Breaking In

Today i spoke with a publisher online. i am attempting to get my book, “Staying the Journey” published. It would be amazing if it were available by Christmas but at this point, i am not holding my breath. Anyway, the first publisher i sent it to waited eight weeks to tell me that they don’t publish my sort of book, on Christian Living and Spiritual Formation. Eight weeks. So, i started over. i have now sent it on to several publishers at once and even looked into getting a Literary Agent. Because, without one, it is an uphill battle for a first-time author. But it isn’t easy to convince an agent to represent you.  It is a wait and see sort of field, am i good enough? Is my writing good enough, is it clear, with good punctuation, did i dot all my i’s and cross all my T’s? Or am i an editors nightmare? Waiting isn’t fun.

This guy i spoke with today is part of a publishing company that has a division that does self-publishing but with a lot of help. They do this sort of 50-50 deal, it’s not really 50-50 but so that it is better understood and easier to explain let’s just say it’s 50-50. i put up some cash to start the process, in doing so, i unleash their expertise. If i were to 100% self-publish, i would have to do all the groundwork, getting my book into stores and online etc. With them, they do all that for me, along with much more, including websites and digital copies of my book for download. Breaking into this seemingly exclusive club known as professional writers is, well, not as easy as one would hope.

Isn’t it comforting to know that we don’t have to break into heaven? That we have an agent that makes entry into heaven seamless?

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ by grace you have been saved and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:4-10

“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” 1 John 2:1-2

“For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” 1 Timothy 2:5

We are blessed to have an agent who represents us. He not only represents us but when the God of the universe looks at us to gauge whether or not we are worthy, He sees our agent and our agent says, “this one is good enough, for their sins are forgiven.” Be encouraged my friends, Jesus, our advocate, mediator, agent, doesn’t look at our ability but rather our heart and in Him, we have boundless opportunity, for He loves us!

You are loved,

cj