I finally have my first copy of Can I Get Baptized in Fruit Punch in my hands. It feels really amazing. A five year journey has culminated to this very moment. It is something that I will never forget, and I will forever be known as a published author. Who would ever have thunk it?
My initial thoughts on the book is that it is a lot skinnier than I thought it would be, but that is okay because that means more people will actually read it. I also really love the glossy front cover. I think it is extremely cool that my picture is on the back. And it is incredibly special that in the last chapter of my book there are a couple pictures of my son. (spoiler alert)
Anyhow, I by the end of next month I should be able to get copies of the book to all of my friends and family members who want to purchase a copy before it hits the bookstores at Christmas time. The best way to know about all of this is to check out my newly revamped website.
www.baptizedinfruitpunch.com
I hope that you all will read my book, but more importantly I hope that you all will follow your dreams because they can come true.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
Photo Shoot
After the last blog post my wife suggested that we do a photo shoot because she thought the two options I had looked pretty dorky and unprofessional. So I got dressed up and my wife took pictures of me in the Florida heat outside of Spaghetti Warehouse in Ybor City.
I was reluctant at first, but she always seems to be right about these thigs so I sucked it up and she took some amazing pictures. After a facebook contest to see which one I should go with and a professional photographer friend of mine touching up the colors, the final product looks outstdanding and it can be seen to the right of this post as my blog profile pic.
Here are some of the runner-ups.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Cover Design
The editing process of my book is officially done and now I am on to the exciting part... cover design. My cover will be ready for viewing on June 24. I received an email from Linda Behrens this week who will be creating the cover for my book. Here is a little of what she said:
"After hearing from you about about your book, I will begin by sketching and brainstorming cover ideas. We have a meeting on other designers to eliminate ideas and focusing on which direction we should go in. Then, taking the strongest concepts, I will move to the computer to create several design options. Then we have a group meeting to decide on which cover designs are the best to send to you and which need revisions. My Creative Director will review the designs and recommend the best and most marketable options for you. I will send those designs to you. Please respond to the options within a few days of receiving them. Once you have chosen one of the directions I provide, the one that you feel is best for your book, I will make any last minute changes to the design, if needed, to make it the best cover it can be."
That is pretty exciting. To add to the excitement I am having a little contest. I need to pick a picture for the back cover of my book by June 15, So you can either comment on this blog or on my twitter account: www.twitter.com/jamesblewett or on my facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=890930011
Here are the three choices that I am going to choose from tell me which one you think would be best.
Vote on which one you think is the best for the back cover of my book.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Coneptual Editing
I got my manuscript from my conceptual editor whose name is James Bare. He marked up the manuscript with different colors. Yellow was what he liked a lot, gray was what he thought should be removed, and green is what he thought should reviewed or at least revisited. Needless to say, it was colorful.
He also spent some time explaining to me the difference between writing as a speaker and writing as a writer. I apparently say and type "you see" a lot. You see, this is something I say a lot when I am speaking, but, you see, it isn't very good when you write. You see, right?
Anyhow, here is what James Bare said about my manuscript.
Hi, James,
First, congratulations on completing your book! I have enjoyed reading it over the last month. I think you have a terrific opportunity to reach a target audience that needs all the spiritual advice it can get. I found the manuscript to be honest, heart-felt, humorous, and a generally engaging read. You did a good job intertwining your story of the things that have happened throughout your life with some critical questions about what we actually live our life for. In short, you made my job easy.
Before you dive into the manuscript, let’s address some “housekeeping” issues first. The purpose of the conceptual editing process is to develop the strengths and address the weaknesses of your original manuscript. This can often times be a difficult proposition; it’s important to remember that my comments, suggestions, and critiques are designed to provide constructive criticism.
As an editor, I am trying to help you accomplish your goals. I enter this process under the assumption that you want to tell a great story, you want to reach an audience, and you want to sell books. Tate acquired your manuscript for these purposes, because the company believes that you have a great idea. My job is to take your idea to the next level, to challenge you to think about your manuscript, and to ensure an end result in which your goals are met. I made my initial edits with these thoughts in mind.
He also spent some time explaining to me the difference between writing as a speaker and writing as a writer. I apparently say and type "you see" a lot. You see, this is something I say a lot when I am speaking, but, you see, it isn't very good when you write. You see, right?
