Getting a foot in the door
April 24th, 2008 | 
hired., originally uploaded by jakebouma on flickr.
A while back I wrote a post called On writing a book which revealed that one of my life goals is to write a book. One of the toughest parts about pursuing this goal is getting your foot in the door. It’s the proverbial chicken-and-egg conundrum: publishers want to see legitimate writing experience, but one can’t get experience without the help of a publisher.1
Well, thanks to the grace of God and a friend by the name of Erik Ullestad, I’ve been officially hired/contracted to write for Augsburg Fortress Publishers, the publishing house of the ELCA. It’s nothing glamorous; I’m writing devotionals for the webzine of Augsburg’s confirmation curriculum. But it’s a start.
My foot is planted firmly in the door.
- Now, I realize there are other ways to get “published”, e.g., online magazines, blogs, and other various freelance endeavors… but you get my point. ↩
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![Another world. [edit]](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3138/2426374093_1c9b676580_t.jpg)
way to go! impress them, dude.
Jake,
Congratulations on getting your foot in the door. I’m about as new at being a publisher at Augsburg Fortress as you are as a writer with us. It’s not always glamorous, but it’s good work. Thanks for being a partner.
Tim Paulson
Publisher, Congregational Life & Learning
Congrats!
You know, we never did work on that song idea.
Good to see you’re writing fiction. You must have a great imagination. You’d have to to believe in a crazy fantasy like Christianity.
I’m really excited for you! I’m always glad to see fellow bloggers who are also pursuing their dreams (and, in your case, achieving them). Oh, and by the way, I can’t believe you’re not on my blogroll…how silly of me.
Peace,
A.T.
Oh, also..did you create the Amazon and Librarything buttons? If so, would you mind sharing? If not…where can I find them? They’re pretty sweet.
Thanks,
A.T.
Congrats Bro!
way to go, JB!
i was always told to “follow the money”… but i never seemed to find any. hope your r’ship with AFP is a good one.
i wonder if books are going to meet the same cruel fate that awaited LPs - with the internet and CDs everywhere…
Jake - let me echo Tim’s “welcome” - we’re glad to have you on board!
@Mike - I’m on AF’s board, and we’ve been quite aggressive in integrating online into our product offerings. There’s still a place for books, but the exec team at AF has been investing a bunch in online offerings for years (see Akaloo.org, SundaysAndSeasons.com as two examples) and I think we’re well-prepared as the publishing world evolves.