If you are a writer who is a Christian and have been involved in discussions with like-minded writers, I'm sure you've heard this statement before: "My goal in writing is to glorify God."
I'm not saying this isn't a valid goal, but that it gets misused. In short, my response might be, "That doesn't means what you think it means." Here are three of the messages sent by that statement that I see as misusing it.
If you're writing for any other reason, you're on the wrong track.
In confusing overall vision with purpose-goals (more on that in a bit), people tend to dismiss any other reason—like entertainment—as an inferior goal that denies the goal of glorifying God.
Quality doesn't matter since I'm doing it for God.
Most people probably don't literally mean this or wouldn't come out and say this, but it is the message sent if the statement is in response to someone's goal to improve their writing or set a high bar for quality work. Some do use the phrase to mask laziness.
Any story that fails to present the Gospel and refer, allude, or represent Jesus is failing to write for the glory of God, and is inferior.
The phrase tends to be code words for "true Christian writing" that directly promotes God and the gospel in the proper way. I'm not saying this type of writing should be avoided (I've written some of it), but that can be a worse witness to God than a story that never mentions Him. Being overtly Christian in content does not qualify as glorifying God.
In my experience, people who use that phrase often don't fully understand what they are saying or they wouldn't use it when they do.
The key point often missed is the route to glorifying God in our writing is by successfully fulfilling the purpose of the work.
It should be obvious and clear that not just our writing, but our whole life should be done for the glory of God. Therefore, that isn't a goal for a specific part of our life, but a purpose for all our lives. But how does any one part fulfill that life-vision?
Let's use the example of our driving. Yes, our driving should glorify God. How does it do that? By successfully navigating one's passengers to their destination as safely as possible. By obeying traffic laws out of consideration for others' safety. By acting as if everyone else on the road is more important than yourself. To let your light shine through your actions. By effectively and successfully fulfilling the purpose of driving a vehicle: to get people and cargo safely and efficiently to their destinations, including others on the road, in a Christ-like manner.
We glorify God when we effectively fulfill the purpose of a task in a manner that provides a good witness to what God has done in our lives. To look at it from another angle, what we do, we do unto God. So whether one is witnessing, singing, cooking, reading, or writing, we give our best offering unto God in each task.
For fiction, what is its purpose? For some writers, they admit to only writing to please themselves. They don't care if anyone else is ever interested in reading it or have any message they wish to communicate to the masses. For them, if the story pleases them, it has fulfilled its purpose. But still, what is that purpose?
It is the same as anyone who picks up a work of fiction to read: to be entertained. Whether your audience is yourself or a group of readers, the main purpose of a fiction story is to entertain that audience. If it fails to do that much, if fails to fulfill its purpose.
"But I'm a reader, and I like fiction with a message." All well and good. I'm not saying other goals cannot exist alongside entertaining your audience. Rather, if your story is boring, doesn't engage the reader, few are those who will ever read that message. It is unlikely you'll continue reading a message oriented story if you find it boring and bland, no matter how much you prefer message-oriented fiction.
If fiction fails to entertain, it fails at everything else, including glorifying God. Because that is the main point of reading fiction. In some cases, not entertaining can be a bad witness for God, especially if it includes a gospel presentation or uses Jesus as a character.
It is the equivalent of putting a Christian bumper sticker on your vehicle and driving rudely. You'll do more damage to God's glory than help it.
In effect, not to have entertainment as the primary goal of writing fiction is to fail to glorify God. Being entertaining doesn't mean it replaces the purpose of glorifying God in your writing. It means it supports it.
That is why as a fiction author, my goal is to first entertain. Doesn't mean there aren't other issues of content that could effect how well a story glorifies God. Only that if I fail to be entertaining, I've already lost that battle no matter how well I execute the rest.
Instead, I allow God to use a story for whatever message He might have for people, even if it is to plant a seed, make someone realize being a Christian doesn't equate with boring, inferior stories, or whatever. Because if my work doesn't get read, whatever messages I have will not be heard.
For me, that does not glorify God. To fulfill that goal, I have to write engaging and entertaining fiction stories.
How do your goals in writing support glorifying God in your stories?
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
The Call of Nature
Since a lot of my early short stories/flash fictions were on sites that are no longer active, I thought I would post them here. This story was my first accepted story, back around May of 2006, and was published in Raygun Revival on February 2007. I've also included in my anthology, Ethereal Worlds. Enjoy.
~~ R. L. Copple
The metal hanger, which housed the Z-14X prototype space plane, shined in the moonlight just beyond the barbed-wired fence. The moonlight reminded John of the sun. He couldn't wait to see it against the blackness of space.
The security fence gloated, "Just try to get through," but it hadn't counted on someone who could simply fly over. It hadn't counted on—Moth Man.
The only real ability John possessed: he could fly using the soft wings on his back. That and the fact if someone ate him, they would die of toxic poison. "A lot of good that would do me. Why couldn't a radioactive spider have bitten me? Why a moth?" he had often wondered.
Yet now the wings came in handy. He lifted himself into the air. Wind flowed through his hair as he bounced though the cool night over the compound. Soon he sank to the ground beside the hanger.
John peered into the window and saw the craft bathed in dim moonlight: a black shell, adorned by four wings well back on the craft, spread out in an "X" pattern. Just as his web research had revealed. Touted as the first plane to fly successfully out of earth's gravity and into space, it looked the part.
A growl sounded. He swung around to see a German Shepherd baring its teeth. He froze. I could probably fly away before he reached me. He prepared to launch.
"Freeze!" A uniformed man swung around the corner, brandishing a rifle pointed straight at John. He froze again.
I might be able to escape the dog, but not the bullet. "Sorry, can you tell me how to get to the Hilton? I seem to be lost."
He didn't buy it. "Up against the wall, hands high." The dog threatened with a low rumbling growl.
John complied, what else could he do? As he followed the officer's orders, his black and gold tiger-moth wings came into view.
"What the…" The officer moved closer and felt the wings. He rubbed the wing dust off his hands with a grimace and then patted John down for weapons.
John saw his opportunity. He swung his wings hard, hitting the officer in the head. The hit and wing dust disoriented him. John's fist landed a hit squarely on the back of his neck. The guard dropped unconscious. John launched himself into the air before the dog could reach him. The Shepherd's snapping jaws just missed John's dangling foot.
The barking dog now broadcasted the fact that an intruder had penetrated the compound. John no longer had time for subtleties. Landing on the roof, he kicked in the skylight. It shattered open, and he winged his way inside.
Now, where did they store the plutonium fuel rods? John swung around and spotted them, in a box labeled as such along the wall. He grabbed a handful and flew to the cockpit. Once inside, he inserted all but two fuel rods into the power receptors and initiated the injection process.
By now, several guards filed in the door, guns encircled the ship. The engines had power, so John increased the throttle. The plane lurched forwards. Gunfire echoed in the hanger. Warning shots, hoping it would scare John into stopping no doubt. They didn't want to riddle their craft with holes. Not until they had no other recourse.
Doing a standard take-off would take too long. John thought about going right to the nuclear escape engines. Such force, designed for airborne ignition, could tear it and him apart from a near-dead stop. He had only one viable course of action.
He braced himself, then hit the ignition switch. The Gs slammed him into the seat. He struggled to maintain consciousness. The metal groaned under the strain. The plane shot forward and ploughed through the hanger doors. Scraping metal sounds echoed through the cockpit. It bounced along the ground. A fence raced toward the plane. John pulled back on the stick, already speeding past 200 knots. The prototype shot upward. The Gs squished him as if a giant hand pushed on his head.
As the plane cleared the buildings and the land quickly receded, John cut the ignition and switched to standard fuel. His field of vision returned and his face reshaped to its rounded state like a baby fresh out of the womb.
John glanced at the escape-engine fuel gauge. The stunt had expended a third of what he needed to escape earth's gravity. He inserted the other two rods. The solar panels should keep life support going as long as needed. John didn't expect to return anyway.
John released manual control to the computer. The escape engines fired. Again he sank into the seat. The craft angled higher. The blue sky receded. The stars brightened, looking like white sand dusting a black void. The horizon shifted to a curved surface rimmed with the sun's golden silhouette.
Suddenly, a ray of sunlight broke over the earth's rim, bathing John in awe. Its beauty filled his mind. The light entranced John; its song called to him.
Time suspended, the shinning light against the blackness of space filled all desire. Before, John had flown as high as his wings would let him but the sun remained out of reach. Now, he could soar until he soaked in all of its beautiful light.
