Interview with an Author Part 3

This week we’re wrapping up our conversation with a few authors by discussing what they’d do differently regarding their publishing careers and what tips they’d pass along to aspiring writers. You can read Part 1 here and Part 2 here. If you have appreciated their responses over the past few weeks, please let them know—Lisa Whittle, Jonathan Merritt and Leeana Tankersley. 

***

WOULD YOU DO ANYTHING DIFFERENTLY IF YOU WERE STARTING OVER IN YOUR PUBLISHING CAREER? 

LW: No and yes. :) No, in the sense that I can see how God clearly orchestrated this path for me, as it was one I did not go looking for. Even though I cringe sometimes at the simplicity of my earliest writing, I love the way my books reflect my own growth and each in some way have helped people—so I can’t regret the sometimes bumpy journey.

Yes, in the sense of having a better understanding for the parts of the publishing business that make me uncomfortable at times (marketing, etc.) but are also completely necessary. I wish I had embraced them earlier on. I became an author before I grew an audience. That’s a hard, backward way to do things. So if I were to start now, I would start blogging earlier, pour more into my core followers from the start and watch the ministry grow from that.

JM: Yes. I asked my mentor, Margaret Feinberg, for advice a few years ago. She said, "Go write for the general market." At the time, I was writing mostly for Christian magazines and websites. I think Margaret knew how difficult it was to work within this niche and how little they pay. And I believe she also saw that my gifting and interest was broader than just the Christian market. I made the switch after that conversation, and it has really paid off. If I could rewind my career, I would have started writing for mainstream publications sooner. 

LT: Yes. I garnered my first book contract without an agent and I decided to forgo agency with that book. I assumed that an agent’s role was to help negotiate a contract, and since I was happy with the contract I had, I sort of felt like I’d just be parting with 15% of my advance, which didn’t seem to make sense at the time.

What I didn’t know then is that an agent—the good ones, like I have!—will stick with you through the entire publication process and help advocate for you and your work in the months leading up to release. A good agent will make sure there’s a marketing plan and a marketing budget and will be sure there’s an investment being made in your book so that the release will be as successful as possible.

I didn’t know all this until it was too late and, due to life circumstances (I had twins during the pre-release phase of my first book), a lack of knowledge about the process and the changing industry of publishing, and some significant turnover at my publisher, I was not able to adequately advocate for myself, and I believe the release of my book suffered as a result.

Shortly thereafter, I was introduced to Chris Ferebee, and he became my agent.

I have not looked back. Chris and his team have stood in my corner and navigated conversations I got to steer clear of. They have advocated for me and supported me in so many tangible and intangible ways, and I wish I would have had the foresight to reach out to Chris for that first book.

WHAT ONE TIP WOULD YOU PASS ALONG TO YOUR ASPIRING WRITER FRIENDS?

LW: Choose a mission statement over your writing early on (even if it’s of a secular bend or fiction) and drive down only that road of purpose. Never get off that road. Though you will change and your topics will change as you experience life, driving down that one road will be your constant and cut down a lot of confusion over things like: should I write this or that?

When you have a mission for why you write, the what of your writing will answer to it. It will help you stay encouraged in down times and give you that ultimate goal to always keep looking toward. It helps you self edit, as well, as everything answers to the question, “Does this support my mission?” If it doesn’t, it has to go. Purpose in writing is vital. It keeps you honest and from making your writing solely about you.

Press yourself to answer the deeper question—not just “I want to write beautiful things for people” but take it a step further—“I want to write beautiful things for people to help them feel joy.” Then go forward down the road of helping people feel joy, whether it’s through hearty fiction or writing about gardening or how to dress better. Always drive down your same mission statement road and it will keep you steady and focused.

JM: Don't stop writing. If you want to become a writer, you have to work harder than everyone else and you have to outlast everyone else. Each year, aspiring writers quit and go back to focusing on their day job. The ones who keep learning and keep working and keep plowing away are the ones who break through. I felt called to be a writer in 2004 and didn't publish my first article for nearly two years. That's three years of rejection. I didn't publish a book for another three years. Which is to say, I endured another three years of rejection. But I refused to quit growing, quit networking, and quit writing. And today, I've published more than 3,000 articles and am working on my fourth book. The road to becoming a writer is paved with discouragement, disappointment, and a dump-truck load of rejection. If a writer has the skill to succeed, they only need the will to succeed. 

LT: Work on your craft and not just your platform.

I am learning every day what it means to stop writing to please or protect or prosper or perform, and instead, to start writing to partner … with myself, with God, and with a tribe that has expressed interest in my particular way of seeing.

A disproportionate amount of airtime is given to the art/science of building a writer’s platform compared to honoring and honing his or her craft. Yes, an audience is essential. But what’s more essential, in my mind, is something to say and a clear, honest way to say it.

