The Latest on the Book
Hey there. I’m back from our little trip to see the In-Laws, and I thought I’d update you what I’m beginning to call “The Book Journey.”
The Editor
My editor is Chuck H., a senior editor at Eerdmans. Chuck is the one who contacted me at the end of December last year. We began talking about a book at that time. I got to meet him in Houston this fall, and we hit it off, I would say. We had Mexican food at the original Ninfas near downtown Houston, which was an experience for Chuck who is from Michigan. There was a small incident with the jalapenos, but he made it through the meal just fine.
The Agent
My agent has the contract from Eerdmans and is going over it. Yeah, I had to get an agent. Weird huh? I don't think of myself as the kind of person who has an agent. But I'm DEFINITELY not the kind of person who knows anything about publishing and contracts, so...
Finding an agent was a whole other journey. I was fortunate to get help from Nancy Hanger who got me in touch with Deirdre, an agent in New York City. Doesn't it seem right that an agent should be from The Big Apple? I liked Deirdre from the first time we spoke on the phone. She's extremely professional and knows a lot about this business. She also has a wonderful voice. Anyway, I'm grateful that she took me as a client.
So Deirdre has the contract from Eerdmans. It’s very modest and befitting a first-time author. She’s looking it over, and I’ll sign it after the first of the year. So much for the business side of things.
The Book
The working title is RealLivePreacher.com. I like that and Chuck does too. It's the only title we've ever talked about, so unless we change our minds suddenly, that will be it, I guess.
The book will be just like the blog. It will be a collection of essays and some dramatized bible stories. In fact, most of the book will be FROM the blog. Chuck has selected about 40 essays from the 118 or so that I’ve put online in the last year. The trick is arranging them. Chuck has an interesting idea about that.
I'm fine with Chuck choosing which essays go in the book. It's a collaborative effort, but I'm letting him do most of the choosing. I can hardly read anything I've written. By the time I'm done, I can't seem to hear it anymore. I used to think that if you worked with your writing long enough you could make it perfect. Now I know that I can only work until I can no longer hear the sound of it. Then I have to stop because I can't write when I can't hear.
Strangely, I'm probably the last person who should choose what essays make it into the book.
There will be new content in the book too. I have around 100 essays that I began and abandoned for one reason or another. Mostly because some other idea got hot for me. Some of them just never felt ripe, so I left them on the vine. I’ve chosen 20 of these to work on, and we’ll select 12 or so from those to go in the book. There might be a new dramatized scripture story or two as well. I’ve been playing around with those for years and have a number that never made it to the blog.
So, that’s the book. If you've read Real Live Preacher, the blog, you have a good sense of Real Live Preacher, the book.
One more thing: Eerdmans wants this book to come out SOON. Like THIS SPRING, which is insanely quick for the publishing world. Chuck wants the manuscript done by the end of January. The deadline WAS going to be January 15th, but I can't make it by then with the new content.
January is going to be busy.
I'll spend the month of January working my tail off on the new essays and stories. I probably won't post any essays on the blog during January. I only have a certain amount of time to write, and I need to use that time getting the manuscript done.
I'd like to let my blog be a journal during this month. I'll drop in every few days and tell you what's happening or just blow off steam and chat a bit. I guess I'm asking you to hang with me for the next month and listen. I know that's a lot to ask, but you do not seem like strangers to me. The online journal is a classic style of blogging. I'll just do that for a month. I think it will fun, and I think it will be helpful to me.
When the manuscript is done - HOPEFULLY by February - I'll take a deep breath and get back to posting essays here. I remain VERY committed to Real Live Preacher, the blog. I love writing in this forum. Your feedback and wonderful encouragement have helped me to believe in myself. Here, at the end of a long year of writing, I can actually say the words I've never been able to say before, though I still want to run and hide when I say them.
I am a writer.
rlp
8:52:12 AM 
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