Many people think that writing a book is an excellent way to make millions of dollars. To think that you could be at the top of the New York Times best seller’s list. Next, you will be on TV being interviewed, and everyone will know your name, you will be famous! People will be flocking to your book signings. The truth is, hardly anyone makes it to that level. So why write a book? Why spend hundreds and hundreds of hours in research and hundreds and hundreds of hours pouring over your manuscript trying to come up with something to say that people will really want to read? Why spend hours trying to edit your sentences and check for spelling, grammar and punctuation? Why spend all that time trying to say something clever or witty? Why spend all that time cursing yourself for not paying more attention in English class? Why put yourself through all the misery of working on page after page of written text only to wad it up and start over again, hoping that you can say it better? I will tell you why, because writers are a tad possessed… at least, from my perspective anyway.
As the author of “When the Kingdom Comes: From Global Chaos to Eden,” I think that I was kind of possessed to even attempt such a monumental feat. By that, I was driven by the idea that I understood something about my subject that I felt very few people understood or knew. This belief that I had come to understand Biblical events prophesied to come in a way that others did not quite grasp so motivated me to the point that I felt I had a viable message to share with the world. In truth, I was possessed with a picture of the future as foretold in the Scriptures with me in that picture. After 50 years of reading and studying the Scriptures, I began to understand what God was going to do next and my place in that future. I was convinced that if I could see myself in that future, then I might be able to help others picture themselves in that same future…and that future is not far away. The only drawback was that I had never written a book before. So, what do you do when you feel compelled to share your message and you are not sure what to do or how to begin? For me, I took that inner drive and used it for the motivation to find out how to write a book.
I can honestly say that I felt compelled to write this book and that compulsion gave me the motivation that spanned almost two years of work. I not only had to research my topic, but I also had to research and develop my ability and skill to write. That involved reading books on writing, grammar, editing, and the publishing industry in general. Even if by some miracle I finished writing my book, I was only half done. I needed someone to publish it. I had to learn to discipline myself to schedule regular times each week to sit down and write. I had to discipline myself to write a certain number of pages each week. I had to learn how to let people criticize my work to make it better. In the end, I will say that it has been the hardest thing I have ever done. At the same time, it has also become my greatest accomplishment to date. Would I do it again? Yes…for the simple joy of knowing I might touch someone else’s heart with my words and message and then they can see themselves in God’s glorious future too!
