A bit of business advice
Posted by: Amanda Wilson on: May 30, 2012
I was recently asked by UEL’s Enterprise department to help create a series of videos relating to the different aspects of starting a business. The videos have been used on UEL’s Build that Business site which provides a wealth of information for anyone starting out in business.
My bit starts from 1:09
My bit starts from 1:53
My bit starts from 1:45
My bit starts from 0:57
Cover Story
Posted by: Amanda Wilson on: May 15, 2012
- In: Articles | Fiction
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Having recently published my first novel and sold a fair amount to keep me content, my thoughts have turned towards arranging a second print run.
In the four months that the book has been available in paperback I’ve received some fantastic feedback from readers, and what’s been especially encouraging is that the feedback has not just come from regular churchgoers but also from ‘special occasion goers’. You know, those who only attend for weddings, Christenings, funerals and the occasional Easter service when cajoled by an aging aunt. Basically, it’s not just Christians who are reading the book.
But if there’s been one thing in particular that has provided me with a considerable amount of amusement and much food for thought, it has to be the reaction I’ve had to the image on the front of the book – the one which depicts the main character, Pastor Haley Brown.
I recall sending a draft copy of the cover to a colleague of mine, which she said she really liked. She later admitted that when she initially looked at the cover she was baffled as to whether the image on the front was supposed to be a photo of me – after all I am a black pastor – despite the fact that she’d known me for almost 15 years. After I explained that it wasn’t a photo of me, but a stock image that I had found on the Internet, she was rather relieved, safe in the knowledge that she did actually know what I looked like when we weren’t together. But she wasn’t the only one to give this response. A number of individuals who had purchased the book directly from me at local bookstalls asked similar questions. Was it me? Was it supposed to be me? To which I’d always answer in the negative.
So the fact that the book was due for a second print run, and had received some minor formatting changes inside got me thinking about whether this was also an opportunity to get a new cover designed. Not because I thought there was anything wrong with the original cover – I think there will always be something special about that first cover design – but more because I wanted to be absolutely sure the cover really was creating the impression I wanted it to. In fact, it was this, coupled with the fact that I’d recently watched a TEDTalks video with talented book cover designer Chip Kidd, that made me really think about having a new design created.
So I did a bit of self-reflection – self-book cover reflection. What did the cover really say about the book? Well on first glance you’d know it was something to do with church and perhaps think there was a religious element to it. A person wearing a clergy outfit is a sure giveaway where that is concerned. You may also think it’s something to do with karaoke, thanks to the title and the image of the microphone. But would you know it was a work of fiction? And would you get the impression that it was a book which contained a fair bit of humour? Possibly not.
I then went on to consider whether the fact that there was a black character so prominently depicted on the front cover would limit the market the book would sell to, despite the fact that any pastor from any church in any country would be able to relate to the storyline. Now this might make some squirm, the possibility that a book wouldn’t sell because it has a black person on the front, but we are living in the real world and in some parts of that world race is still a big issue.
For instance in America and in particular in the southern states, race is still a big issue and one which was highlighted when the covers for Kathryn Stockett’s widely acclaimed novel The Help were produced. As with most books that are printed in several countries, the covers for the UK and US versions of The Help were both very different. In 2009 a journalist from the Telegraph website by the name of Jessamy Calkin wrote an article about Stockett’s novel. As part of this article she looked at the differences in the two covers that had been created for the US and UK markets:
With this in mind – and I’m sure I could find similar examples – am I restricting my audience? Could I sell more books if I had an image of a white pastor on the front cover? Or would that be considered as ’selling out?’ What if I didn’t have an image of anyone on the cover; would this be ‘chickening out?’
Putting the race issue aside, the other point to consider is whether having an actual image of a pastor – of any race – on the cover prevents the reader building up in their imaginations, their own image of what the main character might look like. I know when I read a book I build up pictures of the characters I am reading about and when I then see the movie version of that book there is often a deep sense of disappointed that the casting director got it so wrong.
Ultimately there are many things to consider when designing the cover for a novel – and the best-designed covers are those that will cause the reader to take the book off the shelf, and give it a chance.
And to be honest, that’s all I’m looking for.
Every Child Needs a Mentor book launch
Posted by: Amanda Wilson on: May 4, 2012
Last night I attended the launch of a book entitled Every Child Needs a Mentor. It’s the first book launch I’ve attended – and the main reason I was there was because I’d been managing the organisation of the event with my business partner. But I’m writing this post from the viewpoint of an attendee and not an events organiser.
I’d never heard of the author Herman Stewart before I got involved in the launch but it seems he’s a making quite a name for himself in the field of mentoring, having been invited to the House of Lords and being sought after by council and local authority officials – I’m unsure how he’s viewed amongst his peers though.
