Virtual Book Tour: Interview with Christian Leader Ray Comfort

Ray Comfort is the author of more than 60 books, including, God Doesn’t Believe in Atheists, How to Know God Exists, Evolution: The Fairy Tale for Grownups, You Can Lead an Atheist to Evidence, but You Can’t Make Him Think, and The Evidence Bible. He was a platform speaker at the 2001 27th convention of “American Atheists,” and in 2007, he appeared on ABC’s Nightline (with actor Kirk Cameron) debating “The Existence of God.” He also co-hosts an award-winning television program, and has a daily blog called “Atheist Central.”

For more about Ray and his work, please visit www.livingwaters.com and Ray’s blog at http://raycomfortfood.blogspot.com/.

Welcome to Beyond the Books, Ray! Can we start out by telling us whether you are published for the first time or are you multi-published?

I am the author of more than 60 books, including, God Doesn’t Believe in Atheists, How to Know God Exists, Evolution: The Fairy Tale for Grownups, You Can Lead an Atheist to Evidence, but You Can’t Make Him Think, and The Evidence Bible. I was a platform speaker at the 2001 27th convention of “American Atheists,” and in 2007, I appeared on ABC’s Nightline (with actor Kirk Cameron) debating “The Existence of God.” I also co-hosts an award-winning television program, and has a daily blog called “Atheist Central.”

What was the name of your very first book regardless of whether it was published or not and, if not published, why?

It was a book called, My Friends are Dying! It told the true story of the drug deaths of five of my surfing buddies, and explained to parents what they could do to keep their kids out of the drug scene. The book has been published in the United States (I’m originally from New Zealand) under the title, Out of the Comfort Zone.

For your first published book, how many rejections did you go through before you either found a mainstream publisher, self-published it, or paid a vanity press to publish it?

It was sell-published. I didn’t get any rejections until later on in my writing career.

How did the rejections make you feel and what did you do to overcome the blows?

The bulldog is designed with its nose slanting backwards so that it can get a grip with its teeth, and still keep breathing. The driving force behind teeth-gritted tenacity is a passion for what you write. I was passionate. I wanted the bone and I wasn’t going to let go. That helped me handle the hard knocks of rejection. A slap across the head doesn’t deter a bulldog.

Someone once told me to aim at the moon and if I cleared the trees, I was doing fine. So I made an attitude adjustment. I deliberately became an optimistic tenacious pessimist. I am cynical when it comes to getting published. I expect the worst and if I get it, I don’t feel disappointed.

So, I still have low expectations, am thick-skinned, and I stubbornly kept trying. I can tell a rejection letter without opening it. It is very light because there was only one sentence on one page. It says “Thank you for your query letter. We regret to inform you that we are not interested in your book, but wish you well in your search for a publisher.” The first 100 or so upset me. Then I got used to them and handled rejection like a trooper because of my new “life as it is” attitude. Passion fuels me for the long haul until a publisher listens.

When your first book was published, who published it and why did you choose them?

Whitaker House published it in the United States. I didn’t choose them, they chose me (amazing grace). At that time, I would have gladly taken anything.

How did it make you feel to become published for the first time and how did you celebrate?

I was extremely encouraged, and I am forever grateful to that publisher for taking the risk. I celebrated by jumping over a full moon.

What was the first thing you did as for as promotion when you were published for the first time?

I went, at the publisher’s request, to a book convention, and signed.

If you had to do it over again, would you have chosen another route to be published?

No.

Have you been published since then and how have you grown as an author?

I now have seven published and have written sixty books.

Looking back since the early days when you were trying to get published, what do you think you could have done differently to speed things up? What kind of mistakes could you have avoided?

I don’t see any glaring mistakes.

What has been the biggest accomplishment you have achieved since becoming published?

In 2003, I produced an award-winning TV program (with actor Kirk Cameron). It’s now in its third season, in 70 countries and on 31 networks.

If you could have chosen another profession, what would that profession be?

Chocolate-taster.

Would you give up being an author for that profession or have you combined the best of both worlds?

They are combined (daily), especially since some nice scientists said that dark chocolate is good for us.

How do you see yourself in ten years?

Really fat.

Any final words for writers who dream of being published one day?

Make sure you realize that you have something no other generation has had. You don’t have to wade through fat and heavy books in libraries to find key address, hand-write their addresses, then distastefully lick a million stamps to send them query letters. You have search engines. So use them to make contacts. Look for key people on key sites. Keep your emails short. Offer to write free columns and don’t hold your breath until you get an answer. Move on.

