The press release for my next book event follows:

South Jersey native Ed Cyzewski will be discussing his book Coffeehouse Theology: Reflecting on God in Everyday Life at the CLC Bookcenter in Moorestown, NJ on Saturday, September 25^th at 11 AM.

Cyzewski will address where our beliefs about God come from, including the impact that cultural values have in shaping Bible reading. The talk will cover how to study the Bible, how the Bible shapes our beliefs, and how our beliefs impact our actions. Coffeehouse Theology is an ideal introduction to theology for Christians who want to dig deeper into what they believe.

Reviewer David Swanson writes in Leadership Journal, “I would recommend the book to almost any member of my church.” Publisher’s Weekly writes that Cyzewski “urges readers to explore theology while reassuring them that they don’t have to become postmodern philosophers: theology can be considered, as it were, in the coffeehouse,” and adds, “Personal anecdotes of his own growth in faith are disarming in their honesty”

Ed Cyzewski has contributed to several books including the NLT Holy Bible Mosaic and written for numerous magazines such as Adirondack Life and Leadership Journal. He blogs at www.edcyz.com. For reviews and sample chapters of Coffeehouse Theology, visit www.navpress.com

The CLC Bookcenter is located on 401 RT 38 across from the Moorestown mall. For more information, call 856-866-2688

The price through Amazon is $15, while the ebook price through Lulu is $10.

So far the feedback has been really encouraging, including comments from readers who have found the book both informative and well-organized. One book publisher enthusiastically purchased a copy, and he’s someone who certainly could have taught me a thing or two about publishing! So I’m grateful to see positive responses to the book as it starts out.

If you’re interested in hosting me for an event with your writing group or book store, I offer group discounts and free publishing workshops along with my book events.

Throughout the third and fourth weeks of May a number of bloggers will be posting reviews and interviews. I hope to have the schedule up soon.

In addition, I’ll be posting a series here next week covering what I learned in the self-publishing process. If you subscribe to my e-mail newsletter (in the right column), you can also read about the inside story of self-publishing, the decisions I made throughout the process, and why I followed the course I chose.

There are a lot of decisions to make in the self-publishing process, so believe me, reading about my process will help you a great deal! I learned a ton over the past 6 months.

Yesterday I wrapped up the first draft of my next book Saving Evangelicals from Themselves. The first draft often entails the lion’s share of the book writing process. There is research, brainstorming, organizing, stream of consciousness writing, editing, reorganizing, more writing, and more editing and polishing.

By 5 PM yesterday I had my draft completely finished and ready for the publisher. It even came close to the 60,000 word count with a total of 61,610 words. I’d like to share a little bit about the process of writing a first draft of a book. I hope this helps as you plunge into your own projects.

Read… A Lot

You don’t need to quote directly from every book or cite everything, but read, skim, or browse as many books as you can in your topic area. You want to communicate your own ideas in fresh ways, while giving credit where it is due.

Research

Set up Google Alerts for your subject areas, read and tag articles using del.icio.us, dig through surveys, and look up articles in key papers and magazines such as Time, The Atlantic, The New Yorker, The New York Times, and any other magazine closely related to your topic. For myself I keep a close eye on Christianity Today.

Organize and Outline

You need to know where your book is going, and so a rough outline is necessary. Don’t be afraid to delete, add, or reorder chapters as you set out. Better now than later. Set up a rough idea of each chapter’s trajectory.

Write, Write, Write

I like to just cut loose and write a ton once I have some research and outlines to provide general guidance. I end up scrapping at least 25-35% of what I write, but the core that remains is generally pretty solid. Let your mind wander, write about things you care about, and think deeply about your topic. Always keep in mind your one-two sentence summary of your book from your proposal (you did put together a proposal first, right? If not, do that NOW!)

Fill In Gaps

After you have a good chunk of material together, you need to fill in the gaps with more research, quotes, and stories. Try to get a sense of the flow of your chapter. Are you on target? Can readers follow with you? Are they still interested? Have you backed up your claims? This is the time to ask hard questions and to be critical of your work. I have a scrap folder for each book with a document that matches each chapter. Many scrap documents have at least 7 pages of material in them. That means you need to keep adding content to your chapters, making sure you’ve sharpened your points.