John pulled a disk from his pocket and held it before his eyes. He had pre-programmed the flight path: a one-way trip to the sun. His gaze moved back to the enveloping fireball. He could hold back no longer. John slid the disk into the ship's computer. It responded with beeps and a message reading, "program accepted." The engines adjusted the trajectory.
Did John know it would kill Him? Yes. But he didn't care. He could not rest until he took in all the glorious radiance his body could endure.
"Why couldn't I have been bit by a radioactive spider instead?"
Check out Ethereal Worlds for more short stories.
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Submit, Woman!
You already know what Scripture verses I'm going to discuss, don't you? My recent guest post, "Have You Committed Adultery Lately," at Mike Duran's blog, "Decompose," inspired me from the comments to address this subject: the infamous Eph. 5:22-24 passage:
Using this Scripture passage, abuse, adultery, ill-treatment, as well as lesser sins and crimes have been excused, justified, and ignored if a woman was the victim. If only she would have submitted like St. Paul demanded, she wouldn't be a victim of these crimes, the reasoning goes.
With the authority of Scripture behind them, Christian husbands, even pastors and religious counselors, have enabled sinful lifestyles at the expense of their victims and God's justice.
So are the above verses to be taken as many interpret them? Even feminist, intent on battling a male-dominated culture, interpret them in this manner and label St. Paul a misogynist.
It is my contention that these verses are taken out of context, and perverted into teaching an attitude that is 180 degrees opposite what St. Paul meant. Allow me to make my case.
First, we must understand the general context and message St. Paul is conveying to us. This is established at the beginning of the chapter:
Love. St. Paul is attempting in the verses that follow, to give practical examples of what walking in love in imitation of Christ looks like. Any interpretation, therefore, that does not flow from love, violates this context and is not the message St. Paul sent. It is not God's Word to take a verse out of context and proclaim it as truth. You are, by definition, a false prophet.
If you don't concede the point, then I quote to you the following Scripture, which by your method of interpretation, you are required to do: "...you would even go beyond circumcision." (Gal 5:12 ASV)
Second, let's take a look at the immediate context:
Memo to religious leaders: St. Paul is talking about how everyone, male and female, subject themselves to each other! He isn't singling out one group over another. His intent is to show how each group, and he goes through several, subject themselves to one another. Even those in authority over others.
Mutual submission is how we "walk in love" in our daily lives. It is the opposite of pride, of "don't tell me what to do" attitude, of lording it over each other. Any interpretation that violates the context of mutual submission is a false teaching of the evil one. Not worth the words wasted on it.
St. Paul therefore excludes any teaching that a woman should put up with abuse from her husband. He excludes using these verses to justify adultery or other sins. Neither of those is submitting to one's spouse. Neither is walking in love. Neither is imitating Christ.
So what is the context? Simply, this is what walking in love through submission to each other looks like.
Wives, you show your love, your respect for your husband by submitting to his leadership. Obey him.
Husbands, you show your love and respect for your wife by submitting to her needs. Obey her.
"What?" you may ask. "It doesn't say that to the husbands!" It most certainly does. It specifically says, "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself up for it..." (Eph 5:25 ASV) What did Jesus say?
To be an imitator of Christ, to walk in love as Christ did, requires a husband to become a servant to his wife. You are not married to her to be ministered to, but to minister to her! If you fail to do this, you are not loving your wives as Christ loved the Church. To act as a lord over your wife is in direct conflict with what Jesus taught.
St. Paul clearly intended that a husband and wife submit to each other in love. If one or both fail to do this, the relationship doesn't work and is not following Biblical principles for marriage.
Likewise, it should be clear that any type of teaching from these verses that a woman should submit to abuse, excuse adultery, or live in a hostile environment because she should submit to her husband is not only using these verses out of context, but is using them to excuse and justify sin. A sin in and of itself that Jesus equates as a "brood of vipers."
My advice? Don't be a viper. Be a servant.
How do you submit in your daily life to witness to Christ's love?
Wives, be in subjection unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, being himself the saviour of the body. But as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives also be to their husbands in everything. (ASV)
Using this Scripture passage, abuse, adultery, ill-treatment, as well as lesser sins and crimes have been excused, justified, and ignored if a woman was the victim. If only she would have submitted like St. Paul demanded, she wouldn't be a victim of these crimes, the reasoning goes.
With the authority of Scripture behind them, Christian husbands, even pastors and religious counselors, have enabled sinful lifestyles at the expense of their victims and God's justice.
So are the above verses to be taken as many interpret them? Even feminist, intent on battling a male-dominated culture, interpret them in this manner and label St. Paul a misogynist.
It is my contention that these verses are taken out of context, and perverted into teaching an attitude that is 180 degrees opposite what St. Paul meant. Allow me to make my case.
First, we must understand the general context and message St. Paul is conveying to us. This is established at the beginning of the chapter:
Be ye therefore imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, even as Christ also loved you, and gave himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for an odor of a sweet smell. (Eph 5:1-2 ASV)
Love. St. Paul is attempting in the verses that follow, to give practical examples of what walking in love in imitation of Christ looks like. Any interpretation, therefore, that does not flow from love, violates this context and is not the message St. Paul sent. It is not God's Word to take a verse out of context and proclaim it as truth. You are, by definition, a false prophet.
If you don't concede the point, then I quote to you the following Scripture, which by your method of interpretation, you are required to do: "...you would even go beyond circumcision." (Gal 5:12 ASV)
Second, let's take a look at the immediate context:
...subjecting yourselves one to another in the fear of Christ. (Eph 5:21 ASV)
Memo to religious leaders: St. Paul is talking about how everyone, male and female, subject themselves to each other! He isn't singling out one group over another. His intent is to show how each group, and he goes through several, subject themselves to one another. Even those in authority over others.
Mutual submission is how we "walk in love" in our daily lives. It is the opposite of pride, of "don't tell me what to do" attitude, of lording it over each other. Any interpretation that violates the context of mutual submission is a false teaching of the evil one. Not worth the words wasted on it.
St. Paul therefore excludes any teaching that a woman should put up with abuse from her husband. He excludes using these verses to justify adultery or other sins. Neither of those is submitting to one's spouse. Neither is walking in love. Neither is imitating Christ.
So what is the context? Simply, this is what walking in love through submission to each other looks like.
Wives, you show your love, your respect for your husband by submitting to his leadership. Obey him.
Husbands, you show your love and respect for your wife by submitting to her needs. Obey her.
"What?" you may ask. "It doesn't say that to the husbands!" It most certainly does. It specifically says, "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself up for it..." (Eph 5:25 ASV) What did Jesus say?
But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. Not so shall it be among you: but whosoever would become great among you shall be your minister; and whosoever would be first among you shall be your servant: even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. (Mat 20:25-28 ASV)
To be an imitator of Christ, to walk in love as Christ did, requires a husband to become a servant to his wife. You are not married to her to be ministered to, but to minister to her! If you fail to do this, you are not loving your wives as Christ loved the Church. To act as a lord over your wife is in direct conflict with what Jesus taught.
St. Paul clearly intended that a husband and wife submit to each other in love. If one or both fail to do this, the relationship doesn't work and is not following Biblical principles for marriage.
Likewise, it should be clear that any type of teaching from these verses that a woman should submit to abuse, excuse adultery, or live in a hostile environment because she should submit to her husband is not only using these verses out of context, but is using them to excuse and justify sin. A sin in and of itself that Jesus equates as a "brood of vipers."
My advice? Don't be a viper. Be a servant.
How do you submit in your daily life to witness to Christ's love?
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Traditional, Indie, Profit-Sharing, and Vanity Publishing
The war is on between traditional and indie publishing. Or so I've heard. I've also seen the vitriol, on both sides of the fence. Human nature, I suppose. You've chosen your path and once selected, seek to justify that choice. Sometimes the reasons make sense. Sometimes they appear to be grasping at straws. Often, an over reaction to the other side. So, what is the real story? What are the options to consider for an author and how does one evaluate them?
First, let's define some terms as I'm using them here so that we are on the same page.
Traditional publishing: The publishing companies and their imprints who distribute widely to bookstores as well as online outlets. There are other players who use a version of the traditional publishing model, from small presses to fairly big ones. I'm not suggesting that these companies are not a version of the traditional publishing model. However, without an established distribution network into bookstores, a publisher is not going to have much more impact than an indie publisher short of some heavy marketing investment, and so straddles the two areas.
