Be Still (A Seriously Write Blog Post)

Sometimes, you just have to stop. Stop writing. Stop reading. Just stop.
And be still.

That's when God reveals His plans.

I attended the 2015 Florida Christian Writers Conference last month. This was my 5th year attending. It’s close to my home, allows me to commute, and fits within my budget. All good reasons to go, right?

Learned a lot about the ever-changing face of the crazy world we call “Christian Publishing.” E-books are reaching a plateau (flatlining maybe?), unless you practically give them away. A year ago, everybody thought e-readers would become little Terminators and take over the publishing world. Now, it appears a simple business model may have actually done what John Conner struggled to accomplish in three movies.

Thank you, Kindle Unlimited.

Paperbacks are on the rise, especially with millennials, those twenty-somethings who always have their nose in a…, uh…, phone. Go figure. They like the “feel.” Paperbacks don’t turn off or keep beeping with notification sounds. It also seems highlighting sections of an online textbook and then trying to locate them later is a little difficult on an e-reader. Huh? Who knew? (And no, I’m not going to make any blonde jokes about putting white-out on the screen.) Other younger non-student-type-folks are finding that holding a book works better with the brain. “I know I saw that somewhere. It was on the left-hand page, right-hand column, halfway down, next to the picture of the liver.” Ever been there? Done that? (For more details, you can check out The Washington Post Article link below.)

Said all that to say this: Nothing is concrete. Nothing is unchangeable. Except God.

Book publishers come and go. Contracts get violated. Trends are just that. Trends. Sometimes they devolve into “Fads.” People scramble to catch the next big wave, but most waves only hit the shore and fizzle. Even tsunamis go away eventually.

Then, there’s those “Christian” people in the publishing world who sometimes don’t do “Christian” things, like taking the notes of workshop leaders and then hitting the lecture circuit, pretending THEY came up with all that knowledge. Oh, yeah. It’s happened.

Or what about publishers and bookstore chains who “go under” or file for bankruptcy? It happens. Some events are just unfortunate. Others may have been prevented if the business model was better. Point is, this crazy world of Christian publishing changes with the proverbial wind.

I learned one very valuable lesson this year. It’s a personal one for me. One I cannot elaborate upon in print for the world to see. Too many contractual issues involved, not to mention biblical teachings to follow as well. Suffice it to say, that there comes a time in every writer’s life when he or she has to step down, off the platform, and allow God to speak to him or her off stage. It’s not necessarily that God wasn’t controlling their life or directing them in their journey, and therefore God had to “grab the hook.” It’s more of a season wherein everything was humming along, and then God stepped in and said, “Okay, I have a plan for you, and it’s going to look a little different from this day forward.” I heard several people tell their stories this weekend. The message was eerily similar. Like a “movement” was afoot. Like God was cooking up something special. I, too, fell into that category. It’s not that I’m saying goodbye to writing. Instead, I am saying hello to other doors I had not considered or pursued before. Doors that seem to be open right now because of other ones God has closed.

So, what’s a writer to do when the tumult of the publishing world rages? Be still. That’s what you do. In Psalm 46 (NIV), the director of music, of the Sons of Korah says, “He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” When the oceans rise and thunder roars, when the publishing houses close their doors and sales flit about like a water bug on a pond, be still. “The LORD almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress” (v. 7). He will guide. Like Moses and the Israelites, when Pharaoh’s army stormed closer, He will be exalted amongst the nations. And He will be exalted in your writing. If you’re still. And allow Him to bring you to the place where His Glory may be shown.

For more information on FCWC, go to www.word-weavers.com/floridaevents

“Be Still and Know” by Steven Curtis Chapman

Annoying Marketing (A CAN Blog Post)

Grace and Peace to you!

Does anything annoy you when it comes to authors marketing their own writing? A barrage of Facebook posts, perhaps? Sent out like Hootsuite clockwork to all the pertinent reader groups? “Buy my book! Buy my book! It’s only 99 cents for another two-and-half-days.”

Or what about constant twits from the infamous Twitterverse? “Buy my bk! Buy my bk! Only .99 4 2.5 more days.”

