Angels and Angles
She’s a new author whose book will be out in the spring. Her name is Angela Simpson. Her book is Journey with the Holy Spirit, published by Laurus Co. I’m passing this on because I think this will be a book many of us will be interested in reading. Why? 1) She’s passionate about the material. 2) She took two years to write it, another two to find the right publisher. 3) She’s not looking for that instant success angle. 4) She’s asking the right questions about all the facets of the writing industry. 5) She knows there is more to it than a title.
Those criteria add up to a good book. If she had said: “This is the story of my life. I wrote it last summer on vacation. No one wanted to publish it, so I published it myself. I’m probably going to sell a thousand when I put it on Amazon,” I wouldn’t have bothered to write down her name. I like autobiography, I understand how hard it is to interest publishers, and I know folks think you get rich if your book is on Amazon. But that mindset for a new author says a lot about the quality, the intensity, the longevity, and that author’s business approach. I probably wouldn’t buy it or read it. If I could even find it.
But, her angle was the right one. She had a story to share. She took a long time trying to tell it the best way. She worked a year with a professional editor before submitting it to a publisher. She edited, she rewrote, she was rejected; she didn’t give up. She worked harder to make it better, dug further to find the right pub for her work. She didn’t take it personally. She asks questions. They’re good questions she’d thought about, not adlibbing to impress me. She was looking for real answers and was trying to cobble together a business plan that would work for her and her work. She has long-term goals.
No author, no matter how good the story idea is, can get to publication alone. We all have our angels. There are no short cuts in this business, no quick angles. This author is going into the business with her eyes wide open, willing to learn, she’s patient, willing to make changes and accommodate, but passionate enough to control her content. Making money is not her motivation. She acknowledges the Angels on her shoulder and trusts the Holy Spirit to guide her. Angel vs. Angle. I know what that outcome will be! I’ll remember her name, Angela, and I’ll look for her book in the spring.