Indie publishing: A self-publisher. An individual or small group of individuals who manage and oversee the publication of their own book(s). Though some do everything themselves, most will not. Many hire out help in cover art and design, interior design, editing, and distribution.
Which is right for a specific author and/or book depends on the situation in regards to the following factors.
With a traditional publisher, the author leases to the publisher a set of rights for a guaranteed return, known as an "advance." This is a bit of a misnomer in that an advance typically means the receiver will pay it back in full, if not through future earnings, then out of the receiver's pocket. A true advance is a form of a loan. The "advance" from a publisher, however, isn't paid back no matter how little money the book earns.
So while the publishing world makes it out to be a loan of sorts, it isn't. Rather, it is a payment to the author for the rights to use his book. The author will not get any further payments unless the book earns out the advance, but the author has no obligation to return any unearned money. Therefore, it is not an advance or a loan. It is the payment for leasing rights from the author.
By obtaining rights to publish the book, the traditional publisher invests in the publishing of the book and takes the financial risk instead of the author. Yet both benefit if the book exceeds costs and makes a profit. Because the author does not have to pay back the advance if the book flops, they take minimal financial risk. The publisher takes the hit instead.
Likewise, the less of an advance an author gets, the more financial risk the author is taking on the back end, especially if the rights granted become too expansive. With a traditional publisher, you are negotiating how much rights you will grant them for a specified payment amount. The more rights you sell them for less money, the less of a risk the publisher takes financially, and the more the author assumes.
As an indie publisher, you should retain all the rights to your book and benefit from those rewards. Likewise, you also retain all the risk of failure. An indie publisher not only invests time and expense writing a book, but getting it edited, artwork, cover and interior design, marketing, etc. Therefore they take all the financial risks. That is, they invest in the publishing of the book in hopes of a return on that investment, but they may lose that investment if the book tanks.
The investment comes in two forms: time and money. A traditionally published author invests time and some money writing and preparing the manuscript, and sending it out in hopes of a sale to a publisher. It is expected that the advance will pay them back for their time and expenses.
For an indie publisher, the ratio of time to money invested will depend on their abilities and cash flow. If the indie publisher doesn't possess the skill to create cover art or design a cover, he will either learn how or hire someone to do it for him. He will possibly trade edits with other authors, which takes time, or hire an editor, which requires cash.
Many indie authors, if they can do most of the work themselves or very cheaply, have a low cash overhead to publish a book. It is possible now days to publish a paperback and ebook for a cash outlay less than $50.00. If you can earn around $3.00 profit on each book sold, on the average, you'd only need to sell 17 books to earn back that cash.
However, time cost is just as important. If we estimate you write 2000 words an hour, a 70,000 word novel would take around 35 hours of actual writing time. Double that, at least, to account for editing: 70 hours. Assuming you have the following down pat, creating/finding cover art: 5 hours. Designing the cover: 3 hours. Designing the print book interior: 3 hours. Creating the ebooks: 1 hour. Proofing the final products and uploading to various sites: 2 hours. Total time invested: 84 hours.
If we "pay" ourselves at least $15.00/hour, then our time costs comes to $1260.00. Add that $50.00 money cost on, and you end up needing $1310.00 to totally recoup your cost on the project. If any of those activities take longer, the cost goes up. At $3.00 profit per book, you'd need to sell 437 books to cost out and make a profit. If it never gets to that level, you lose money and/or your time invested in the project.
The bottom line for an indie publisher is they retain all their rights, invest in the project, and retain all risks and rewards of that investment. The indie publisher may hire out people to do the various tasks, but they don't sell their rights to obtain a service. They pay a flat fee and hope to recover the cost with future sales.
The good news for indie publishers is the window to make that cost back is much bigger. Traditional publishers have a limited window since they depend on bookstore shelf space to move their books. If a book fails to sell well within three months, they are usually returned by the bookstores and the book hardly sells more. So they must recoup their cost in the first months, then it will likely go out of print unless it takes off.
As an indie publisher, however, your sales will not be on the scale of the traditional publisher, but they can sit on virtual shelves for years earning money. This allows an indie publisher to take five to ten years to earn out, if necessary. Once that initial set up cost are covered, it is pure profit save distribution costs, which are usually pulled from each sale.
This is a hybrid between a traditional and indie publisher. There are some cautions with this model, but it can be a viable option for some authors. First, let's describe what it is.
A profit-sharing publisher is usually a smaller press. If they give any kind of advance, it is a small token one. Usually the author pays no money up front, but the publisher's cost in expenditures is expected to be paid back by future sales before the author sees any return beyond whatever advance he may have received.
This model is more like indie publishing, but rights are being sold to the publisher in return for services and help in the form of a limited partnership. The publisher takes on some financial risk in that if future sales don't cover cost to produce, they lose that money. The author is not obligated to reimburse the publisher for the loss.
Likewise, unlike a traditional publisher, the author also risk loss. If not in money, in time to create the book. Without an advance, the example of 70 hours to write and edit a book at $15.00/hour means the author's cost isn't covered until he earns $1050. If he received a $100.00 advance, he'd need another $950, or 317 books after the publisher sells enough to cover their costs.
The advantage for the author in this model is he is not required to front any money to pay for the services the publisher is providing. The authors this will appeal to are those who have decided not to go the traditional publisher route, don't have the desire or ability to manage self-publishing, and/or don't have the expendable cash flow to hire out what they cannot do.
For this model to work, the author needs to ensure the following areas are covered in the contract:
Limited rights are granted. The term of the contract should be time limited. No reversion of rights in an "out of print" clause. It should be for a set number of years in the range of 3 to 10. You want a definite cutoff point when the publisher is expected to regain their cost and make some profit, then rights revert back to the author.
No expected payment up front. The publisher's risk is the cost to publish. If the author is required to pay any of that up front, it is no longer profit sharing, but moving into a vanity press situation.
Set cost for publishing and marketing. The publisher should be able to give you a definite dollar figure. Avoid open-ended publisher costs. If your future profits are paying for their services, you have a right to know before you "buy" what you are paying. If it is open-ended, you could be in for some sticker shock.
With these limits in place, the profit-sharing publishing model is viable for authors who don't want to or can't self-publish due to finances, but the doors to traditional publishing are closed to them. Keep in mind, however, that the author is selling rights for services instead of money.
The last model we'll look at is the vanity publisher. It is unfortunate that many traditional publishers have teamed up with vanity presses, usually Author Solutions and its multiple heads, and touted it as a "self-publishing" option. It is not. What's the difference, you ask?
Vanity publishing expects the author to lease them the rights to their book, often in a way that covers the life of the copyright, for free. The vanity press does not risk money on purchasing those rights in either an advance or the cost of publishing. Instead, unlike the profit-sharing model, the author is expected to pay for all cost of publishing up front, including often expensive packages for marketing and distribution.
In the vanity press model, the author gives away their rights, but retains all of the financial risks. They end up with the worst of both traditional and indie models. High cost and reduced rewards in terms of earning potential. It is not traditional publishing. It is certainly not indie publishing. Nor is it profit-sharing publishing. It is a rip off. The author gets no benefit from leasing their rights to the publisher. They might as well have purchased the services directly and retained their rights and profits.
If you encounter someone who wants you to pay for all services, including publishing, up front, but still expect you to give them your rights, but don't pay you any kind of decent advance—run from that contract. You'll be sorry if you put your signature on that paper.
Which option is right for you? Only you can decide. Hopefully the above has given you the business insight to make an informed decision rather than jumping at the first offer that moves your direction.
First, let's define some terms as I'm using them here so that we are on the same page.
Traditional publishing: The publishing companies and their imprints who distribute widely to bookstores as well as online outlets. There are other players who use a version of the traditional publishing model, from small presses to fairly big ones. I'm not suggesting that these companies are not a version of the traditional publishing model. However, without an established distribution network into bookstores, a publisher is not going to have much more impact than an indie publisher short of some heavy marketing investment, and so straddles the two areas.
Indie publishing: A self-publisher. An individual or small group of individuals who manage and oversee the publication of their own book(s). Though some do everything themselves, most will not. Many hire out help in cover art and design, interior design, editing, and distribution.
Which is right for a specific author and/or book depends on the situation in regards to the following factors.
Traditional Publisher
With a traditional publisher, the author leases to the publisher a set of rights for a guaranteed return, known as an "advance." This is a bit of a misnomer in that an advance typically means the receiver will pay it back in full, if not through future earnings, then out of the receiver's pocket. A true advance is a form of a loan. The "advance" from a publisher, however, isn't paid back no matter how little money the book earns.
