I’m Finally Doing Something Either Incredibly Sensible or Incredibly Stupid

I think I’ve finally done something that is kind of sensible in my life. Of course, I could be wrong, and I’ll merely expose myself as even more foolish than I even thought myself capable. We’ll see.

So here’s the thing, I often confuse people. Some people meet me, and they wonder why I’m not a pastor. Others meet me and they can’t fathom why I’m not a literary agent.

I can relate to their confusion.

I too thought for years that I was called to be a pastor because I like helping people figure out stuff, but I don’t really have the gentle touch or the extroversion many expect from pastors (aside from hundreds of other reasons). When I encourage fellow writers and they ask if I’m going to become a literary agent, I laugh at the thought of myself getting down to hardball negotiations with publishers and combing through book contracts line by line.

“Hi Mr. Editorial Director, if we can skip this contract confrontation, I’ll even convince my client to settle for less money.”

Being a pastoral person without a church and a supporter of authors without a literary agency, I didn’t really know what to do with myself until the fall of 2009 when I got the idea to write a book about everything I learned after publishing my first book. It’s called A Path to Publishing, and it takes on every question that new authors may ask from the perspective of an author who has just completed a first book.

I didn’t have years of publishing experience like the editors and agents who speak at conferences, but that was actually my greatest asset. I could walk newcomers through the basics of book publishing from their perspective. I’d just felt everything they were feeling, and I’d just asked all of the questions they would be asking. It’s a full-length book full of publishing tips.

I received great endorsements, reviews, and feedback, but I’ve always struggled to find a way to make the book widely available while still letting readers pay something for it if they wanted to. The solution has finally come through NoiseTrade.

Today you can download A Path to Publishing completely for free, provided you pass along your email address.

Download your copy of A Path to Publishing now.

This book is like a personal writing conference. In fact, a friend who read it and then attended a writing conference said he learned a lot more from my book.

So the book is completely free, and I plan to leave it that way. It feels incredibly stupid to make that much work a free giveaway, but my priority all along has been helping writers take their next steps. A free eBook strikes me as the easiest way to accomplish that goal.

However, my foolish optimism doesn’t stop with this free eBook.

I’m also launching a small publishing community on August 14th. Here’s why: I’ve met so many people who are frustrated, fearful, confused, and uncertain about what to do next. I’m creating groups of 15 people who will meet for six one-hour online video sessions in the evening to talk about all of that.

I’ll organize each session around a specific publishing topic and will customize our time around answering particular questions. Most importantly, if you need support for the publishing process, this can become a community where you can say what you’re really thinking and ask those questions that have been nagging you.

The group is called Journey into Publishing, and the early bird rate for all six sessions is $60 (plus a small Eventbrite fee). That’s only $10 per session.

The early bird rate ends July 5th, and spots are limited to 15 people. If we have enough interest, we’ll add another group so that we can keep our meetings small and personal. Need to learn more? Visit my information page.

So there you have it.

I’m giving away my eBook on publishing AND hosting an online book publishing community. Both of these moves strike me as completely sensible and helpful for others, but what do I know? I’m just a writer.

Don’t forget to pick up your free copy of A Path to Publishing today!