ken wilson online

That’s daughter Judy, the first confirmed purchaser of the book from a bookstore (Barnes & Noble at Union Square, in Manhattan.) I’m told by Thomas Nelson that this is the day the book will be found on the “new arrivals” table in all the Barnes and Noble stores nationwide. Not sure if that is the table in the front of the store or by the religion section. Either way, a fortunate selection as I’m not a well known writer. I think much credit is due the design team at Nelson, led by Greg Maclachlan who developed the cover of the book. Barnes & Noble has it on the display table for two weeks, I understand. If it sells well enough, they may extend the table time, which is what one wants.  If you wish to do me a favor, purchase it from a Barnes & Noble store sometime in the next two weeks. You could, for example, take the next two weeks off and travel to as many states as possible purchasing books from as many stores as possible. Or not. Having written it, I’d like it to sell more rather than less. I’m finding the whole book writing business much changed since the last book I wrote several years ago, before the Internet had such an impact.

The Internet allows for some instant feedback, and as the medium massages the message, there’s a certain wild west feel to the whole phenomenon. Some very kind reviews online, for which I’m grateful. And then of course, the negative feedback, given with the kind of candor that the Internet seems to foster, for better or worse. It’s like being able to read people’s thoughts, because they offer them with less censorship than is exercised in other forms of communication. Requiring the thick-skin, tender-heart combination that is so elusive.

The up side of the whole thing is you get a window into what people are thinking that you didn’t have before. For example, I’ve been really enjoying the blog dialog with Rafael and Nick, responding to my posts on the environment. They are wrestling with this issue–poking back at things I say or things they hear (not always the same.) And you learn. Both of them are making an effort you often don’t see: to listen as well as to assert. We have a different take on the issue, marked by some sharp disagreements, which makes the back and forth that much more instructive.

There’s a lot of wrestling going on these days, isn’t there? Feels like more wrestling than a few years ago. It’s good, I think, this wrestling. God is a wrestler, as Jacob discovered. Are we wrestling with God when we wrestle with each other? I hope so.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 27th, 2008 at 7:00 am and is filed under environment, jesus brand spirituality. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.