So while the publishing world makes it out to be a loan of sorts, it isn't. Rather, it is a payment to the author for the rights to use his book. The author will not get any further payments unless the book earns out the advance, but the author has no obligation to return any unearned money. Therefore, it is not an advance or a loan. It is the payment for leasing rights from the author.
By obtaining rights to publish the book, the traditional publisher invests in the publishing of the book and takes the financial risk instead of the author. Yet both benefit if the book exceeds costs and makes a profit. Because the author does not have to pay back the advance if the book flops, they take minimal financial risk. The publisher takes the hit instead.
Likewise, the less of an advance an author gets, the more financial risk the author is taking on the back end, especially if the rights granted become too expansive. With a traditional publisher, you are negotiating how much rights you will grant them for a specified payment amount. The more rights you sell them for less money, the less of a risk the publisher takes financially, and the more the author assumes.
Indie Publisher
As an indie publisher, you should retain all the rights to your book and benefit from those rewards. Likewise, you also retain all the risk of failure. An indie publisher not only invests time and expense writing a book, but getting it edited, artwork, cover and interior design, marketing, etc. Therefore they take all the financial risks. That is, they invest in the publishing of the book in hopes of a return on that investment, but they may lose that investment if the book tanks.
The investment comes in two forms: time and money. A traditionally published author invests time and some money writing and preparing the manuscript, and sending it out in hopes of a sale to a publisher. It is expected that the advance will pay them back for their time and expenses.
For an indie publisher, the ratio of time to money invested will depend on their abilities and cash flow. If the indie publisher doesn't possess the skill to create cover art or design a cover, he will either learn how or hire someone to do it for him. He will possibly trade edits with other authors, which takes time, or hire an editor, which requires cash.
Many indie authors, if they can do most of the work themselves or very cheaply, have a low cash overhead to publish a book. It is possible now days to publish a paperback and ebook for a cash outlay less than $50.00. If you can earn around $3.00 profit on each book sold, on the average, you'd only need to sell 17 books to earn back that cash.
However, time cost is just as important. If we estimate you write 2000 words an hour, a 70,000 word novel would take around 35 hours of actual writing time. Double that, at least, to account for editing: 70 hours. Assuming you have the following down pat, creating/finding cover art: 5 hours. Designing the cover: 3 hours. Designing the print book interior: 3 hours. Creating the ebooks: 1 hour. Proofing the final products and uploading to various sites: 2 hours. Total time invested: 84 hours.
If we "pay" ourselves at least $15.00/hour, then our time costs comes to $1260.00. Add that $50.00 money cost on, and you end up needing $1310.00 to totally recoup your cost on the project. If any of those activities take longer, the cost goes up. At $3.00 profit per book, you'd need to sell 437 books to cost out and make a profit. If it never gets to that level, you lose money and/or your time invested in the project.
The bottom line for an indie publisher is they retain all their rights, invest in the project, and retain all risks and rewards of that investment. The indie publisher may hire out people to do the various tasks, but they don't sell their rights to obtain a service. They pay a flat fee and hope to recover the cost with future sales.
The good news for indie publishers is the window to make that cost back is much bigger. Traditional publishers have a limited window since they depend on bookstore shelf space to move their books. If a book fails to sell well within three months, they are usually returned by the bookstores and the book hardly sells more. So they must recoup their cost in the first months, then it will likely go out of print unless it takes off.
As an indie publisher, however, your sales will not be on the scale of the traditional publisher, but they can sit on virtual shelves for years earning money. This allows an indie publisher to take five to ten years to earn out, if necessary. Once that initial set up cost are covered, it is pure profit save distribution costs, which are usually pulled from each sale.
Profit-Sharing Publisher
This is a hybrid between a traditional and indie publisher. There are some cautions with this model, but it can be a viable option for some authors. First, let's describe what it is.
A profit-sharing publisher is usually a smaller press. If they give any kind of advance, it is a small token one. Usually the author pays no money up front, but the publisher's cost in expenditures is expected to be paid back by future sales before the author sees any return beyond whatever advance he may have received.
This model is more like indie publishing, but rights are being sold to the publisher in return for services and help in the form of a limited partnership. The publisher takes on some financial risk in that if future sales don't cover cost to produce, they lose that money. The author is not obligated to reimburse the publisher for the loss.
Likewise, unlike a traditional publisher, the author also risk loss. If not in money, in time to create the book. Without an advance, the example of 70 hours to write and edit a book at $15.00/hour means the author's cost isn't covered until he earns $1050. If he received a $100.00 advance, he'd need another $950, or 317 books after the publisher sells enough to cover their costs.
The advantage for the author in this model is he is not required to front any money to pay for the services the publisher is providing. The authors this will appeal to are those who have decided not to go the traditional publisher route, don't have the desire or ability to manage self-publishing, and/or don't have the expendable cash flow to hire out what they cannot do.
For this model to work, the author needs to ensure the following areas are covered in the contract:
Limited rights are granted. The term of the contract should be time limited. No reversion of rights in an "out of print" clause. It should be for a set number of years in the range of 3 to 10. You want a definite cutoff point when the publisher is expected to regain their cost and make some profit, then rights revert back to the author.
No expected payment up front. The publisher's risk is the cost to publish. If the author is required to pay any of that up front, it is no longer profit sharing, but moving into a vanity press situation.
Set cost for publishing and marketing. The publisher should be able to give you a definite dollar figure. Avoid open-ended publisher costs. If your future profits are paying for their services, you have a right to know before you "buy" what you are paying. If it is open-ended, you could be in for some sticker shock.
With these limits in place, the profit-sharing publishing model is viable for authors who don't want to or can't self-publish due to finances, but the doors to traditional publishing are closed to them. Keep in mind, however, that the author is selling rights for services instead of money.
Vanity Publisher
The last model we'll look at is the vanity publisher. It is unfortunate that many traditional publishers have teamed up with vanity presses, usually Author Solutions and its multiple heads, and touted it as a "self-publishing" option. It is not. What's the difference, you ask?
Vanity publishing expects the author to lease them the rights to their book, often in a way that covers the life of the copyright, for free. The vanity press does not risk money on purchasing those rights in either an advance or the cost of publishing. Instead, unlike the profit-sharing model, the author is expected to pay for all cost of publishing up front, including often expensive packages for marketing and distribution.
In the vanity press model, the author gives away their rights, but retains all of the financial risks. They end up with the worst of both traditional and indie models. High cost and reduced rewards in terms of earning potential. It is not traditional publishing. It is certainly not indie publishing. Nor is it profit-sharing publishing. It is a rip off. The author gets no benefit from leasing their rights to the publisher. They might as well have purchased the services directly and retained their rights and profits.
If you encounter someone who wants you to pay for all services, including publishing, up front, but still expect you to give them your rights, but don't pay you any kind of decent advance—run from that contract. You'll be sorry if you put your signature on that paper.
Which option is right for you? Only you can decide. Hopefully the above has given you the business insight to make an informed decision rather than jumping at the first offer that moves your direction.
Monday, June 10, 2013
Reality's Fire Reviewed
The third novel in The Reality Chronicles saga, Reality's Fire, recently acquired a new review from Yellow30 Sci-Fi. Click on the link to check out the full review, but below is an excerpt to wet your appetite. The reviewer enjoyed it, recommended it, and gave it 4 stars on Amazon. Enjoy.Reality’s Fire is a good read, with lots of action, some suspense, and much soul searching on the part of the characters. Each must grapple with their inner feelings if they wish to succeed. Copple effectively gets across the idea that with God anything is possible, even if man messes up. Forgiveness, repentance, and the importance of following His will for our lives are key points as well.
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Power Hungry: A Virtual Chronicles Short Story
This short story is set to happen shortly after the events in Hero Game. This story does not appear in any of the books.
Bridget snapped her eyes open. She'd almost fallen asleep. She peered across their bedroom and examined her brother, Jeremy. The moonlight filtering through the blinds gave enough light to illuminate his face. Yes, he had fallen sleep, and yes, he didn't have his mask on.
He'd declared tonight a night off from virtual superhero patrolling. Saving people seemed minor in comparison to saving two planets. Besides, Jeremy said we made only a small dint in the number of crimes around the globe. Earth would get along without them for one night.