Seek Opinions

When you’re relatively confident you have a solid chunk of chapter, seek out a friend or two to read it. Ask them to point out places where stories don’t work, ideas need to be developed, or the whole thing falls off course. I recommend at least two different readers since people can be very different in how they read something.

Never Stop Researching

Hopefully you’ve been keeping up on your field while you’re doing the heavy part of the writing. By saving key stories and articles on del.icio.us I have saved myself on several occasions. You never know when a crucial piece of information will surface.

The Critical Read-Through

Keeping in mind your book’s focus, reader-benefits, and goals, read through each chapter with a critical eye to anything that doesn’t fit, discredits you as a writer, loses your readers, or doesn’t sound quite right. Kill adverbs without mercy, tighten up sentence structure, delete a lot, insert strong verbs, and make sure you begin and end with bang.

Hit Send, Tell a Friend, and Buy Yourself a Treat

It’s a wonderful feeling to hit the send button when you’re done with a key phase of a book project. Celebrate the moment, treat yourself to something you enjoy, and share the joy of the moment with your friends. Chances are you won’t be celebrating when your editor writes back in two months with the revisions you need to make…

In publishing there are some things within your control, while others fall into the intangibles column. After looking for a publisher a few years ago, my agent began talking with NavPress. NavPress was looking to dig into practical theology, taking on the relevance of the Bible for today’s issues—that’s my take on them at least—making my Coffeehouse Theology book proposal a great fit for them. I hit them in the midst of a transition into a new line of books, meaning a new crop of authors.

In addition, NavPress has since revamped their web site and has a lot of exciting promotions coming up. Fresh ideas are welcome and there is a lot of enthusiasm to connect with readers in new ways, which encourages me and stimulates my thinking. It’s wonderful to be so intimately connected with the marketing of my book, thinking of the kind of promotions I would want to see as a reader. From my perspective, NavPress and I found each other at a great time.

While luck/good timing certainly played a part in my steps toward publishing, there were many things within my control…

I spent years practicing my writing online through blogs and a few magazines (though there’s no education like working with a book development editor), and began to develop my own voice and writing style. That experience was priceless as I set out to rewrite my book.

While blogging regularly, I began networking with fellow bloggers, keeping in mind that I may one day want to ask them to review my book on their blogs one day. Some of these bloggers have become online friends, and it’s wonderful to interact with their insights and ideas on a regular basis. They help me think and write better.

Read widely and broadly with an eye to what makes good writing work. I read the New York Times, Time Magazine, articles on the Del.icio.us hotlist, Google News, and blogs on a daily basis. I try to keep one bestselling nonfiction book on my night stand (I’m working my way through Malcolm Gladwell’s books right now) and a couple Christian books since that’s my main market, Refractions and The Secret Message of Jesus of late. While I want to learn from great writers in my field, almost any good writer can point me toward better use of language, style, or story structure. A few authors on our bookshelf include Lauren Winnter, Anne Lamott, Barbara Kingsolver, and Ruth Reichl.

Refine your book proposal so that it presents a real need and then fulfills it. The basic need I presented with my Coffeehouse Theology proposal was two-fold: theology is not accessible and Christians end up fighting each other over theology. I offered to make theology an accessible, unity-building practice for Christians in everyday life. If you can’t sum up your idea succinctly, then you’re not ready to write a focused, to-the-point proposal.

While all of these pieces were crucial steps, my practice and hard work were not enough. I needed a break, a situation that created the perfect opportunity for my book proposal to receive a green light. I know how it feels to read the rejection e-mails and letters, so if you’re a budding writer dealing with rejection for the first time, I feel your pain. You have unfortunately chosen a profession where the “no’s” will outnumber the “yea’s.”

Of course there may be times when you can wow a publisher with a bold, fresh idea. However, the break up letters will be inevitable. My advice is to work hard, keep getting your work out there, and make sure when a publisher says, “It’s not you, it’s me,” they will be absolutely correct.

Using del.icio.us to not only tag and organize links, but to also set aside material worthy of a quotation made the research process much easier. At first I just tagged everything that looked relevant, but soon I realized that it helps to read the articles first rather than assuming I’d read them later. I rarely did that! So I read through, highlighted the section I wanted to quote, and then tagged them. By highlighting a section, I could then find it on my del.icio.us bookmarks without have to reread the whole article.

