One year ago today I launched my ebook 25 Things They Should Have Taught You In Medic School… But Didn’t on Amazon’s Kindle platform. In that year it has been downloaded 5,351 times (331 purchased, 5,020 free so no… I’m not rolling in dough), garnered 30 reviews, and I’ve received over a dozen direct e-mails about.

Today I am proudly releasing 25 Things They Should Have Taught You In Medic School… But Didn’t for the Kobo platform. It’s important to understand the significance of this because Kobo is, at least for myself, unchartered territory servicing the worldwide market with their stand alone readers and various operating system apps for Apple, Microsoft, and Android. This is my first true foray off Amazon, and a system I’ve spent quite a bit of time on, with a work that I believe in.

Here are what a few other people are saying about:

As a medic of over 32 years. best book I have read. This should be a must read for anybody thinking of going to ems as a EMT or Paramedic.Should be required reading in either course. All items were on point. Took me 10 years to learn all those lessons at the university of hard knocks and lessons learned. Should also be a required read to those who are managers or administrators. Excellent book and what’s best of all quick read. – 5-Stars From Milton

Definitely a worthy read for those that are just starting their careers and those that have been doing it for a while. Be open and think about what the author is talking about even if you don’t agree with it. – 5-Stars From Techmedic

An amazing and insightful read. In my few years of EMT experience, I have met individuals who would benefit from this read. Some colleagues, new to the profession, can be seen as prideful with their badge with their young impressionable minds; I had once been too, but humility, patient care, and empathy goes long ways. This is expressed in Dave Kong’s book. Other topics, as silly as, packing your lunch are shared, which make perfect sense and is a necessity. As emergency responders, we need the same sustenance that our customer/clients/patients need. We are human too. Great book, thank you for the read! – 5-Stars From Hammertide

Honest feedback is something I am appreciative for and of course, not EVERYONE can be a fan…

I have searched and search and searched and searched and searched and searched and searched and this topic is not here. I was redundant only because the site made type so many words – 1-Star From Phil

I am a medical professiona and thougth this book would be a great read. I was so disapointed. Did not find it interesting or funny. Sorry Dave. maybe next time. – 2-Stars From Staci Jo Loszewski

I’ve viewed 25 Things (which is what I call it when talking to people because, let’s face it, that title is a mouthful) as providing me with two essential things I needed a year ago:

1. A Work Of Constructive Venting – The ebook was born out of a serious frustration with the new providers that I am constantly in contact with. Instead of venting that frustration in a destructive rant style series, I tried to make it a constructive experience. It’s absolutely true that there are some parts that may want to make you slit your professional wrist, but that comes from my very above board honest nature. While I’m not going to gloss over the downside of working this job, at the same time I’m not going to ignore the great parts of it. Of course, a lot of the perception of the content depends on the open mindedness of the reader and I’m satisfied that the 3.7 Stars it has now shows that balance in the work.
2. I Needed Another Guinea Pig Work – It shouldn’t come as a surprise that I consider this one of my “3 Little Guinea Pigs”, with The Official Guide To Blogging For EMS and You Called 9-1-1 For What? being the other two; one comprised of a bunch of blog posts strapped together and the other a combination of repurposed material, some minor research, and transcribing some YouTubed 9-1-1 calls. 25 Things differs because the content is original, it was the first ebook I had a cover designed for, and had editing runs done by others.

It is important to understand that 25 Things is STILL also available on Amazon right here… but because it is no longer exclusive to the Amazon platform that means I can no longer enroll it in Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) Select program. Without being enrolled in that, there will therefore be no more promos (neither free days nor Kindle Countdown Deals) associated with that title on Amazon and it is no longer available for borrow from the Kindle Owners Library that Amazon Prime customers can take advantage of.

I know, that probably sounds like an awful lot of stuff that 25 Things won’t be able to do. Allow me to assure you that there WILL BE the occasional price drop promo, and it will be across BOTH platforms. As for the Kindle Owner’s Library and making it free for download, well yeah, that’s going to be sacrificial lambs for expanding the reach of the work. We’ll see how it goes but for now…