Anyhow, here is what James Bare said about my manuscript.
Hi, James,
First, congratulations on completing your book! I have enjoyed reading it over the last month. I think you have a terrific opportunity to reach a target audience that needs all the spiritual advice it can get. I found the manuscript to be honest, heart-felt, humorous, and a generally engaging read. You did a good job intertwining your story of the things that have happened throughout your life with some critical questions about what we actually live our life for. In short, you made my job easy.
Before you dive into the manuscript, let’s address some “housekeeping” issues first. The purpose of the conceptual editing process is to develop the strengths and address the weaknesses of your original manuscript. This can often times be a difficult proposition; it’s important to remember that my comments, suggestions, and critiques are designed to provide constructive criticism.
As an editor, I am trying to help you accomplish your goals. I enter this process under the assumption that you want to tell a great story, you want to reach an audience, and you want to sell books. Tate acquired your manuscript for these purposes, because the company believes that you have a great idea. My job is to take your idea to the next level, to challenge you to think about your manuscript, and to ensure an end result in which your goals are met. I made my initial edits with these thoughts in mind.
Friday, April 23, 2010
My first interview
Elaine Littau, author of such books as Nan's Journey and Elk's Resolve recently did an interview with me for her website and newsletter. http://elksresolve.blogspot.com/
Here is the interview:
This week I am interviewing James Blewett.
1. What is your name and the title of your book(s)?
My name is James Blewett and I am the author of Can I get Baptized in Fruit Punch and other questions that new Christians ask that will renew the fire of your salvation.
2. What is one thing you think your readers would like to know about you?
I am a full-time youth pastor at a church outside of Orlando, FL. I have been a youth pastor for six years now. My writing comes out of my experiences every day in the trenches, where real life happens and God is moving.
3. When did you know that you wanted to become a writer?
I wanted to be a write ever since I was a little kid. I would watch soap operas with my grandma (that's embarrassing) and then I would go on the back porch and try to write my own.
4. What are your strong points in your writing style or methods?
I believe that the strong point in my writing style is my humor. I hope that when the reader gets through with my book that they will be inspired and challenged, but also feel like they had a fun time reading my book.
5. Are you a reader?
Absolutely, I was taught as a teenager that "Leaders are readers."
6. What are you reading right now?
I am reading Shepherding a Child's Heart by Dr. Tedd Tripp (I do believe though that word should be "sheepherding" because who has ever herded a "shep.") I just finished reading The Shack by William P. Young. I am also reading The Call by Brent Crowe and David Nasser.
7. Do you have another book that you are working on and hasn't been submitted for publication? Tell about it.
No I do not.
8. What are your biggest obstacles to writing and how do you overcome them?
The biggest obstacle is time. The way I overcome it is through patience. I do not intend to neglect my family or my current ministry in order to write so I just write whenever I can. I began writing my book in 2005 and finished this past Thanksgiving.
9. Please put a description of each of your books here.
Do you ever wish you could return to the days when you were a new Christian, before you got jaded with the things of the Christian faith, when you loved Jesus without compromise? Can I get Baptized in Fruit Punch is an attempt to restore the fire of your salvation and return you to the euphoric state of your salvation story. Through author James Blewett’s real life experiences and observations, this book will be a comical yet thought-provoking approach to the real-life issues that put a wedge between Christians and the excitement of being a believer.
10. How can readers contact you or purchase your books? Please put your website or blog here.
My blog is http://baptizedinfruitpunch.blogspot.com/
Here is the interview:
This week I am interviewing James Blewett.
1. What is your name and the title of your book(s)?
My name is James Blewett and I am the author of Can I get Baptized in Fruit Punch and other questions that new Christians ask that will renew the fire of your salvation.
2. What is one thing you think your readers would like to know about you?
I am a full-time youth pastor at a church outside of Orlando, FL. I have been a youth pastor for six years now. My writing comes out of my experiences every day in the trenches, where real life happens and God is moving.
3. When did you know that you wanted to become a writer?
I wanted to be a write ever since I was a little kid. I would watch soap operas with my grandma (that's embarrassing) and then I would go on the back porch and try to write my own.
