Unique Publishing Opportunity

by Fran Geiger Joslin

My literary agent friend, Mary DeMuth, recently posted a blog on why she turns authors down. This inspired me to talk about how one might accomplish publishing with Authenticity Book House (ABH).

First, you must know that writing is rarely a money-maker. According to wordsrated.com, only one to two percent of writers ever get published. Why? Ninety-five percent of submitted manuscripts are sub-par.[i]

Second, you must understand how ABH’s non-profit status sets us apart from other publishers. Our main target audience is pastors, church leaders, and church attenders in rural areas of the world without access to higher education. We produce 4” x 6” books with no more than 16,000 words to make the content easily and quickly understandable. Also, small books can travel the world for less cost. We are all about helping those who may own only a New Testament. Many also feel blessed to own one book of any sort, much less a commentary or study guide.

So, what is an author to do? Personally, I see writing as ministry. If God gifted you with the ability to write, I hope and pray you use that gift for the advancement of God’s kingdom. I also hope you want to produce material that is well-written.

Regarding publishing with ABH, here are a number of things that will increase your chances at publication. Notice they are not all related to your writing ability.

1. Hone your craft—Learn the basics of better writing by joining a writers’ group or taking a writing class. Heed the advice received and practice, practice, practice.
2. Recognize that editor suggestions are business, not personal—Because your editor is outside your head, he/she can look at the big picture, evaluate your material from an unbiased perspective, and make valuable recommendations. It is your editor’s job to make you look good. Together, you can create a great book.
3. Respond with a humble heart—Believe me, we regularly “tweak” each other’s writing in our office. Everyone—including the best writer—needs an editor.
4. Use your writing gift as ministry—Understanding that making money as an author is rare, ask God how he would like to use your gifting and walk through the doors he opens for you.
5. Write at a junior high reading level—This may sound crazy to you. The majority of our readers, however, don’t receive much more than a 7^th grade education. We focus on the unique niche of writing on a level that all can understand.
6. Use culturally generic illustrations—Consider story-telling that is understood in a third world country. For example, those of us in the western world wouldn’t think twice about a comment such as, “I picked up fast food for dinner.” Many in rural third world countries would have no understanding of what that sentence means. Even cell phones (especially smart phones) are not universally used.
7. Write biblically accurate material with a bent toward training—ABH’s number one desire is to produce biblically-based training material. While this can take many different approaches (storytelling, Bible teaching, etc.), its source must come from Scripture. We have turned down material that is based in experience only.

Benefits to writing for a non-profit publisher:

1. You can make a difference to someone in another country—The reach of ABH goes beyond the U.S. to other countries like Tanzania and Mexico, for example. You could write something that changes a life somewhere else in the world without ever going there yourself.
2. You get your name on a book—At ABH, money is not the reward. The joy comes with seeing your own name on a book, knowing God will use it. You can say you are a published author.  
3. You get direct access to the staff at ABH—Because we are a small publisher, you get personal attention.
4. You get free editing—All through the process, we make suggestions to improve the manuscript for accuracy and audience clarity. Our staff and volunteers make final edits to assure the manuscript is publication ready.
5. Your book could get translated into numerous languages—We work with missionaries and others in ministry around the world. If they like our book, they often translate it for the people with whom they work.
6. Great blessing—Recently we heard of a girl who was suicidal as a result of her sexual abuse. She spent years hating herself. After reading Mary DeMuth’s book, Not Marked, this girl found hope and healing. Now happily married, she finds joy in life again. When we receive input on how one of our books changed just one life, we feel very blessed. No money in the world can take away that feeling.
7. You get a say in the final cover and draft of your book—We want to love how your book turns out, and we want you to love it too. 
8. You get to keep the copyright—We allow you to keep the copyright to your own manuscript. This allows you to post it on your own website and/or publish with others (if they don’t require you to publish with them only).

The downside of publishing with ABH? Money.

We don’t make much money. In fact, we raise money to give books away. The blessings far outweigh the income, however. Because of this ABH opted to avoid paying royalties to its authors. Would you consider using your writing skills as ministry? Think about it. You can become a missionary without ever leaving your home and put your writing skills to kingdom use at the same time.

---

[i] https://wordsrated.com/odds-of-getting-published-statistics/#:~:text=Within%20the%20book%20publishing%20industry,the%20level%20the%20standard%20required.

---

Pictured above: Fran and her Swahili translator share the joy of publishing Widowed in two languages.