

I found passion while writing this book.  Helping People Achieve A Great Retirement is more than the byline to my blog, it’s something that has become a Purpose in my retirement and this book helped fuel that passion. That’s important stuff, which you’ll be reading more about when you read the book. 

I hope my passion comes through in my words.

Conclusion

I have more to say, but I think I’ve said enough for today.  I humbly believe many folks will have a better life in retirement due to the work I’ve been doing since that picture was taken in September.  The work of writing a book is now behind me.  The asterisk is erased.  

My book is coming out on May 5th.

I Am A Writer.

54 comments

  1. Congrats dude! To write a book that fast you surely must’ve experienced a lot of flow. I need some of that flow, have any to sell?

    And I really like the cover design, very unique. Who did it?

    1. Dave, have I mentioned how much I love Flow (and no, I don’t mean that lady in those Progressive Insurance ads!). Afraid I don’t know how to bottle it up and sell it, haha. The publisher did all the work on book layout and art, including the cover. I agree they did a great job with it (I also love the layout/format they used when they put the book together, but afraid you’ll have to wait to see that for a few more weeks…)

    1. You’re too kind, Mrs. G. I miss you, we’ll have to schedule some time to chat, heaven knows we’ve all got some times on our hands while we shelter in place, right!?. Hope all is well with you and Mr. G (is he EVER going to get that buffalo done? Smiles).

  5. WOW!! Congrats Fritz!! Awesome to see your passion project completed….Pre-ordering my copy now…Cant wait to dive into it in May!!

    1. Thanks, Jason! Too bad we have to wait until May, could come in handy while we’re all hunkered down trying to avoid this pesky virus. Ah well, the best things come to those who wait?? Thanks for ordering, hope you find it of value.

  6. Congratulations! This is exciting news for you and for all of us. I’d love to pre-order but I would really prefer to get this for my Kindle. Any chance Amazon will make an electronic version available?

    1. Pat, it will, indeed, be available for Kindle. In fact, it’ll be available a few weeks earlier than the “hard” copy. Sit tight, I’ll make sure I mention it to all my readers as soon as the e-book becomes available in late April.

  7. Congratulations Fritz! I will exalt your book with as much vigor has I have your blog to all my acquaintances. Just a few questions. Will there be a Kindle edition forthcoming? I am big fan of Kindle. Moreover, for the burgeoning Hispanic middleclass in the US and Latin America, will there be a Spanish edition?

    Buena Suerte (good luck in Espanol) on your sales!

    1. Eduardo, I love your vigor! As for being available in a Spanish edition, not sure about that. I’ll send a note to my publisher with your question. Not sure how that works, but agree it’d be awesome to have a Spanish translation done! And yes, there will be a Kindle version.

  9. Congrats. By any chance was this book self-published or did you have a contract upfront with Rockridge press? Also, in terms of mechanics did you write this book in Scrivner or some other specialized software? Looking forward to reading your book.

    1. Eric, I had a contract upfront with Rockridge. As for software, I simply used Word and the publisher ran with it from there. I’ve heard good things about Scrivner for those who self-publish, but don’t have any experience with it myself.

  10. Congrats Fritz – great milestone and look forward to reading the book !!! I will pre-order this week!!! Proud of you!!

  11. Fritz- I am very excited to read this book. I’ve been following your blog since before I started my own. I can’t wait to have a copy in my hand. Congrats!
    DJ

  12. Congratulations Fritz. I preordered 2 copies just now – 1 for my “little” brother and 1 for my wife and I. Can’t wait to get it.

  14. Congrats on the book. I appreciate that you are out there for people like me. I enjoy the Hard and the Soft of your writing. Your positivity is an inspiration.

    Fred

  17. Congrats Fritz,
    Ordered. Looking forward to burning through a highlighter or two when it shows up in May.
    Good luck with it.

  18. Not yet available on Amazon Australia.
    I’ll keep checking though.
    Congratulations. Feeling the weight of that book in your hands was obviously a special moment.

  20. Congratulations Fritz, looking forward to reading your book and certain it will be packed with value!

    I can really appreciate all the work that goes into writing a book. We (my wife and I) probably spent over a hundred hours writing our very first eBook. Not as easy as it looks. If you don’t mind me asking, how long did it take you to write your book? Also, love the title and artwork.

    1. Shannon, I didn’t track my hours, but I started in September and finished by Christmas. It certainly helps to have hard deadlines from your publisher! It was a focused effort, for sure. I really enjoyed the process, and can’t wait until I get some feedback from the readers. I feel good about it, but only time will tell if it hits the mark.

  24. Enjoyed very much following your blog, here and at Rock Retirement Club. Just placed my order for your book. Congratulations.

    1. Hey AM! Thanks for ordering the book! I just recorded a session with Roger yesterday, will be on The Retirement Answer Man tomorrow! Also, we’ve agreed I’ll be the “guest” for a special meet-up in the club to discuss the book!! Stay tuned…

  25. Congrats on the book launch Fritz! I retired in November and have used a lot of your model concepts for my own planning (especially the bucket strategy). So I am really looking forward to reading your book. Hope you are staying safe in this crazy time.

    1. Hey DG, glad to hear my bucket strategy posts have helped in your personal retirement planning, congrats on crossing The Starting Line in November. I am thankful I put that system in place, has definitely made it much easier when wrestling this bear. Staying as safe as possible…watch for a post on that very topic tomorrow morning!

    1. Shawno,

      I ran your question by the publisher, they work with Audible on getting certain books recorded. Not sure if this will be one of them yet, but it looks hopeful. I’ve asked about the potential of having me record the book (I like it when authors recite their own books), he’s checking with Audible to see if that’s possible. Not their normal course, but we’ll see. Thanks for your kind words about my work.

  28. You ARE a writer dude!!

    And an inspirer.

    And a motivator.

    And a 401k Millionaire – woot woot!

    Can’t be more excited for you man. Been awesome seeing your journey over the years and something tells me you’ve only got started…

    Soak it all in, bud!

    1. Pinch me! THE J$, in the e-flesh, here on my site!? I’m honored, J. Thanks for your kind words. Taking your advice, and letting it soak. It’s better than a warm bath…. Thanks for stopping by. BTW, ironic to read your post this morning, you’ll find mine tomorrow is similar. Amazing minds? Crazy times, stay safe with those kiddos. You nailed the timing on buying that house, nothing better than having that yard while you’re self-isolating!

  29. Preordered my copy as soon as I saw the listing on Amazon. Looking forward to a great read and more sage advice.

  30. Pingback: New Book Coming Out: "Keys to a Successful Retirement" by Fritz Gilbert | Budgets Are Sexy
  32. Pingback: Win A Free Copy of my Book! (plus a Sneak Peek of what's inside) - The Retirement Manifesto

Comments are closed.