I’m gonna be honest with you – I’m exhausted. It’s been one of those days that leave you emotionally and physically drained, feeling like you don’t have much left to give. But while I’d much rather be in bed, I’m keenly aware that the month of April is coming to a swift close, so I feel compelled to offer one last update on my fourth challenge of the year – April’s Pursuit of Publishing.
Just in case you haven’t been keeping up with the blog, let me catch you up to speed. Last year, I wrote a book. The month of March was dedicated to finishing that original manuscript, having it proofread by a trusted friend, and completing one last read-through on my own. Piggybacking off of March’s challenge, the focus of April became taking the first steps toward having that book published. This month’s big decision was settling on a self-publishing company – which, for this venture, will be Westbow Press, an imprint of Thomas Nelson.
After filling out some preliminary paperwork, I’ve spent the last few days readying my manuscript for its official submission to the publishing company. Part of this process meant having to compile my entire book into one document – which, because of Microsoft Word’s penchant for self-formatting, has been a much more frustrating and lengthy process that you’d ever imagine.
Having my entire project in one document has, however, allowed me to collect some statistics – if my book was a baseball card, this stuff would definitely be on the back: 233 pages; 66,036 words; 303,802 characters. With numbers that large, my OCD and perfectionism see just one thing: the potential for lots of mistakes. Within a week, I hope to have completed one last read-through of my book, catching and correcting all the mistakes I can – after that she’ll be out of my hands and shipped off to the publishing company. If all goes according to schedule, I could have the final product in hand by the end of summer.
Of course, when big news related to the publishing of my book comes down the pipe, I’ll be sure to share it. When all is said and done, I hope to have a book release party, do some in-home book reading events, and maybe even a talk or two at a church. Although the month is ending, my dedication to seeing this project through to the end is not. But for now, its time to get some sleep, and prepare myself for May's challenge – but we’ll get to that tomorrow.
A short consultation call this morning, and forking over the first of three easy payments, has made it official – I’m on the road to publishing. Of course, these things take time, so I’m still about four months away from holding the finished product in my hands – but how exciting it is to watch a dream begin to come together.
In a few days, I’ll be contacted by my personal coordinator to discuss manuscript submissions, cover text, and the revision process. For those scoring at home, below is Westbow Press’s “Roadmap to Publishing,” a detailed timeline of what happens at each step along the way – it’s sure to become my best friend in the coming weeks.
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I have to say, once more, a huge “THANK YOU!” to everyone who’s taken the time to read my blog and offer words of encouragement along the way. Your belief in my dream is nothing short of inspiring.
As I move through the publishing process over the next few months, I’ll be taking notes – my head’s already filled with ideas for book #2. But, at least for now, I’m going to do my best to enjoy each step of this road, the one that allows me to finally run down a dream.
 In the past forty-eight hours, there have been some major developments on the book publishing front – I’m stoked to share them with you.
1) After a second conversation with a representative from Westbow Press yesterday morning, I’ve decided to go with them as my publishing company. Westbow is the self-publishing arm of Thomas Nelson Press, a major Christian book publisher (think Donald Miller, John Eldridge, even Billy Graham). Along with everything else it provides, a partnership with Westbow, if my book proves popular enough, could be a foot in the door to traditional publishing. A handful of current Thomas Nelson authors were discovered after self-publishing through Westbow.
When all is said and done, physical copies of my book will be available for purchase through major online
retailers like Amazon and Barnes and Noble, and an e-book version (for the Kindle or Nook) will be offered as
well. Although my book won’t be found in traditional bookstores, having the online capabilities will go a long
way to getting the word out, and, of course, I’ll personally be selling copies as well.
Next Wednesday, I’m scheduled for an over-the-phone meeting to begin the process of publishing with Westbow. I’m extremely excited to be working with them, and even more, to have finally cleared the hurdle of choosing a publishing company – it’s a huge burden off my back, and brings me one step closer to my dream.
 2) Since childhood, we’ve been taught to never judge a book by its cover – but let’s be honest, we all do it. The imagery, the font, the color scheme – it all plays an important role in determining if we pick a book up and flip through it, or if we put it back on the shelf. Since my book won’t have the powerhouse marketing of a best seller, it’s doubly important that its cover art be effective in attracting potential readers.
Enter Dirty.
My dear friend, Sarah Rohach (affectionately known as “Dirty”), has been studying art and graphic design at SCAD, the Savannah College of Art and Design, in southern Georgia. If I may freely use a term from the mid-nineties, her work is “pretty mac-daddy.” Of course, she was my first choice for book cover designer – my Anthony Davis, if you will. To my great fortune, she’s agreed to jump on board.