Jeremy may have seen this as an opportunity to relax, but that made it a prime chance for her to do her own thing without worrying about Jeremy or Mickey looking over her shoulder. Being nine, they tended to treat her like a kid. She would show them.
She slid her mask from under her pillow and pulled it over her head. She glanced at Jeremy to make sure he hadn't woken up, then pulled her covers over head, just in case he got up in the middle of the night.
"Suit, appear as Comet Girl," she whispered. Darkness overtook her for a couple of seconds before the control room on Titan materialized. Banks of screens, five rows high and twenty across, flashed images of live TV news feeds from across Earth.
She skipped to the control panel extending along the width of the screens and seated herself. She wiggled her fingers over the buttons in anticipation. "First, I want to see what new superhero I can use." She pushed a button and the screen in front of her lost its feed and a computer desktop appeared.
"Computer, display superhero list for Bridget Goodhue."
A list scrolled up the screen and stopped. Bridget slid her finger down them as she read. "Buggy." No, she'd tried that one before. Being a superhero gnat had limited advantages. "Duster." Being able to turn into dust and reform was cool, but got old real quick. Throwing dust in people's eyes was the worst she could do. How lame was that.
She scanned further down. Most of the options she'd seen before. They're weren't many choices. None of them had guns, rays, or such. Comet Girl came the closest to having any kind of real crime-fighting power.
She flopped back in her seat and crossed her arms. "No fair." What she needed was access to the programing and add in some features, but she didn't know anything about programing. Especially in Zorian.
She sat up. "Robert. He's a help robot. Maybe he. . . " She leaped from her seat and sped out of the room, down the stainless steel hallway, and into the bay. She picked an Eagle-class ship and entered. She stopped in the middle of the ship's control room. "Help!"
A door slid open and Robert rolled out of his bay. Flashing lights dotted his metallic chest. Accordion arms extended claws into the air. The glass bulb atop him sparked with electricity as he talked. "Robert is here to help. State your question."
"Can you access the programing of my superheroes?"
The flashing buttons sped up for a couple of seconds. "Affirmative."
"Can you add a feature to one of my superheroes?"
"Negative. I'm not programmed to build virtual features."
Bridget stomped her right foot. "How can I get more powers then? This sucks."
Robert retracted his claws back into his body. "Transfer."
Bridget met Robert's globe. "Transfer? What do you mean?"
"Move established superheroes from one account to yours."
"Move!" She smiled. "You mean, I can transfer Astro Man to my list?"
"Affirmative."
She clapped. "Then do it. Move Jeremy's superhero to my account."
A claw extended and touched his bulb, ever so slightly tilted. Lights flashed. He pulled his claw back in and straightened up. "Files are moved to Bridget Goodhue's account successfully."
"That's more like it." She closed her eyes. "Suit, appear here as Astro Man." Light dimmed to black and back again. Except now she stood taller. "Thank you, Robert. You can return to your bay."
She gasped. Her voice. It sounded like Jeremy's. She raced to the sleeping quarter and found a mirror in the bathroom. She swallowed. She looked exactly like her brother. "I'm a boy!" Her hand brushed against something on her side. "A boy with a raygun!" She slid it out and examined it. A sleek barrel widened to cover a stock. A cutaway section on the back held several buttons, with tiny code written under them.
How am I supposed to know what these do? Bridget holstered the gun. "Looks like I need a crash course on Astro Man's gun." She sped out of the ship, noticing how stronger her muscles pushed against the floor and longer her leaps. She returned to the control room and settled down into a chair to review Astro Man's bio and weapons specs. Minutes ticked by as she attempted to memorize the button codes.
She pulled the gun out and stared at the buttons. "BL for blinding light. R for ray gun. G for gravity ray. Not hard."
"Hey, Bucko! I see you couldn't stay away either."
Bridget jerked out of her chair. She spun around, her heart racing. "Mickey?"
Mickey, suited up as Blue Nova, frowned. "What's the matter, Bucko? You're as jumpy as Bridget? And what's with the formality?"
Bridget sucked in a deep breath. Did she tell him the truth? She didn't want to get caught. "Huh. . .you surprised me is all. Mick. I was. . .focused."
Mickey glanced at the screen. "On Astro Man's info? You know that superhero inside and out. He's your favorite."
Bridget shut the screen down before Mickey could notice it was under her account. "It had been a while since I looked at it. You never know if you've missed some little detail that. . . ," How would Jeremy say it? ". . .you've overlooked before."
Mickey slapped Jeremy on the back. "Always studying the instructions. I think you're addicted to them." He laughed.
Bridget feigned a half-smile.
A beeping penetrated the room. Bridget found the monitor whose light was flashing. "There." The news cast covered a mine opening that had collapsed in India. A group of miners, trapped inside, struggled to live.
Mickey glanced at Bridget. "We'd better act. What's the plan?"
"The. . .the. . .the plan? Uh, what do you think?"
Mickey focused on Bridget. "Bucko, you're always barking out orders."
Bridget shrugged. "I know. How rude of me. I think it's time to not hog all the authority around here. Suggestions?"
Mickey shook his head. "Sometimes you surprise me, Bucko. My suggestion would be Astro Man uses his gravity ray to lift the rocks up. I'll zoom in as Blue Nova and carry them out in less than a minute."
Bridget smiled. "Good idea." At least she'd identified the gravity ray. This sounded simple enough. "Let's go."
She entered the coordinates. "Suit, appear at coordinates as Astro Man." The control room faded to be replaced by the bustle of emergency workers scurrying to remove rocks from the opening.
One man noticed them, pointed and began chattering in his native language. Some men clustered around a table looked up, then headed their direction.
Mickey glanced at Bridget, as if expecting her to do something. He faced the men. "Any of you speak English?"
Two men raised their hands. One of them stepped forward. "We know who you are. Are you here to help?"
Bridget nodded, realizing she needed to take charge like Jeremy would. "Yes. Have everyone stand back from the opening. We'll take it from there."
The man nodded and communicated her message to the others. Men barked orders and the workers around the opening cleared away.
Bridget grinned. Seeing everyone obey her as the authority sent a surge of energy through her. Have ray gun, will save the world!
She turned to see Mickey staring at her with a frown. "Anytime you're ready, Astro Man. I'm sure those men don't mind waiting a few more minutes while you bask in your glory."
"Oh, yes. Of course." She forced the grin off her face as she pulled the raygun out. She pushed the button labeled "G" and pointed it at the rocks.
Mickey zipped next to the rocks. "I'm in position."
Bridget pulled the trigger. A blue ray erupted from the barrel and hit the pile of rocks. They quivered for a moment, then collapsed. More of the entrance crumbled down and onto Mickey. Mickey fell unconscious onto the ground as a pile of rocks pinned him onto the dirt.
Bridget gasped and let up on the trigger. Gravity ray meant more gravity. She'd not read how to reverse it. She ran over to where Mickey lay. What do I do now?
"I thought you know what you doing!" the Indian man shouted at her.
She raised her visor to wipe tears away. "I did too."
"What you plan to do about this? Fix it or get out of the way."
"Maybe I can help."
Bridget knew that voice. Jeremy, dressed in blue jeans, sneakers, and a tee-shirt, stood before her. "Uh oh."
"You better believe this is uh oh. Now, give me that gun." Jeremy held out his hand. Bridget placed the gun in his palm. Jeremy hit a button on the gun and pointed it at Mickey. "First, we need to kill Blue Nova."
The Indian man jumped in front of him. "Who are you? You can't kill Blue Nova!"
Jeremy sighed. "I'm not really killing him. He'll reappear in a few seconds if I shoot him."
The Indian man focused on Bridget. "Is this true?"
Bridget nodded. "Yep."
The man moved out of the way. "I hope you know what you doing."
Jeremy pointed and pulled the trigger. Mickey's body vanished in the flash of a red ray.
Bridget stood. "How did you know?"
"You never sleep with covers pulled over your head. Not to mention all my superheros are gone. That's why I had to come here as myself."
Bridget widened her eyes. "But I thought I only moved Astro Man over. Robert must have misunderstood me."
Jeremy cracked a smile. "So that's how you did it. Smart, Sis. Though I'll have to have a talk with Robert about authorization protocols."
Blue Nova appeared beside them. "Bucko and Bucko? What's going on?"
Jeremy laughed. "You think that's strange. I've been having a conversation with myself." He punched a button and moved a slider bar at the top, then handed the gun back to Bridget. "I don't need to attract attention to myself. You'll have to do the honors."