4. What are your strong points in your writing style or methods?
I believe that the strong point in my writing style is my humor. I hope that when the reader gets through with my book that they will be inspired and challenged, but also feel like they had a fun time reading my book.
5. Are you a reader?
Absolutely, I was taught as a teenager that "Leaders are readers."
6. What are you reading right now?
I am reading Shepherding a Child's Heart by Dr. Tedd Tripp (I do believe though that word should be "sheepherding" because who has ever herded a "shep.") I just finished reading The Shack by William P. Young. I am also reading The Call by Brent Crowe and David Nasser.
7. Do you have another book that you are working on and hasn't been submitted for publication? Tell about it.
No I do not.
8. What are your biggest obstacles to writing and how do you overcome them?
The biggest obstacle is time. The way I overcome it is through patience. I do not intend to neglect my family or my current ministry in order to write so I just write whenever I can. I began writing my book in 2005 and finished this past Thanksgiving.
9. Please put a description of each of your books here.
Do you ever wish you could return to the days when you were a new Christian, before you got jaded with the things of the Christian faith, when you loved Jesus without compromise? Can I get Baptized in Fruit Punch is an attempt to restore the fire of your salvation and return you to the euphoric state of your salvation story. Through author James Blewett’s real life experiences and observations, this book will be a comical yet thought-provoking approach to the real-life issues that put a wedge between Christians and the excitement of being a believer.
10. How can readers contact you or purchase your books? Please put your website or blog here.
My blog is http://baptizedinfruitpunch.blogspot.com/
Monday, April 19, 2010
Friday, April 2, 2010
Monthly Update
So it has been a month since I last updated this blog and I realize that I cannot get loyal followers by only updating once a month, so I vow to pick it up a notch. I also realize that to drive more traffice to this blog and interest to my book that I need to mention current events. So, I believe that the DUKE BLUE DEVILS will win the FINAL FOUR but I want the BUTLER BULLDOGS to win because I love their head coach BRAD STEVENS because he is young and ambitious like me.
I also believe that the WORLD SERIES this year will have the TAMPA BAY RAYS beating the ATLANTA BRAVES. And last but not least I believe that we should all stop talking about TIGER WOODS because it is getting exhausting.
OK, now that I just increased my GOOGLE numbers let me get to the point of the post. I have another blog that I won't reference because I don't update it anymore and I looked back to 2007 and found a post about the book that I was writing. It was only a pipedream back then, but now it is a reality. I thought it would be interesting for my faithful readers to look at.
____________________________________________________________
August 7, 2007
I looked at my statistics and saw that 9 people have viewed my blog... Awesome! To those 9 of you who are now regular readers of my blog I have a special treat for you.If I am correct (which I usually am) the former Pastor of NorthRidge Dr. Maiden will be in pulpit on August 19th to speak to our congregation. After this he will have a book signing for his new book.This led me to reach back into my memory bank and withdraw January 1, 2006. On this day I made a resolution that I would write the book that has been inside of my head for a while now. The good thing about this resolution is that even though I have not made a lot of progress in the past year and a half I have not yet broken my resolution.So what I wanted to do for my faithful 9 blog viewers is give you a never before sneak peak into my new book which will be realeased on August 12, 2014. (it actually will be in 2010 :)) So here it is and please leave me some comments on what you think and where changes can be made. I love you 9!_______________________________________________
I am sure that all of you are familiar with a timeline. We learned to use them in the third grade and have neglected them ever since. The basic point of a timeline is to chronologically arrange the order of events that have some significance to each other.Such an example would be that I was born on May 20, 1982. I was saved on March 26, 1996. I graduated high school on May 22, 2000. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the Super Bowl on January 22, 2002. I got married April 24, 2004. Those are all of the significant events that have happened in my life up until this point and so the timeline of my life would look like this.Now what I would like for you to do is to make a timeline of all of the significant events that have taken place in your life. They could be things like your birth, your salvation, your marriage, the birth of your children, the Bucs’ Super Bowl victory; whatever is important to you. If you like you can write it out in the space provided below.Take a minute to look over your timeline and to reflect on these events. Think about how important all of these events were and where you would be if they had never occurred.Now what I need to you to do is to use your imagination. I need you to imagine that this next picture is one straight line. In order to do that, imagine that you can physically pick up the beginning of this picture with your left hand and the end of it with your right hand. Pick it up straight off of this page and stretch the two ends out like Christmas lights. (like its that easy to stretch out Christmas lights) Then take your right hand and toss out the end of the line until it is straightIn your imagination this line should be perfectly straight just like a timeline. This line would be very, very long. It could probably stretch through your house and down the block for a little ways.Now what I need to you to do is to use your imagination to take the timeline that you made for yourself and crumble it up into a little ball until it makes a tiny little dot. Place this little dot toward the very beginning of the long line that you stretched out in your head that went through your neighbor’s window. It would look something like this.What you now have is a clear and understandable representation of eternity. The beginning of the line in your hand represents the beginning of time. I will leave it to people a lot smarter than I to argue whether there ever was a real beginning of time. For our illustrations purposes your left hand will represent Genesis 1 when God created Heaven and the Earth and everything on Earth.The end of this line represents eternity. Now understand this: the line that you have in your imagination is very long. It is probably the longest timeline that you have ever seen, but if this truly represents eternity it is only a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of how long the line should really be. We can not truly make a timeline that represents eternity because eternity transcends time. But for the practical purposes that this book will serve we must try to wrap our finite brains around infinity and the only way to do that is use our imagination to make this line.So if your left hand is creation and the line is eternity then what does the dot represent? It represents your life. I bet for some of you when you were making your timeline you were thinking, “I sure have lived a full life.” Or maybe, “Boy, I am old.” But when you crumbled up your timeline and turned it into a dot I bet it made your life seem insignificant.What I need for you to understand is that this is as close to an accurate timeline as we will ever be able to make here on Earth. And every time you make your timeline and put it in relation with eternity, it will always be a dot.What if I live to be 75? A dot. What if I live to be 100? A dot. What if I am like Bethusela and live to be ? Always a dot. When we put our lives on the same scale as eternity it will always be a dot. Regardless.Do you remember the last time that you went to a cemetery? There were a lot of tombstones surrounding you as far as the eye can see. The tombstones said something like this:Here Lies John DoeA Great Man, A Great Father, A Great American1945-2006What do we really know about this man? We know his name. We know that there were people that loved him and thought highly of him. We know when he was born and when he died. That’s it. That’s all we know. The reality is that his entire existence on this Earth was summed up with a dash. All of the successes, all of the stories, all of the experiences, all of the hard work; everything is summed up in one little dash.It seems pretty depressing doesn’t it, but it is a true statement that one day after you die, everyone will eventually forget about you or the people that remember you will die themselves. When that happens all that you were and all that you stood for will be encompassed in that one little dash on your tombstone that separates the year you were born from the year that you died. In other words it will be nothing more than a dot on the timeline of eternity.The Bible makes this point very clearly a few times on just how short and frail our life is. James 4:14 says, “…you are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.” Job 7:6 says, “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle…” And Job 9:25 says, “Now my days are swifter than a runner; they flee away, they see no good.”
_____________________________________________________
I hope you enjoyed that blast from the past.
I also believe that the WORLD SERIES this year will have the TAMPA BAY RAYS beating the ATLANTA BRAVES. And last but not least I believe that we should all stop talking about TIGER WOODS because it is getting exhausting.
OK, now that I just increased my GOOGLE numbers let me get to the point of the post. I have another blog that I won't reference because I don't update it anymore and I looked back to 2007 and found a post about the book that I was writing. It was only a pipedream back then, but now it is a reality. I thought it would be interesting for my faithful readers to look at.
