About Bob Kern:
Bob Kern is a native Hoosier. Born and raised in Bedford, Indiana, like many boys in the 70’s, he dreamed of joining the military.</p>
His dream came true at the age of seventeen when he enlisted in the US Army never dreaming that shortly thereafter, he would find himself thrust in the middle of the Cold War.
Bob was in the US Army for almost 8 years and during those years he was quickly educated about the military life that civilians never see or hear about.
Since his honorable discharge in 1988, he has repeatedly thought about sharing his story with others to shed light on a time in history that hasn’t gained as much attention despite the importance of the time period to US peace.
Bob decided to write and publish the story of his military career so that others may have an inside view of what it was like to be in the military at that time.
Due to the overwhelming support and response from other Cold War Veterans, the historical documentary book series, ” We Were Soldiers Too” will be a ten book series
Bob is the father of five children – Natalie, Bambie, Amber, Bob, and Rob. He resides in Bedford, Indiana with his wife Marsha and his three granddaughters; Sage, Jade, and Harmonie.
What inspires you to write?
The gratitude I receive from other Cold War veterans for telling our story so people can learn how difficult our service was. It is very hard being a peacetime veteran in a wartime era.
Tell us about your writing process.
Each veteran fills out a questionnaire and then we visit for a couple hours on the phone while I take notes. I then sit down and write each of their chapters, researching as I go. I review and rewrite the chapter once before sending them each a copy to fact check and change. I then combine the chapters into a manuscript and do another rewrite with chapter transitions before sending it off to be edited. Each veteran gets one final copy of their chapter to approve before I will publish the book.
What advice would you give other writers?
Don’t be scared. If writing interests you, just sit down and start. Being an Independent Author means you have no timetable or deadlines. Self publishing allows me to bring my book to market for no expenses if I want. So don’t procrastinate and start your first book now.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
Self Publish. All the tools are easy to find and use. I chose this route to establish myself before pitching to a publisher or agent later when I spread my wings on new projects.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
The big publishing houses will either disappear or restructure what they offer because of how easy it is to self publish and the growing number of print-on-demand options. Book stores are almost gone and publishers still expect authors to carry the lion share of the marketing of the book. Self publishing will account for 90% of books in the future IMO.
What do you use?: Professional Editor
What genres do you write?: Nonfiction
What formats are your books in?: eBook, Print, Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Bob Kern Home Page Link
Link To Bob Kern Page On Amazon
Your Social Media Links
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All information in this post is presented “as is” supplied by the author. We don’t edit to allow you the reader to hear the author in their own voice.
