Last June, I wrote a post outlining a few things I wanted to accomplish over the summer. Looking back on it, I could see that it was a good exercise for me, and I was able to get most of it done. So I decided to do a sequel this year!
I spent most of last fall writing my third devotional book, Waves of Grace. And I spent the spring getting it ready for publication. Later this year, I hope to start work on my next devotional. (More details on that to come!) But summer seems like a great time to take a break from (consistent) writing and tackle some other projects. So here's how I'm spending these summer days:
Putting My Audiobook on YouTube
One of the things I worked on last summer was producing the audiobook of Nobody Left Out: Jesus Meets the Messes. I was delighted by how it turned out. But despite the growing popularity of audiobooks, I haven't gotten much traction on it. Of all the formats this book is available in (print, digital, audio), over 90% of the sales come from the paperback. And I think it makes sense for this genre—devotionals are a type of book that people prefer to have in their hands.
Since I don't get many audiobook sales, I've decided to put it up on YouTube for free! I've been uploading one chapter a day for the past couple of weeks. At this rate, all 40 days should be up by the end of July. You can check out this playlist if you'd like to listen along.
And please share the playlist with anyone you'd like! I hope that having the entire audiobook on YouTube will help the channel grow.
Producing a "Bible Tips for Messy People" Video Series
My sister is helping me record a series of ten 2-minute (ish) videos giving some tips on how to engage with the Bible. If you've seen any of my other videos, you are going to see a higher quality in production values, all due to her wizardry. :) I will be using these videos as content for Facebook ads, and they'll be available on YouTube as well. I'll also be putting the content in written form and sharing that soon!
Going "Wide" with Waves of Grace
The third thing I hope to do this summer is make Waves of Grace available outside of Amazon. (This is known as "Going Wide" in the cool world of self-publishing!)
I don't want to go too far down the nerdy rabbit hole, but when I published this most recent book, I did so under my own ISBN rather than the one Amazon assigns. (ISBN stands for International Standard Book Number. It's that 13-digit number you see on barcodes of books. I fear we are too far down the rabbit hole now!) Having my own ISBN allows me to publish the book with other online retailers like Barnes & Nobles, Target, etc. It also opens the door to the book being available in physical bookstores! Remember those??? (Of course, there's no guarantee a bookstore will stock a particular book, but it makes it a possibility.)
Going wide with a book isn't hard, but there is a learning curve. I haven't made the time to sit down and dig into the process, so I hope to do that over the next month.
And that's about it for summer plans! (Other than getting into the pool with Emmett as much as possible. I'll tell you—that kid is the next Michael Phelps!)
What about you? What are you working on this summer?
Let me know!
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P.S. If you’d like to support my writing, you can buy me a sweet tea to keep me caffeinated and it would be much appreciated.