It’s rare to write, publish and sell a book by the age of 20, but one Miramar Marine has accomplished this challenge.
Lance Cpl. Dustin A. Benson, a administration clerk at the Installation Personnel Administration Center, published a poetry book called “Writings Of An Amateur, Volume 1, The Young Poet” Sept. 8, 2008.
The tall, slender Marine is quiet, but when engaged in conversation, displays his way with words.
Ten years ago, Benson began writing as a way to release some of his thoughts. His poems are a mix of observations, emotions and creative writing. He would put himself in someone else’s shoes and write from their perspective. Although writing was a creative outlet for Benson, he never expected to publish a book.
“I spoke to people about writing a book to see how they would react, but I never took the thought of it seriously,” said Benson.
When Benson received positive reactions from different people about the idea, he decided to research the process of publishing.
Benson decided to publish the book early in his Marine Corps career after he completed Marine Combat Training.
“I had poems that were written five years ago,” said Benson. “I knew that I had material that I could publish. I needed to figure out how to do it.”
He contacted a publishing company that offered to publish his book for $15,000, but he was unable to afford it.
Benson was forced to wait for the publishing company to offer him a deal. They eventually called him back in February 2008 and offered to publish his book for $2,000. Six months later, Benson’s book was published and he received 30 copies of his book.
“I received a letter from the publishing company, thanking and congratulating me for being the first author that they knew of to write a book of that size, comprised of only poetry,” said Benson.
Lance Cpl. Guadalupe Alvarado, an administrative clerk at IPAC and Benson’s friend, learned about the book when she overheard him speaking about it.
“I was very impressed that someone his age was able to write a book and have it published,” said Alvarado, who purchased Benson’s book on the Internet. “I never met anyone who wrote a book before I met him.”
His co-workers speak highly of him, beyond his writing ability.
“Benson is one of those people who set their mind to do something and do it,” said Sgt. Maria E. Razo, non-commissioned officer in charge at the identification card center at the Joint Reception Center, who supervised Benson for six months. “He is responsible, loyal, honest and hard-working. He is a good Marine.”
Benson plans to re-enlist and publish two more books in the near future including a second volume to “Writings Of An Amateur,” which is in its pre-publishing phase, and a book of short stories.
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