Beyond the Books with Susie Larson, Author of Embracing Your Freedom

With enthusiasm, humor, and conviction, author/speaker Susie Larson has spoken to thousands of women locally, nationally, and internationally. Susie’s new release is titled, Embracing Your Freedom: A Personal Experience in God’s Heart for Justice (Moody Publishers). She just finished writing her sixth book, Growing Grateful Kids, which, releases in March of 2010. Susie has been interviewed on radio stations across the country and serves as a regular guest host for Along the Way (A two-hour talk radio show on Faith Radio-900 AM). While in Washington D.C., Susie and her husband Kevin, along with national recording artist Sara Groves and her husband Troy, represented International Justice Mission’s concerns in meetings with Congress as part of their efforts to abolish and prevent human trafficking and slavery. Susie comes with a passion to share the love of a Savior who will never let us go.
Web: www.susielarson.com
Blog: http://susielarsonblog.typepad.com/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/deeperlifeinchrist

Q: Welcome to Beyond the Books, Susie. Can we start out by telling us whether you are published for the first time or are you multi-published?

A: Thanks for having me. To answer your question, I am multi-published. I’ve written six books, one devotional journal, contributed to several books, and I’ve written numerous articles.

Q: What was the name of your very first book regardless of whether it was published or not and, if not published, why?

A: The title of my very first book is, Mercy in the Wilderness: A Selfish Heart a Faithful God. I self-published that book because of its memoir-like style; I wrote it for a very specific audience: those who hear me speak, hear my story, and as a result, want to buy my book. After researching the publishing process, I knew self-publishing was the route I needed to take with this book. Mercy in the Wilderness is now in its third printing and sells itself at conferences when I tell my story.

Q: For your first published book, how many rejections did you go through before you either found a mainstream publisher, self-published it, or paid a vanity press to publish it?

A: As I mentioned, I self-published my first book so I didn’t experience any rejections with that one. I don’t at all regret going that route with my first book. I learned a lot in the process and the book paid for itself within the first six months.

Q: How did the rejections make you feel and what did you do to overcome the blows?

A: Rejections are difficult for anybody. I know for myself, the rejections I experienced in my writing journey were all a part of a bigger process for me. God was readying me for ministry, and in order for me to be effective, I needed to be able to separate who I am with what I do. When rejections came my way, I got on my knees and I surrendered myself afresh to the Lord. I’d take some time and give myself a little distance from the manuscript, then, in due time, I’d pick it back up again and try to look at it with fresh eyes.

If our identity is too tied up into what we accomplish (or not), God’s important message of grace and freedom will get lost in translation through us. Sometimes He seems agonizingly uninterested in our timeline or our desperate desires to be published, but that’s not so. Truly, He knows us better than we know ourselves and He is intimately engaged with us on this journey. We have to learn the craft, learn to write a great proposal, understand our audience, do our best, and then leave the rest with Him. He knows what He’s doing with our lives.

Q: When your first book was published, who published it and why did you choose them?

A: I published my first book with Essence Publishing out of Canada (2000). I chose Essence because they clearly communicated the different options available, were regularly accessible to us, and had the most competitive pricing for our needs. That was back in the year 2000, and I’ve since noticed quite a number of self-publishing houses that have hit the scenes and are super competitive in pricing. A number of those new houses offer great marketing help as well.

Q: How did it make you feel to become published for the first time and how did you celebrate?

A: You know I felt different after each first experience. When my self-published book released, we had a book release party with lots of friends and ministry partners. That was a big first step for me. When my devotional journal released, I didn’t really celebrate but I was excited about the opportunity. It was my first contracted project (not counting my published articles), although my contract was with a stationary publisher, not a mainstream publisher. For me, the really big first was when I published Balance That Works When Life Doesn’t: Simple Steps to a Woman’s Physical and Spiritual Health (Harvest House Publishers). This was my first CBA contract and was a very big deal to me. I remember the day like it was yesterday. I was giving my son a haircut when I my agent called me with the good news. I ran around the house; I jumped up and down and I cheered. I ran upstairs to call my husband (who, by the way, came home with a dozen roses). My poor son sat there with a partial haircut until I came to my senses again.

Q: What was the first thing you did as for as promotion when you were published for the first time?

A: We did several things simultaneously. We mailed out hundreds and hundreds of postcards along with invitations to our book release party. I held up my book at all of my speaking events and shared a few sentences on why the message was important to me. We developed a website.

Q: If you had to do it over again, would you have chosen another route to be published?

A: No, I’d go this same route again if given the chance. Writing is a tough business and it can take years to see your first book published. I thoroughly enjoyed self-publishing because it gave me an inside look at the process while moving ahead with my dream. After writing six books, I still don’t think my first book fits in a mainstream publishing house, but even so, there are thousands of people out there whose lives have been changed by its message. I know I did the right thing. It was a perfect starting point for me.

Q: Have you been published since then and how have you grown as an author?