I have quite a lot of experience of mentoring in education. As an ex-primary school teacher I spent time working with boys and girls who needed someone to help them in their educational journey and at one point I had to engage the services of an organisation called Black Boys Can who undertook some work with a group of Year 5 boys at the school I worked at. My husband is a lead behaviour mentor in a secondary school in Hackney and I have a 15-year old daughter who has a range of mentors in various areas of her life (although she may not view as being mentors in the traditional sense). I am also very aware of the various conversations that are being held at the moment amongst the mentoring community, especially in view of Mayor* Boris Johnson’s mentoring scheme. Having said all that, because of the other projects I am currently engaged in, mentoring isn’t necessarily something that I would consider to be particularly high on my personal agenda at the moment.
However, what the book launch did do, was get me thinking a bit more deeply about the whole aspect of mentoring. The title of the book cannot help but get you asking questions such as ‘Why does every child need a mentor?’ ‘Who provides these mentors?’ ‘Can mentors really add value to the life of a child?’
As I mentioned before, there has been much media coverage on the Boris mentoring scheme and the alleged failure of the whole programme, especially in light of the riots that took place in August last year. I’ve heard much said about the fact that if we’d had more mentors the riots wouldn’t have happened. Really? Would the involvement of a mentor really have led to less young people looting the streets of the main cities and if so how? What strategies would the mentors have used to deter the youth from the antisocial behaviour they engaged in? I can’t give you an answer. But in the words of the old AA advert: I know a man who can.
Herman Stewart’s book looks at the whole aspect of mentoring, based on his own personal experiences as a mentor in schools. It’s advertised as a book that everyone who has anything to do with young people should read; parents, mentors, teachers, students…basically if you have an interest in the life of young people, this book is meant for you.
I’m yet to start reading the book, but when I do it will be from two key vantage points. That of a parent and that of an educator. I imagine I will be reading and thinking, would I have responded like that to the children that I taught? Would that strategy have worked in my class? What kind of mentor do I want for my own child – who, I hasten to add is an A-grade student and has no wish to engage in anti-social behaviour, but as the book says, every child needs a mentor, so that includes her.
So, for the time being I will reserve judgement and will return in a week or so to give my opinion on Herman’s book.
Every Child Needs a Mentor is available to purchase from Amazon at £12.99
*Boris Johnson was still Mayor of London at the time of writing this blog post!
The PR debate
Posted by: Amanda Wilson on: April 3, 2012
So the book’s been published and it’s selling in a number of outlets, but as always sales could always be better. Enter the PR debate.
Do I need a public relations advocate or could I do it all by myself?
Public Relations experts help with everything relating to raising the profile of your product or service. In my case the ‘product’ is Karaoke, Praise the Lord.
The activities publicist would engage in would consist of tasks such as organising press releases, book signings, interviews readings, monitoring media coverage…the list goes on.
But could I actually do all this myself or do I really need someone to do it on my behalf?
I guess I’d have to weigh up the pros and cons of both.
Pros:
- Publicist already has a bank of contacts they can call on
- They can provide media training (what to do and not to do)
- PR is professionally done (provided you’ve engaged the services of a decent publicist)
- Leaves me time to get on with my next book project
- They can handle all the media for you – be a first port of call
- Cost – a decent PR guru costs money!
- Ensuring the publicists fully understands and is completely behind the product
- Other projects they’re engaged on may mean you can’t always get hold of them when you want to
- Where does it end…at what point do you disengage the services of a publicist
- Cost – you could be spending money that produces no results…
Decisions, decisions…
Feedback from readers
Posted by: Amanda Wilson on: March 27, 2012
It’s been three months since Karaoke, Praise the Lord was published and I’ve received some wonderful feedback both in person and in writing.
Below are snippets of some of the feedback I’ve had:
“This is a GREAT book which appeals to all whether you have or do not have a church background.
A candid, witty and thought-provoking down to earth outlook.’
“As a non-believer I found this novel an intriguing insight into a rarely seen world; a behind-the-scenes account of East London Pentecostal church life…The story never flags and one reads to the end wanting to know ‘What Happens Next?’…”
“A must read funny and thought-provoking,”
“it was very inspirational, relevant to how I feel in leadership, but direct, to the point and down to earth,”
I just want to say a big THANK YOU to all those who have purchased the book thus far – your support is much appreciated and I am encouraged to know that you want more. Don’t worry, more is to come!
A sneak preview
Posted by: Amanda Wilson on: January 3, 2012
Here’s a sneak preview of the first chapter of Karaoke, Praise the Lord, which I hope will make you want to buy the book
This is one of those mornings when you wake up and just lie there, convincing yourself that everything that happened the day before was all just a horrible dream. One of those dreams where one minute you’re in Aldi choosing toilet roll and the next you’re in the middle of Albert Square in Eastenders and Phil Mitchell’s on bended knee asking you to marry him. A spine-shivering nightmare. For goodness sake, I don’t even like Aldi.
