Book updates and potential cover

Potential Cover

Looks mildly interesting for having done it in Microsoft Powerpoint eh? Maybe I'll even get my graphic designer father to clean this concept up and we'll have a picture for Amazon. Since I'm 7 pages of final editing away from the finished work, this is quite obviously the time to start thinking about cover-art. The stage where a single person speaks, and the audience where dozens answer addresses the fundamental premise or nature of the book. The Corinthians pillars speak to the fact that this event takes place in Corinth, because it's probably the case the book was written from there before Paul took his offering to the saints in Jerusalem at the end of his third missionary journey.

But let's real for a moment, this notional cover is indicative of the book itself - good, but perhaps not great. The fact is I really want to have my book turn out right, cover included, because I've been working on it for something like 5 or 6 years now, and I don't do sloppy work. But in all likelihood I'm not going to sell more than 10 copies since I'm a nobody, a part time blogger for goodness sake. I don't write about culture, or review other theological books, or movies, or politics from a Christian perspective (I post my thoughts about those on facebook where they are quickly seen and forgotten) which might give me a much bigger platform. No, instead I write a blog about how I'm understanding the Scriptures and Scriptural concepts. Mostly for myself. And that's about as big as it gets. I don't even want to put my name on the cover because the book of Romans is so much bigger than I if it's there I don't deserve to be seen. So since it's not going to sell, I'll not be spending money I don't have on a professional editing team, because it's not going to be a good return on investment, and I'd rather buy my kids shoes and whatnot with the money I earn from my day job. And this one hurts because as much as I want to see it be the best book it can be, I’m probably not even a good writer, because writing is like hearing yourself on tape, you think you sound smooth and attractive, and you find out you really have a high pitched loser voice.

In all that I'm not despairing however, because I am at least an excellent teacher and a good theologian, in spite of my vocation. I have a mind for this stuff, and my passion for this book is high because it was the reason I am where I am today, not still in the Churches of Christ.
On the other hand again, I'm not a genius theologian. I'm no Stott, or MacAurthur, or Sproul, or Moo, the four people I will be mainly competing against in the marketplace for readers. Okay frankly I think I might be smarter than Moo, his book introduction to Romans was terrible. And maybe smarter than the ambiguously evangelical N.T. Wright. And I know I beat out F.F. Bruce. Let's just say I'm way ahead of most liberal scholars. But then there are a lot of "no names" I know that are smarter than me in turn, like Reddit Andrews III.

Back to the point at hand- on the down side this book is an amateur work from start to finish, from a bright but not genius guy who is probably only a mediocre writer in spite of having a gift for organizing ideas. On the upside the concept is brilliant and my expectations of success are supremely low.
I'm going to be happy if I make enough money to take the family out to pizza.

But mostly I will be happy if this causes people to know Christ and to grow close to Him. If that is somehow able to happen and I found out about it, I'll be pleased indeed.