Small sticky notes make it much easier to find quotations from books. I had a system of using small sticky notes as tabs sticking out of books. I’d typically stick the note to the page, make a bracket around the relevant text, and then jot a few words connecting the quote with a particular chapter. I later found that many of my quotes didn’t fit, but without taking the time to mark everything that seemed important, I doubt I would have been able to find enough helpful quotations to pull from the many books I read.

Lining up readers for your drafts is absolutely essential. I received invaluable advice from my readers who soldiered through my early drafts. One chapter needed to be deleted, while another began with too much intensity. In both cases my readers helped prompt significant changes to my book that I believe will make it more successful.

Writing down many of my stories and anecdotes months before I began seriously working on the chapters helped me sort through the most important topics to be covered in the book. This book could have taken a couple of different directions, but I wanted it to unfold as organically as possible, letting my stories direct and shape the overall direction and point of the book. By starting with a solid core of stories totaling 30,000 words, I quickly ruled out certain chapters that would not have enough substance to work within the parameters I had established for the book.

Anything written can be deleted. I have found that I am continually amazed at what ends up working and what ends up being tossing into the “scraps” folder. Never tire of using the delete button.

October 28th, 7:00 PM at the Northshire Book Store

November 7th at Gravity Music and Books

November 9th at Fellowship Baptist Church

I think it’s important to note that while blog tours are a form of promotion for a book, I hope this will be a springboard for fruitful discussion about the role of theology in the church. I especially hope that theology will strengthen the church and build greater unity in our common love for God, even if our beliefs aren’t quite the same across the board. In some cases I have sought out bloggers from different perspectives, and if a few come through with reviews, you’ll find that I’ve even asked bloggers to review the book even though I have every reason to believe they’ll disagree with me. I’m looking forward to discussing a wide array of reviews and reactions.

Without further ado, here is a list with most of the bloggers on the tour. I’m grateful for their contributions.

October Dates

1 Grace

2 Makeesha Fisher

3 Marla Saunders

6 Joel Newton and Christine Sine

10 John Morehead

12 Andrew Tatum

13 DJ Chuang

15 Scott Berkheimer

17 John O’Hara

19 Tod Bolsinger

20 Adam Walker Cleaveland

21 Amy Spiegel

22 Laurence Tom

24 Molly Aley and Heather A Goodman

25 Andy Rowell

26 Adam Malliet

27 Brother Maynard and Tripp Fuller

28 Jim Bonewald

29 Todd Littleton

30 Benjamin Sternke

31 Darryl Dash and Adam J. Copeland

November (or sometime thereafter) Bloggers

Zach Roberts

Len Hjalmarson

Rebecca Matheson

Nate Hulfish

Date TBA

Lisa Delay

Coffeehouse Theology will help the reader understand, shape, and live out practical Christian theology in the postmodern context. Beginning with the relationship of cultural context and theology, Coffeehouse Theology roots theology in the church’s mission to be the presence of God’s Kingdom. Far from dividing the church, contextual theology unites the church in a dynamic dialogue about the presence of God, his revelation in scripture, and the interpretations of the historic and global churches. Be sure to check out the Bible Study Guide and the Contemporary Issues Discussion Guide.

For additional information, check out:

Endorsements
Review from Publisher’s Weekly

The Pepper-Pot is a collection of fantastic short stories and recipes by a group of Vermont writers. I was lucky enough to join them and pitch my story into the mix called “A Bittersweet Land.”

And if you aren’t convinced by one of the contributors saying you should check it out, have a gander at a few reviws from Amazon.com:

“Southshire Pepper-Pot is a tasty book, filled with delicious stories to be munched on slowly with a glass of wine. This is just the kind of book I love to discover and savor with recipes that top off a full-course meal of literary victuals”

Bill Morgan, Beat Chronicler and author of I Celebrate Myself: The Somewhat Private Life of Alllen Ginsberg and Howl on Trial: The Battle for Free Expression –Bill Morgan, author

“Southshire Roundtable has given us a tasty literary treat, a rich menu of deliciously seasoned prose and poetry that will satisfy the appetite of all who enjoy a good read. The short stories are delicious tales inhabited by people we immediately empathize with as well as by unique characters who appeal to our fascination with the strange and mysterious. The essays too are remarkably diverse nostalgic pieces about local places served side by side with insightful accounts of such faraway locations as the Middle East and Key West. The talented writers represented here are proof positive that literature of the first order is alive and well in our area.”

