Author of The Book of Cool
By Kelvin Oliver
T4JYM: How much editing was involved? Did you do it all alone or did you send it to people to edit?
TW: When I finish writing a book or article I send it to a friend who has a gift for editing. I am not the right person to edit my own work. After this process, I sent it into my editor at Zonderkidz for editing.
T4JYM: How many times did you have to re-edit your works? Were they rejected by publishers?
TW: This particular book was assigned to me from the publisher. I knew what they were looking for because it was part of a series, so I didn’t submit it to other publishers. This particular book didn’t take much re-editing.
T4JYM: Who have been your biggest influences in life? Who have been your biggest influences in your life as a writer?
TW: God has sent so many people into my life as influences. This is tough!
I’ll give it a shot … My mom, my three children, my wife, the staff at my church, the staff at CTA, Inc. — a company I often write for, my editing teammate, a former pastor. My biggest influences in my life as a writer include: Max Lucado, Walter Wangerin, editor Gary Richardson, editor Judy Rehmer, and my children.
T4JYM: How has this book been received by the general public? Has there been positive feedback? Any negative feedback?
TW: It is a very new release so I haven’t received a lot of feedback outside my circle of family and friends yet.
T4JYM: What are your next plans for writing? Do you plan to do any more books along the same lines as this book? Will you move on to new writing?
TW: Dr. Devo’s New-Fangled Lickety-Split Devotions (Zonderkidz) has also just been released. I have several small devotional books being published in 2005 by Christian Tools of Affirmation (CTA) as well as a couple children’s books and a gift book. I hope to be working with Zonderkidz for quite a while, if that’s God’s will. I am also working on a big nonfiction project that doesn’t have a home yet but I’ll let you know when something surfaces with it! I also have an adult Christian fiction project that I keep toying with but haven’t completed yet.
T4JYM: What is generally your target audience? Do you write specifically to ministry workers or have you written other books targeted at other audiences? How do you decide on what audience to focus your writing on?
TW: I’m one of those writers with books for all ages! I have written books for children, preteens, graduates, and adults! I have also had song lyrics, greeting cards, pastoral aids, dramas, and hundreds of devotions published.
T4JYM: Have you written any other books? Do you have any ideas for books you would like to write?
TW: I have been blessed to have a dozen books published with several others in the works for next year. I’m always working on other projects.
My books and other projects can be found at my website << no longer available >>.
T4JYM: How do you find time to write? Life is busy and time management is hard to do sometimes. When do you do your best writing and where?
TW: In the summer of 2000, I took the step into full-time writing and speaking. Although I work on some aspect of writing, speaking, research, or publicity throughout the day, I find my most creative writing time comes late at night or early in the morning. I’m not an early morning writer, like some!
T4JYM: Who are some of the authors you read? Why do you like their works?
TW: Christian authors: Max Lucado, Walter Wangerin, Jill Briscoe, Christopher Maselli, Rene Gutteridge, Randy Becton; Secular authors: Nicholas Sparks, John Grishom.
Be the first to comment