Bridget received the gun and stepped back.
"That's good. Now aim and keep the trigger pulled until Blue Nova can get everyone out."
Mickey backed away from the entrance. Bridget shot the gun. A green ray, wider in radius, engulfed the entrance. The rocks rose into the air. Bridget kept the ray aimed on the rocks.
Mickey disappeared, then reappeared every two to three seconds carrying a miner. Medical personnel scurried to attend to them. Once Mickey indicated everyone was out, and the entrance was clear, Jeremy told Bridget how to lower the rocks safely.
Once done, they hurried behind some trees and returned to the control room. Bridget hung her head in preparation for the rant.
Jeremy sat and crossed his arms. "Why, Sis?"
"I don't know." She huffed. Yes she did. "Just, everyone treats me like a kid."
Mickey laughed. "You are a kid."
She stuck her tongue out at him. "Am not!"
Mickey pointed at her. "Case closed."
Bridget huffed. "I wanted a superhero with punch, like Astro Man. Do you know how much stronger you are than any of mine?"
Jeremy run a hand through his hair. "Sis, you'll have superheroes with more punch eventually. But you may not be ready for them. Do you think you were ready to be Astro Man today?"
She bowed her head. "No."
"You'll be ready in time. Meanwhile, you're an important part of our team."
Mickey nodded. "You've saved my butt a few times."
Bridget smiled. "I have to admit, Comet Girl is easier to control. I just think what I want the dust to do, and it does it. No buttons and dials to figure out."
Jeremy rose from his seat. "Now that we've got that settled, I want my superheroes back. Time to pay Robert a little visit."
Bridget smiled. "Suit, appear as Comet Girl."
Bridget snapped her eyes open. She'd almost fallen asleep. She peered across their bedroom and examined her brother, Jeremy. The moonlight filtering through the blinds gave enough light to illuminate his face. Yes, he had fallen sleep, and yes, he didn't have his mask on.
He'd declared tonight a night off from virtual superhero patrolling. Saving people seemed minor in comparison to saving two planets. Besides, Jeremy said we made only a small dint in the number of crimes around the globe. Earth would get along without them for one night.
Jeremy may have seen this as an opportunity to relax, but that made it a prime chance for her to do her own thing without worrying about Jeremy or Mickey looking over her shoulder. Being nine, they tended to treat her like a kid. She would show them.
She slid her mask from under her pillow and pulled it over her head. She glanced at Jeremy to make sure he hadn't woken up, then pulled her covers over head, just in case he got up in the middle of the night.
"Suit, appear as Comet Girl," she whispered. Darkness overtook her for a couple of seconds before the control room on Titan materialized. Banks of screens, five rows high and twenty across, flashed images of live TV news feeds from across Earth.
She skipped to the control panel extending along the width of the screens and seated herself. She wiggled her fingers over the buttons in anticipation. "First, I want to see what new superhero I can use." She pushed a button and the screen in front of her lost its feed and a computer desktop appeared.
"Computer, display superhero list for Bridget Goodhue."
A list scrolled up the screen and stopped. Bridget slid her finger down them as she read. "Buggy." No, she'd tried that one before. Being a superhero gnat had limited advantages. "Duster." Being able to turn into dust and reform was cool, but got old real quick. Throwing dust in people's eyes was the worst she could do. How lame was that.
She scanned further down. Most of the options she'd seen before. They're weren't many choices. None of them had guns, rays, or such. Comet Girl came the closest to having any kind of real crime-fighting power.
She flopped back in her seat and crossed her arms. "No fair." What she needed was access to the programing and add in some features, but she didn't know anything about programing. Especially in Zorian.
She sat up. "Robert. He's a help robot. Maybe he. . . " She leaped from her seat and sped out of the room, down the stainless steel hallway, and into the bay. She picked an Eagle-class ship and entered. She stopped in the middle of the ship's control room. "Help!"
A door slid open and Robert rolled out of his bay. Flashing lights dotted his metallic chest. Accordion arms extended claws into the air. The glass bulb atop him sparked with electricity as he talked. "Robert is here to help. State your question."
"Can you access the programing of my superheroes?"
The flashing buttons sped up for a couple of seconds. "Affirmative."
"Can you add a feature to one of my superheroes?"
"Negative. I'm not programmed to build virtual features."
Bridget stomped her right foot. "How can I get more powers then? This sucks."
Robert retracted his claws back into his body. "Transfer."
Bridget met Robert's globe. "Transfer? What do you mean?"
"Move established superheroes from one account to yours."
"Move!" She smiled. "You mean, I can transfer Astro Man to my list?"
"Affirmative."
She clapped. "Then do it. Move Jeremy's superhero to my account."
A claw extended and touched his bulb, ever so slightly tilted. Lights flashed. He pulled his claw back in and straightened up. "Files are moved to Bridget Goodhue's account successfully."
"That's more like it." She closed her eyes. "Suit, appear here as Astro Man." Light dimmed to black and back again. Except now she stood taller. "Thank you, Robert. You can return to your bay."
She gasped. Her voice. It sounded like Jeremy's. She raced to the sleeping quarter and found a mirror in the bathroom. She swallowed. She looked exactly like her brother. "I'm a boy!" Her hand brushed against something on her side. "A boy with a raygun!" She slid it out and examined it. A sleek barrel widened to cover a stock. A cutaway section on the back held several buttons, with tiny code written under them.
How am I supposed to know what these do? Bridget holstered the gun. "Looks like I need a crash course on Astro Man's gun." She sped out of the ship, noticing how stronger her muscles pushed against the floor and longer her leaps. She returned to the control room and settled down into a chair to review Astro Man's bio and weapons specs. Minutes ticked by as she attempted to memorize the button codes.
She pulled the gun out and stared at the buttons. "BL for blinding light. R for ray gun. G for gravity ray. Not hard."
"Hey, Bucko! I see you couldn't stay away either."
Bridget jerked out of her chair. She spun around, her heart racing. "Mickey?"
Mickey, suited up as Blue Nova, frowned. "What's the matter, Bucko? You're as jumpy as Bridget? And what's with the formality?"
Bridget sucked in a deep breath. Did she tell him the truth? She didn't want to get caught. "Huh. . .you surprised me is all. Mick. I was. . .focused."
Mickey glanced at the screen. "On Astro Man's info? You know that superhero inside and out. He's your favorite."
Bridget shut the screen down before Mickey could notice it was under her account. "It had been a while since I looked at it. You never know if you've missed some little detail that. . . ," How would Jeremy say it? ". . .you've overlooked before."
Mickey slapped Jeremy on the back. "Always studying the instructions. I think you're addicted to them." He laughed.
Bridget feigned a half-smile.
A beeping penetrated the room. Bridget found the monitor whose light was flashing. "There." The news cast covered a mine opening that had collapsed in India. A group of miners, trapped inside, struggled to live.
Mickey glanced at Bridget. "We'd better act. What's the plan?"
"The. . .the. . .the plan? Uh, what do you think?"
Mickey focused on Bridget. "Bucko, you're always barking out orders."
Bridget shrugged. "I know. How rude of me. I think it's time to not hog all the authority around here. Suggestions?"
Mickey shook his head. "Sometimes you surprise me, Bucko. My suggestion would be Astro Man uses his gravity ray to lift the rocks up. I'll zoom in as Blue Nova and carry them out in less than a minute."
Bridget smiled. "Good idea." At least she'd identified the gravity ray. This sounded simple enough. "Let's go."
She entered the coordinates. "Suit, appear at coordinates as Astro Man." The control room faded to be replaced by the bustle of emergency workers scurrying to remove rocks from the opening.
One man noticed them, pointed and began chattering in his native language. Some men clustered around a table looked up, then headed their direction.
Mickey glanced at Bridget, as if expecting her to do something. He faced the men. "Any of you speak English?"
Two men raised their hands. One of them stepped forward. "We know who you are. Are you here to help?"
Bridget nodded, realizing she needed to take charge like Jeremy would. "Yes. Have everyone stand back from the opening. We'll take it from there."
The man nodded and communicated her message to the others. Men barked orders and the workers around the opening cleared away.
Bridget grinned. Seeing everyone obey her as the authority sent a surge of energy through her. Have ray gun, will save the world!
She turned to see Mickey staring at her with a frown. "Anytime you're ready, Astro Man. I'm sure those men don't mind waiting a few more minutes while you bask in your glory."
"Oh, yes. Of course." She forced the grin off her face as she pulled the raygun out. She pushed the button labeled "G" and pointed it at the rocks.