____________________________________________________________
August 7, 2007
I looked at my statistics and saw that 9 people have viewed my blog... Awesome! To those 9 of you who are now regular readers of my blog I have a special treat for you.If I am correct (which I usually am) the former Pastor of NorthRidge Dr. Maiden will be in pulpit on August 19th to speak to our congregation. After this he will have a book signing for his new book.This led me to reach back into my memory bank and withdraw January 1, 2006. On this day I made a resolution that I would write the book that has been inside of my head for a while now. The good thing about this resolution is that even though I have not made a lot of progress in the past year and a half I have not yet broken my resolution.So what I wanted to do for my faithful 9 blog viewers is give you a never before sneak peak into my new book which will be realeased on August 12, 2014. (it actually will be in 2010 :)) So here it is and please leave me some comments on what you think and where changes can be made. I love you 9!_______________________________________________
I am sure that all of you are familiar with a timeline. We learned to use them in the third grade and have neglected them ever since. The basic point of a timeline is to chronologically arrange the order of events that have some significance to each other.Such an example would be that I was born on May 20, 1982. I was saved on March 26, 1996. I graduated high school on May 22, 2000. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the Super Bowl on January 22, 2002. I got married April 24, 2004. Those are all of the significant events that have happened in my life up until this point and so the timeline of my life would look like this.Now what I would like for you to do is to make a timeline of all of the significant events that have taken place in your life. They could be things like your birth, your salvation, your marriage, the birth of your children, the Bucs’ Super Bowl victory; whatever is important to you. If you like you can write it out in the space provided below.Take a minute to look over your timeline and to reflect on these events. Think about how important all of these events were and where you would be if they had never occurred.Now what I need to you to do is to use your imagination. I need you to imagine that this next picture is one straight line. In order to do that, imagine that you can physically pick up the beginning of this picture with your left hand and the end of it with your right hand. Pick it up straight off of this page and stretch the two ends out like Christmas lights. (like its that easy to stretch out Christmas lights) Then take your right hand and toss out the end of the line until it is straightIn your imagination this line should be perfectly straight just like a timeline. This line would be very, very long. It could probably stretch through your house and down the block for a little ways.Now what I need to you to do is to use your imagination to take the timeline that you made for yourself and crumble it up into a little ball until it makes a tiny little dot. Place this little dot toward the very beginning of the long line that you stretched out in your head that went through your neighbor’s window. It would look something like this.What you now have is a clear and understandable representation of eternity. The beginning of the line in your hand represents the beginning of time. I will leave it to people a lot smarter than I to argue whether there ever was a real beginning of time. For our illustrations purposes your left hand will represent Genesis 1 when God created Heaven and the Earth and everything on Earth.The end of this line represents eternity. Now understand this: the line that you have in your imagination is very long. It is probably the longest timeline that you have ever seen, but if this truly represents eternity it is only a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of how long the line should really be. We can not truly make a timeline that represents eternity because eternity transcends time. But for the practical purposes that this book will serve we must try to wrap our finite brains around infinity and the only way to do that is use our imagination to make this line.So if your left hand is creation and the line is eternity then what does the dot represent? It represents your life. I bet for some of you when you were making your timeline you were thinking, “I sure have lived a full life.” Or maybe, “Boy, I am old.” But when you crumbled up your timeline and turned it into a dot I bet it made your life seem insignificant.What I need for you to understand is that this is as close to an accurate timeline as we will ever be able to make here on Earth. And every time you make your timeline and put it in relation with eternity, it will always be a dot.What if I live to be 75? A dot. What if I live to be 100? A dot. What if I am like Bethusela and live to be ? Always a dot. When we put our lives on the same scale as eternity it will always be a dot. Regardless.Do you remember the last time that you went to a cemetery? There were a lot of tombstones surrounding you as far as the eye can see. The tombstones said something like this:Here Lies John DoeA Great Man, A Great Father, A Great American1945-2006What do we really know about this man? We know his name. We know that there were people that loved him and thought highly of him. We know when he was born and when he died. That’s it. That’s all we know. The reality is that his entire existence on this Earth was summed up with a dash. All of the successes, all of the stories, all of the experiences, all of the hard work; everything is summed up in one little dash.It seems pretty depressing doesn’t it, but it is a true statement that one day after you die, everyone will eventually forget about you or the people that remember you will die themselves. When that happens all that you were and all that you stood for will be encompassed in that one little dash on your tombstone that separates the year you were born from the year that you died. In other words it will be nothing more than a dot on the timeline of eternity.The Bible makes this point very clearly a few times on just how short and frail our life is. James 4:14 says, “…you are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.” Job 7:6 says, “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle…” And Job 9:25 says, “Now my days are swifter than a runner; they flee away, they see no good.”
_____________________________________________________
I hope you enjoyed that blast from the past.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Copy Editing
Well, I haven't made a new post since January and that is because I was in a down period during the production of my book. They were assembling a team and told me that they would get back to me in March. March 1 I got an email from Lauren Downen who is the copy editor for my book.
