Timothy's Thoughts

Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor [thy] rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompence be made thee. But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just. – Luke 14:12 T his is one of my favorite sayings of Jesus. I remember hearing it as a child and it has stuck with me. Now, I don’t believe that Jesus is saying that we should never invite our friends, or influential people over for dinner or supper. He isn’t saying we shouldn’t take our co-workers to dinner and pick up the tab, if we feel so inclined, but he is making a point about the reward we will receive. And I think it can apply to more than just eating. Look at the things we do and why we do them. Often, when we invite our family over for a meal, it is bec...

B ook covers are an important part of the book. We know that the story will be just as good, no matter what the cover looks like, but covers are an important part of our marketing strategy. We often think in terms of a brick-and-mortar store. A reader would have a hard time finding a book if he walked into the store and they all had white covers with black text. So, our main objective with a cover is to convince the reader that he wants to consider the book. Often, a reader will reject a book because of its cover and occasionally a reader will purchase a book because of its cover. In reality, most of us need not be concerned about what the reader sees in a bookstore as much as we’re concerned with what the reader sees online. Even if your book is in a bunch of bookstores, it may be hidden among the stacks and no one will notice it unless they are looking for it. More and more readers are discovering books online before they decide to make a purchase. That means that they are making p...