In his journey as a corporate professional for more than thirty years, Khaled has observed many things that could be annoying. But instead of looking at them in a negative light, he chose to look at them from an interesting, whimsical angle.

He then started to write LinkedIn blog posts about his observations, which he dubbed “Tickles”, and when his follower base increased from 700 to 17,000, he quickly realized that he was onto something big. Turning those blogs into a book became his next goal. But the thing is, he did not know where to start. This was when he reached out to the Passionpreneur Publishing team, who helped him turn his blogs into a published book that is not an international bestseller, yet (pun intended).

A journey of getting tickles by challenging situations

For years, Khaled has worked in the world of advertising, marketing, and communications for world-class companies such as Coca-Cola and Tetra Pak, thoroughly knowing each sector’s ins and outs — including branding, storytelling, and reaching out to the customers (both internally and externally).

During his professional career, he has observed several things that happen in the corporate world — about how people behave, about the things that annoy him, and AHA moments that tickled his mind.

This is where he developed a knack for writing and decided to combine it with his marketing experience of storytelling to share his observations with others who experience similar things.

Blogs that began his writing journey

Communicating with clients and working with people around the world has given Khaled an insight into different issues that tickle not only him but also the people around him. So, he began to choose a couple of his observations about the industry and how people behave in corporate settings, wrote them down as blogs, and posted them on LinkedIn under the name ‘This is what tickles me’.

He received positive feedback on these blogs, and his LinkedIn followers gradually increased from 700 to more than 17,000. So, he decided to continue writing about these observations — which a lot of people would think too, but not often point out. However, instead of writing something in a serious tone, he wanted to have a humorous twist to the situations so that the readers would be entertained and inspired at the same time.

Soon, he wrote more than a hundred blogs, reaching thousands of people on LinkedIn.

But what about the people who are not on the platform or are not already following him? He wanted to reach out to them too. So he decided to compile all his blogs into one place for those who preferred to read books at their own pace, and that’s when the idea of ‘This Is What Tickles Me” book was born.

“The purpose of this book is to address the issues that tickle you in a light-hearted way, and I’m glad that I could see that happen.”

– Khaled Ismail

From blogs to an international book

Once he set his mind on creating the book, Khaled began picking up the most popular and most tickling posts of his and compiled them together as the first draft of his book. But an important question arose in his mind — what next? How to go about publishing a manuscript that was ready?

He didn’t have a clear answer to it. So he turned to google and read a lot about publishing. He looked at various things involved in self-publishing and even looked at a couple of DIY self-publishing. Soon, he realized that this whole process was time-consuming, especially for a senior executive like him. And traditional publishing route seemed to be something that required effort in getting a publishing deal and had a very long waiting time before even knowing if the book would be published.

He needed the right fit, a publisher that had the “niche” to get what his book was about so they can offer real help both on improving his manuscript and the publishing process.

One day, he got in touch with Moustafa Hamwi, CEO of Passionpreneur Publishing, on LinkedIn, and after their first meeting, and it was clear that it was a great match.

Moustafa not only was the right publisher, but he also had a similar aspiration of bringing transformation into the world.

“Unlike the other publishers, Passionpreneur Publishing truly cares for the authors.”

– Khaled Ismail

The team at Passionpreneur Publishing made the entire process seamless and gave him the personalized touch he was looking for. The team helped him turn individual blogs into a structured book, which then was published internationally. They even supported him with an online marketing kit and guided him on gaining further publicity for the book launch and himself through the book.

No more business cards!

“The doors which open when you become a published international author are unbelievable.”

– Khaled Ismail

Khaled asserts that the people you meet throughout that journey were so enriching both personally and professionally. He no longer carries business cards to select meetings. Instead, he leaves a copy of his book behind, and that alone has gained him many new friendships and opportunities which he wouldn’t have had the privilege to have.

The book gave a turbo boost to his 30 years of experience by making him an “International Author”. He now gets more invitations to speak at events, conferences, and panels where he shares his insights into what tickles him.

Best of all, his book is not an international bestseller, yet (pun intended).

Khaled’s book showed that you don’t need a lot of planning to write your book; sometimes, all you need is a true passion for your topic and use the content you already created. With the right publisher by your side, you will achieve your dream of becoming an international author.

So, if you have blogs or other content that you have been sleeping on for a while, maybe this is your wake-up call to get in touch with Passionpreneur Publishing to help you become an international author in the coming three months.