This summer, I released a new book, Jumping the Long Rope: A Book About Finding Ikigai.
And just like last year, when I published Behind the Uniform Skirt: Ikigai-less Frontlines, I thought I’d sit down and share what the whole publishing journey was like this time around.
1. How it started
The whole journey began through one Quora answer.
About eight months ago, I had been in the habit of answering one question a day, nothing too serious, just part of my routine. Then one morning, I wrote a response to the question: “Why is it so difficult to integrate into Japanese society?”
I hit publish before heading to the office and didn’t think much of it. But by lunchtime, when I checked my phone, my feed was overflowing with notifications — views, comments, and shares piling up much faster than almost anything else I’d posted before (with only a few exceptions).
Over the next few days, the numbers kept climbing. What started as just another answer turned into a small wave of attention, enough that I couldn’t ignore it. By the weekend, it was clear: this topic struck a chord with people. That was the moment I realized I had the seed of something bigger, maybe even the central theme of my next book.
2. Brainstorming
Once I realized the Quora answer had the potential to become something bigger, I needed a framework to expand it beyond a single post.
That’s when I went back to something I had learned from Hirohiko Araki, the artist behind JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. In his books (荒木飛呂彦の漫画術 and 荒木飛呂彦の新・漫画術 悪役の作り方), he talks about the “Four Fundamentals” of storytelling: characters, story, world, and theme.
Basically, if you can get those four balanced, you’ve got the backbone of something strong.
So I tried applying that.
- Characters? In my case, it wasn’t superheroes or villains — it was real people: expats, students, salarymen, locals…all the different folks bumping up against Japanese society in their own ways.
- The story? That was the journey of trying to belong (or not).
- The world? Japan itself, with all the contradictions that make it both fascinating and frustrating.
- And the theme? That feeling of being caught between fitting in and standing out.
Here are my rough sketches ⬇️
Funny thing — I realized I was doing all this brainstorming in Japanese. Not deliberately, it just sort of happened. Probably because Araki’s books are in Japanese, and my brain defaulted to that. Only later, when I started writing, did I flip back into English.
At this stage, I wasn’t worried about writing beautiful sentences. I just needed the skeleton. Once I had those four pieces roughly sketched out, I felt like — okay, I actually have the structure for a book here.
Time to start writing.
3. Getting Started on Writing
Once I had the core idea, the next step was actually sitting down to write.
Honestly, this part was more about keeping up the momentum than polishing sentences. I just needed to get the story out, and I spent from June to early August in this phase.
- Plotting
I laid out what happens in each chapter, how the characters’ feelings shift, and how the subplots tie back to the main one. Nothing fancy — just making sure the story held together start to finish. - First Draft
Before diving in too deep, I checked for basic consistency: who’s where, when things happen, and whether the subplots felt distinct. Then I started writing scenes one by one, following the outline as best I could. - Fixing and Expanding
Early drafts always feel a bit clunky, so I flagged the parts that didn’t sit right and adjusted character details. Around this time, I started weaving in some Quora stories to give the narrative more depth. By the end of July, I had around 120 A4 pages — a solid length for the book. - Polishing Pass
The last step before moving on was smoothing the flow: double-checking dialogue, tightening phrasing, and ironing out cultural details (like whether to say “futon” or “bed,” “boss” or “supervisor”). Little things, but they matter for the overall feel.
By then, I had a complete manuscript.
4. Packaging
With the writing wrapped up, the focus shifted to making it look and feel like an actual book. I followed my own guide to Amazon’s step-by-step self-publishing flow.
- Formatting
I used Kindle Create to format the manuscript. That’s when it started looking less like a long Word doc and more like something you’d actually read on Kindle. - Adding the Basics
I put together all the standard parts — title page, copyright page, dedication, table of contents. I also added an afterword with a link to a feedback form and a short “About the Author.” - Keeping it Interactive
That feedback form wasn’t just an add-on. It was a way to keep the conversation going with readers. Kind of like how Quora had sparked this whole journey in the first place.
By the end of this stage, it really looked like a finished book sitting on my screen — just waiting to be published.
5. Publishing
Finally, it was time for the big step: actually hitting “publish.”
Even though this was my second time doing it, I still wasn’t used to how strangely anticlimactic the moment feels. No fireworks, no confetti — just a plain confirmation email from Amazon.
But then I typed my own name into Amazon, hit search, and saw the cover pop up. That’s when it really sank in. This thing I’d been working on quietly for months wasn’t just living on my laptop anymore. It was out there in the world, ready for anyone to read.
Looking back, this second publishing journey felt different from my first with Behind the Uniform Skirt. Back then, I was fumbling my way through, just trying to figure out how self-publishing even worked. This time, I had my own guide to lean on, I knew what to expect, and the whole thing felt a lot smoother.
There were still plenty of small hurdles, but instead of stressing over every detail, I could actually enjoy the process more.
And, that’s when I realized: oh, I’ve actually grown a bit as a writer.