If you find that you don’t yet know what your truth is or you can’t bring yourself to tell it, then do the work necessary to help yourself become a more unified, congruent, integrated person.

As we have the courage to be more honest in our writing, in our message, in our material, we will find our own unique voice more clearly in the world, we will find a readership that truly wants to connect with our perspective and posture, and we will offer something important to the world—which is, a person congruent in their being who is making art. Whoa. That’s exciting and subversive.

Interview with an Author Part 2

Last week we introduced you to several amazing authors—Lisa Whittle, Jonathan Merritt and Leeana Tankersley—who described their writing process. This week they continue discussing writing as well as share what surprised them about the publishing process.

***

WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT WRITING? WHAT DO YOU DISLIKE MOST ABOUT IT?

LW: I love the process of seeing the book unfold and turn into a complete heart offering. I see it much like painting a picture, which at first doesn’t look like much, but in the end, it’s a beautiful creation. I love the idea that the words God uses my fingers to write will help people—that always blows me away. Most of all, I love what happens between God and me while I’m writing and how He teaches me things I desperately need to learn.

I dislike the headspace I have to pop in and out of in order to still do daily life in the midst of trying to create. Coming in and out of writing is hard for me—I get consumed by a thought and then suddenly, I have to go to my son’s ballgame and have small talk with people. I find that challenging! 

JM: I like the freedom. Every occupation has trade offs. If you're a writer, you're probably giving up money. Writers don't make tons of cash, especially at first. If you're a writer, you're probably giving up security. Most writers don't have a regular paycheck. If you're a writer, you're probably giving up serenity. The job is hectic and you'll attract your share of haters. But if you're a writer, you'll gain a measure of freedom. If you value that—and I do—then you might enjoy being a writer. 

LT: When I was 9, my parents divorced, and somehow I could not shake out that experience any other way than writing. I was intuitively drawn to writing, which both comforted me and saved me. I wrote poems about huge Clydesdales. I wrote about my broken heart even though I don’t think I realized it was broken. I was in shock and my system was stunned and I wrote.

Whether it was my own words or the words of someone else, I have been met so deeply and entirely by words. Certain voices and books have whispered my own truth to me when I could not name it for myself. I have laughed and cried along with perfect strangers through the portal of narrative, which always serves to remind us of both our wounds and our wonder. And I can think of no greater honor than to get to do that, too. To offer the simple loaves and fishes of my life and see if there might possibly be a moment of divine multiplication and nourishment that occurs. This is what art does for the human soul. Through truth and beauty, art sets us free. It saves us: word by word, image by image, line by line. God, I love that.

***

Working alone is probably writing’s biggest gift and biggest curse for me. I think God is often trying to get me to hush and stop squirming and retire my thinking cap that I am so attached to. He wants to partner with me in this work, but I am so often wanting a white board and a strategic plan and long boardroom table full of really smart people who can figure out my entire career for me.

Instead, God uses writing to quiet me down—which I both treasure and resent.

Over the years, God has rallied an incredible team around me and continues to do so. Agents, editors, readers, a therapist—it takes a village. And so I’m making peace with the solitary time—even though it’s not my first instinct—because I know it’s one of the ways that God gets me to hold still.

WHAT HAS SURPRISED YOU MOST ABOUT THE PUBLISHING PROCESS? 

LW: How much of an intricate process it really is. It’s a lot of waiting, more waiting, and working diligently on all ends. Writers sometimes have a hard time saying we have a “real” job when we write books. Writing books is a business and a job, like everything else. I realized that fairly quickly when I began to write. I don’t have trouble saying I have a job anymore.

JM: How long it takes. I think most people who are unfamiliar with writing assume that books pop onto shelves in a matter of months. Not so. Most books take 18 to 24 months to create. Some take longer. The author has to come up with a good idea, turn that into a professional proposal, find an agent, shop the project to publishers, wait for offers, negotiate a contract, research and write the book, endure the editing process, and then navigate the tricky waters of marketing, publicity, and sales. It's grueling. Writing is not for the faint of heart or the impatient. 

LT: The publishing process requires a multitude of skills. Sometimes it feels like writing is 5% of the job and the rest is a magic combination of marketing, promoting, publicizing, speaking, selling, pre-selling, appearing, blogging, tweeting, posting, boosting, networking, filming, recording.

Truly, all of those efforts are required, and I think some people find this very energizing, but I tend to find this confusing. I’ve been surprised at how turned around I feel sometimes, unsure of where to put my best energy.

Interview with an Author Part 1

As literary agents, we work with quite a few very talented authors. While we’ve been talking about the proposal process from our perspective, we thought we’d interview a few of our authors to share about their actual writing process as well as their own unique publishing experiences. Below is part 1 of 3. Enjoy.

