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Frequently Avoided Questions
Phil is asked questions everyday. Questions like,
"Why do fat chance and slim chance mean the same thing?"
"Why do we give God 10% and the waitress 15?" He
is also asked serious questions. Normally he tries to avoid them, but
several magazines have pinned him down. Here are their questions and
his responses:
Questions about Writing:
These days I'm writing a gift book on
laughter for Harvest House Publishers. Waterbrook/Multnomah has just released To Be Perfectly
Honest and I'm hearing great responses to it. I'm also pleased to announce that a new
DVD of me speaking Live is out. Live Rich Without Money is
another DVD and it's specifically
geared to small group study. Harvest House has released
a coffee table book of Making Life Rich
and it's stunningly beautiful. I'm also working on thinking about
perhaps asking someone to renovate the floor in our entryway. I think
this would impress my wife more than just about anything right now.
It's really not as bad as it looks.
TV shows are usually taped at a more convenient time and air travel
allows us to get there and get home quickly. The truth is, the opportunities are so cool, it's hard to
say no sometimes. So I stay in as good a shape as a middle-aged guy
can, working out three times a year...I mean a week...necking a lot, and I have
people around me that hold me accountable. I will admit though that
today I realized I had a problem. I realized that I can describe
to you the best seats on different airlines and the smell of shampoo
at different hotels. For some reason I dislike The Westin's shampoo
the most.
You write about "family
matters" but it seems you're gone from your wife and kids a lot.
It's ironic how often people asked me to leave home
and tell them how to spend quality time with their kids! But part of
the key is this: I'm always accompanied by a family
member or close friend and my schedule is approved by my wife. Now
that our kids are older, Ramona travels with me 95 percent of the time. I asked our
youngest son one day when he was in his early teens, "Am I gone too much?" and he said,
"Na, you go away just enough so we don't get tired of you." I have
several close friends who are kind enough to travel with me.
They've seen me at my worst, so they're less impressed with my best.
Yes, there's stress associated with my job, but I don't let it bother
me. Of course, I've been in the bathtub since Wednesday!
I'm not against long range planning,
but it's not the most noble thing. Remember that Hitler had a long
range plan. My plans are to think about golf this afternoon if I
can get another chapter written. Seriously, I'm trying to shorten my
plans. And when I do plan, my plans are always too small. I never would have planned to be the author of a
few dozen books or
be able to share the good news of Jesus with 200 million people. My plans
are always too small. I'm more into figuring out what God is up to and hitching my tiny wagon to His.
I'm more about doing the next thing. Loving
my wife. Being there when my kids need me. I wrote years ago that I would
consider myself a success when I'm walking close to Jesus every day.
When I'm building a strong marriage, loving my kids, and performing
meaningful work. That hasn't changed. I've been blessed beyond belief
to be able to do something I can't believe people pay me to do, and if
I can be doing that 30 years from now, I will be very old, very
wrinkled, but very
happy.
I suppose there's nothing quite like holding your
first book in your hands and realizing that a publishing house
believed in you enough to make that kind of investment and that your
two-year-old just bit a corner off the book. When you find out it was
a bestseller, that's not bad either. The highest point has come in
realizing that God can use a guy like me, so there's hope for anyone.
Moses stuttered. Sarah laughed. David liked rooftops. Matthew worked
for the IRS. And God used them all. He can do the same for us and our
children. The lowest point came in 1995 when I burned out from running
too fast, chasing the wrong things. It's taken me years to recover and
establish boundaries that will keep me from going there again. That's
what my book Who Put My Life On Fast Forward? is about.
Oh man...I'll have to think. I had a
phone call from a lady who said, "Hi, I'm Sister Sarah. Several
of the nuns and I are reading your book." I thought it was one of
my friends calling with a practical joke. But it was way better than
that. This dear lady told me how they were reading my book and
laughing and laughing and laughing. I asked what book it was and she
said, The Total Christian Guy.
Actually, they aren't. They are in
their twenties now and they get a
chance to approve (and sometimes improve) the things I write and say.