Talking to her tonight on the phone, she explained her vision for a book cover that is a bit abstract and heavy on typography. To be honest, this wasn’t what I had in mind at all, but after seeing some examples of what she was talking about, I couldn’t be more excited. I’m so blessed to have such a talented artist designing my book’s cover art!
Just to give you a taste, here are some of the examples she used of abstract art with strong typography. Obviously, my cover won’t look just like these, but it will be in the same vein.
Stay tuned, this “junk’s getting real!” (And with that, I easily eclipse my daily allotment of nineties slang. I’m sorry you had to witness that.)
1) Katniss
It’s been almost five days since I’ve blogged – that’s a long time for me. There’s only one person to blame for my lack of writing discipline: Katniss Everdeen. I started reading The Hunger Games the other day. I can’t put it down. Seriously. I need help.
2) Great Advice
At the end of last week, my stress level over picking a self-publishing company was skyrocketing. It’s a big decision with huge implications, and I didn’t want to make the wrong choice. After spending days online comparing companies, my fiancé gave me the best advice I’ve received yet: “stop thinking about it and pray.” She’s a smart one.
I took a few days off and did as she suggested. To make a long story short, I’m much more at peace about it, and feel pretty close to deciding on a publisher. I’m not quite ready to announce it just yet, but I do have an appointment to talk with a representative from the company this week. As with most things, it’s not perfect, but it has loads of potential. I’m pretty excited about it.
3) The Back Blurb
Besides the front cover, one of the first things people do when picking up a new book is read the blurb on the back – to be so short, its one of the most important parts of publishing a book. I’ve spent the past hour and a half trying to craft mine. If you read this blurb on the back of a book, would you want to crack it open and read more? Feedback (both positive and negative) is much appreciated!
The scriptures repeatedly admonish believers to repent – to change the way they think and act, so as to more completely align their lives with the Kingdom of God. Having grown up in the church, Caleb Mathis was familiar
with the word “repentance,” but not necessarily with its practice. A summer road trip would change all that.
Part travel memoir, part personal treatise of faith, I Repent is the sound of a Christ-believing boy straining to grow into a Christ-following man. Each city on the road trip’s route held a new lesson, another area in which God was demanding repentance: in St. Louis, it was judgment; in Chicago, a Christian’s response to government; in Baltimore, the need for believers to honor the Creator by caring for the creation. What started as a trip into the American heartland ended as a voyage into a place infinitely more exotic, beautiful, and dangerous:
the human heart.
How does a life change? One mile at a time.
Jon Acuff is quickly becoming one of my favorite writers. I tore through his book, Stuff Christians Like (a hilarious take on the oftentimes bewildering world of Christian culture), in less than two days. I’ve never laughed so hard while reading in my entire life. Trust me – go get it. Now. Jon routinely adds to his list of “stuff Christians like” on his blog, jonacuff.com. While his humor is engaging, it’s the serious blogs that keep me coming back on an almost daily basis. His newest book, Quitter, is full of wisdom and lessons on how to close the gap between your day job and dream job, so he routinely tackles these issues on his website. If you’ve been reading my blog, you know that I’ve dubbed 2012 the “Year of Change.” Since January, I’ve undertaken and blogged about a new challenge each month. I started the year off by listening to only Christian music for the month. In honor of Valentine’s Day, I took up the Love Dare challenge in February. March found me working hard to finish my book (I did!) and April has brought me here – trying to get it published. Interestingly, Jon initiated a similar challenge on his blog. Called FinishYear, he encouraged his readers to focus on achieving their dreams, whether big or small, during the course of the New Year. He writes about his own progress (a few of his goals include writing a new book and running a half-marathon) and encourages his readers to do the same. In the spirit of FinishYear and Quitter, Jon often blogs encouragement for those readers using 2012 to chase down their dreams. In fact, I just read a piece a few minutes ago on how to stop worrying about your blog’s traffic; it hit me straight between the eyes. All that to say this – on Monday morning, before work, I was scanning through a list of tweets when I ran across this one from Jon Acuff. I took the bait and clicked on the link, finding myself on his Instagram page and staring at a picture of a handwritten note. It was just the message I needed to keep running after my dream. No matter where you find yourself today in regards to your goals and aspirations, I hope it encourages you, as it did me, to keep putting one foot in front of the other.
