Now that my new book, No Perfect Time: Brief Essays on Life and Faith, has been released into the world, I wanted to run through what I think might be the most common questions about it.
Where can I find this book? You have a few choices: Smashwords, Barnes and Noble, and Apple Books are the top 3.
Where’d this book come from? I wrote at the same blog for 17 years and long had an idea to compile what I felt were my best entries into book form. I ended that blog near the beginning of the year, and this seemed as good a time as any to finally make that a reality. I decided on 50 to include, although I didn’t set out to reach that or any other particular number.
What types of topics do these essays cover? The subjects are fairly diverse. I was a pastor for most of the blog’s existence, so there’s a fair amount of reflection on issues related to church life and ministry. Some deal with more general theological or spiritual issues. There are a handful that reflect on some of my earliest parenting experiences, a few that explore my mindset about writing, and some general reflections about life. There are 8 prayers scattered throughout the book as well.
Who would most enjoy reading this? I would hope that anyone would! But more realistically, Christians who might categorize themselves as more progressive, open-minded, “seeking” or deconstructing, and those who come from mainline church traditions might be more likely to enjoy this than Christians who identify as…not those things. I think that other pastors will be able to relate to the ministry and church essays. And if nothing else, I hope that anyone who reads it will come away from it a little more thoughtful about how faith and life work together.
Why’d you publish on Smashwords? Why not? Only writers with a significant following would get picked up by a “traditional” publisher for a concept like this. I’ve long had a certain admiration for and curiosity about self-publishing, and this project seemed perfect for finally dipping my toes in it. I’ve enjoyed the DIY punk feel of the entire process. I’m working on a separate post about self-publishing, so stay tuned.
Will this eventually be available in paper form? If I can figure out how to do that without limiting myself to one online distributor, I’ll be happy to. In the meantime, it will remain exclusively as an ebook.
Where can I keep up with book and author news besides this blog? I have a newsletter that I send out near the end of every month, and rarely any more frequently than that. I also provide updates on my author Facebook page, my Twitter page, and on Instagram.
Any plans for a release event? I was going to, but then I realized that my podcast episode about the book is pretty much what I would have done during a live reading. So head over and listen to that. I call it my “on demand book release.”
This isn’t your first book, is it? Not at all. I’ve written four others. Check them out here.
Jeffrey A. Nelson 