In September of 2007, I started this blog
with a bit of writing advice. A little over a year later, I discovered how
little I knew about writing after hearing children’s writer, Lin Oliver speak
at a convention hosted by the Minnesota Society of Children’s Book Writers and
Illustrators. Since then, I have shared (with their permission) and applied the
writing wisdom of Lin Oliver, Jack McDevitt, Nathan Bransford, Mike Duran,
Kristine Kathryn Rusch, SL Veihl, Bruce Bethke, and Julie Czerneda. Together
they write in genres broad and deep, and have acted as agents, editors,
publishers, columnists, and teachers.
While I don’t write full-time, nor do I make
enough money with my writing to live off of it...neither do all of the
professional writers above...someone pays for and publishes ten percent of what
I write. When I started this blog, that was NOT true, so I may have reached a
point where my own advice is reasonably good. We shall see! Hemingway’s quote
to the left will now remain unchanged as I work to increase my writing output
and sales! As always, your comments are welcome!
SIMPLE SCIENCE
SERMONS FOR BIG AND LITTLE KIDS (still in print after sixteen years – https://store.csspub.com/prod-0788012940.htm)
grew out of my passion for science, my work with young people, my faith in
Christ, and my belief that science can be used to illustrate ideas of faith.
The sermons
themselves were well-tested, both in the lab and on the platform. It seemed
natural to write them up and try and sell them.
The thing was, was
that people would come up to me after my sermons and say, “How do you DO that?
I’d never know what to say!” There are twenty science demonstrations, matched
with twenty scripts matched with twenty bible verses or passages.
My biggest problem
was creating a natural-sounding script for someone to read! I did the things
all the time and also, being a classroom teacher, I’d not only do the lab, but
banter as well – sort of like how a magician does his shtick in order to
distract his audience from the sleight of hand she’s working on the stage. I’d
done it for years but how could I condense my endless prattle into something
someone who was UNFAMILIAR with science and its funny aspects could use when
presenting things like “The Electric Pickle”? How could I POSSIBLY connect the
day of Pentecost – when tongues of fire came down on the heads of the disciples
of Jesus and their tongues were loosened to speak languages they’d never
learned to people who could understand what they were saying – and the
lightning flashes you see inside a large deli pickle when you use an old
electrical cord, split the ends and wrap bare wires around two nails, then
shove them into opposite ends of the pickle and plug it into the wall?
I pointed out that “our
God is a god of surprises”...certainly none of the disciples expected tongues
of fire on their heads, a wind rushing through their room, or being able to
speak unlearned languages.
Certainly no one who
sees a pickle with nails stuck in either end would expect the pickle to become
a veritable night light!
All of the children’s
sermons in the book are like that.
What did I do right
with SIMPLE SCIENCE SERMONS FOR BIG AND LITTLE KIDS?
First, I wrote what
I knew. I know that’s not always possible, but in non-fiction, I am convinced
that you have to intimately know what you’re talking about. Secondly, I made
what I was doing easily transferrable – I gave a basic script that covered all
the salient points. Third, I provided an equipment list of easily obtainable
materials (except for one, in which I advised the presenter to get the
acid-base indicator phenolphthalein from a chemistry or science teacher they
knew), the Bible verse on which the sermon was based, and a very brief
explanation of the science of the demonstration.
Last of all, I wrote
it with a light hand. This wasn’t a science textbook. It wasn’t an attempt to
convert outsiders to Christianity nor make fun of science.
I wanted kids to see
something that outsiders and Christians could agree on: SCIENCE IS COOL!
I am passionate
about science. I am passionate about young people. I am passionate about Jesus
Christ. A book melding all three was a natural for me.
[One caveat: CSS
Publishing is not particularly author friendly. Sixteen years ago, the contract
they offered me was an offer of $100 (for all rights), book promotional
materials, and twelve copies of the finished book with a promise to return the
rights of the book to me when they were done with it. I asked for more money
and was told I was lucky that they were doing it for me as books like this have
no market. It was “a ministry”. I believed them and signed the contract. Never
got the promotional material and a phone call a year later elicited a response
that they would send them as soon as they could, but it probably was too
late...Sixteen years later, by my calculations, they have made (conservatively:
initial investment of $3000 to produce the book and print 100 copies. Selling
at $6.95. Sell 100 a year then reprint (why ELSE would they keep it if no one
bought it?) 100 x 6.95 = $695 x 5 years = $3475 + $1000 reprint costs. They
increased the price to the current $8.50 over the years, so let’s average it:
$7.30. 2004 to 2014, 10 more years = $7300 + $3475 - $4000 = $6775...Hmmm...not
bad for “books like this have no market”… I suspect they made a bit more than
that because when I approached them to return the copyright, they ignored me. I
would suggest seeking a different publisher for your manuscript...)]
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