The reason for the journey

I was rereading the last post- and I realized I was not totally honest. I had said that the book being published was the reason I started the publishing company. It wasn't the actual reason- but it was the catalyst which set everything in motion. Sort of the big mama bird who pushed the baby bird out of the nest and said, "Go on...don't keep waiting...you can fly..."

In actual fact, last year (2016), I was teaching a series on The Tabernacle of Moses. It was called "In His Presence" a study which came at the Tabernacle study from a different angle. When we were looking at Ex.31:1-4-- it talked about how God gave the wisdom and the understanding and all the knowledge for the craftsmen to work on the various things in the Tabernacle. We zeroed in on how God has gifted each of us to do things we may not even realize we can do. So we each went home to pray and ask God what He wanted us to do--- guess what He told me?

"I want you to start a publishing company"

And my reply.... "Excuse me, I think I have a bad connection here...did you say publishing company?"

After sharing this with my family and a few close friends, I promptly put it in the back of my mind where I thought I would never have to think about it again! (let alone DO it)...within a couple months, Crystal calls me to tell me about her book. And then you know the rest of that story! I don't think I would have had the courage to step out in this endeavor had it not been that I had that clear direction more than a year ago--- but sadly it took me more than a year to get myself aligned with what God had already told me to do!

Thankfully He is a patient and merciful God. He loves us enough to prod us....push us when we need pushing...and wait for us when we need waiting. I love His faithfulness!

So now the journey has begun and it is exciting to see how God has already gone before me and set up 'divine appointments'-- and taken care of things before I even think about them!

By the end of November we will be taking presale orders for the book. The book will be out by the middle of December, just in time for Christmas. We are excited to see this powerful book get into as many people's hands as possible! The message does deliver life-- and if this is the only book I publish, it will have made it all worth it to start the Seaward Publishing House.

God really is faithful. When He asks us to do something, He gives us the grace we need to accomplish the task before us. He also surrounds us with people and resources who are invaluable in getting the job done. I will highlight more of those people and resources in the next few blog posts. Maybe there is someone out there who is thinking about starting a company or publishing a book....some of these suggestions I send your way might be of help to you at this time.

*If you are interested in having a copy of the study of the Tabernacle- email me at ongfamily5@hotmail.com and I will send you a free PDF version of the study.

We Publish Life

"Take a deep breath....you can do this...

I know you don't know what you are doing....but you can do this...."

These words continue to scroll through my thought processes over the past couple of months. I have been taking a lot of deep breaths. I can't say I'm 100 percent sure I believe the "You can do this" part just yet. We will see how this pans out.

What would possess a 56 year old woman to wake up one morning and decide she is going to start a Publishing Company? A Publishing Company which actually publishes someone else's books. A company which has taken on an investor who 'believes' in the company.

"Take a deep breath...you can do this..."

You've figured out that the 56 year old woman is me...and I'm the one who has chosen to set sail on unchartered waters. Let me introduce you to-- Seaward Publishing House...where "We Publish Life"

What did I know about publishing? I only knew the side of publishing from the author's view point. Aren't they the people who help find an editor? Aren't they the ones who told me that I have to meet deadlines. Magically one day this mystical company send me a proof copy of my book-- at which time, I swoon-- hug it to myself and hope that I'm not dreaming!

So what did I know about publishing? I am beginning to discover, I knew very little. Almost nothing, if I'm honest. Over the past 2 months I have been on a roller coaster ride of a huge learner curve. I've had to hire editors, set up bank accounts, seek out printers...all the while rechecking the balance sheets to make sure I don't go over budget. The banker who helped me set up my 'small business' account asked me, very cheerfully, "What made you choose to start a Publishing Company"

I looked at her across the desk and wanted to say, "I must have been crazy!"....but instead, I said, "Because I came across a manuscript which was just too incredible to not see published...and since no one else wanted to publish it...I decided to seek out investors and to start this company"

Of course, the explanation is not that simple. For more than a year, I had known I was supposed to do this. Even before I read the great manuscript, I knew deep inside I wanted to see a publishing company that published books with meaning. There was this growing desire to see books that would speak life into people. I wanted to publish books that talked about real life and at the same time changed people's lives. About the time I was tossing this around in my head, a brilliant woman, Pastor Crystal Krachunis, showed me a manuscript she was working on. I was blown away- it was exactly what I had been thinking about...publishing life!

Over time, she would show me bits and pieces of what she was working on and I encouraged her to send off the manuscript to publishers. She did. I sat with her and worked on sending them to more publishers. All responses were encouraging, but everyone had other projects they were working on. One company responded with ...yes we will publish - but it will be 'co-publishing' for such and such an amount. Sigh. Neither she or her husband had the funds for such an endeavor. Finally they said they were going to self publish....just 500 books for a first run....they could afford that.

"Just let them do it....you can't do it....don't even offer..." my mind screamed at me.

I talked to several people hoping they would be willing to invest in this book. Finally I found an investor. I called up Pastor Crystal immediately and said, "Would you be willing to entrust your book to me- I would like to publish it"  And thus the adventure began!

Will you join me on this journey? The book is scheduled to come out just before Christmas. I will be blogging about this process. I will be blogging about my life. I will blog about the great editors, printers, web site designers, bankers, who have helped me get this far. I will be blogging about other books-- books that have long since been published, books that produce life.

Be on the look out for more....and remind me to breathe every once in awhile.