Veto power for each of them has been important. I won't tell a story
or write a story about the kids without first asking them if it's okay. So sometimes I get up to
speak and have nothing to say. My wife has the attitude that if it's the truth and God can
use it to help people, then it's worth saying. In Laughing
Matters I wrote of her battle with seizures, but only after
she said, "Go ahead. It might help
someone." Turns out this story has been read by millions. My kids
don't seem to mind when we meet people and they say, "I know all about
you," because they know I've been more brutal about my own
shortcomings than anyone else's in my writings. There's safety there.
One of the downsides of being a transparent author is that you open
yourself to some remarkable criticism, so that's been a hurdle. But
99% of the audience has been fabulous. But there does come a time when
you don't write the truth, you put it in a novel!
My children's book Be
Kind, Be Friendly, Be Thankful is published by a general
marketplace publisher, and I'd be interested in doing more of this.
The gift edition of Making Life
Rich Without Any Money is for the "secular"
marketplace. I'm encouraged by how many of my books are sold through
Walmart and Chapters and Amazon, etc. I suppose I just love to write
stories. Some are about my faith, some are not. Much of the correspondence I receive is
from people who don't necessarily share my outlook on life and I enjoy
that very much. Close to half of my speaking now is for corporations
and "secular" conferences. I'm honored and I love it.
QUESTIONS ABOUT WRITING:
No. Sorry.
I'm too busy writing, speaking, hanging out with my
kids, romancing my wife, and taking out the garbage. Sorry.
Sit down and start. Also...regardless of your age, I
recommend some journalism training. Adult evening schools offer some
good journalism courses. Most published writers have either a
background in newspaper or magazine journalism, so do all you can to
get some.
I'd love to, but I can't. Again, I'm sorry. I have
done much of this during the last ten years, but just do not have the
time to do justice to your work. I do teach at writers' conferences
occasionally, and the best bet for getting someone to help you with
your manuscript is to check out one of these.
Mostly with a crayon. Actually, I try to write 500
words a day when I'm under contract. I do not always accomplish this,
but sometimes I accomplish far more than 500. I discipline myself by
leaving the answering machine on (except for calls from my wife or
children), gluing my seat to the chair and staying on topic. Often I
begin the day by editing what I worked on yesterday, then working on
today's assignment.
Absolutely nothing. Costs involved in acquiring, editing, proofing,
typesetting, printing, binding, storing, and shipping (including
marketing and advertising and sales) are the responsibility of the
publisher. If you have to pay to have it done, it's unlikely you'll
ever recoup your expense. Self-publishing is a costly endeavor, but in
some cases it will work. Rumor has it that the Bee Gees got on the charts by buying their own albums, so you
never know.
First of all, read, read, read. In fact, feel free
to read my books if you like. But great writers are always great
readers. Here are a few other keys: Be talented. Be self-critical. Be
observant. Be patient. Never hand in anything that doesn't appear to
be done by a professional. Remember that great truth is taught in
simple ways, so if you can use a story to communicate a point, do it
(The King James Version of the Bible uses fewer than 8,000 different
words. Shakespeare used more than 30,000. When you sit down to write,
write! Glue your seat to the chair. And get a copy of Writer's Market
or The Writer's Guide (available at amazon.com). They can help you find the resources you need and guide you
to those who are looking for what you have to offer.
I suppose the most practical advice I can give to
writers who are Christians is "Write on your knees." Psalm 34: 3-4
says, "Trust in the Lord and do good...Delight yourself in the Lord
and he will give you the desires of your heart." Boil it all down and
the mystery of writing and getting published amounts to this: Trust in
the Lord and do good. Stay faithful, stay active, and stay on your
knees. If you are writing to become a millionaire, you'll be
disappointed whether you achieve it or not. If you are writing to
watch people's eyes light up as the truth hits, you'll be happy as a
pauper or a king.
I wish you all the best as you embark
on this grand adventure. And be mindful of the audience of One!
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