The first stage in editing is apparently copy editing and then it goes to conceptual editing. In case you don't the difference (which I didn't) here is her explanation.
So, what's the difference between a copy editor and a conceptual editor?
* A copy editor reviews your manuscript technically, double-checking correct punctuation, misspellings, and formatting (such as Scripture and dialogue).
* A conceptual editor works more in-depth with your manuscript and you, the author, giving special attention to plot formation, character development, dialogue, supported arguments, etc., as well as double-checking punctuation, misspellings, and formatting.
The thing about copy editing is that I really don't have anything to do with it aside from the fact that I am the one who made the mistakes to begin with. So I really won't have anything exciting to show you or to tell you until April.
However... I can't leave my faithful blog readers hanging like that so I am going to tell you something extremely exciting that Tate Publishing is doing fo me... THEY ARE MAKING A COMMERCIAL.
Yes, that's right, Can I get Baptized in Fruit Punch is going to be advertised on cable television stations all over the country. The commercial will also be available on youtube and other sites like that. So I am going to leave you with an example of a commercial that Tate made for one of my colleagues Cliff Graham that will be hitting the TV screens this Spring.
The first stage in editing is apparently copy editing and then it goes to conceptual editing. In case you don't the difference (which I didn't) here is her explanation.
So, what's the difference between a copy editor and a conceptual editor?
* A copy editor reviews your manuscript technically, double-checking correct punctuation, misspellings, and formatting (such as Scripture and dialogue).
* A conceptual editor works more in-depth with your manuscript and you, the author, giving special attention to plot formation, character development, dialogue, supported arguments, etc., as well as double-checking punctuation, misspellings, and formatting.
The thing about copy editing is that I really don't have anything to do with it aside from the fact that I am the one who made the mistakes to begin with. So I really won't have anything exciting to show you or to tell you until April.
However... I can't leave my faithful blog readers hanging like that so I am going to tell you something extremely exciting that Tate Publishing is doing fo me... THEY ARE MAKING A COMMERCIAL.
Yes, that's right, Can I get Baptized in Fruit Punch is going to be advertised on cable television stations all over the country. The commercial will also be available on youtube and other sites like that. So I am going to leave you with an example of a commercial that Tate made for one of my colleagues Cliff Graham that will be hitting the TV screens this Spring.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Author Outline
Well I am in the waiting process of my book right now. The director of production, Dave Dolphin emailed me last week and said this about the waiting process, "Many of my authors have commented to me that God used this time in their lives to teach them patience." So I am apparently going to learn patience.
To be honest with you though this is all still so surreal that I am not impatient because I still can't believe that I am going to be a published author. My life is still business as usual and maybe when things start to really get rolling on my book that things will begin to seem real and I will grow impatient. I hope not though.
I was informed that it would probably be 180 days from March until I have a book in my hand. During that production time I have a team of people working on my book. This is what was said "Over the course of production, a team consisting of an editor, cover designer, and layout artist will be assembled, and you will work hand in hand with the members of your team." That is pretty cool.
The only thing I had to do this week was fill out an author outline for my book. I am going to finish this blog post by sharing with you question number two. Please comment and tell me what you think of my answer.
— What are the underlying issues you address in answering the umbrella question? (In most cases these will probably be the chapters.)
Chapter One “Life is like a Midget” deals with the brevity of life. This is where the reader evaluates their priorities and determines whether they are living for God or living for the world.
Chapter Two “Heaven Yes or Hell No” deals with the concept of eternity. This is where the reader contrasts the brevity of life with the reality of a never ending afterlife.
Chapter Three “Jesus is _____ing Awesome” deals with what life is like as a new believer. It portrays how new believers have no inhibitions and deals with some of the causes that extinguish that inhibition.
Chapter Four “Survivor: Bible Island” deals with the American church. It asks the simple question, “Is the American church as God intended it?”
Chapter Five “Bobble Head Jesus” deals with the authenticity of believers. This is where the reader evaluates whether or not they are living out a genuine Christian faith or just a memorization of facts and rules.
Chapter Six “Superman Wears Jesus Pajamas” is the triumphant ending. This is the final charge where the reader gets the final motivation to live a life for God and reestablish the relationship with God that they had to begin their Christian journey.
Don't forget to comment.