***

Lisa Whittle is a natural leader and bold thinker. Her refreshing, bottom line approach appeals to audiences across the nation as she points them to a passionate pursuit of God. Lisa is the author of 6 books, including her latest, I Want God (2015), and her forthcoming: Put Your Warrior Boots On (April 2017) and 5 Word Prayers (Fall 2017). In addition to speaking, media appearances and writing for Women of Faith, Catalyst, Relevant and various other high profile blogs and publications, Lisa has done master’s work in Marriage and Family and advocates for Compassion, International. Lisa is a wife and mother of three currently residing in North Carolina. You can find her at www.lisawhittle.com.

Jonathan Merritt is an award-winning writer on religion, culture, and politics. He currently serves as a contributing writer for The Atlantic and senior columnist for Religion News Service. Jonathan has published more than 2000 articles in outlets such as USA Today, National Journal, The Week, The Washington Post and Christianity Today. As a respected voice, he regularly contributes commentary to television, print, and radio news outlets and has been interviewed by ABC World News, NPR, CNN, PBS, MSNBC, Fox News, CBS’ “60 Minutes” and The New York Times. Jonathan is author of three critically-acclaimed books, including Jesus is Better Than You Imagined and A Faith of Our Own: Following Jesus Beyond the Culture Wars, and has collaborated on or ghostwritten nearly 30 additional books. Jonathan resides in Brooklyn, NY. Find him at www.jonathanmerritt.com. 

Leeana Tankersley is the author of Brazen: The Courage to Find the You That's Been Hiding (2016), Breathing Room: Letting Go So You Can Fully Live (2014), and Found Art: Discovering Beauty in Foreign Places (2009). She and her husband, Steve, live in San Diego with their three kids: Luke, Lane, and Elle. Learn more about Leeana’s work at www.LeeanaTankersley.com.

***

What is your writing process like? Has it changed from book to book?

LW: It always starts in the same way: a thought, something I’m learning, or a recurring theme in my own life, research online through social media and a blog (to see if people are feeling the same way or have the same need or issue), building the structure of the book (title and chapters), taking notes on my phone from daily thoughts, observations and inspiration from the Lord as they come, randomly, plugging it into the book, then going back through, reading for flow, saying it better, and general editing.

I’m a stretched mom of three with a busy speaking schedule and daily life, so when I write depends largely on the season (for example, summer with the kids at home is a hard time for me to keep a strict writing schedule). I’ve learned to write fast when I have a dedicated chunk of time, and thankfully, the Lord has been faithful to show up with the inspiration much of the time.

But I’ve also experienced what every writer has at one time or another—the dreaded writer’s block, which I’ve learned to embrace and wait for a better day with better words instead of pushing something that isn’t going to work, anyway.

This has always been my process, though the initial thought has been sparked in different ways and under different circumstances. I can honestly say I’ve never gone into a book with the thought, “I’m going to write a book.” It’s always a spark in my heart and mind that eventually turns into a book, based on what I sense others also need to hear.

JM: It has definitely changed over time. I've really moved from a "concept-driven" approach to a "content-driven" approach. That is, I try to start with the content I have—stories, points, thoughts, experiences—and form a book out of that. I used to start with an interesting concept and then go find content to fill in the gaps. Most writers I meet have concept-driven processes for books, but those books are far more difficult to write. 

LT: I’ve learned how to hold my own hand through the writing process, developing tricks that work well for me. Here are a few:

- I always pre-arrange assignments with myself.

I never sit down at my computer without pre-arranging an assignment with myself first. If I don’t have an assignment before I sit down, I will waste so much time and energy getting started that I will exhaust myself before I’ve even begun.

I have material, noticings, stories, snippets, phrases, ideas I have collected and I know which one I’m going to tackle before I even sit down. Whether I am writing a chapter for a book, an article for a magazine, or a blog post, I do not sit down without a starting point. It’s just too painful and agonizing and depressing to sit there trying to come up with something that will not arrive. This is a great way for me to sabotage myself and the process.

So, I identify one story I’m going to write that day. Or I identity one concept I want to explore. I use my writing time that morning to get as far as I can on my assignment. Often that will lead to the next assignment.

- I compose and edit separately.

I compose on my laptop and I edit on a hard copy. I am a major disciple of composing and editing as completely separate steps. In fact, I’ve been told these two parts of the writing process call on different sides of the brain, so it makes sense that it would be highly troublesome to try to do them both at the same time.

I’ve become more disciplined, over time, about composing as freely and openly as possible, knowing I will come back later with the paper and pen. I find it incredibly satisfying to reward myself for composing by getting a fabulous pen for editing. Bribing is also a major part of my process.

- I get the book in front of me visually.

