Candace Paul
- Spotlight , Writing Tips
- July 15, 2019
- 3 views
Quick interview with Author Michael LaBorn
You’re a Christian author, how important is it that your faith be reflected in the work you produce? It is incredibly important to me. Jesus is not just a part of my life. He is my everything. Tell us about your book! The Master Narrative The Master Narrative is a detailed look at the history, culture and context of the entire Old Testament. I guide my readers through this foundational part of the Word, book by book, and help to paint a picture of the overarching story being told. I genuinely believe it will help anyone who reads it understand God’s Word at a deeper level. Tell us about the process – how long did it take you to write your book from start to finish? Forever! Just kidding. But it did take me quite a while. I actually took a group of young Church leaders through the Old Testament, book by book, and studied with them as I wrote the book. So, I would say it took a little less than a year. What a journey! Whenever I speak to writers there’s usually a fascinating back story that led to a career in writing, what’s yours? Growing up, my mother always encouraged me to read. And by “encouraged”, I mean that she threw out the television and refused to buy a new one until I had the top reading scores in my school. You’d think it would have traumatized me. But it honestly gave me a deep appreciation and love for literature, and I decided I wanted to chase that dream. How has your family supported your desire to write? My mother was my first and greatest fan! She believed in me in ways that I don’t think even I understand. Her encouragement fueled the beginning of my career, and honestly keeps me focused even now that she has been gone for near a decade. What were some unexpected challenges you encountered on the path toward getting published? Ignorance and laziness. The same challenges most of us face in the early days of this career. There is just so much to know, and every day the game is changing and growing! It can be hard to navigate the waters early on. But I’m getting the hang of it. As a writer of faith, I view my work as a calling, do you view your work the same way? What moment showed you this was your purpose? Absolutely. This is what I was made for. I have no doubt. The number of people whose entire lives have been changed by simple words I’ve written on a page, it’s mind boggling. This is what I am here for. To equip the body. And writing helps me do that. What’s a bit of advice you would give to new authors? Educate yourself early on, and actually do what you set out to do. Why do you think it’s important to pursue writing about matters of faith at this point in time? Because the Church is hungry for something more. And they aren’t getting it in the places they have been looking.…
- Writing Tips
- May 24, 2019
- 0 views
Unpopular opinion: Your Friends and Family Aren’t Your Customers
A member of a Christian author’s group I joined expressed disappointment with the lack of overall support she’s gotten from her friends and family. She confessed to expecting much more from them and was somewhat blindsided by their disinterest in her book. While I understood her frustration, my feelings were a bit different. I offered the following advice to her – and to my surprise, it was very well received. I thought it would be best to turn it into a blog post for other writers. First, Understand the Magnitude of What You’re Writing – Not Everyone is Ready As a Christian writer your work carries a greater purpose. It’s not just for entertainment value. I imagine that there’s a deeper message you want the reader to understand about the importance of our faith. Truthfully, not everyone is ready to receive that message…at least not yet. It’s for this reason, I say, Christian books find the hands ready to receive them. I couldn’t tell you the number of faith-based and inspirational books I was given that I didn’t read until years later. They just collected dust on a shelf – mainly because I wasn’t interested at the time. However, when I was ready to read, and when my heart was open to learning more about my faith, I knew exactly where to go. Sometimes, it’s as simple as letting people know where to find your work when they’re ready for it. Not having the Initial Support of Your Friends and Family Helps Build a True Following Let’s face it, sometimes people will just buy your books because they know and love you (thanks, mom!). Don’t get me wrong – that’s great, but unless they’re actively reading and engaging with your material, it’s hard to know if they truly like your work – or just being the beautiful supportive family and friends that’s helped you with everything else in life. The silver lining to having a lack of support with your writing among those closest to you is the ability to gauge how others really feel about your work. If your following is primarily comprised of your family and friends, it’s hard to know for sure. In my case, my first book, “Spiritual Warfare” broke the top 100 on Amazon’s Bestsellers list multiple times – including holding the #3 or #4 spot for a few days. Since I have a rough estimate of who among my family and friends purchased my book and when, I know that their contribution alone did not make that possible. However, it was my community of followers on social media – over 13,000 people, that helped me hit that goal. I refer to those that support my work as a community, because that’s how I truly see them. It’s a two way street. We learn from each other. We help each other. I’ve chatted with many of them, prayed for many of them, and I make it a point to consistently share important news from around the world that mainstream media doesn’t talk about with them. So, when I receive unexpected praise from strangers like, “You’re one…