Timothy's Thoughts

I t has always been the case in the web industry that some people know just enough to be dangerous. When I first got into website development, it was moving gif images and frames, not to mention flashing text. People would find this cool thing that they could do and overload their websites with it. Later, it was music in the background. Today it is more subtle, but we still have people putting the latest and greatest stuff out there without consideration of what it does to people who are trying to use their sites. These days, computer security is a big deal, so firewalls are a way of life. Companies want their employees to have access to websites for the information they provide, but they use firewalls to protect their networks. You may be using a firewall on your home computer. These firewalls can wreak havoc on blogs that use features other than the most basic of features. Steve Laube’s blog appears to be simple, but there is something about it that prevents me from leaving comment...

H ey guys, this is Sara Dawson. I hope I don’t scare you away because this is a guest blog. Timothy asked me to do this some time ago, but I’m not really that great of a writer, so I’ve been putting this off. I write what I have to for school and stuff, but it’s easier for me to just talk to people if I want them to know something. Anyway, Timothy asked me to read Mother Not Wanted and to write a review. Here goes. I think the first thing you’re supposed to do in a review is to tell what the book is about. If not, you can just skip on down to after I tell you what it’s about. Mother Not Wanted begins with Amber and Lizi on a train to Fort Worth. That’s part of the reason I took so long to write this review. I don’t like trains and Timothy knows it. I had a bad experience with a train. I was on a train that derailed and it could have killed me. There was another girl who did die. But I’d rather not think about that. Amber and Lizi get off the train in Fort Worth and they go to Fox’s...

S everal days ago, a reader asked me which of my novels I and other people think is the best. I completely understand why people would ask that question. I ran into the problem when I decided I wanted to try one of Tamela Hancock Murray’s books. She has about 40 books available and since many are romance novels, I don’t anticipate reading them all. I have fewer books, but even picking from five novels can be overwhelming when you just want one. I wish I could say that it is an easy question to answer, but all of my books are good. I love each for a different reason. Add to that the fact that the book most fresh in an author’s mind is the one he will prefer above the rest. But having given it some though, I’ve narrowed the question of my best work to date down to two. And since I feel I must choose one or the other as the book I would recommend if people wish to read one book and no more, I will place Mother Not Wanted in the top slot and For the Love of a Devil in the second. Wh...

W hile looking through some forums I found the following post from a fellow writer: Hello Ready-Readers! This is Ready Writer, [name deleted], and I'd like to introduce my Christian Fiction novel titled, "[title deleted]." This is a must-read page turner you will NOT be able to put down. This book is 100% clean that will not only edify the Body of Christ, but will also minister to the lost and backslidden. Please check out my website: [URL deleted] or search for the title here on Amazon.com for reviews and testimonies. Thank you for looking. Blessings to you all for a Happy and Healthy 2011! I’ve removed the identifying information to protect the guilty, but thought it might be useful for us to consider this post and its inability to promote the book the writer intends to promote. The first problem appears first thing. “Hello Ready-Readers! This is Ready Writer!” Doesn’t that just make you want to puke? Whatever else this writer says, she has already turned us off by ta...

P ublishAmerica is by far the most notorious publisher in the publish-on-demand game. And here I pick my words carefully because PublishAmerica goes to great lengths to say that they are not a vanity press. Looking at their website, they give one the impression that they are a traditional publisher. In fact, they are not very discriminating in determining what to publish, making them more of a publish-on-demand publisher than a traditional publisher. I was unaware of this several years ago before I published my first book. An acquaintance had published a book through them and I gave serious thought to doing the same, but when visited their website, I saw wording that said that PublishAmerica “specializes in books about, or by, people who face and overcome hardships and obstacles in life (both fictional and nonfictional), and who turn stumbling blocks into stepping stones.” I looked at the nature of my book and decided it didn’t fit in that category, so I didn’t send them a manuscript. ...

