I Self-published My Debut Novel on a Wing and a Prayer

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Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Published Book

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Is anything too difficult for [YeHoVaH]? ~ Genesis 18:14a

“Ah, my Lord [YeHoVaH]! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm—nothing is too hard for You! ~ Jeremiah 32:17

And looking, Yeshua said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with [YeHoVaH] all things are possible. ~ Matthew 19:26

I belong to several authors’ groups on Facebook and Twitter, and I am a member of these groups primarily because I want to increase the number of readers who would be interested in buying my new book. Many of the authors in the groups I’m a member of published their latest books either a few weeks before or after I published Torn Asunder: What Happens When YeHoVaH’s Will Is Ignored on January 29, 2022. Sadly, most of these authors are more concerned with promoting their own books than they are concerned about helping to support my novel, which I understand.

The same is true on Instagram, where I also follow some of the authors who are in the said Facebook and Twitter authors’ groups. Additionally, I am a member of various authors’ groups on Goodreads. Again, my reason for joining was to create a target audience.

Honestly, there is nothing I would love to do more than to support as many authors as I can who are in the groups that I joined. I wish that I could buy every author’s book(s) – especially if the genre is one I love to read. However, I am a 71-year-old author with a limited income, so I can’t afford to put money in other writers’ pockets without being sure they will return the favor.

As I mentioned in a few of my Facebook postings, I would love to sell more copies of my debut novel that I self-published on a wing and a prayer. The reason this book is unlikely to attract the attention of book buyers and, thus, unlikely to become a bestseller is that I couldn’t afford to hire a reputable book marketer, advertiser, publicist, or any other skilled professional who could have helped me successfully launch my book, helped me to increase sales, and/or helped me to eventually become a bestselling or award-winning self-published author.

Yes, I still write for the thrill of it. However, I also write to create valuable books and blog articles, as well as write to be the best author I can be – not necessarily a best-selling author. Yet, I doubt that there is a published author who would say he or she truly couldn’t care less if a book he or she published didn’t make a bestseller’s list. I know I would care, but I wouldn’t obsess about it.

Be that as it may! Since I am a self-published author, the sad truth for me is that I don’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of making either The New York Times’ or the Wall Street Journal’s bestseller lists if I can’t afford to hire skillful professionals who can help me attract some much-needed attention for my book, as that attention could mean my sales might increase. Likewise, I don’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of becoming a bestseller on Amazon, if I can’t increase the number of potential readers who might buy my book.

If my novel does better than I alone was able to achieve, it will be because it is YeHoVaH’s Will. Therefore, I am hoping for a miracle and trusting that YeHoVaH will perform it today.

For the Thrill of It

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Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Published Book

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Thus says YeHoVaH God of Israel, ‘Write in a book all the words which I have spoken to you. ~ Jeremiah 30:2

Did you know that most of Amazon’s self-published authors will never get rich from their book sales?

Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) allows authors to publish their hardcover books, paperback books, and eBooks for free. Additionally, Amazon KDP allows self-published authors to own all rights to their books, which traditional publishing houses don’t usually allow.

However, although Amazon KDP doesn’t charge authors to self-publish their books, Amazon KDP does have a fixed royalty rate for authors. That rate is 60% of the authors’ list price. In addition to the 60% royalty rate, Amazon KDP charges self-published authors the printing costs for each sold paperback and hardcover copy. In other words, (royalty rate x list price) – printing costs = royalty.

I only sell paperback copies that use black ink, so the printing price for every paperback copy is based on the online Amazon marketplace my book was ordered from, the ink type (black or color), and the page count. In my case, that means Amazon KDP will keep 60% of the $17.99 list price for each book that I sell and, on top of that, will subtract an additional $6.18 from my royalty percentage every time a copy of that book is printed. So, Amazon KDP will receive about 75% of my $17.99 book price each time a paperback copy of Torn Asunder: What Happens When YeHoVaH’s Will Is Ignored (published January 29, 2022) is sold and printed.

Now, you might be asking: Why are you thrilled about that? Well, first, I am thrilled to publish something I created and thrilled because I published it without receiving any rejection letters. I am sure I would have gotten some had I taken the traditional route. Then too, I am thrilled to own all rights to my self-published books.

Secondly, because I have a few loyal friends and family members who actually believe in me as a writer, I am thrilled because several of them purchased my book almost the same day it went live on Amazon. So, even if my number of sold copies isn’t large, I am thrilled because my faithful friends and family members didn’t disappoint me.

Thirdly, I didn’t write my book because I had “making a killing” in mind. Did I hope that it would do well, financially speaking? Yes! Did I pray that YeHoVaH’s Will was for me to become a bestselling author? Yes! However, in my heart, I am prepared to remain humble no matter if I do or don’t achieve financial success with this book.