Books need both a big idea and content to support that big idea. I have found that if I don’t work on establishing both of those elements, I lose my way and the process becomes convoluted. So I use sticky notes to write down the big idea holding the book together and then I write one sticky note per idea or story that will support the big idea. I fill the sliding glass doors in my dining room with these sticky notes and then I pull one off and that sticky note becomes my assignment for the day.

This process has helped me see the entire book in front of me, allowed me to arrange and rearrange easily, and has provided bite-sized assignments that feel doable and never leave me staring at a blank screen (which = death, if I haven’t already mentioned that). 

The biggest difference about my process now, having recently released my third book, compared to my process with my first book is that I panic less now. I’m not saying I am free from panic, but I trust the process more now. I know that I have an incredible team around me that wants to help my work find an audience, and I know that I can get a book done. I know where I’m going to face murkiness, pitfalls, detours, and frustrations. And I try to get help when I’m hitting up against those places.

Interview with an Acquiring Editor - Part 3

This week we’re wrapping up our conversation with acquiring editors and publishers by discussing their hurdles and what they wish authors knew. You can read their backgrounds in Part 1 here and what they specifically look for in proposals in Part 2 here.

What's your biggest hurdle in publishing the projects you love?

SMITH: Tastes are subjective, so while a particular book might be a passion project for me, it becomes my responsibility to spark the same passion in my publishing team and sales force. This is a creative challenge and a good one to have, but I am reminded often that everyone has their own unique tastes and they don’t always align. For the projects that instantly click with our team, we can accomplish great things together. For the projects that receive mixed reactions, it requires more work and creativity to gain necessary support.

ALLEN: Other publishers. We work in a stable industry amidst fine folk who are employed by other publishing houses. For the most part we all know a good book when we see it, and we’re willing to compete aggressively to get it.

WONG: Platform. It is increasingly important for authors to come with a somewhat developed personal platform that publishers can come alongside and amplify. Often when I’m feeling torn between my personal passion for a project and my responsibility to the company, platform is somewhere in there as a factor. That’s not to say that we don’t, every now and then, make exceptions, but they are, at the end of the day, exceptions to the rule.

What do you wish potential authors knew about your job?

SMITH: We are for you more than you know! At Zondervan, we have a fairly intensive review process comprised of three team meetings: editorial, marketing, and sales. It’s my job to tailor each presentation to each audience, so these three teams are essentially the first real customers of your book. I need their support to make a solid book offer! So I view my role as a champion for your project, even though you will never see most of this behind-the-scenes process. Before a potential author and I ever have a phone call or meeting, there is a significant amount of discussion, planning, editing, and presentations that happen on behalf of their book.

We are certainly selective and not every project is the right fit, and I know this can be discouraging to aspiring writers. We do not enjoy turning down projects and are quite familiar with being turned down by authors ourselves. But if you are word person, I am cheering you on. Every time I meet a prospective author, or open a new proposal attachment, this is not an imposition—I am hoping to be wowed by a voice, an idea, or a story that the world needs to hear.

ALLEN: I would want authors to know that my job is to publish books that have a real chance in the marketplace. If we as a publisher fail to do this, we will cease to exist. Generally publishing pros are not selective because they’re mean. (Some of us probably are mean, but I doubt that’s what drives our selectivity.) We’re selective because we need to be to survive in this industry, let alone thrive in it.

Publishing is two parts art and one part business, but the business part is definitely there. And so I want potential authors to know that effort and ingenuity really matter. Desire matters. And desire that goes to work—the work of developing a great concept, the work of building a substantial platform, the work of crafting compelling writing—matters even more.

WONG: As the acquiring editor, I am your frontline champion from acquisitions through publication. Whenever I point out an area that needs strengthening or clarifying, from concept to structure to positioning to title discussions and beyond, it’s because I want to give your book its best shot at success. Often, I am navigating the concerns of various parties on the publishing end of things—marketing, publicity, sales, retailers, etc.—so I’m not making suggestions or asking you to rethink things on a whim. There is much more behind what I ask you to consider than you might be aware of on the surface. So if I’m asking tough questions and making suggestions to you at proposal stage, I’m investing in you already.

Thank you so much, Stephanie, Chad, and Jessica, for sharing your expertise and heart with your authors and our readers!

Interview with an Acquiring Editor - Part 2

Last week, we introduced you to several acquiring editors and publishers who gave us their backgrounds on how they found themselves in the publishing field. This week we’re going to discuss what they specifically look for in proposals.

How many proposals do you review on average in a month? What percentage do you actually publish?

