From Prison Letters to Published Pages: The Journey of '27th Letters'

In the summer of 2017, I published the book "27th Letters." This was seven years after I had been released from prison. The book is a compilation of the letters I wrote to my daughter, Tatiana, while I was incarcerated, serving a life sentence. After winning my appeal and getting out of prison, I had no intention of publishing the letters. Then, shortly after my release, I found myself still going through parental alienation. This drove me to put the letters into a book format.

I had no clue how I would get the book published, but I was put in contact with Califa Media Publishing. Through CMP, I got my book published, for which I am grateful. Getting the book published was a significant achievement because I had a lot going against me—from a system that seemingly wanted me to fail, to the family that "raised" my daughter, certain members of my family, friends, employment, etc. Unfortunately, a few years after the book was published, I did an audit. I was not happy with the numbers I was being shown and decided to sever ties with CMP. I blame no one but myself and took matters into my own hands by releasing a revised version of the book, which now includes poems, reflections, pictures, quotes, and one last letter written to my estranged daughter, Tatiana.

Unlike in 2017, in 2024, I now have the confidence to independently publish my book. So, a couple of months or so ago, I began the process of getting this revised version of "27th Letters" published. It was surprisingly easier than I thought; technological progress has been a gift and a curse for mankind, but in this case, it's been a blessing. Today, August 27th, marks exactly twenty-two years since my arrest for second-degree murder. My revised version was also published today (technically yesterday). I designed the cover myself and hired someone to format the book for me. I used AI to check for grammar and spelling errors. Once I got all that done, I had to get an ISBN number for the book. An ISBN, or International Standard Book Number, is a unique number that is assigned to every published book. You can get an ISBN number for free through Amazon, but if you plan to publish your book elsewhere, it's recommended you purchase (and register) your own ISBN.

An ISBN number can cost a couple hundred dollars, but if you live in Canada, you can get one for free. This was the obvious option I used. Once I did all this, it was time to upload the book onto Amazon KDP. I uploaded the book on August 23rd, and by August 26th, the book was live.

I really hope that if you've read this blog to the end, you'll be able to go on Amazon and check out the book.