Lea Newman, Bennington, Vermont; Professor Emerita, MCLA and author of Robert Frost: the People, Places and Stories behind his New England Poetry and Growing Up Italian in Chicago –Lea Newman, Professor Emerita, MCLA

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It’s time for publishers to learn something from bloggers about interacting with readers.

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“More to the point, most books don’t start as books. They evolve from humbler efforts such as magazine articles, doctoral dissertations, even op-eds or blogs. If you find yourself saying “I could write about a book about it,” start by writing something far shorter. If you can’t get that published — as an op-ed, for example — you’re not ready for a book. Correction: you may be ready, but an agent or editor isn’t going to pay much attention to an entirely unpublished writer.”

Download the introduction here: Introduction to Theology For Everyone in Postmodern Times.

A complete proposal is available upon request: 802-375-2575 or edcyzewski (at) gmail (dot) com.

Well, a lot actually. For one thing, Stephen King is not limited to horror. He’s a very, very funny writer. I began reading this book in bed on Tuesday night and soon found that I was on page 60 without even realizing it. The candid stories of his childhood adventures are laugh-out-loud funny. I also see myself in a lot of the awkward writing and school newspaper stuff that he was involved in.

The most important thing I’ve learned from King is optimism and persistence. He simply loved to write, and that is enough. He worked all kinds of jobs and still kept at his writing. The nail on the wall that held all of his rejection letters soon was replaced with a large stake. And still he wrote novels, novellas, and short stories.

It’s also fascinating to learn about another writer’s habits and where he finds his stories and characters. If anything, I have learned from other writers, including King, to observe people closely.

For example, I had a waitress today who has to be perfect for a book some day. She joked with customers, shared that she double-majored in theater and physics, and someone brought up SM with some French folks at the table next to mine. Then she dropped their brownie.

Ah, the old adage: truth is stranger than fiction. You just can’t make up stuff like that.

Originally published at www.inamirrordimly.com.

Technorati Tags: stephen+king – on+writing – writing – fiction

Here are his recommendations. For the full list, click here.

Guy Kawasaki

Kawasaki is a well known venture capitalist, speaker, blogger and author. He was also the first evangelist for Apple’s revolutionary Macintosh. His book Rules for Revolutionaries was very important in the formation of Resonate and his book, Selling the Dream was the seed that got the Resonate Greenhouses started. We asked Guy what books he would suggest for people starting non-profits with very little money. He didn’t list his latest book, The Art of the Start but we will for him.

1. The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker
2. Uncommon Genius by Denise Shekerjian
3. If You Want to Write by Brenda Ueland
4. Influence by Robert B. Cialdini
5. Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey A. Moore

If anything, Stephen gave many of those present a reality check into the publishing world. Even after publishing several fairly successful books and working through a very prominent literary agent, Stephen found that one can hardly live off the royalties of a book deal. In addition, he shared just how hard it is to find an agent or a publisher as a new writer. His company, the Public Press, provides an alternative format that is fairly cost effective and enables new authors to launch from a fairly good position. I took notes on the meeting and hope to share some additional tips in the near future. One tip that I need to share off the bat is that Stephen said he prefers to work with independent book stores who will rarely ever return purchased books. Unfortunately Borders and Barnes & Noble are known to ship back unsold books.

The anthology is “an eclectic mix of prose and poetry full of whimsy, humor, reflection, wonder, along with a mouth-watering collection of recipes sure to inspire the cook or baker in us all.” Though I’m no chef, I had a fun time sharing my first experience with Turkish coffee while studying in Jerusalem. Included in the story is a recipe for Turkish coffee, something that I typically would prefer to leave to professionals!

Technorati Tags: anthology, writing

Though the title is somewhat provocative, the subject material is essential for every business, especially non-profits to consider. Non-profits cannot afford to miss out on blogs. Since they rely so heavily on relationships, service, and donations, there is no such thing as too much trust or too much communication.

Technorati Tags: naked+conversations, blogging