July 5, 2006 8:54 AM
My new book is here!
They're here!
I received my first copies of Reaching the Left from the Right on Monday! I'm a little ahead of Amazon, I guess, but you can preorder them here.
If you knew how long I worked on this book, you'd understand why I'm walking on clouds today. It was first conceived in the spring of 2003 at Mount Hermon Writers Conference when I sat down to eat breakfast next to two editors from Beacon Hill Press - Bonnie Perry and Judi Perry (sisters-in-law). It was the first time we'd met and in the process of getting to know each other, I told them about my crazy-mixed-up political background/spiritual journey. They said, "We've been looking for someone like you to write a book for us! Will you send us a proposal?" I said sure, and also gave them a manila envelope containing a short proposal for Lord, Please Meet Me in the Laundry Room.
Since then, LPMMITLR was published, as well as my next book for them Dirty Dancing at the Prom - another book that came out of my sharing a personal real-life experience with Bonnie and her urging me to write a book.
You may be wondering what happened to Reaching the Left in the meantime. Here is the rest of the story. I wrote the book and turned it in - it was supposed to be published in the fall of 2004. But they didn't like the first draft. No, they didn't say that directly. What they did was fly me out to Kansas City to do a focus group with teens which would kick off the Dirty Dancing at the Prom book. While I was there, Bonnie and Judi took me up to the executive offices and in the kindest, most gentle way somehow communicated to me how completely wrong my first draft was.
What had happened was that I had turned in a political rant about all the things going wrong in our culture - you know, the "We're Going to ____ in a Handbasket" kind of thing.
Now, the wonderful thing about editors is that God really can speak to your heart through them - and he did speak to mine through Bonnie and Judi that day. My writing motto has always been "Say something simple and real, something with hope in it" - which is a line from a Frank Capra move, Meet John Doe. As we talked, I realized that the book I had produced had no hope. And if it had no hope, then what was the point of writing it? Or reading it?
So I went back home to first finish the Dirty Dancing book - which would be from a positive hope-producing point of view (because since God reached my heart, I was sure not going to make the same mistake twice :) and then to completely rewrite the RTLFTR book. A complete rewrite - you're talking scrapping 42,000 words and writing 42,000 more.
But the new version had something the first version didn't: HOPE! Here is the Table of Contents:
*Increase Your Compassion*Study Your Culture
*Serve Your Community
*Find Common Ground
*Improve Your Communication
*Prepare for Confrontation
*Trust Your Creator
After turning in the second manuscript, there were some minor editorial skirmishes as I had to compromise on a few points - like my position that birth control is selfish - in order to pass their publication committee (which probably has people using birth control on it :) But these are understandable because a book - unless it is self-published - is really a team effort and I try not to be a prima dona, but to be willing once I turn in my manuscript to become part of a team. The author has no control over cover design, for instance. I am pleased with this cover, which I think is very striking and unusual for a Christian publisher.
Here is the back cover:
So it's been a long, hard journey for this book - much longer and harder than any of the less controversial mommy books I've done. You can see why it means a lot to me to see it in print. (I even took copies as hostess gifts to the two wonderful Fourth of July parties we went to yesterday!)
Beacon Hill has my next book, The Mommy Survival Guide scheduled for release at the end of this year. And I am working on two books for Broadman and Holman which will be out next summer: Mommy, Teach Me! and Mommy, Teach Me to Read!
I especially want to thank all of you who read and comment here at MommyLife because this blog has really contributed enormously to my understanding and growth as a writer. You are very much part of my own personal team.
(I will be signing books and doing interviews at the ICRS convention in Denver Monday and Tuesday.
Posted in Books, Current Affairs, Writing | Permalink
Comments
Congrats!
Posted by: King of Fools | July 5, 2006 10:39 AM
Congratulations!!
Posted by: Laura | July 5, 2006 10:53 AM
I can't wait to read this one, Barbara. Thank you for your hard work (twice) on this subject. It looks like a book I can buy in bulk and then pass it on to many others.
Posted by: Cynthia | July 5, 2006 11:31 AM
Kudos! Hooray for you.
Posted by: Neighbor Jane Payne | July 5, 2006 11:35 AM
Oh, happy day! There's nothing like holding your book in your hands for the first time. Congratulations! Sounds like a great topic for a book.
Will you be having an on-air discussion with Ann Coulter anytime soon? ;)
Posted by: Damselfly | July 5, 2006 11:41 AM
Congratulations, Barbara! Its release date has been on my calendar for a couple of months now! I am happy for you - I didn't know you had scrapped an entire earlier edition, and found the courage to start again with a fresh attitude. That is amazing.
If you need any reviewers on Amazon, I'd be thrilled to review it for you "from the other side", so to speak. I'd be happy to cover your cost for the book and the postage.
Alternately, if you are selling any copies early, let me know! August 30th seems to far away!
Posted by: Gen | July 5, 2006 11:52 AM
Congratulations Barbara! This looks like a very interesting read. I'll have to add it to my wish list :)
Posted by: Amy | July 5, 2006 11:59 AM
Barbara,
Congrats on the new book. I just requested 2 of your books from my library today. I'm looking forward to reading them.
Posted by: Lari | July 5, 2006 1:22 PM
So did you get to leave in anything about birth control and the blessing of children at all?
Posted by: miller_schloss | July 5, 2006 1:36 PM
Congratulations!
Posted by: mopsy | July 5, 2006 2:33 PM
Congratulations! The book sounds interesting and very needed! I'll definitely be adding it to my wishlist too.
Posted by: Amber | July 5, 2006 3:27 PM
I can't wait to read it!
Posted by: Shannon @ Rocks in my Dryer | July 5, 2006 4:08 PM
Congrats on the book.
Normally I think political books are just efforts to make a buck "preaching to the choir" and that I find slightly annoying, but reading your chapter titles it sounds more like something I would want to read, even though I consider myself more in the middle politically.
Posted by: paigeu | July 5, 2006 4:11 PM
Dropping in for the first time...
Congratulations! That must be so exciting! I'm a wanna-be writer (usually of inspirational fiction) so forgive me if I'm just a little bit envious!
It sounds like a very interesting book, too!
Blessings...
~Tammy
Posted by: Tammy | July 5, 2006 6:23 PM
Just another voice of excitement! Congrats on another publication! :) I look forward to reading it.
Posted by: Sharon | July 5, 2006 9:04 PM
I am definitely on the left, but right away I thought, what a great book to write. Sounds like something that needed to be written.
Posted by: Emily | July 6, 2006 12:02 AM
Looking forward to reading this. Congratulations!
Posted by: Tara Marie | July 7, 2006 1:25 AM
I really like the cover, too.
Posted by: Marie | July 7, 2006 4:16 PM
Barbara,
Iwould like to have heard that conversation between you and the Perrys! :-)
I might pick a copy of this, too. :-)
Posted by: Julana | July 9, 2006 6:30 PM
