Tom Etzel is the founder and executive director of The Global Peace Building Foundation, an organization dedicated to supporting grassroots peacebuilding efforts worldwide. In September, he self-published his debut novel Within Our Grasp: Changing Ourselves and the World.
After experiencing personal losses in the aftermath of 9/11, Etzel felt compelled to study and pursue peacebuilding as a way to channel his grief into meaningful action. His novel blends memoir with a powerful call to action, offering a story of resilience, hope, and the transformative power of collective change.
Independent Publishing Magazine recently sat down with Etzel for a Q&A about the inspiration behind his book and his experience navigating the self-publishing process.
Readers can find Within Our Grasp and learn more on Etzel’s website. Within Our Grasp is also available for purchase on Hudson Booksellers, Barnes and Noble, Indie Bound, Books A Million,Indigo, and Amazon.
What was the inspiration behind your book?
My inspiration was twofold. I wanted to write about my transformative journey after losing two loved ones on 9/11 and how it led me on an altruistic path to make the world a better place, and I wanted to help others by showing them how to do this themselves.
What motivated you to start writing it?
I really wanted to share my story—I thought it was unique and could help others who might be dealing with tragedy, loss, and despair—but just the thought of writing a memoir was daunting. I didn’t know where to begin.
That changed after I read a book by Kelly Notaras, The Book You Were Born to Write, and later attended her five-day workshop of the same name. Kelly provided me with the structure and encouragement to start writing my book.
What message or theme do you hope readers take away from your book?
My book’s primary message is HOPE. Anyone can find and manifest their unique voice, at any age, at any stage in life, to make the world a better place and enrich their own life in the process.
How do you approach marketing your book? What strategies have worked for you?
My website was developed by a designer who specializes in author websites. It is simple and easy to navigate, and it serves as the marketing hub for the book. We are using Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok to draw people to the website.
Anyone who visits my website can get a free copy of the book’s introduction by subscribing to my newsletter. We are also building our following and promoting the book with direct email campaigns. It appears that these direct, customized, and personal emails are driving the book sales.
How did you decide on the cover design and title for your book?
I hired Christina Thiel, CreateForGood, for the book design—cover and interior. Before she started, she instructed me to search Amazon for titles similar to my book, and this search led me to three book covers that appealed to me.
The characteristics of these covers included an open look with natural beauty that exuded adventure with a sense of calm: a vast yellow field, a heavenly blue sky, and white clouds hovering above. Christina took it from there and designed a book cover that includes those characteristics.
The title for my book, Within Our Grasp, came out of my writing as I realized that all of us, as ordinary citizens of the world, individually have the power to change the world. It is within our grasp.
What advice would you give to aspiring authors, especially those considering self-publishing?
The following books are must reads for aspiring authors: The Book You Were Born To Write by Kelly Notaras, Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott, and On Writing by Stephen King. These three books will get you on the right track on your writing journey. Expect it to be more difficult, take longer, and cost more than you expected. You can count on that if you want to do it the right way.
Kelly Notaras’s book offered a valuable comparison between traditional and self-publishing, and she recommended Mark Levine’s book The Fine Print of Self-Publishing. I read Mark’s book inside and out, and it provided invaluable tips on taking the self-publishing route.
What was the most surprising thing you learned during the publishing process?
The self-publishing process wasn’t as difficult as I initially envisioned after I assembled a professional team of consultants. I found Spoonbridge Press via, of all things, a Google search. Spoonbridge provided the editorial and self-publishing guidance that helped me transform my manuscript into a book in less than five months. Remarkable. And they worked well with Christina Thiel, the book designer.
Can you describe the moment you held your finished book for the first time?
My wife and I opened the Amazon box together, held the book in our hands, gave each other a big hug and kiss, shed some tears of utter joy, and said a little prayer of thanks.
How do you engage with your readers? Do you find social media effective?
Social media is effective in building our following, but we need to do a better job of engaging with our readers and followers. We are also looking at the merits of starting a blog or podcast.
How did you decide between traditional publishing and self-publishing?
We simply didn’t have the minimum 10,000 followers to even consider hiring an agent to pitch a traditional publisher. More importantly, I liked the idea that I could establish my own self-publishing company, retain the book rights, and release the book unfettered.
My manuscript was already thoroughly edited, and I didn’t want any more changes to the content, including the book title. And because I self-published, I can donate a larger percentage of my proceeds to the Global Peace Building Foundation, the nonprofit organization I founded.
