On this first day of 2016, I am so pleased to reveal to you the cover of my first book, “Finding Home with the Beatles, Bob Dylan and Billy Graham.” Artist, Tara Deetscreek http://taradeetscreek.com painted the image, and the design team at WestBow Press arranged the graphics. I am smitten with the results.
My little memoir will be available for purchase in a just a few weeks! Stay tuned. Thank you for cheering me on!!!
writerjessarcher
I Get by with a Little Help from my Friends
“I get by with a little help from my friends.” I love The Beatles. (Clearly, I named my memoir in part because of their iconic music.) For the last two months, I have completely gotten by financially with a little help from you, my friends and family. As you know, I’ve been raising support to self-publish my book, Finding Home with The Beatles, Bob Dylan and Billy Graham.
My original financial goal was, $9,000. Through big and small donations, I have raised $4,515!
I am writing to some of you who have already contributed, and to some of you who have said you would still like to give a donation. I plan to end my fundraising campaign in the next two weeks. That is, by the end of August. Jess’s Go Fund Me account
How I’ve applied your contributions
- $3,149 for printing, editing, layout, design and consulting services to West Bow Press. In addition, when my book is launched this fee covers Google ads, Amazon ads and Barnes and Nobles “Preview” features.
- $1,200 for copyright permission to use The Beatles lyrics in my book
- $250 to the artist who painted the book cover design.
As you can see by the numbers, the money friends and family have contributed was essential to the cost of publishing my book in a timely and professional manner. In every way, God is in the details! B. Sterling and I are overwhelmed with gratitude for your help in making this dream come true for me.
When my book is printed and ready to be launched (December, most likely) in bookstores and online, I will need to do some small book tours and readings. This requires traveling expenses and reprints of my book for promotional purposes. If you would still like to contribute to these expenses I would be very grateful.
I will keep the Go Fund Me accound open till the end of August if you would still like to contribute.
I am so thrilled that soon I will be able to share my memoir with you.
May You Flourish
A quick follow up to my last meditations post. Here I am on a beautiful summer night two weeks ago, just as I’d hoped to be, reading aloud to my sister the birthday toast I’d written for her 40th birthday.
It wasn’t writing that will change the world or alter any decisions in Congress. It was personal. It was a word for her…a charge. A charge for her to flourish in God’s will throughout the next 40 years. Below is a copy of the toast.Maybe you will find a charge/challenge for yourself in it. May you flourish!
May You Flourish
I’ve been watching you, sis all my life.
It’s what second children do. And I’d say you’ve managed to flourish in the first 40 years of life.
- You had a storied childhood and out of the four of us children, your memory of it is most vivid.
- You’ve traveled the world; you got a great education
- You even contributed your talents to the last years of BG’s ministry.
- You have flourished as a mother: four beautiful, gifted children growing in grace and knowledge of God. 4!
- Plentiful friends who come to you for wisdom and humor. Come to you to be refreshed.
- A beautiful home ( or three ) where people gravitate.
- You are cultured, stylish and well read.
And now Heather, here you are turning 40. The dictionary defines the word flourish as: for some thing or someone to be in one’s prime, to thrive and prosper, to be at the height of influence.
So, what does it look like for Heather to flourish from here on out? What will it look like for you, sis to flourish even more fully in the next 40 years?
Ultimately that’s a conversation for you and the Lord, and maybe Vern can be in on it too.
But here’s what I imagine for you, sister:
- You press in to God more that ever. You untether yourself from the culture’s shifting definitions of success, beauty and style.
- Maybe flourishing will look like caring for someone– a child, an orphan, a family member, a friend, in a more selfless ways than you can imagine, that will push you to your limit and daily dependence on God… but you do it, and you thrive.
- Or maybe flourishing will mean you take on a role at church that seems so out your comfort zone, but somehow fans into you the hands and feet of Christ, like you never could have imagined.
- Or you get very honest with neighbors about their need for Christ.
- Or you give away your possessions to the poor.
(Or you just give away all Vern’s hoarded stuff to the poor.)
- Or you become the Young Life parents. The ones kids know they can turn to.
- Maybe you do something in Belize, you really do the ministry. Open yourself wide to God and say yes without reservation and flourish.
You take the next step.
The point is, you flourish in the perfect will of God.
Why I am Raising Money to Publish my Book
Fundraising. This is a term very foreign to me. Some people do this for a living. Philanthropic geniuses. They study psychological motivation and they study and sociological trends. Some people know exactly how to get a dollar of charity out of people. I don’t know much about that.
But I do know that for the first time in the entire 6 year process of writing my memoir, I need people. I need charity. B. Sterling and I are living on one income. When Iris was born, I deeply wanted the chance to be a stay-at-home-mom. So we tweaked the budget and B. Sterling took on extra gigs and opportunities to teach music lessons. Even still, our budget is real tight. There’s nothing sexy about my food pantry on one income. Bulk, off-brand cereal. Long, bland loaves of wheat bread. Big, heavy jars of peanut butter. And bananas. We keep Chiquita in business at 42 cents a pound.
So when it came time to publish my book with West Bow Press, B. Sterling and I looked at each other and said the same thing aloud, “Where are we going to get $9,000?” We have an emergency fund, but publishing my book isn’t exactly a family financial emergency. So we prayed about it. And we talked with other people who have published books. And fundraising from friends and family rose to the surface as our solution for the cost of publishing.
This is why I am using GoFundMe to raise money to publish my book. Some people have already contributed money to my campaign. I wish I could say eloquently how grateful this makes me. It’s somewhere in the realm of weepy + lushy. Like when you’ve had a bit too much wine on less than a full night of sleep. I end up wanting to cry on their shoulders and promise, “Oh my gosh, thank you! I’ll dedicate my next book to you!”
You get my sentiment? My heart swells at your kindness. At your belief in my creativity. At your hope for my future writing career. Nothing has said love to me lately in quite the same way.
Big Endorsement
Even as I wait and hope for other publishing offers, I work at being my own best champion for my book. I’m discovering that I can’t expect anyone else to get excited about my writing if I don’t “cast my net wide” so to speak.
With this intention, I went after a big endorsement. I sent my manuscript to Billy Graham’s personal assistant of 30 years, David Bruce. He is a nationally recognized spokesperson for the Graham family, and he is on the board of directors for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. He is a discerning, wise man whom the Graham family has trusted for decades. To claim his public approval of my work would be a big endorsement.
So it was an honor to receive an email from his last week praising my book. He called my writing, “refreshing and insightful” and said he’d be sincerely pleased to give his public endorsement of my memoir. David Bruce’s public statement is as follows:
“In Finding Home with The Beatles, Bob Dylan and Billy Graham, Archer takes three cultural forces and braids them tenderly. The result is a charming, honest girl’s story of finding home through the icons of her childhood.”