What are you learning today, right now? Are you in the process of working through a new experience? I hope you’re writing it down as you go! Not only will you benefit from recording your experiences, but you might also be able to turn a profit from your efforts.

It’s probably already occurred to you that writing down your daily experiences with your project will create an invaluable resource for you to use next time you are in a similar situation. Has it also occurred to you that many others could benefit from your new-found expertise? If you are working through any of a host of common life problems or situations, chances are very, very good that other people would like to read about your problems, solutions, observations and instructions for next time.

The first step is to record the daily ups and downs of your project. Include tips or “hacks” that you discover to make things easier, pitfalls you plan to avoid next time around, time estimates, money estimates, ways to save, resources that others can access for supplies and advice, and so forth. Include instructions to complete each step of the project. If you are handy with a camera, document each phase with photos or video.

Now, when everything is said and done, go back over this source material that you’ve created. Put it into a logical presentation order. This might be step-by-step, it might be chronological, or it might be in some other sequence all together, just make sure it’s logical and others can follow it.  Divide it into steps or phases if your project is complex.  Add the pictures you took along the way or some sketches that clarify things.  If you choose to use others’ pictures, make sure that you can use the pictures without royalties or permission, or pay or get the permissions if needbe.

Clean up your journal entries with a little proofreading and editing. Type them up and expand on them if you need to. Is it starting to look like a “how-to” book yet? Now consider the format that you wish to present to the public.  If it would work best as a print book, look into the many Print-On-Demand services.  Try to find one that has manageable set-up and start-up costs, and make sure that whichever company you choose has the connections to help you market your book or at least get it into catalogs with the likes of the large on-line and brick-and-mortar bookstores.

You might find that your journal is best as a video tool.  That’s pretty easy to set up as well; do a bit of research on how to create videos.  You can even embed videos into ebooks on many platforms today.

And who knows, you just might be able to earn a few dollars from your journal!