I t’s normal for people to care what other people think about them. If people didn’t, some people would show up to work in their bathrobes or even less. If we find someone who truly doesn’t care what other people think, we generally think that person is insane. And yet, people go through life wishing they didn’t care what other people think about them. We want people to be impressed with us in various ways, but we hate that we are hindered from doing things we believe we should be doing because we’re afraid of what people will think. A classic example is sharing the gospel. We have this idea that we should find a way to share the gospel with everyone we meet, but we don’t do that. In many cases, this is because we are fearful of what they will think of us when we do. It’s easy to say we shouldn’t worry about that, but the reality is that we do. It is similar to what I experienced in high school when we were required to get up in front of the class to give speeches. You would think th...

I had an epiphany the other day. Occasionally I do. The topic was retelling fairy tales. Moreso, it had to do with continuing an existing story like Cinderella. The discussion had to do with people not liking how a continuation of the story of Cinderella had turned out. In this particular story, Cinderella didn’t live happily ever after, but instead turned into a self-centered adulteress who wasn’t happy with the prince but wanted some other guy. Of course, the first thing we think of when we think of that is that Cinderella wouldn’t be like that. She isn’t that type of girl It messes with the archetype. But consider that there are hundreds of Cinderella retellings out there. I know of one in which they turned the story around. Instead of Cinderella having humble beginnings and attending the ball to meet the prince, the Cinderella character was wealthy and was magically forced to become a servant and only regained her position after learned to be humble. No one objected to that stor...

25 copies of Mother Not Wanted are being made available to bloggers willing to post a review.   Mother Not Wanted - When a granddaughter, that Fox Jacobs never knew he had, shows up unexpectedly, she brings hope to a family still reeling from a fatal accident. But Fox could do without the woman who is with her. Amber Mills is a con artist by her own admission and a woman who has her sights set on Fox’s son. Fox must determine if Amber is telling the truth about the girl, and must protect his family from the threat that Amber poses. With the help of the woman Fox sees as a more suitable match for his son, Fox sends Amber away, but the celebration is short lived. Fox soon discovers that Amber is much closer than he thought. As he continues to look for ways to protect his family from this con artist, Fox discovers that there is a bigger danger lurking that may turn his family against him and lead them into financial ruin. To Sign Up to Review Mother Not Wanted Complete the for...

T o celebrate the full moon on a Friday in February, I'm announcing a Free Friday. Post whatever you want in the comment section (keep it clean). Ask a question. Post a link to your blog. Tell us about your book. Complain about the state of the world. Complain about me. Say whatever you like, I want to hear it.

I purchased 42 Months Dry after seeing a request from the author for top reviewers to review the book. I am not a top reviewer, but I thought I would review the book anyway. I can only hope that the author will return the favor. The thing that made it stand out is that it is a retelling of a biblical account of the life of a prophet in a modern setting. I used a similar approach when I wrote the book For the Love of a Devil . Mine was based on Hosea, but in this book Zach Bartels tells the story of Elijah. 42 Months Dry is different than you might expect because Bartels puts a gun and a cigarette in his main character’s hand and the character is known to curse in fits of anger. That may be offputting for some readers. The tone of the story is rather dark and the body count is high, but for people who like that kind of story, I don’t think they will be disappointed. Bartels is a skilled storyteller and it is obvious that he studied Elijah before writing the story. That is more ...

T here are a number of terms in the publishing industry that have very little meaning when we start talking about self-publishing. remainered - A book is remaindered if the publisher is overstocked. At some point, the publisher decides that it will cost more to hold on to the books than what he will get from selling them. The books are either sold in bulk at a discount or they are destroyed. Most self-publishers won’t run into this situation if they are using POD to print their books. But if the author has several boxes of books in his garage or living room, the day may come that his wife says, “you are going to have to get rid of those books.” At that point, his book is going through the process of being remaindered. sell in - This is the number of books that are ordered by retailers. We would like to see this as a large number, but most self-publishers will have a low number. If a book is selling well, you will find that Amazon.com or any other store that is getting a lot of re...