The bottom line is that I have always understood that any success I achieve with this book isn’t of my own doing. Any success would be because of YeHoVaH’s Help and His Will. That is why I am grateful for true friends who have supported me by purchasing and reading my book. Lastly, I am grateful for the following unexpected support:

**Saw This First Amazon Rating By An Unknown Person On 3-7-2022**

**Sylva’s 3-7-2022 Text To Me About My Novel**

**Larry’s 3-12-2022 Black Authors Network Comment – Facebook Group**

While I know that to some people these examples of the unexpected support I have received since Torn Asunder: What Happens When YeHoVaH’s Will Is Ignored went live on 29 January 2022 aren’t worth much, to me they are priceless. They are precious to me because I didn’t buy or beg for this support.

All the above examples of the support I have received are the reasons why I write for the thrill of it. Furthermore, because some friends and a few family members support my writing ventures in more than one way – like they have done for my newly released book – this is the reason why I also give YeHoVaH all the Glory. Shalom!

Encourage One Another, Daily

02 Thursday Feb 2017

Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Spiritual

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I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me face to face, that they may be encouraged in heart, knit together in love, and filled with the full riches of complete understanding, so that they may know the mystery of God, namely Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. ~ Colossians 2:1-3, Berean Study Bible

But exhort one another daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. ~ Hebrews 3:13, Berean Study Bible

Let us hold resolutely to the hope we confess, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to spur one another on to love and good deeds. Let us not neglect meeting together, as some have made a habit, but let us encourage one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching. ~ Hebrews 10:23-25, Berean Study Bible

Therefore encourage and build one another up, just as you are already doing. ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:11, Berean Study Bible

What have believers in Christ done with encouragement or exhortation? Where have they hidden it, because most believers never receive any encouragement or exhortation?

How sad that is, especially since encouragement or exhortation was a necessary and expected staple in the lives of the first century Body of Christ. Indeed, it was a major way to urge or motivate one another to remain faithful, to be fruitful, to be joyful, to keep the faith, to stay hopeful, to continue to persevere/endure, to remain strong, to remain united, and so on and so forth.

Surely God knew that we all would need encouragement. Surely God knew how we all would feel when encouragement was absent from our lives—useless, forgotten, unwanted, unimportant, and/or unloved, just for starters. No wonder the apostles instructed and expected the first century Body of Christ members to encourage one another DAILY, as in the following verse: “But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called ‘Today,’ so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” ~ Hebrews 3:13, NASB

So, again, I ask: What have believers in Christ done with encouragement or exhortation? Without a doubt, it is sad that God’s children do not encourage ALL their brothers and sisters in Christ, when they have the opportunities to do so—sad that so many believers, instead, think it is okay to pick and choose the people they will give support to, give hope to, give help to, show love to, inspire, strengthen, and etcetera. My brothers and sisters in Christ, we must do much better than that!

Grace to every brother and sister in Christ . . . . . Every blessing . . . . .

To God Be The Glory!

26 Thursday Feb 2015

Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Published Book

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5-7-5 syllabic structure, collection of haiku poetry, destiny, flashes of inspiration, limerick, Perfect Peace, publication process, published author, standalone mini-poems, support, various poetic forms

Grace and shalom to you from God our Father and from the Lord Yeshua the Messiah, who gave himself for our sins, so that he might deliver us from the present evil world-system, in obedience to the will of God, our Father. To him be the glory forever and ever! Amen. ~ Galatians 1:3-5, CJB

A person whose desire rests on you
you preserve in perfect peace,
because he trusts in you. ~ Isaiah 26:3, CJB

I have been writing poetry, in various poetic forms, since I was a school-age youth. In fact, I was in 5th grade, when I composed my first poem—a funny limerick.

Over the years, many of my classmates, friends and family members often told me that I should publish a book of my poetry. However, I hadn’t always thought that I was an accomplished poet—accomplished enough to have my poems published—and that’s probably why I always was very selective about the poems I would choose to share and selective about the family members and/or friends I would allow to read them.

That behavior didn’t change much until the late 1980s. Back then, while I was in graduate school at Howard University, working on a Ph.D., one of my African-American Literature professors had made her students submit at least one of their own poems to the Howard University’s Poetry Contest (sponsored by The Academy of American Poets). I had given my professor a four line free verse poem to submit—a poem that I had not considered to be my best work. Well, lo and behold, “Pebbles,” my submitted four line free verse poem, had received Honorable Mention! From then on, I gradually had become better at sharing more of my poems with larger groups of people.

I said all that to say this: after writing poetry, on and off, over 52 years, around mid-September 2014 I finally decided to try my hand at composing the haiku’s 5-7-5 syllabic structure. Once I got started, I didn’t want to stop. While I didn’t set out to write a collection of standalone mini-poems, I am elated that one of my flashes of inspiration gave birth to Perfect Peace.

This week, Perfect Peace went live. As a result, this blogger officially joined the ranks of published book authors. Praise God!

Currently, Perfect Peace (in paperback) can be purchased on barnesandnoble.com and on Amazon.com. The e-book version can be bought on iTunes (Apple iBooks), Amazon.com-Kindle, and/or Barnes and Noble-Nook.