Mickey zipped next to the rocks. "I'm in position."
Bridget pulled the trigger. A blue ray erupted from the barrel and hit the pile of rocks. They quivered for a moment, then collapsed. More of the entrance crumbled down and onto Mickey. Mickey fell unconscious onto the ground as a pile of rocks pinned him onto the dirt.
Bridget gasped and let up on the trigger. Gravity ray meant more gravity. She'd not read how to reverse it. She ran over to where Mickey lay. What do I do now?
"I thought you know what you doing!" the Indian man shouted at her.
She raised her visor to wipe tears away. "I did too."
"What you plan to do about this? Fix it or get out of the way."
"Maybe I can help."
Bridget knew that voice. Jeremy, dressed in blue jeans, sneakers, and a tee-shirt, stood before her. "Uh oh."
"You better believe this is uh oh. Now, give me that gun." Jeremy held out his hand. Bridget placed the gun in his palm. Jeremy hit a button on the gun and pointed it at Mickey. "First, we need to kill Blue Nova."
The Indian man jumped in front of him. "Who are you? You can't kill Blue Nova!"
Jeremy sighed. "I'm not really killing him. He'll reappear in a few seconds if I shoot him."
The Indian man focused on Bridget. "Is this true?"
Bridget nodded. "Yep."
The man moved out of the way. "I hope you know what you doing."
Jeremy pointed and pulled the trigger. Mickey's body vanished in the flash of a red ray.
Bridget stood. "How did you know?"
"You never sleep with covers pulled over your head. Not to mention all my superheros are gone. That's why I had to come here as myself."
Bridget widened her eyes. "But I thought I only moved Astro Man over. Robert must have misunderstood me."
Jeremy cracked a smile. "So that's how you did it. Smart, Sis. Though I'll have to have a talk with Robert about authorization protocols."
Blue Nova appeared beside them. "Bucko and Bucko? What's going on?"
Jeremy laughed. "You think that's strange. I've been having a conversation with myself." He punched a button and moved a slider bar at the top, then handed the gun back to Bridget. "I don't need to attract attention to myself. You'll have to do the honors."
Bridget received the gun and stepped back.
"That's good. Now aim and keep the trigger pulled until Blue Nova can get everyone out."
Mickey backed away from the entrance. Bridget shot the gun. A green ray, wider in radius, engulfed the entrance. The rocks rose into the air. Bridget kept the ray aimed on the rocks.
Mickey disappeared, then reappeared every two to three seconds carrying a miner. Medical personnel scurried to attend to them. Once Mickey indicated everyone was out, and the entrance was clear, Jeremy told Bridget how to lower the rocks safely.
Once done, they hurried behind some trees and returned to the control room. Bridget hung her head in preparation for the rant.
Jeremy sat and crossed his arms. "Why, Sis?"
"I don't know." She huffed. Yes she did. "Just, everyone treats me like a kid."
Mickey laughed. "You are a kid."
She stuck her tongue out at him. "Am not!"
Mickey pointed at her. "Case closed."
Bridget huffed. "I wanted a superhero with punch, like Astro Man. Do you know how much stronger you are than any of mine?"
Jeremy run a hand through his hair. "Sis, you'll have superheroes with more punch eventually. But you may not be ready for them. Do you think you were ready to be Astro Man today?"
She bowed her head. "No."
"You'll be ready in time. Meanwhile, you're an important part of our team."
Mickey nodded. "You've saved my butt a few times."
Bridget smiled. "I have to admit, Comet Girl is easier to control. I just think what I want the dust to do, and it does it. No buttons and dials to figure out."
Jeremy rose from his seat. "Now that we've got that settled, I want my superheroes back. Time to pay Robert a little visit."
Bridget smiled. "Suit, appear as Comet Girl."
Read more about Mind Game and Hero Game, along with sample chapters and where they can be purchased.
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Thursday, May 23, 2013
Healing Broken Marriages
The primary reason I've done this series of post on marriages is to discuss this point. Until one understands the biological, Biblical, and cultural basis for marriage, one won't understand why alternate forms of marriage violate the marital bond. Without understanding that, one won't grasp what it means for a marriage to break down. Without knowing that, one will not be able to heal a marriage effectively.
There is no way in one blog post that I can hope to address this issue in any comprehensive fashion. Many books have been written on the topic from various perspectives. But I have been through a difficult time in my own marriage and written a book on it, which has enriched my perspective on this topic. More on that further down, but I did want to give a broad overview on the subject leading up to my own personal story.
To some degree or another, every marriage is broken. Because none of us are perfect. There is always room for improvement in any relationship, no matter how in love a couple may feel, no matter how great the relationship, no matter how many years they've been married. However, it is not the dysfunctional parts of a marriage that are the main problem. Rather, it is the inability of either or both spouses to address those issues that results in truly broken marriages.
Couples ignore the problems, considering them not important, thinking nothing can be done, it is "just the way it is" mentality, all marriages have rough times so just accept it. Over time, what starts as small deviations are magnified into major marriage-busting violations because no course corrections are ever made. Like any straight line, a slight deviation from it at the start will be hardly noticeable, but the further down the line you go, the more it shows up until the path can be miles away from the line.
These neglected issues aren't frequently marital, but personal, and therefore affect the marriage. Someone struggling with violent tendencies, if not addressed, can lead to spouse abuse. A spouse dealing with attention needs and/or codependency can lead to inappropriate relationships outside the marriage. Someone addicted to porn can allow it to grow into an addiction to adultery. The examples are endless.
Our lives and relationships, especially marital ones, require constant course corrections and improvements if we are to reach our destination. The big lie we've been led to believe is that love naturally happens and becomes a static reality. No, infatuation, one small element of love, happens seemingly "naturally" with no effort.
Love is like a fire. Infatuation is like lighter fluid. You throw a match on it, it flares up into a roaring fire. If there is no wood, however, it dies off quickly. If there is wood, eventually it burns up. To keep the fire going requires more wood. But if left to itself, the fire grows smaller and smaller, until what remains are glowing embers, occasionally brightened by a little attention here and there. Even that may eventually wither to nothing.
Then two paths are left for such a couple if they fail to actively make course corrections on a regular basis. One, remain in a sub-standard marriage, bereft of a strong sense of love, intimacy, and trust that characterize a vibrant relationship. Two, a new person arrives, covered in lighter fluid, and ignites infatuation. Enthralled by that addictive new fire that looks bright and exciting next to the dying embers of their marriage, thinking it is the fullness of love, they'll conclude they don't love their spouse, and they give their loving attention to the new flame only to repeat the cycle.
It is our refusal and laziness that allows our personality flaws to sabotage our relationships. We don't like change, especially significant change. We like to assume after 20, 30, or more years of marriage, we've got this relationship thing down pat, can ignore it, and focus on the projects that excite us, whatever that may be. It is only when temptation hits that these shortcomings, magnified over years of unfettered growth, can severely damage our existing relationships, and ensure future ones suffer the same fate.
In short, the solution to healing a broken marriage is for each spouse to heal themselves. When I say, "each spouse," I mean both have to participate, no matter whose "fault" it may appear to be. You cannot change the other person. You can only change yourself, and pray that God will help the other person to make the changes they need to make. By continually focusing on improving ourselves as persons, through God's grace, our relationships will be restored as well.
This is why God says to repent, humble yourself, turn from your wicked ways, then He can forgive and heal your relationship with Him. This is why Jesus said we are to love our neighbor as ourselves. If we don't love ourselves enough to keep improving in all ways, spiritually, emotionally, physically, and mentally, then our love for one another will suffer as well. Focusing on identifying our weaknesses and regularly working to fix them will keep our relationships of love alive: God, spouse, family, friends, everyone.
The route most people tend to take to fix a broken marriage is to identify what is wrong with the other spouse and demand he change. This isn't to suggest that the other person doesn't have areas he needs to address. However, fixing him is not your responsibility! Enabling him through your support to fix himself is your responsibility. The primary way you enable him is by ensuring you are cleaning up your own act. Because if he fixes his issues but you don't, the relationship will still suffer.
How do I know this? I've lived it. Just over two years ago, on May 11, 2011, I made a discovery which shattered my world. I discovered that my wife of 29 years was having an affair. If statistics are true, almost half of my readers have an idea of what that is like. For the other half, I pray you never find out.