SMITH: Since the majority of proposals come my way via agents, I (intentionally!) don’t receive volumes of unsolicited proposals. Over a month I might review 15 or so proposals and I might take on 3-5 of those to shepherd through our review process. Our rule of thumb at Zondervan is that if you’re not passionate about it, if you have to think twice about it, it’s probably a pass. You hear so much about the nuts and bolts of concept, platform, marketing viability, etc., but the importance of a team’s passion for a book is not to be underestimated! So you can bet that the proposals we do take to pub board and the ones we are actively championing.

ALLEN: Counting only proposals I personally receive, I review at least 10 proposals per month, many more than that if you count those I review via my editorial colleagues. My personal goal is to acquire and publish 15 books per year. The division I head up is shooting for about 60 new books per year; altogether we review (I’m estimating) at least 400 proposals a year.

WONG: It varies depending on the time of year. In the busy seasons, I’m reviewing approximately 15 proposals each month. In the slower seasons, it’s closer to 10. We end up publishing just about 10 percent of those proposals on average.

What are the key things you look for in a proposal in order to keep reading?

SMITH:  One of my favorite questions to ask authors is: What is the boldest statement your book has to make? I call this the angle—it’s fresh, counter-intuitive, even a little provocative—and generates that double-take reaction which is of every importance to stand out among the many books on the shelves today. The more specific, the better. When I see a strong angle playing center stage in a proposal, when the author doesn’t make me go hunting for it, you have my full attention. And my day is made.

Like all readers, I’m looking to be moved. As immersed in content as I am, I’m not immune to it! A stellar story, a sentence I can’t help but underline, an idea from your proposal that shifts my perspective and I want to tell my husband about over dinner—that’s what makes me want to keep reading. It’s the fresh factor, which I’m convinced only comes about when a writer is willing to dig in and do the work.

Another thing I love to see is a writer who knows and owns their voice, which comes through practice and the decision to stop imitating even their favorite writers. Whether that voice is sassy and side-eyed or poignant and poetic or something else entirely, it’s a beautiful thing to behold when an author writes out of their uniqueness with confidence. 

ALLEN: Concept, platform, writing.

A great concept is fresh in some way and meets a real need readers have.

Platform is an author’s ability to help us get the word out about their book.

Good writing keeps me reading even when I have a thousand other things to do.

WONG: There are three main components: (1) a fresh, compelling concept that will make readers think, “Yes, I need this book!” (2) thoughtful writing with a distinctive voice that draws readers in, and (3) a platform the publisher can creatively leverage in collaboration with the author for a strong book launch.

What are some of the things you see in a proposal that immediately make you turn it down?

SMITH: Generalized and overblown statements that show an author hasn’t done their research. For example, “There’s never been a book on this topic before!” when I can point to several recent examples. A missing angle or a concept that feels underdeveloped. Too many “I” statements in the writing and a lacking effort to write inclusively and invitationally toward the reader. This is even more important for memoirs which we get so many proposals for: if you are writing for yourself, that’s important and not to be discounted, but it’s not ready for proposal status until you begin to write to serve your readers. It’s easy to spot a proposal that has not yet evolved out of that initial catharsis stage.

ALLEN: Unoriginality, fiction, and lack of platform.

WONG: Muddled thinking and lack of polish. I’m often looking for the proposal to demonstrate clarity of thought, because even if you have the most compelling concept, if you can’t communicate it clearly, it’s that much harder to reach readers who must understand and be drawn in enough to buy the book in the first place. In terms of polish, I would hope that the proposal would be clear of mistakes, would not demonstrate a lack of understanding of the market, or have too much missing standard material. All of this highlights to me that you have not done your homework to put your best foot forward.

Check back next week, as Stephanie, Chad, and Jessica answer a few final questions about what they wish authors knew about the publishing process.

Interview with an Acquiring Editor - Part 1

As literary agents, we demand a lot out of our authors as they’re putting together their proposals. Our job is to make sure we present all the information publishers need to make a decision to publish our clients’ books. Editors do a lot more than simply decide to publish a book and then edit the manuscript, so we decided to interview a few of the best in the industry so you can hear directly from them.

First, here are their quick bios.

Stephanie Smith is committed to partnering with authors to bring fresh, forward-thinking ideas to life to serve the church today through her role as acquisitions editor at Zondervan. She lives with her husband in Michigan, where she is pursuing her masters in theology at Western Theological Seminary in addition to editorial work. Find her on Twitter at @heystephsmith and join her monthly email newsletter for writers aiming to find their angle, write like they mean it, and do it in style at www.slantletter.com.

Chad Allen is editorial director for Baker Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group, where he has worked for over a decade. Chad is the author of Do Your Art and the creator of the Book Proposal Academy. Chad holds a B.A. in English from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and an M.A. in Theology from the University of Notre Dame. He and his wife, Alyssa, live with their two children in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Hear more from Chad on his blog or by following him on Facebook and Twitter at @chadrallen.

