What I’m Reading:
By Tricia Van Dockum
As a literary publicist, I have to read a lot of books. Sometimes I have two or three going at one time as I need to know how to best pitch the book I’m working on by reading it in full. With summer thankfully being a little slower time for me, I am currently reading something that I have wanted to personally read for a while and that appears to be a runaway bestseller, The Shack, by William P. Young. I am only on page 65 of this book but am so far very moved and very impressed by how well it reads.
My Pastor at the church I attend had been encouraging the congregation to read it but it wasn’t until the author came to speak at our church one evening that I was convinced I needed to read this book too. His personal story of pain and redemption and living out the rest of his life in God’s grace is a compelling one. Plus, I just found him to be so extremely real and honest about all that he had been through that it was very refreshing.
In my experience as a publicist, there’s nothing more awkward than watching an author at a bookselling event who can’t represent their own book very well. This happens more than you know as many times writers can be uncomfortable talking about their own work or are just plain shy about speaking in public. This was not the case with the author of The Shack and I think for his sake, this has helped to move his book along and make it a bestseller…beside it being just a great read!
Until next time…
July 22nd, 2008 at 17:10
You mentioned how genuine you found William P Young to be and how that influenced you even more to read his material. I think that’s true as well. Ultimately our confidence should come from God and the talents He’s given us as writers, agents, etc. That will shine through when representing the work you’ve done for God.
Thanks for the post, see you on the next one.