A: As I mentioned, my sixth book releases this spring (March, 2010). Also, I’ve contributed to several books, published approximately fifty articles with Focus on the Family and published several articles with other publications.

I’ve grown as an author mostly because I’ve grown as a Christ-follower. As I mature in Him, my message also matures. On a technical level, I’m learning that less is truly more. When we try to cast too wide a net with our message, we rarely impact anyone significantly. But if we narrow the focus of our intended audience, hone our craft, and write from a place of true passion and experience, we will connect with readers on a very deep level. Readers appreciate being singled out and encouraged along the way. One of the favorite things I hear from readers is this statement: you wrote this book for ME.

Q: Looking back since the early days when you were trying to get published, what do you think you could have done differently to speed things up? What kind of mistakes could you have avoided?

A: I believe I was on track with God’s best timing for me with regards to publishing books. But here’s one thing I wish I had done differently: in those earlier years, I was a little shy about assembling a mailing list and acquiring email addresses. It all seemed too self-promoting to me to ask for emails when I didn’t even have a book to offer. Nowadays you have blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and a host of other ways to communicate with your subscribers. Even if you don’t have a book to offer your subscribers, you can stay connected with them. It’s important to establish your platform in a consistent, professional way.

Q: What has been the biggest accomplishment you have achieved since becoming published?

A: Of course, the biggest accomplishment for me is the number of changed lives I hear about on a regular basis. It almost overwhelms me to read these kinds of statements: That book saved my marriage. That book saved my life. I’ve never been the same since I read your book. I’ve never known God’s presence or understood His love until your conference (and to all of these statements, I say, thank you, Lord).

Another thing I’m very excited about is the way that my ministry/career is evolving into a three-pronged approach: speaking, writing, and radio. I love each of these modes of communication equally and I’m very thankful for the opportunities that are before me in all three of these areas.

Q: If you could have chosen another profession, what would that profession be?

A: I know that I’m walking out the exact calling for which God designed me. And I’ve never been more fulfilled and motivated to make my days count than I am today. I have friends who are writers, period. I have other friends who are speakers, but not writers. I have other friends in radio, but they don’t speak or write. They are all specialists in their field. But it’s different with me. I don’t want to be exclusively any one of these. I have found my niche by balancing my time between the three. I have my work cut out for me. It takes a while to master three crafts, but that’s what I want to do.

Q: Would you give up being an author for that profession or have you combined the best of both worlds?

A: As I mentioned in my answer above, I’ve found the best in all three worlds!

Q: How do you see yourself in ten years?

A: Lord willing, I see myself with a thriving, daily radio program, five to seven more books under my belt, and a continually growing speaking platform. I would also like to write a few Bible studies with companion teaching DVD’s.

Q: Any final words for writers who dream of being published one day?

A: Don’t let the dream consume you; let it motivate you. Don’t let your life get out of balance in order to achieve your dream. If you do, you won’t last there. Keep your walk of faith your utmost priority. Be available for your loved ones. Take care of your body through exercise and nourishing food. And remember, you are valuable because God says you are, not because a publisher validated your work. Humbly receive criticism, hone your craft, and put your hope in God. In due time, your dreams will come true.

Virtual Book Tour: Interview with B. Jay Gladwell, author of WHAT’S WRONG WITH MORMONS?

B. Jay Gladwell is an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Having served in several leadership positions in the Church on the local level, he currently serves as the Gospel Doctrine teacher in his ward. He received and MFA from the University of Miami in screen writing and has taught various writing and cinema classes on the university level in South Florida.

He and his wife have four grown children and live in Miami, Florida.

You can visit his website at www.whatswrongwithmormons.com or his blog at www.whats-wrong-with-mormons.blogspot.com.

Welcome to Beyond the Books, B. Jay! Can we start out by telling us whether you are published for the first time or are you multi-published?

This is my first time.

What was the name of your very first book regardless of whether it was published or not and, if not published, why?

What’s Wrong With Mormons?

For your first published book, how many rejections did you go through before you either found a mainstream publisher, self-published it, or paid a vanity press to publish it?

Actually, I didn’t go through any rejections. This first book is self-published.

How did the rejections make you feel and what did you do to overcome the blows?

As I said, with this first book being self-published, there were no rejection slips that I had to endure. That doesn’t mean I’ve not experienced the rejection process on previous projects. My writing background is actually in screenwriting. Consequently, there have been many, many scripts that have been sent out and many, many rejections slips received as a result.

The only way I know to deal with rejection is to face up to the fact going into it that you know it’s going to happen. That’s part of the process. Sure, they sting, but that’s the way it works. The surprise should not be getting rejection slips. The surprise should be getting the acceptance letter stating they’re interested in your book!

When your first book was published, who published it and why did you choose them?