I was so sure that yesterday had been just a dream; there I was minding my own business when Pastor Cynthia called me into her office. Getting called into Pastor Cynthia’s office was a bit like being called into the head teacher’s office. You suddenly start thinking about all the things you should have done but hadn’t, and all the things you haven’t done but somehow manage to convince yourself you had. You know, like thinking that maybe you’d prayed too hard in Sister Lacey’s ear during the altar service on Sunday and now she’s put in a complaint. Or perhaps Elder Francis had discovered you’d only paid tithes on your net and not your gross salary last month (Not that I did of course but the mind is able to play terrible games on you). So by the time I got into Pastor Cynthia’s office I was a paranoid wreck.
Pastor Cynthia’s office always reminded me of one of those old studies you see in the movies; dark wood-panelled walls, a large, slightly-worn, brown leather chair, and a massive oak desk which took four of the young men to carry in when she first moved into her office. The walls were lined with an array of theological and academic books. Commentaries from the book of Genesis to the book of Revelation. Concordances, Bible dictionaries, biographies of all the great preachers from Charles Spurgeon to TD Jakes and an array of Christian counselling books. Being in her office felt a bit like being in The British Library.
Pastor Cynthia looked at me over her eggshell-framed spectacles that I don’t think ever came off her face. Cynthia Owens, Senior Pastor of Trinity Chapel Church UK, affectionately known as TCC. She’d been the Senior Pastor over the church for almost fifteen years, taking over from her late father Pastor Moses Boateng – a Ghanaian born student who had come over to the UK in the mid-sixties to study law.
Pastor Moses was a powerhouse of a man of God – saved, sanctified and oh, so filled with the Holy Ghost. When he felt the call of God on his life he abandoned his studies and started Trinity Chapel Church with just him, his wife Mercy and daughter Cynthia. The church grew rapidly to a membership of over one hundred and thirty in the early nineties and when he died unexpectedly, Pastor Cynthia took over the leadership of the church and continued to take it from strength to strength. She’d established a strong leadership team made up from a combination of seasoned ministers and newbies – like me – as well as managing to hold on to the original membership and reach out to a new section of congregants.
So there I was, sitting in Pastor Cynthia Owens’ office wondering what on earth I had done to have the privilege of being called to sit before her. She stared hard at me for about a minute and then just came out and said it.
“I want you to lead the church in Bellingham.”
There it was. She could almost have said “I want you to say the opening prayer at this Sunday’s service.” It was so…I don’t know, just like nothing.
She wanted me to lead the church in Bellingham. The church they had just set up in the middle of a council estate in south London. I say set up. It had no members, no chairs and no atmosphere. It was just a shell. A disused community centre that hadn’t seen its windows cleaned for at least two years.
Because of the history surrounding the centre the local authority had just wanted to get it off their hands and – thanks to one of our contacts – we were able to buy it for a very reasonable price, so we made the decision that it would be our very first satellite church. When the Ministry Board first agreed to this and informed the church membership, everyone was so excited. We’d prayed and fasted about it and we all knew this was the direction that God was leading us in.
Trinity Chapel Church UK was a community church, which was what made us so effective in the area of east London where we had our current building. It was at the heart of the community. We ran a range of weekly activities and had developed close links with local primary and secondary schools. We had established a popular mother and toddler group and had a very well attended weekly pensioners club. We held three services a week; one on a Sunday, one on Wednesday evening and a youth service on Saturday evenings. Our youth department was thriving and we had a great Cell Group department. In essence we were an amazing church – if I may say so myself. So when the opportunity came to purchase the property at a knock-down price – we assured the congregation that it wasn’t a knock-down building – we organised a massive fundraising push and managed to raise enough money to purchase the building, pay for a full-time minister and also a part-time administrator.
So we were pretty much set. During our leaders’ conference last month Pastor Cynthia asked us all to begin praying about who would lead the satellite church – which of course I did, with all the fervour of one convinced that it would be one of the more seasoned ministers that would be called to lead the church.
Like Pastor Geraldine for example. Born in the church – quite literally! A second-generation Trinity Chapel Church member, her parents had been one of the founding members when Pastor Moses first started out. She was Pastor Cynthia’s right-hand woman and well seasoned in the Word. Then there was Minister Derek Soames. Recently graduated from All Saints Bible College and full of enthusiasm. His goal in life – my theory at least – was to become the senior pastor of a mega church, have a thriving TV ministry, bestselling books, CDs, and a world-renowned teaching and preaching ministry. He was without doubt on fire for God and would have been an ideal candidate for the satellite church.