Jessica Wong is the senior acquisitions editor at Nelson Books. She has worked closely with a number of bestselling authors to sharpen and develop their content. She holds a B.A. in English linguistics and is also an alumnus of the Yale Publishing Course. Her passion is providing a guiding hand to authors with eternal and truly impactful messages in order to help them reach and touch as many lives as possible.

Second, here is how they found themselves in publishing. Whether always knowing you were made for it, falling into and deciding to never leave, or being attracted to it from the other side, the journey into this magnetic business is telling.

SMITH: I started out on the opposite side of the printer in book publicity. While I had always aspired to join editorial, I am so glad to have had the opportunity in PR to gain the skills needed to identify what media wants in a story and headline. I use these skills every day in a retroactive way, as I review proposals and mine book concepts for just the right hook to get people talking. The trick is to work in a strong angle from the very beginning of the book’s development, and a PR eye is helpful in this.

Transitioning from publicity, I joined the team at RELEVANT magazine as an editor and led efforts to revamp the web editorial strategy. The beauty of digital publishing is that it affords you the opportunity to tap into whatever conversation is trending right now (this doesn’t work so well in book publishing, which is a much longer process!). Success starts with listening—in real-time—to what readers are hungry for: what articles they’re responding to, what they’re sharing, what conversations they’re having, what questions they’re wrestling with. It’s a live experiment every day, and it’s rewarding to go out and create the content that they most need.

The beauty of book publishing, in a different way, is that you have the luxury of time to go long and deep with a concept. The journey is a long and rewarding one, and I am drawn to it because I have been so shaped and sustained by books in my own life. Most of all, I get to be in the journey with such great company! The best part about my job is working with authors and partnering with them to bring their ideas to life at the brightest they can be. It’s a privilege to pour so much into books that in turn pour so much life into readers.

ALLEN: I was exposed to the publishing process when back in the late nineties I worked with Douglas Gresham, general consultant to C. S. Pte Ltd, the company that owns the rights to C.S. Lewis’s work. All the new editions, compilations, and abridgments of Lewis’s work went by Gresham’s desk. So suddenly I was plunged into the world of galleys and proofs and all the guts of making a book. I remember Gresham asking for my input, and I was immediately hooked.

What I saw among other things is that publishers carry this enormous burden and honor of influencing the final shape and content of a book. It’s astonishing, isn’t it, that we get to have a hand in the making of a book—an idea bomb (general nonfiction), a life-changing story (memoir), a potential miracle in someone’s life (self-help)—that will go out to thousands, sometimes millions of readers? That mesmerized me. Still does.

WONG: I was the child simultaneously enrolled in multiple library summer reading programs who mastered the art of reading while walking during recess. I decided in fourth grade that I wanted to be an editor when I grew up and asked all my teachers along the way how to get there. After graduating from college, I attended the University of Denver Publishing Institute and, shortly thereafter, got my first job in publishing at Thomas Nelson. Since then, I’ve spent time at Howard Books, the Christian imprint of Simon & Schuster, graduated from the Yale Publishing Course, and returned to join the team at Nelson Books.

Check back next week, as Stephanie, Chad, and Jessica answer the questions you want to know as you’re crafting your book proposal.

Interview with Cindy Beal About Her New Book: Rebuilding a Marriage Better Than New

Agency client Cindy Beall is our guest interview on the blog today. Cindy is a writer, speaker and mentor to leaders. She has been married to her husband, Chris, since 1993, and they currently minister at Life.Church in Oklahoma. Cindy also serves on the Leading & Loving It team that ministers to pastors' wives and women in ministry around the world. Her first book, Healing Your Marriage When Trust Is Broken, chronicled the devastating infidelity and subsequent restoration of her marriage over 14 years ago.

Cindy, your second book, Rebuilding A Marriage Better Than New, released today. It’s been more than 14 years since your marriage suffered a devastating blow, which must feel like a lifetime ago, but you still have a heart and passion to minister to others in this area. Tell us a little about why you wanted to write Rebuilding a Marriage Better Than New.

For many years, I’ve received emails from couples who are on a healing journey in their marriage. After reading my first book, Healing Your Marriage When Trust Is Broken, they have found hope and healing because of our experience. But a few years into their journey, they are asking me for more guidance and insight about how to stay on the healing path that Chris and I are still on today. That is part of the reason I wrote this book. The other part is to address the condition of many marriages today – often loveless, living like roommates, kind of marriages. My hope is that writing this book will help couples who have not only walked through betrayal, but also those who have just neglected their marriage for way too long.

How is your new book different from your first book, Healing Your Marriage When Trust is Broken, and why would every married couple benefit from reading it?