The first publisher I chose turned out to be a real nightmare (they shall remain nameless). You can do all the research online that is humanly possible, but until you actually get involved with the company you have no way of knowing how the people really work. As a consequence of sloppy work and poor communication on their part, I was forced to pull the book from the first publisher and go with another company–over three months work down the drain! The company I wound up going with was Cold Tree Press.

I chose Cold Tree Press on account of their philosophy. They were everything the first publisher wasn’t. They’re very author oriented and project centered. They don’t accept everything that comes through the door (I wasn’t sure they would accept my manuscript). As of June 1st, they’ve moved from self-publishing to traditional publishing, which is an excellent move for them, but for authors like me, it was quite unfortunate.

How did it make you feel to become published for the first time and how did you celebrate?

I know this may sound like kind of corny, but holding your first book, once it’s published, is not unlike holding your first child. Being a man, I’ve never experienced childbirth, but when it comes to bringing a book into the world I guarantee there are labor pains involved. The only thing that tops that is your first sale. To think that someone was actually willing to part with a portion of their hard-earned cash to buy your book and read it, that’s truly humbling!

There was no celebration per se. Just getting through the process itself and having a book to show for it was celebration enough.

What was the first thing you did as far as promotion when you were published for the first time?

The first thing I did was to secure a domain name in the form of the book’s title. Then I built a website for the book, www.whatswrongwithmormons.com, a home for it, so to speak. Next was buying a web hosting service for the site. That cost about 95 a year. So all total, my initial investment in the most basic form of promotion was less than 125.

Next I went online to find a list of the 100 largest cities in the United States. Using that list, I went to Craigslist and started posting a small blurb about the book with a web link in the books section of each city. It generates modest traffic to the site, considering the time and expense involved.

If you had to do it over again, would you have chosen another route to be published?

No, I don’t think so. According to recent statistics, the big publishing houses are publishing fewer and fewer books from year to year. The ones they do publish are by tried and proven authors–authors that have made money for the publishing company. So self-publishing offers the rest of us, what I believe to be, a reasonable alternative.

The main thing I like about self-publishing is the total control I have over my book. If the book fails, I have no one to blame but myself. Obviously, the reverse is true, too.

Looking back since the early days when you were trying to get published, what do you think you could have done differently to speed things up? What kind of mistakes could you have avoided?

I don’t know that there is, anything I could have done to speed up the process (outside of having gone to Cold Tree Press to begin with). Being the impatient person I am, I’ve learned that hurrying certain processes is not always advantageous to the final result. Indeed, “patience is a virtue.” Unfortunately, it’s not one of the virtues I’ve been able to successfully cultivate so far.

Ironically, most of the mistakes I’ve made throughout this process have come about as a consequence of my own impatience. So in an effort to avoid those kinds of mistakes, I wake up every morning with the determination to be more patient. Unfortunately, by the time the day’s half spent, so is my patience.

What has been the biggest accomplishment you have achieved since becoming published?

At this early stage of the game for my first book that “biggest accomplishment” has yet to be achieved. So that’s something I’m looking forward to.

If you could have chosen another profession, what would that profession be?

I’ve been very fortunate in that I’ve been able to pursue professions I have found to be interesting. My undergraduate work was in commercial art, so I’ve been a graphic designer, a commercial photographer, a Web site designer, a videographer, a screenwriter, a college professor, and I’ve even dabbled in sales (finding that to be most disagreeable). Now here I am trying to sell a book. Go figure.

Would you give up being an author for that profession or have you combined the best of both worlds?

So far I’ve been able to combine the best of all those worlds. Now that doesn’t mean I’ve always been successful, if you measure success by the size of one’s bank account. The only way I’ve been able to do what I’m doing is on account of the support I get from my wife Churé (pronounced Shu-ray). My Mom told her, “Any other woman would have dumped him a long time ago.” Thanks for your loyalty, Mom!

How do you see yourself in ten years?

Wow, I’m not one of those long-distance planner types. I try to take each day as it comes (“try” being the operative word). I don’t mean to imply that I don’t have goals; sure I do, like getting this book promoted for instance. After all, ten years is a long time. Only Heaven knows where and what I’ll be ten years from now.

Any final words for writers who dream of being published one day?

The old saying “honesty is the best policy” is spot on. I believe that’s especially true with artists, whatever the art form, and perhaps more so with writers. As a writer, you have to be honest with yourself. If you truly believe in what you’ve written, put your money where your mouth is, or in our case where your fingers are. If your book has the potential you believe it does then publish it yourself. Throughout the process, while your head’s in the clouds, just make sure your feet are firmly planted on the ground. Try to keep those unrealistic expectations tempered as best you can. That will minimize the potential disappointments.