But no. There I was, sitting in front of Pastor Cynthia being told that I was the chosen one. And here I am this morning trying to make sense of it all.
Usually I have an answer for everything. I’m known for my quick wit, which can sometimes be mistaken as sarcasm; I’m usually able to find a response which rolls off the tongue. However on this occasion, words failed me. My mind began working overtime and a heated exchange began to take place in my head.
I wanted to tell Pastor Cynthia that she had clearly lost the plot and the stress of leading a successful church was obviously beginning to take it’s toll, causing her to totally misrepresent what God was saying to her. I wanted to tell her about Minister Derek and Pastor Geraldine and ask whether she had looked at their CVs recently, because if she had, she would have noticed that they were a lot more qualified for the job than I was. I would have told her that there was no way I could lead the satellite church because of all the other commitments I had, plus the fact that I had never led a church before so it would be spiritual suicide to let me run one now. I also wanted to tell her that I was actually thinking of asking for a period of sabbatical leave because I was beginning to feel a bit overwhelmed by everything and a six month trip to the Bahamas had already been booked. I basically wanted to tell her no way, no how, not me! But instead I simply said “Okay.”
I had to admit to her – and to myself – that this had been the confirmation of something a visiting minister had said to me last year, which I had dismissed at the time as false prophecy. It was also something that had been shown to me in several dreams and I’d put that down to drinking too much coffee late at night.
But I guess in reality when you know, you just know and you really can’t say no to God. Well you can. But the consequences can be quite devastating. Look at Jonah for goodness sake. What would today’s equivalent of a big fish be? A double-decker bus going round and round the M25 maybe? I don’t know, but I just knew I couldn’t say no. So here I was today, Pastor of Trinity Chapel Satellite Church or Trinity Chapel South as Pastor Cynthia referred to it.
I must have been the only one who hadn’t already acknowledged the fact that I was going to be the one to lead Trinity Chapel South. Geraldine, Derek, and Elder Francis all rang to congratulate me within about thirty minutes of my leaving Pastor Cynthia’s office yesterday. Talk about good news travelling fast. After the third call I decided to turn my phone off because all I really wanted to do was go off to a really quiet place and think – or should that be cry. I just wanted to howl and say Lord what are you doing? Why are you doing this to me? Why, oh why, oh why? You know the kind of thing. Whinge, whinge, moan, moan, become a modern day weeping prophet. Although I’m not actually weeping for the nation and I’m not actually a prophet, but the sentiment is the same.
There was so much to think about after that meeting. I have to admit the first thought that crossed my mind was I wonder how much I’m gonna get paid and would it be more than I’m getting now at the supermarket? Then I had to ask God to forgive me for being so greedy and selfish and I ended up spending the next hour or so berating myself for being so ungodly. I really do have to get rid of this woe is me for I am undone kind of spirit. How am I going to lead a congregation if I can’t even get myself sorted?
I phoned mum and told her the news. Lord, I tell you she was definitely more excited than I was at that moment in time. Mum, who’s been a Christian since she was a child used to pray over my bed every night until I got saved at the age of twenty-five. That’s what I call praying without ceasing.
She had her usual advice to give about making sure I stayed close to God and ensuring I was always hearing from Him, In addition to reminding me that there are going to be those who will be jealous of the decision that has been made, as if that hadn’t already crossed my mind. And mum being mum, told me how much she was praying for me and reminded me of the prophecy that had been spoken over my life when I first got saved, like I needed reminding.
Mum really was my rock. To me she had always been the epitome of what people call a good Christian woman. She brought me up with an understanding that a relationship with Jesus was all that really mattered in life. Not once during the twenty-five years before I became a Christian did she criticise me for not living my life the way I should have done. Instead she was patient, loving and the best role-model a girl could have. I think that’s what finally did it for me. When I turned twenty-five I suddenly thought what am I doing with my life? Why am I putting off this decision? And to be honest, I never really got an answer, which was just the answer I needed. There was nothing stopping me. I wasn’t the rebellious type so it wasn’t about doing it to spite my mum; and it certainly wasn’t like I was living the high life. I used to spend most of my time with my nose in a book, at a museum or at the theatre. My lifestyle could hardly have been described as rock and roll. So it was a no brainer. One day I went to church with mum, it was a celebration service and when I came out it was a real celebration. I was saved. Mum was the proudest mum in the world and must have phoned all our relatives – Christian and non-Christian – to tell them the good news.
So after I’d finished speaking to mum I spent the rest of the evening trying to imagine what would happen today during service. I thought about it so much that I ended up falling asleep on the sofa and it’s only now, the morning after, that I’ve woken up and realised it wasn’t a dream, it really did all take place. I am the Senior Pastor of Trinity Chapel South.
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