Perfect Peace also eventually will be in Christian bookstores. I will provide the names of the Christian bookstores, as soon as I have that information.

Lastly, but most important, much love and many thanks to everyone who already has supported me throughout this publication process. I look forward to receiving as much additional support that anyone is willing to give.

Equally important, I want everyone to know that I trust completely in Father God, who is in control of Perfect Peace’s destiny. Without doubt, I know that He will bless Perfect Peace according to His Will, while keeping me in perfect peace. Finally, the greatest desire I have for the pint-sized poems I have included in Perfect Peace, prayerfully, is that I have used my God-given haiku writing skills to His Glory. Amen!

Thank You!

22 Sunday Sep 2013

Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Praises and Thanks

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I do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers. ~ Ephesians 1:16, AMP

Thank [God] in everything [no matter what the circumstances may be, be thankful and give thanks], for this is the will of God for you [who are] in Christ Jesus [the Revealer and Mediator of that will]. ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:18, AMP

I first want to give the honor, glory, praise, and appreciation to Father God, then to Jesus the Christ, and then to the Holy Spirit for all the people they have sent to this blog: all the people who have “liked” a blog entry, all the people who have commented on a blog entry, all the people who have reblogged a blog entry, and all the people who have shared a blog entry. Certainly there is no doubt in my mind that Father God is the only One who caused the growth in the number of visitors to my blog and the only One who caused the growth in the number of shared blog entries. Thank You God for these increases!

Secondly, I want to thank the people who I normally wouldn’t have any way of knowing visited my blog or wouldn’t have any way of knowing they shared a particular blog entry via the standard share links, especially if they do not e-mail me personally or if they do not leave a comment in which they tell me they have visited my blog or have shared one of its entries on such and such site(s) or with these or those individuals. For these reasons, I want all of the anonymous visitors to know that I definitely have been richly blessed by each and every person who has stopped by my blog, and I have been abundantly blessed by every individual who has shared an entry from this blog, whether on Facebook or Google+, or Twitter, Pinterest, Digg, Reddit, LinkedIn, StumbleUpon, Tumblr, Pocket, or via Print & PDF, or by E-mail. I’m extremely grateful to everyone who took the time to visit this blog and read my entries. Then too, I’m enormously grateful to every individual who has shared one or more of the hundreds of entries from my blog that have found a new home on other sites, or that have been printed out, or that have been e-mailed.

Lastly, I want to thank everyone for being such a marvelous example of God’s Agápe love. The love, kindness, and support each person has shown to me mean more to me than he or she will ever know.

Once again, thank you all for what you each have done. I’m utterly blown away by your demonstrated Agápe love. I will keep all of you in my prayers, and I pray that you all will do the same for me.

Every blessing . . . .

Very Inspiring Blogger Award

09 Monday Jul 2012

Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Awards

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Nominated and Accepted on July 9, 2012

Love each other devotedly and with brotherly love; and set examples for each other in showing respect. ~ Romans 12:10, CJB

Paulette at Paulette’s Blog has nominated me for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award. Thank you Paulette for your favorable approval of my blog and me. I am so honored to know that in some way something that I have posted on my blog has inspired you. For this reason, it gives me great pleasure to accept this Very Inspiring Blogger Award.

Additionally, I want to encourage all of the individuals who visit my blog to check out the exceptionally inspirational and motivational postings on Paulette’s Blog. She definitely is doing her very best to guarantee that the blogsphere remains a beautiful place. Indeed, I am truly touched by the godly warmth, kindness, and love that not only beautifully emanate from all of her blog postings and comments, but also brilliantly radiate from every one of her Google+ postings and comments, as well.

Now, in order to accept this award, the nominees must follow these few guidelines:

1. Acknowledge and thank the person who nominated you for the award, and link back to that individual’s blog.

2. Add the award’s image to your blog.

3. Share 7 things about yourself.

4. Nominate 7 bloggers who inspire you.

HELLO World: The Seven Things About Me

1. I love God more than I have ever loved anyone else.

2. I earnestly and happily have surrendered my life to Christ Jesus’ Lordship.

3. I preached my initial sermon on September 8, 2002 at Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church.

4. I am a Vietnam Era veteran. I served my country as a member of the United States Air Force.

5. One of my spiritual gifts is “helps.” I always have had the desire and the ability to help others, which is why I became a teacher, and why I always have had a heart for serving God.

6. I have a peaceable spirit, but that doesn’t mean that I cannot deal with confrontations.

7. Gospel Music tugs at my heartstrings; even still, I also love to listen to music by the Temptations, Ebonys, Unifics, Temprees, and so many more 60s and 70s R&B/Soul singers.

Paying It Forward: My Seven Nominees

1. Pastor Ross

2. Jon

3. Edwin

4. Rigo

5. Tony

6. Jim

7. Kim

Once again, thank you Paulette for your encouragement, appreciation, and your support. I pray that our God continues to bless you and your loved ones exceedingly and abundantly above anything that you could ever imagine, or guess, or request. Shalom . . .