I describe my first book as more of a trauma situation. A betrayal occurs in your marriage and you are thrown into immediate devastation. You need quick attention to your wounds to stop the bleeding. I believe that Healing Your Marriage When Trust is Broken does just that. It offers hope and help to those who have found themselves in an unlikely and unwanted circumstance. My second book, Rebuilding A Marriage Better Than New, is for a broader marriage audience. Yes, it will help those who have had to rebuild after betrayal, but it will also help all other married couples. Why? Because our marriages can always be improved. My hope is that every married couple, healthy or not–so-healthy, will read Rebuilding A Marriage Better Than New so that they can grow healthier with each year.

In the book you lay out a four-phase process: healing deeply, building wisely, living fully, and investing generously. Can you walk us briefly through what those four phases look like practically in a marriage?

When something devastating happens in our lives, our first thought is often that we want to get back to normal. To go back to the old life before the devastation occurred. Even if that means an unhealthy marriage. Because of that, we often try to skip through the first two phases and go straight to the third which is live fully. However, we must heal deeply and build wisely before we can even think about living fully.

To heal deeply in our lives, we must grieve the pain. This is not fun. Period. But it is necessary. People often try to sidestep their pain and go around it. No matter how hard we try to get around the pain, it will still be there. We must go through the pain and as we do, as we grieve the pain of the loss, we will simultaneously heal deeply. Healing deeply means that we feel the pain, live honestly and learn how to handle the reminders of our devastation. This phase of healing deeply will continue for years to come as God’s Spirit continues to comfort us.

Building wisely happens as we’ve found some deep healing in our lives. To be able to begin to build wisely doesn’t mean we are totally healed. It just means that we have begun to heal in order to start the next phase. Building wisely entails restoring trust when betrayal has occurred. It also means that we learn how to manage our expectations with our spouse as well as learn how to live victoriously instead of having a victim mentality.

Living fully is the part everyone wants to get to. During this phase, we learn and own who we are in Christ. This is so vital in dealing with shame. We also learn that to get what we’ve always wanted, a healthy, strong marriage, we must do things that aren’t always easy. And to finish off this phase, we must learn to connect with each other as a couple or “find our porch.”

The invest generously phase is often never reached by many couples. Scripture teaches us in 2 Corinthian 1:3-4 that we are to comfort others with the comfort we have received from God. This is our spiritual “pay it forward” obligation. When we minister from a place where great pain once resided, a new level of healing occurs in our lives. And by far, this is the most rewarding and redeeming phase to walk through.

You’ve been living out the principles shared in this book for quite a while and you and your husband are enjoying the benefits of a better than new marriage. What words of encouragement would you give to couples that might just be at the beginning of the process of rebuilding or repairing their marriage?  

Stay the course. If you are on the verge of giving up and throwing in the towel, don’t. Commit to make some changes – both of you. Neither of you is perfect or without fault. It takes two to make a marriage work and two to make a marriage fail. Marriage is hard work even when you like each other. Keep pressing on, honoring the covenant you made with God.  It is not always easy to be married and stay married but it is worth it. And it is possible by the power of our great God.

To learn more about Cindy you can visit her website here. Be sure and order your copy of her new book here today.

Interview with Christa Black Gifford About Her New Book: Heart Made Whole

Agency client Christa Black Gifford is our guest interview on the blog today. Christa is a dynamic worldwide speaker, author, and bestselling songwriter. She was the keynote for Women of Faith’s Revolve Tour as well as a popular blogger and a writer for The Huffington Post. Her life-goal is to provide resources for those broken by the pain of life, leading them into wholeness of heart and intimacy with Jesus.  She’s married to the love of her life, Lucas Gifford. They live in Nashville, TN with their son, Moses Grae Lionheart, a daughter in heaven, Luca Gold, and their newest addition, daughter, Birdie James.

Christa, your second book, Heart Made Whole released today and I know it’s been quite a transforming journey that has led to this day. A journey you’ve been excited to share with others so they too can experience heart wholeness. Tell us a little about why you wanted to write Heart Made Whole.

I don’t really write books; I kind of drop bombs. I’ve learned the hard way over the years never to let something come out of me that I’m not fully living, so this book begged to be written, pouring out from an overflowing heart that couldn’t stay quiet any longer. 

When my daughter Goldie died on March 5, 2014, I treated my shattered heart very differently than I had in the past when tragedy would crash into my world.  I started treating my bleeding heart like it had been in a bomb blast--because it had. And as I learned to care and tend to my heart with kindness, patience, grace and understanding, the strangest thing happened.

I found God smack dab in the place I had avoided my entire life--He was living in the middle of my broken heart, waiting to nurse me back to life through connection, acceptance, grace, and love.

In the book you write, “If our hearts are not anchored to the goodness of God when tragedy strikes, we lower our theology to match our pain.” Can you walk us through what that means?

