One of the work habits that I have been trying to develop is to do some creative writing on weeks that I do not preach. This allows me to keep the same creative, productive gear whether I am making and delivering a sermon that week, or not.
During one of those weeks, I developed an early idea from research, which led to a couple of blog posts, which led to a series of 4 talks for a Sunday School retreat this Spring, which turned into chapters of a short book.
Instead of tracking down an agent or finding a publisher to work with (all honorable ways to publish, of course), I decided to explore ways to get it published quicker. So, after my friend Ken Young designed me a sweet cover, I uploaded everything to Kindle Direct Publishing one evening and…
It’s up! My mother-in-law posted about it early yesterday. So, the release was a bit of a sneak attack.
Here are a few details:
- The book is short, only 11,500 words (39 pages). That’s an intentional move, knowing that the average reader only completes 25% of a book that they purchase. Keeping it short and crisp will (hopefully) allow a reader to finish it.
- One has to have the Kindle app to read it. Sorry, no hard copies at this time.
- It’s only $4.99. Amazon has this “give $5 of Amazon to someone, get $5 for yourself” campaign. If you give someone an Amazon gift card, you could get this book for free. Not a bad deal.
- The book is about stories and how they work in forming our lives. I use 3 unique ways of reading the Prodigal Son parable to illustrate this story-formation idea.
- The cover was done by a friend and church member, Kendall Young. He’s a great guy with a ton of good ideas.
Joe Skillen 