WHY I
WROTE ‘HOW TO WRITE FOR SUCCESS – VOLUME I, II, and III
My writing journey began after I retired from the corporate
world, and my first memoir, I am Cancer
Free, was published in June 2013.
I was a successful banker, and after I retired from
banking, I moved on to insurance, where I excelled. I qualified for the
prestigious Million Dollar Round Table six times in a row and gained Life
Membership. As I was an MDRT member, I had the privilege to attend the MDRT
Conferences abroad. Those opportunities helped me to expand my knowledge in new
areas. After my dear death experience with cancer, I wrote, I am Cancer Free. I also wrote four
other memoirs, My Life as a Banker,
and one about my life after banking, Retirement
is Fun. I travelled extensively on
vacations and conferences for many years of my life during my Banking and
Insurance careers, and I wrote Travel
Memoirs
I
compiled and published my father’s memoirs, Memoirs of Dr. A. M. Khan. He was an Educator.
When I wrote my first book in 2013, I was just writing for
pleasure. In fact, it was not for pleasure because the book was about my bout
with cancer. I wanted to relate my experience with that dreaded disease so that
others in similar circumstances could learn from it. I made no effort to do any
marketing of the book. I did not realise that although I had written one book,
I was a writer, a business manager, marketer, and entrepreneur.
The book sold on its own because of the name, but if I had
marketed it properly, I could have obtained a greater amount of sales. I kept
on writing. I wrote a few more books, but I was not doing anything to put them
into the hands of readers or obtain reviews. I did not even have social media accounts.
One day, I heard my niece talking about Facebook, and I
decided to open a Facebook page. I joined several Facebook discussion groups
for authors. From the discussions, I realized I needed to advertise my books if
I wanted reviews.
I decided to take the easy way out and give up writing. I
thought that I was a failure at it. However, I remembered the words of Anthony
Robbins in his international bestseller, “Unlimited Power.”
‘There
is no such thing as failure. There are only results. Failure is something that
is not perceived by people who achieve greatness. They do not dwell on
it.’
Another small voice
within me reminded me that my motto all my life was, “Never give up.”
I reflected on my life. When things were rough, I never
gave up on banking, and I climbed the ladder to success.
In 2014, I wrote Heart-Warming
Tales and Stories People Love.
Both books are short story collections.
They each received five-star reviews from readers, but I still felt that
I needed to write some more exciting stories.
In 2016, an idea for a science fiction series came to me,
and in February 2016, I published Zeeka
and the Zombies: Revenge of Zeeka
Book 1. Within a few months, I released Zeeka’s Child Book 2 and Zeeka
Returns Book 3.
I had compiled the first three books into a trilogy called Revenge of Zeeka: Horror Trilogy. In
September 2016, I submitted the trilogy to Reader’s Favorite for a free review.
The book received a five-star review and a five-star seal.
In 2017, I added two more books to the series - Zeeka’s Ghost Book 4 and Resurrection Book 5. I compiled the
five books into one book called Zeeka
Chronicles.
I sent Zeeka
Chronicles to Reader’s Favorite International, and it received a five-star
review and five-star seal. In September 2017, the book won an award in the Best
Science Fiction category of the SIBA Awards.
Because of the many successes that I achieved in 2017, I
decided to write How to Write for
Success as a guide for new authors.
In that book, which I published on my birthday, 1st
December 2017, I explained the steps I took to become a better writer.
I had a burning desire to share my knowledge with new
writers.
I believe that mistakes are stepping-stones to success.
The book covers how to plan a story, draft the plot, write
narrative and dialogue, build characters, build a story world, and do the nitty-gritty
stuff before and after you publish your book. I also delved into how to market the
book, get sales, and reviews, and gave a practical example of how to publish a
book. When these salient matters are clear in your mind, you can feel
comfortable starting your writing journey. The book received a five-star review
from Reader’s Favorite International.
In 2018, I was elated to receive the gold award for Zeeka
Chronicles in the Science Fiction category of the Emagazine Reader’s Choice
Awards. The book also placed in the top ten finalists for the Author Academy
Global Awards.
In 2018, I received the best news. Zeeka Chronicles won an
award in the Reader’s Favorite International Book Awards 2018, in the category
of young adult, and I am Cancer Free won an award in the category of Health and
Fitness at the same award function. It was a double celebration.
I travelled to Miami to receive those awards.
In 2018, Memoirs of Dr. A.M. Khan: Journey of an Educator
received four five-star reviews from Reader’s Favorite International.
I continued to receive awards for Stories People Love, How
to Write for Success, and Zeeka Chronicles.
I also wrote Volume
II of How to Write for Success, which focuses not only on publishing and
marketing, but on writing characters, writing for kids, memoirs, and fiction.
Self-Publishing Tips is the third in the How to Write for Success
three-book series, and a simple guide for new and aspiring authors who want to
be independent and learn the art of self-publishing.
To date, I have published 68 books, 68 audiobooks spanning
various genres, including science fiction, memoir, horror, mystery, romance,
self-help, poetry, children's books, anthologies, magazines, and three screenplays
for my sci-fi, horror, and romance novels.
My horror screenplay for Zeeka and the Zombies II was selected as a finalist in the
13Horror-com Film & Screenplay Contest in September 2025.
My romance/mystery screenplay, The Gift of Love, was selected in the Quarterfinals Stage 32 +
DramaBox Screenwriting Competition in April 2026.
NEVER GIVE UP!
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