 I’ve always hated mazes.
Hindsight being what it is, I can see now it was just the perfectionist coming out in me, but nothing brought a gray cloud over a fun day at school quite like a maze. Despite the fact that it’s a frustratingly ineffective teaching method, my elementary teachers used them at every turn (seriously, has anyone ever learned anything from a maze?). I was the kid with the knack for always taking the wrong turn – by the time I finally found the finish line, the eraser marks on my paper had turned it a light shade of pink. When a classmate showed me the “start-at-the-end” trick, I never looked back; I’m pretty sure I haven’t a solved a maze the correct way since.
I still see so much of that frustrated little boy in myself. I’m a dreamer, with big ideas and goals (like writing and publishing a book) – my mind always goes straight to the end, with little thought for the twists and turns it will take to get there. I see visions of the finish line and want to start there, working my way backwards to make the maze easier; unfortunately, life doesn’t always work that way.
After deciding to self publish my book, I’ve spent the past few days doing research into the myriad of on-demand publishing companies out there – each one coming with its own set of options and amenities, prices ranging from $700 up to $2,000 and far beyond. It’s enough to make your head spin.
Years outside grade school, I still find myself battling with a maze. Luckily, like that long forgotten classmate who showed me to the finish line, I know a few folks who’ve published books in the past. Here’s hoping their wisdom can guide me through the twists and turns, and point me in the right direction.
 A few days ago, I wrote of my intent to email some of my favorite authors, asking what advice they’d give to a new writer hoping to have his first book published. After spending an hour and a half on the Internet, I learned a valuable lesson: writers are fiercely private. Out of my list of nearly twenty published authors, I didn’t a find a single email address for any of them. It was obviously time to change my approach. While searching for his email address, I ran across an archived blog post by author and theologian Brian McLaren in which he gives advice to new writers looking to be published – jackpot! You can read the post here, but in a nutshell, he recommends starting a blog, routinely posting your work there to attract readers, and self-publishing your first book. (Self-publishing means the writer pays a company to have his or her work printed.) With the decline of book sales over the past few years, writing is getting more difficult as a career path. McLaren does highlights, however, the growing power of community – marketing and selling your self-published book to friends, family and neighbors. As word of your book spreads, it may be that a major publisher will eventually pick it up, which is precisely what happened with 2008’s best-seller The Shack. Seeing as I have little to no name recognition outside central Kentucky, I’ve long thought self-publishing might be the way to go with my book – but just to make sure, I went into my room last night and pulled every book off my shelf, compiling an extensive list of publishing companies. As I visited the website of each one, I was greeted with a similar refrain – “we do not accept unsolicited manuscripts.” Self-publishing looks more and more like it will be the route I take. I’ve spent some time researching different self-publishing companies, and with prices ranging from $800 and upward to have your book printed, I’ll take my time making that decision. (With a wedding in the future, the biggest hurdle will be figuring out how to pay for it.) For now, though, I’m content to be at least one step closer to seeing my book become a reality.
 Through friends and mutual acquaintances, I “know” a handful of people who’ve written books and had them published. A few months ago, I asked one of those friends of a friend if she had any advice for an unpublished writer trying to break into the industry.
“Has anyone in your family written a book before?” she asked.
I shook my head no.
“Then good luck.”
As much as I hate to admit it, she was right. Before its anything else, publishing is a business – it exists to turn a profit. A writer with an established readership base means more sales and will always be published ahead of a new-comer. This is why someone like Snookie (from MTV’s reality show The Jersey Shore), with little to no background in writing can become a published author, while scores of other hardworking writers hone their craft, day-in and day-out, in obscurity. It doesn’t seem quite fair, but that’s the way it is.
Although the “advice” (and I use that term loosely) I received from that writer may have been true, it sure wasn’t helpful. Yes, it is difficult for a first-time writer to be published, but it’s not impossible. When I start to get anxious about this month’s challenge of pursuing publishing, I remind myself that every one of my favorite writers, at one time, stood exactly where I stand now – and that gives me hope.
When you start something new, it’s always a good idea to begin with the wisdom of those who’ve gone before you. The last time I sought advice from a published author, I was gut-checked by her response – but I refuse to give up hope. Yesterday, I made a list of over thirty writers that I admire. Over the course of the next few days, I plan on getting in contact with each of them through email or social media to ask the same question – what advice do you have on getting published?
Here’s hoping they have something a little better than “good luck.”
One month wasn't enough time to chase down my writing dream - so it's being continued right into April.
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