W e’ve had more ice and snow in north Texas than what we’re accustomed this year. Following one storm, KTVT showed a couple of guys out in subfreezing temperatures helping people who were stuck on the ice. They had high praise for these guys and their willingness to help, but when they saw someone pass them some money, they backed off their praise. Somewhere along the line, we’ve picked up this idea that if someone is getting paid to do something they don’t deserve praise for it. This same notion carries over into publishing. If an author visits someone’s blog and mentions a blog post that is related to the subject that is on his blog, most people will see nothing wrong with that. But suppose the author mentions a book he is selling that is related to the subject. Many people would frown at that because he is getting paid for it. I agree that people who do things without compensation deserve recognition for that, but it shouldn’t be considered a bad thing when people ask for compen...

W e know,” the radio announcer said, “that it is harder to save money than ever before.” With that, he introduced some program designed to teach people to manage their money. Have you noticed how many things fit into that blank? It is harder to raise children than ever before. It is harder for couples to stay together than ever before. It is harder to get to know your neighbors than ever before. Everyone seems to have something they believe is harder or worse than it has ever been. Particularly in Christian circles, it seems that we want to make things more difficult and worse than they’ve ever been. “Why look at how bad the public schools are,” someone will say. “Or look at how bad our government is.” “Look at how evil the world has become. The Lord’s return must be close.” I should point out that some scientist use similar techniques. Global warming is an example. A few decades ago, they were talking about global cooling. Don’t get me wrong, I realize there is much need for im...

E sther has been described as the Cinderella of the Bible. There are some similarities in the story, a common girl being chosen as queen from among the best looking virgins in the kingdom. There are also differences and there are other stories in the Bible that are similar as well. For that reason, I hesitate to say that Esther is the only Cinderella story in the Bible, but I’m not going to disagree with people who want to compare it to Cinderella. I think the stories of Ruth and of David are also Cinderella stories in their own way. Let’s look first at the similarities between Esther and Cinderella. They both have humble beginnings. Esther lost both of her parents, though she was staying with a loving uncle, Mordecai, rather than a wicked stepmother. I suppose Mordecai combined with the keeper of the women is similar to the fairy godmother in the Cinderella story. Because of her beauty, Esther was chosen as queen. Also similar to Cinderella is the fact that Esther did not reveal who...

C urrently, the DiscipleGuide Sunday school quarterlies are taking us through the books of the Bible over a period of twelve months. Last Sunday’s lesson was on Esther. I had the privilege of teaching the class, but I did something I’ve never done before for a Sunday school class. Typically, we will have a text to read and we will discuss how to apply that text to our own lives or we might discuss the historical significance of something. What I did instead was to read the book of Esther to the class—all ten chapters. It took about forty minutes to read the book aloud. I believe we need to understand the importance of reading God’s word, as is, without commentary. I’m not saying the commentary isn’t useful and important, but the words of the Bible can stand alone. We often get too caught up in trying to explain what God has already stated clearly. In the case of the Book of Esther, the book is written as a story. God understands the power of a story. There is much in Esther that is w...

I don’t get it. Just days after Book Cover Design Wizardry became available on Amazon.com, one book seller listed two used copies of it for $34.64 + $3.99 shipping and $35.35 + $3.99 shipping. I can kind of get why some of the other sellers are listing new copies starting at $23.19 + shipping. They are attempting to undercut Amazon.com, but I don’t see why a selling would raise the price of the book, especially when I know for a fact that they don’t actually have a used copy of the book in hand. I won’t go into how I know that, but I know that. What we have are several sellers who are making money by listing books they don’t own, hoping that buyers will choose the lower price over the Amazon.com price. When the order comes in, they order the book from the distributer, reship the book with their required packaging material and collect the lower price. I imagine it works fairly well, though from an outside view it looks really silly. But makes no sense at all for someone to list a ...

W hy do writers write? It would be funny if it weren’t so sad, but I often hear people talk about taking up writing to make money. I was listening to the radio a few months ago and they were doing a career makeover. They had a guy on the show who had been laid off and they were taking him through a process of finding something else he could do. After some reflection, he decided that he could become a writer. I have no way of knowing what became of him, but I doubt he is out there making a living from writing. Most writers, even those with publishing contracts, don’t make enough from their writing to make a living. So why do it if we aren’t going to make money from it? I think it has as much to do with the dream as the money. All writers are dreamers. Even though it may be unrealistic for us to believe that we’ll be able to quit our day job and just write, many of writers have that dream. Daydreams are a funny thing. They aren’t quite as effective at creating memories as an actual exp...