For years, horrible things would happen (or persist) in my life, but because I couldn’t find breakthrough, healing, or release, I would alter my theology to match my circumstance. 

Surely, God doesn’t want to heal me of this eating disorder or sexual addiction because I’ve cried out to Him a million times and He hasn’t zapped me into wholeness. 

Surely God wants me to stay single because He hasn’t brought my husband.

Surely it’s God’s will that I can’t find financial breakthrough because it keeps happening. 

Surely God wanted to give me a ministry to the sexually assaulted since He allowed my sexual abuse and rape.

Instead of looking at God’s perfect theology with skin on--the person of Jesus Christ--I would alter my perception of God and His will dependent on my life in a fallen world, instead of continuing to press in and find out why my life wasn’t lining up with His word. 

Most times when we go through trials in a wounding world, we put God on trial. But the more I built my inner case of offense of God, the more I pushed Him away--separating parts of my heart from the solution. It becomes very difficult to experience the love and healing of God when deep down you’re stiff-arming Him away in distrust.

I love the story in Matthew 17:14 of the demon possessed boy. When the disciples couldn’t get the demon out of him, they didn’t lower their theology to form belief systems around how God wants to heal some and not others. They realized there was a disconnect to the will of God and what was happening in the natural, so they brought the boy to Jesus and he was instantly healed.

When my daughter died, I refused to create cheap theology around my experience with lack and loss, especially since I am convinced that if my Savior had been standing in front of me in the flesh, her disease would have been instantly healed (as evidenced in scripture; John 10:8-10).  

When God is discovered to be the good guy, and the adversary is seen as the bad guy, it becomes very easy to move toward intimacy with God--especially when all hell breaks loose in your life. You realize your dependency on heaven’s perspective is critical to surviving hell in a fallen world.

One of the core messages of the book is that pain is not a bad thing. How did you ultimately come to an understanding that pain is something to experience, rather than resist? And how did you invite God into your pain?

Our Western Christian culture is in total denial about internal pain, and as a result, the church has become a bleeding mess of wounded people, hiding their secret shame to preserve their Christian reputations and ministry platforms. We beat ourselves black and blue with scriptures, spouting out how we should have deeper faith, acting as though we should never fear, or how we should put away our tears because God will bring something good out of the current tragedy.

But why would Jesus have given us a Comforter if He never intended us to mourn?

Denial about my childhood sexual abuse wounds left me as a Christian adult working overtime to hide them. But pain never goes away on its own with time, neglect, or shame. Pain must be felt, embraced, and brought into relationship with Perfect Love.

When I stopped denying the mess of my heart--that it was broken in parts, naturally fearful, insecure, diseased with shame and condemnation--that was the point of ultimate breakthrough. I stopped running from the mess, and in turn, realized that the mess was the ENTIRE reason God had chosen to make my heart HIS home.

He wasn’t overwhelmed with my heart like I was. He wasn’t ashamed or disappointed in it. He was patiently waiting, with oceans of grace and love, to start the process of inner restoration and transformation as I learned to stay connected to Him. 

Because you started this road to wholeness a few years ago, you have experienced the benefits of what it’s like to begin living with a whole heart. What words of encouragement can you give readers who are facing what can look like a painful road as they forge ahead?

Inner healing isn’t easy, and most of us stay away from it because we’re afraid of what we’re going to find inside. But living every breath to ignore, hide, or deny the reality of your old broken heart is FAR more exhausting than surrendering your inner land to perfect love. 

And I know this from decades of experience.

When you realize that God made YOU the landlord of your heart, and that YOU choose what stays inside or what has to go, you instantly remove your "victim role" and become the most powerful person in your world. Every day, I have the power and choice to either default to the Love who lives inside, or choose to guard my pain and fear, cutting myself off from the healing I desperately desire and deserve. When I finally realized that I hold the keys to my heart, I also realized that I was far more in charge of my life and its outcome than I once believed. 

You see, old Christa believed she was a victim of God and life--living every day in fear of what was lurking in the unknown future. But once I took the keys to my heart and said NO MORE, I choose whether or not bitterness, self-hatred, self-loathing, disgust, fear, and pain get to stay inside, or I choose whether or not to roll into the pain and connect with God who lives inside … that was the moment my life changed. I am a co-creator with God, and He isn’t at all insecure when I choose to stand up and be like Him. 

My job each day is very different than it used to be.

My job in each moment is to make sure I choose to keep my heart consciously connected to the Trinity who lives inside, defaulting to their wisdom, expertise, and ways. Denying love each day becomes my only problem, and embracing it is my only answer. 

When you learn to embrace love in every moment--even in the painful moments--I promise you, you’ve discovered the secret of life.

You’ve discovered how to live from a Heart Made Whole.

Order your copy here today!