Okay, so I jest. A little bit. We’ve all probably been guilty of this kind of annoying marketing at some point. It’s one type, according to Jonathan Gunson, fiction authors should never do on a regular basis.

As I read Gunson’s article, I thought of my morning routine, getting ready for work as an assistant principal. While shaving, getting dressed, etc., I normally watch a local news channel to catch up on the news and weather. There is one aspect of this morning ritual I have grown to despise, however: All the local dealership commercials and car manufacturer ads. Not only are most of the local commercials cheesy and poorly done (the scripts are horrible!), but it seems that every commercial break has at least four. Sometimes, back-to-back-to-back. If you want to know who’s got what on sale, just ask me. It’s been drilled into my brain, like a jack hammer in the hands of my dentist.

Does that make me want to run right out and buy a new car? I think you know the answer to this one. And that’s why I drive a 2006 SUV…

What became crystal clear to me while reading Gunson’s article was something my Bible reading has been preaching to me for months. It’s all about relationships. Gunson mentions the fact that a writer must become “interesting” to his or her readers beyond—and often before—the reader ever picks up the author’s book and actually reads it. Just tossing Twitter salvos into the masses and hoping someone says, “Oh, wow! I’ve got to get me a copy of that!” is pie-in-the-sky thinking, to put it mildly and politely.

Think about it. How did you come across your favorite authors? What drew you to them? Many times, you hear about a book via word of mouth, which is still the best kind of advertising ever, bar none. So, let’s say that’s how you heard about Author X. You follow through and buy the book recommended to you by your best friend or colleague at work. You read it and like it. What do you do next? Check to see if Author X has anymore books, right? If Author X does, you buy another. However, all the while, what else are you doing, if you are a normal reader? You’re finding out about this author. Besides the author bio in the back of the books, you go to Author X’s website when you get a chance. You may even check out Author X’s Facebook/Twitter/Etc. pages.

Now, here’s where it gets real. If you, the reader of Author X, find the author interesting, if you find the author engaging, if you find the author maybe has similar interests or writes about other topics—maybe on a blog or in a monthly newsletter—that help you deal with someone or something, then a relationship is formed that goes beyond the normal, average “author/reader” relationship. You may even seek this person out when he or she is in town to get a book signed. You may even travel many miles to hear Author X speak at a conference or convention.

If you’re like me, you’re not an expert on this field. I’m an author. So, by nature, I’m an introvert. I have “loner-type” tendencies which border on being vehemently hermitic (If I may coin a term). I function best in the world of imagination and the crafting of words. I’ve had jobs in sales before, and I’m glad I can do others things. Otherwise, my family would have starved to death years ago. I’m not a salesman, never been a salesmen, and have never played one on TV. I couldn’t sell a heater to an Eskimo in January during a blizzard.

And yes, my publisher wants me to help sell my books. You just have to grin and bear the logic.

This relationship piece, though, is something I can do as a writer. Over the last several weeks, a thought keeps resurfacing. You’re an assistant principal in a public school, and a real good one, too. You have a plethora of things to offer folks who have children and/or grandchildren in school. Writing about education from the inside may not be what I write about when I take off my A.P. cape and slide in front of the computer, but could it help others better prepare their children for success in the ever-changing world of public education? You betcha. Could it help build relationships with folks from all walks of life who otherwise may never hear of C. Kevin Thompson, the author of fiction? Sure. Would I also be opening doors to other writing ventures not yet real or imagined? Possibly.

No matter how I slice it, it all boils down to relationships, not slick marketing techniques which often have an adverse effect over time. I don’t want to be known as “that annoying author who always sends me the same advertisements over and over again. He’s worse than the Toyota dealership!”

Instead, I want to be remembered as the author who helps readers, too. “In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:12; New American Standard Bible). Then, when I do have a new book launch, I can alert my new “friends” and allow them to be my mouthpiece. It’s that kind of marketing a reader can truly appreciate. Why? Because they are helping a friend.

 

To see this article on the Christian Authors Network website, click the link below:

 Annoying Marketing.

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Have a blessed day!