To be honest with you though this is all still so surreal that I am not impatient because I still can't believe that I am going to be a published author. My life is still business as usual and maybe when things start to really get rolling on my book that things will begin to seem real and I will grow impatient. I hope not though.
I was informed that it would probably be 180 days from March until I have a book in my hand. During that production time I have a team of people working on my book. This is what was said "Over the course of production, a team consisting of an editor, cover designer, and layout artist will be assembled, and you will work hand in hand with the members of your team." That is pretty cool.
The only thing I had to do this week was fill out an author outline for my book. I am going to finish this blog post by sharing with you question number two. Please comment and tell me what you think of my answer.
— What are the underlying issues you address in answering the umbrella question? (In most cases these will probably be the chapters.)
Chapter One “Life is like a Midget” deals with the brevity of life. This is where the reader evaluates their priorities and determines whether they are living for God or living for the world.
Chapter Two “Heaven Yes or Hell No” deals with the concept of eternity. This is where the reader contrasts the brevity of life with the reality of a never ending afterlife.
Chapter Three “Jesus is _____ing Awesome” deals with what life is like as a new believer. It portrays how new believers have no inhibitions and deals with some of the causes that extinguish that inhibition.
Chapter Four “Survivor: Bible Island” deals with the American church. It asks the simple question, “Is the American church as God intended it?”
Chapter Five “Bobble Head Jesus” deals with the authenticity of believers. This is where the reader evaluates whether or not they are living out a genuine Christian faith or just a memorization of facts and rules.
Chapter Six “Superman Wears Jesus Pajamas” is the triumphant ending. This is the final charge where the reader gets the final motivation to live a life for God and reestablish the relationship with God that they had to begin their Christian journey.
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Friday, January 15, 2010
First Time Author
Can I get Baptized in Fruit Punch is set to be released later this year. This is a book that I have been working on for four years. There were a couple of times when I did not think this book would ever get published, however two weeks ago I signed a contract with Tate Publishing to have my very first book published.
This blog is going to take you through the whole publishing process right up until the release date. There will be an entire website updated before that time and hopefully it will be a really sharp looking site.
Tate Publishing is based out of Oklahoma City, OK and they are the 10th best publishing company in the United States. Although, now that I have signed they will jump up the charts pretty quickly :) They are a Christian based company although they sometimes publish more than Christian books. They also own Tate Music Group which is a real plus because the two will work together later this year to make a TV commercial for my book... yes a TV commercial!
I currently finished the layout portion of this process. Basically they want you to read through your manuscript one more time. They want you to do some funky things to quotes and Scripture verses. For some reason I had to put ZZZZZ before and after every Bible quote. The only thing I can figure out is that they do a lot of sleeping in church.
I also had to work on backmatter. Backmatter I learned is a fancy word for the back of the book. I had to write a teaser for my book which I found harder than writing the book. I also had to write an author bio, which makes you feel really vain, and I had to write an acknowledgement page.
The next step in the process is the editing of my grammar and spelling. They said it could take up to a month, but I bet it will take longer than that because I am king of the; semi-colon. Keep checking back on this website to find out more about the book and the process of publishing through the eyes of a first time author.
This blog is going to take you through the whole publishing process right up until the release date. There will be an entire website updated before that time and hopefully it will be a really sharp looking site.
Tate Publishing is based out of Oklahoma City, OK and they are the 10th best publishing company in the United States. Although, now that I have signed they will jump up the charts pretty quickly :) They are a Christian based company although they sometimes publish more than Christian books. They also own Tate Music Group which is a real plus because the two will work together later this year to make a TV commercial for my book... yes a TV commercial!
I currently finished the layout portion of this process. Basically they want you to read through your manuscript one more time. They want you to do some funky things to quotes and Scripture verses. For some reason I had to put ZZZZZ before and after every Bible quote. The only thing I can figure out is that they do a lot of sleeping in church.
I also had to work on backmatter. Backmatter I learned is a fancy word for the back of the book. I had to write a teaser for my book which I found harder than writing the book. I also had to write an author bio, which makes you feel really vain, and I had to write an acknowledgement page.
The next step in the process is the editing of my grammar and spelling. They said it could take up to a month, but I bet it will take longer than that because I am king of the; semi-colon. Keep checking back on this website to find out more about the book and the process of publishing through the eyes of a first time author.
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