I can't minimize the pain and utter shock of such a discovery, but something amazing happened through those horrible events. God used it to shake both me and my wife up enough that we stopped coasting in our relationship and made significant changes to ourselves. Through that process, we healed the broken marriage. Just over two years later, I can report our marriage is better than its ever been. We know we can't stop working on ourselves and our marriage if we expect the fires of love to keep burning. So the journey continues.
Unfortunately, our experience in a support group verifies that our outcome isn't in the majority. To many either end up in divorce court or exist in a loveless, dysfunctional marriage for years. Often, those that do heal take years because the above principle isn't followed by one or both spouses until months or years have passed. Or a couple thinks it has been fixed, healed, so they return to coasting and the cycle repeats a few years later.
To that end, my wife and I jointly decided to risk telling our story and what we've learned by writing a book. It is our attempt to help others in our situation see what a healthy rebuilding looks like that results in a vibrant marriage. Click on the cover to see the book info and links to where it can be purchased. If you are dealing with infidelity, consider our book to help you find your footing. If you know someone who is going through this experience, this book would make a good gift. If you deal with counseling couples in such situations, you may want to check out our book to use or recommend to your clients.
There are a lot of good books on infidelity. We give our suggested reading list of books that helped us the most in our book. Our motto is never stop reading and improving. Unlike most books on the subject, however, we are not counselors or PhDs. Our credential lie in that we've gone through the devastation of infidelity and successfully rebuilt to a vibrant relationship. Sometimes examining this issue, not through the lens of case studies, but from someone who has "been there, done that, got the scars" can give you the perspective and hope to successfully find your own way as well.
I want to offer a huge thank you to my wife, Lenita Copple. First, for being committed enough to change. You proved your love for me by facing your demons and fighting them rather than hiding from them like most do. Second, for bravely risking your reputation by willingly going public with this story. I'm sure you'll find in the end, it will be stronger. For our reputation with God matters more than with people. You know you have my respect and love.
Our scar is a big one. But there are plenty of traumas we all go through in this life. Your marriage doesn't have to be one of them, if you focus on healing your wounds through God's grace for the rest of your life. May God use our story and journey to heal the devastation of infidelity in other marriages, so that they too can discover a vibrant future together.
There is no way in one blog post that I can hope to address this issue in any comprehensive fashion. Many books have been written on the topic from various perspectives. But I have been through a difficult time in my own marriage and written a book on it, which has enriched my perspective on this topic. More on that further down, but I did want to give a broad overview on the subject leading up to my own personal story.
To some degree or another, every marriage is broken. Because none of us are perfect. There is always room for improvement in any relationship, no matter how in love a couple may feel, no matter how great the relationship, no matter how many years they've been married. However, it is not the dysfunctional parts of a marriage that are the main problem. Rather, it is the inability of either or both spouses to address those issues that results in truly broken marriages.
Couples ignore the problems, considering them not important, thinking nothing can be done, it is "just the way it is" mentality, all marriages have rough times so just accept it. Over time, what starts as small deviations are magnified into major marriage-busting violations because no course corrections are ever made. Like any straight line, a slight deviation from it at the start will be hardly noticeable, but the further down the line you go, the more it shows up until the path can be miles away from the line.
These neglected issues aren't frequently marital, but personal, and therefore affect the marriage. Someone struggling with violent tendencies, if not addressed, can lead to spouse abuse. A spouse dealing with attention needs and/or codependency can lead to inappropriate relationships outside the marriage. Someone addicted to porn can allow it to grow into an addiction to adultery. The examples are endless.
Our lives and relationships, especially marital ones, require constant course corrections and improvements if we are to reach our destination. The big lie we've been led to believe is that love naturally happens and becomes a static reality. No, infatuation, one small element of love, happens seemingly "naturally" with no effort.
Love is like a fire. Infatuation is like lighter fluid. You throw a match on it, it flares up into a roaring fire. If there is no wood, however, it dies off quickly. If there is wood, eventually it burns up. To keep the fire going requires more wood. But if left to itself, the fire grows smaller and smaller, until what remains are glowing embers, occasionally brightened by a little attention here and there. Even that may eventually wither to nothing.
Then two paths are left for such a couple if they fail to actively make course corrections on a regular basis. One, remain in a sub-standard marriage, bereft of a strong sense of love, intimacy, and trust that characterize a vibrant relationship. Two, a new person arrives, covered in lighter fluid, and ignites infatuation. Enthralled by that addictive new fire that looks bright and exciting next to the dying embers of their marriage, thinking it is the fullness of love, they'll conclude they don't love their spouse, and they give their loving attention to the new flame only to repeat the cycle.
It is our refusal and laziness that allows our personality flaws to sabotage our relationships. We don't like change, especially significant change. We like to assume after 20, 30, or more years of marriage, we've got this relationship thing down pat, can ignore it, and focus on the projects that excite us, whatever that may be. It is only when temptation hits that these shortcomings, magnified over years of unfettered growth, can severely damage our existing relationships, and ensure future ones suffer the same fate.
In short, the solution to healing a broken marriage is for each spouse to heal themselves. When I say, "each spouse," I mean both have to participate, no matter whose "fault" it may appear to be. You cannot change the other person. You can only change yourself, and pray that God will help the other person to make the changes they need to make. By continually focusing on improving ourselves as persons, through God's grace, our relationships will be restored as well.
This is why God says to repent, humble yourself, turn from your wicked ways, then He can forgive and heal your relationship with Him. This is why Jesus said we are to love our neighbor as ourselves. If we don't love ourselves enough to keep improving in all ways, spiritually, emotionally, physically, and mentally, then our love for one another will suffer as well. Focusing on identifying our weaknesses and regularly working to fix them will keep our relationships of love alive: God, spouse, family, friends, everyone.
The route most people tend to take to fix a broken marriage is to identify what is wrong with the other spouse and demand he change. This isn't to suggest that the other person doesn't have areas he needs to address. However, fixing him is not your responsibility! Enabling him through your support to fix himself is your responsibility. The primary way you enable him is by ensuring you are cleaning up your own act. Because if he fixes his issues but you don't, the relationship will still suffer.
How do I know this? I've lived it. Just over two years ago, on May 11, 2011, I made a discovery which shattered my world. I discovered that my wife of 29 years was having an affair. If statistics are true, almost half of my readers have an idea of what that is like. For the other half, I pray you never find out.
I can't minimize the pain and utter shock of such a discovery, but something amazing happened through those horrible events. God used it to shake both me and my wife up enough that we stopped coasting in our relationship and made significant changes to ourselves. Through that process, we healed the broken marriage. Just over two years later, I can report our marriage is better than its ever been. We know we can't stop working on ourselves and our marriage if we expect the fires of love to keep burning. So the journey continues.
Unfortunately, our experience in a support group verifies that our outcome isn't in the majority. To many either end up in divorce court or exist in a loveless, dysfunctional marriage for years. Often, those that do heal take years because the above principle isn't followed by one or both spouses until months or years have passed. Or a couple thinks it has been fixed, healed, so they return to coasting and the cycle repeats a few years later.
To that end, my wife and I jointly decided to risk telling our story and what we've learned by writing a book. It is our attempt to help others in our situation see what a healthy rebuilding looks like that results in a vibrant marriage. Click on the cover to see the book info and links to where it can be purchased. If you are dealing with infidelity, consider our book to help you find your footing. If you know someone who is going through this experience, this book would make a good gift. If you deal with counseling couples in such situations, you may want to check out our book to use or recommend to your clients.There are a lot of good books on infidelity. We give our suggested reading list of books that helped us the most in our book. Our motto is never stop reading and improving. Unlike most books on the subject, however, we are not counselors or PhDs. Our credential lie in that we've gone through the devastation of infidelity and successfully rebuilt to a vibrant relationship. Sometimes examining this issue, not through the lens of case studies, but from someone who has "been there, done that, got the scars" can give you the perspective and hope to successfully find your own way as well.
I want to offer a huge thank you to my wife, Lenita Copple. First, for being committed enough to change. You proved your love for me by facing your demons and fighting them rather than hiding from them like most do. Second, for bravely risking your reputation by willingly going public with this story. I'm sure you'll find in the end, it will be stronger. For our reputation with God matters more than with people. You know you have my respect and love.
Our scar is a big one. But there are plenty of traumas we all go through in this life. Your marriage doesn't have to be one of them, if you focus on healing your wounds through God's grace for the rest of your life. May God use our story and journey to heal the devastation of infidelity in other marriages, so that they too can discover a vibrant future together.
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