When musician Craig Cronbaugh hopped off a Greyhound bus in San Diego in 1985 and spent the afternoon with his idol, Frankie Laine, he knew the experience was too good to keep to himself.

So 20 years later, he published “Reaching for a Star: A Memoir of My Life, My Music, and My Friendship with Famed Singer Frankie Laine,” through a sometimes stressful process that, after nearly two years of writing and editing, taught him perseverance and patience, traits other part-time authors have learned as well.

“(Writing a book) was always in the back of my head ever since I went out to San Diego in 1985,” said Cronbaugh, now acting director of the Legislative Information Office of the Iowa Legislative Services Agency. “In the back of my mind, I knew that someday I would have to write about this story.”

Cronbaugh was a drummer and had performed professionally with several groups, even producing his own album, “That Drummer!” But a 1990 car accident forced him to end his musical career. He went to college and in 1997 took a job at the Capitol.

Nearly two years ago, he began to put his memories of his music career and friendship with Laine on paper. He read it, made changes and designed a cover. He sent a few letters seeking interest from literary agents and, with no success, opted to work through a self-publishing company, AuthorHouse.

“My wife said she’d leave me if ever wrote another book,” Cronbaugh said, laughing. “It was the most stressful project I’ve had, because you want everything to be right.”

Kurt Pearson, founder of the West Des Moines office of Compass Financial Services and author of “Coram Deo: Reflections on Presence,” said the writing process was arduous and intimidating, yet also led to a period of great self-discovery.

“It’s not something that is such a big deal to me in terms of how many books I sell because the path was such a personal spiritual journey,” he said.

Pearson set out to write a book as a way to celebrate the 15th year of his financial planning business, but chose to write a philosophical book: a series of essays that provide insight into what families are confronted with while striving to balance professional and personal lives. He began to write in October 2004, but because the book is filled with personal experiences, “in reality I’ve been working on the book my whole life,” he said. The book, released in March by iUniverse, covers topics such as “Wonder,” “Senses” and “Learning to Lament.”

When the first shipment of books arrived, “it’s like there were bad demons coming out of the package,” he said. As a result, he couldn’t open the box for several days.

Despite any struggles that came along the way, he would like to write another book, likely a fiction novel. Last weekend, he sat down at his computer and started by simply writing about a character.

“As long as we are listening to what’s inside of us and we are responding to the journey, it doesn’t really matter what feedback you get or how many books you sell or what your gross revenues are for the year,” he said.

Jerry Foster’s book, “LifeFocus: Achieving a Life of Purpose and Influence,’ was released in May 2004, and has sold about 10,000 copies in various languages, which has encouraged him to sit down and begin work on a second book.

The book was the result of a written set of goals Foster established seven years ago, as well as the evolution of his financial planning business, Foster Group Inc., that allowed him to look at wealth from a broader perspective. “LifeWealth,” a term he introduced through his business, includes financial, relational, physical, spiritual and intellectual capital.

He began the formal writing process in November 2002, though he had been accumulating written ideas for “LifeFocus” for several years. He spent some time at work writing, and often woke up early and wrote for a couple of hours before heading into the office. He completed the book in April 2003, and then waited for one year as “LifeFocus” went through the publishing process.

“Initially, I wasn’t dealing with a specific goal in mind, but it’s caught on and a lot of people have been helped from it, so we’re starting to see some momentum,” Foster said. “But the greatest benefit was that it helped me focus on my own life goals.”