And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not unto men – Colossians 3:23 I don’t know how many times I’ve looked at that verse. I knew what it meant and I don’t know that what I’m going to say today does anything to change that understanding, but I had reason to give it special thought the other day. I heard someone telling a story about a man who was doing some work that no one else would ever see. He reached the end of what he was doing, looked at it and tore it apart. A younger co-worker asked him why he did that, since no one would see it and it was good enough. The man said that he wasn’t doing the work for other people or even himself, he was doing it for God. I think we have a tendency to think about how forgiving God is and we think that he will be willing to overlook the flaws in what we do. We think of him like a grandmother who will hang her grandchildren’s artwork up like a masterpiece, even though it is crude. But let’s think about that. Is that the prope...

R ecently, Michael Hyatt listed what book consumers look at on his blog. They are as follows: Title Cover Back cover Flap (hardcover books or book with “French flaps”) Table of Contents First few paragraphs of the book’s content Price Notice that price comes last. This is important because potential buyers have already decided they want the book before they look at the price. They’ve already assessed the value and see something worth having and now they are asking whether that value is worth the price. This is actually very good news for those of us who have chosen to self-publish. The POD printing process costs more than offset printing. It uses higher quality paper and the overhead isn’t spread across as many books. Because of this, most self-published and small press books cost more than books published by major publishers. We may choose to reduce the price of our self-published books to be the same as those produced by major publishers, but by doing so we may prevent ourselves ...

W atch and wait, do you know the difference? The Bible calls for us to do both. We are to wait upon the Lord, but we are to watch for his return. To wait is to delay with expectation. We pull up to a stop light and we wait for it to change. We have the expectation that it will eventually turn green. When we wait upon the Lord, we have the expectation that he will give us some kind of guidance on how we should proceed. But it also brings us to a halt. We delay our action until we know what the Lord wants us to do. To watch has the expectation, but not the delay. To watch is to be vigilant. When the light turns green, we watch for the guy who isn’t going to stop for the red light and the pedestrian who is still in the intersection. If they are there, we take a different action than if they aren’t, but watching doesn’t prevent us from taking action. The same is true of watching for the Lord’s return. The Bible tells us that no one but God knows when that will happen, but we are to wat...

I received a shock the other day. I did a search on Amazon.com for books I had written and I found this book among the results. D. F. Magruder wrote this book and I published it, but I didn’t assign it an ISBN and I offered it at cost on Lulu. Now, with no input from me, they are offering it for sale on Amazon.com. I’m not opposed to that. I had been thinking about assigning it an ISBN so that I could list it on Amazon.com. Even though D. F. Magruder made every effort to get accurate information from the churches, I’ve heard rumors that one church thinks something is inaccurate about their church, so I was hoping to resolve any issues like that and release a second edition of the book rather than reprinting the first edition. But this will work too. What this tells me is that for you guys looking for a self-publishing company, Lulu is trying to be a more viable option than they were before. Even with books like this one, which doesn’t have an ISBN assigned, they are attempting to m...

I don't know who started it, but I keep seeing this work in novels published for CBA that is driving me crazy. It is a phrase as much as anything and it seems to appear in the first chapter quite frequently. At first, I thought it was a suspense novelist thing. I saw Brandilyn Collins use it and then I saw it in a Love Inspired Suspense book, which made me wonder if that author had copied it from Brandilyn Collins. But it also appears in Lonestar Sanctuary by Colleen Coble. "Rick watched the feeble horse try to feed, and he fisted his hands. (Emphasis mine) I'll tell you what. If I see this phrase many more times, you won't find me fisting my hands, you'll find me fisting a podium. Given the context of the sentence around it, I think what these writers actually intend to say with this phrase is that he clenched his fists. Granted, a secondary mean of the verb fist, according to Merriam-Webster online is to clench into a fist, but the primary meaning is grip wit...

There are a lot of good points in this video that apply to book writers of all types.