Papa Don't Preach

(First in a series: Choosing Content)


Some of you may remember Madonna’s music video—that of a teenager who tells her father of her out-of-wedlock pregnancy. She pleads with her father not to tell her she’d been wrong. She already knew that. She wanted to know, “Will you help me or condemn me?”

Sometimes, I wonder if the pendulum hasn’t swung too far away from the hell, fire, and brimstone era. Maybe there is a place and time when the finger needs to be pointed and, like Nathan the prophet, say, “Thou art the man.” There are those so afraid of offending and being too preachy that the message is watered down to mere platitudes.

We need never apologize for truth appropriately spoken. But at the same time, simply telling a person they are a sinner without offering a solution is akin to the days of the stockades. As God’s messengers, we want all to come to know the power of God’s saving Grace. Then how do we deal with the publishing mandate, “Be real, but don’t preach”? How do we “speak the truth in love”? How do we determine our content?

First: Identify your target audience.

Are you writing for the saved or unsaved? Moms? Dads? Husbands? Wives? Children?

Second: Identify your motivation

Is this work to edify or entertain? Is this work intended to challenge or promote thinking? Is this message intended to offer solutions? Or is it to simply provide information? All are legitmate.

Thirdly: Identify your form of delivery

Will this message best be delivered in a story, an article, a poem, or larger work of fiction or non-fiction?

Fourthly: Identify your tone

Will this message be better told humorously or straight as an arrow? Does the message need to be hard sell or soft pedal? Once you determine the overall tone, your imagery and voice should ring true with your tone or style.

Just a few thoughts to consider before you write your first word and after you have carefully prayed concerning the kernel idea God has given you.

Happy writing!
Linda Rondeau

What About Sharing EBooks?

Recently, members of EPIC, the Electronically Published Internet Connection, have discovered several "pirate" Web sites illegally selling e-books. They had acquired one copy of the books and were copying them and selling the copies.

In some cases, these sites were set up by dishonest people who were deliberately out to cheat the publishers, authors, and others who earn royalties from the sale of e-books. Some had the misguided idea that all authors and publishers are wealthy and wouldn't miss the paltry income from the sales they made. If only they knew! According to a study done by the Authors Guild in 1981, the average writer earned less than $5,000 a year from his profession, and I doubt things have changed much since then, especially for e-authors.

Most people who share e-books don't intend to steal royalties; they simply don't understand the difference between passing on a paperback book they've read and making a copy of an electronic file. In the case of a print book, they no longer have the book - there is only copy in existence. It was purchased; the bookstore and publisher were compensated, and the author, editor, cover artist, and others involved in the production of the book were paid for their services or earned royalties.

However, when someone sends copies of an e-book to their friends, they have only paid for one book, but they are distributing several copies. The publisher and bookstore were paid for one copy, and the author, editor, and cover artist earned royalties on only one copy. However, there are two or three or a dozen copies being read and enjoyed.

Some publishers want to respond to this problem by security measures, some extreme - password protection, files that can be read only on one device, license keys - but most publishers and authors are opposed to anything that makes it difficult for our readers.

I want you to be able to read my novel on your desktop computer or your laptop or your PDA. I want you to share it with other family members in your home, and recommend it to your friends.

Tell us what you think about sharing e-books by posting your comments.

Do you know how to download ebooks?

Some readers new to e-books hesitate to order because they're unsure of how to download. "Download," according to NetLingo, the Internet dictionary, means "To transfer a file or files from one computer to another ... HTTP, FTP and e-mail attachments are the most common" methods.

One way to download is with a link to a HTML, PDF, or other file. You can open the document, then "Save As ..." from the "File" menu in your Internet browser to save the file to your hard drive. Or you can right-click on the link and select "Save Target As" from the menu. (These instructions are for computers using the Windows(R) operating system.)

Some publishers zip the files and secure them with a password. The password is provided to the buyer at the time of the purchase.

Other publishers send the e-books as e-mail attachments or send links to the files in e-mail.

With any of these transfer methods, you as the buyer need to be careful to choose the right format: HTML to read in your Internet browser, PDF to use the free Adobe Acrobat reader in your computer, or a specific format for reader software or hardware.

E-book stores such as Fictionwise and eBookAd create a personal bookshelf for each customer. When you make a purchase, your e-book is immediately transferred to your bookshelf, and you can download it in any available format at any time. You may download it to read on your desktop computer at the time you buy it, but halfway through the book, you can decide to finish reading it on your PDA. Return to the e-book store and download the appropriate format.

If you own the reader from eBookwise, you can download books directly from your bookshelf to your e-book reader.

Most publishers and bookstores explain their download procedures on their homepage or FAQ/help area. If in doubt, send an e-mail or fill out the contact form on the Web site. Businesses want you to buy their products, and part of that process is understanding the process.

Happy downloading and e-reading!

Amazon appears to be increasingly pro-Muslim, anti-Christian

Does anyone know about Amazon's reviews? I posted a review four times but each time they removed my review. There is one article at my blog site titled "Amazon appears to be increasingly pro-Muslim,anti-Christian" at
http://jcsearch.com/blogs/bnq

Thanks
Sherly Isaac
http://insearchofpeace.org

How do you prefer to read e-books?

I've been wondering how people prefer to read e-books. For several years, I read on the old Rocket eBook. A few months ago, my husband was hospitalized, and I spent hours sitting at his bedside. One day, I nodded off, and my Rocket reader slipped out of my hand and fell to the floor. The case shattered ... and I had to look for another device. I'd tried a Palm but found the font and screen size too small for my poor vision. Now I'm using the eBookwise reader. This is a branded version of the Gemstar reader, and I've been happy with it.

To find out what others prefer, we have two polls running at Faithful Scribes, another Christian E-Author blog. Let us know what devices and formats you prefer for reading e-books.

And if you have questions about e-publishing that you would like answered in this blog, make a comment so we can know what information would be helpful for us to post.

How Decent the Standards?

Well, when you hear an organization standing up for decency standards, as a Christian writer the first thing you think is, "Great! It's about time." And then you begin thinking about what it means for all writers in general, especially for some of the e-publishers and their authors.

Booksquare has an interesting post on how the Romance Writers of America are attempting to restrict the content of book covers they will associate with. Read Booksquare's post, and see what you think. You can read my response here. Because after an initial reaction, I decided this policy wasn't a good thing at all, for any of us, Christian writer or *romantica* writer. Just how can we ever hope to attract new folks to our faith if they are re-routed somewhere else along the way?