- 1 week ago
CTP (S3EMaySpecial3) Books Authors Week May 2026 Hybrid Publishing That Puts Authors First
Exploring more of the fascinating intersection of Activism, Community Engagement, Faith / Religion, Human Nature, Politics, Social Issues, and beyond
We sit down with publisher Michael J. Clausen, CEO of Illumify Media, to talk about how hybrid publishing can give authors professional quality without losing control of their work. We get into rights, royalties, cover design, distribution, and what it takes to become a “360-degree author” who can actually cut through the noise.
• why Michael uses his middle initial and how name confusion even sparked the interview
• what Illumify Media does for authors, from coaching to editing to global distribution
• why traditional publishing can feel like losing control of your own book rights
• how hybrid publishing works, including higher royalties and more author say
• why McHenry Press exists as an imprint and what brand focus it signals
• how titles, subtitles, and cover design decisions affect Amazon browsing behavior
• what makes a book cover work at thumbnail size
• how an author community model changes the long-term relationship after launch
• the “360-degree author” framework and why story matters for marketing
• how IngramSpark supports print-on-demand and worldwide fulfillment
• launch promotion tactics, review strategy, podcast outreach, and AI-driven visuals
SEND US FEEDBACK: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2210487/fan_mail/new
https://tinyurl.com/SubscribeToCTP
CTP Audios: https://tinyurl.com/CTPonBuzzsprout
CTP Videos: https://tinyurl.com/CTPonBITCHUTE
https://tinyurl.com/CTPgear
https://tinyurl.com/JLenardDetroitGear
Exploring more of the fascinating intersection of Activism, Community Engagement, Faith / Religion, Human Nature, Politics, Social Issues, and beyond
We sit down with publisher Michael J. Clausen, CEO of Illumify Media, to talk about how hybrid publishing can give authors professional quality without losing control of their work. We get into rights, royalties, cover design, distribution, and what it takes to become a “360-degree author” who can actually cut through the noise.
• why Michael uses his middle initial and how name confusion even sparked the interview
• what Illumify Media does for authors, from coaching to editing to global distribution
• why traditional publishing can feel like losing control of your own book rights
• how hybrid publishing works, including higher royalties and more author say
• why McHenry Press exists as an imprint and what brand focus it signals
• how titles, subtitles, and cover design decisions affect Amazon browsing behavior
• what makes a book cover work at thumbnail size
• how an author community model changes the long-term relationship after launch
• the “360-degree author” framework and why story matters for marketing
• how IngramSpark supports print-on-demand and worldwide fulfillment
• launch promotion tactics, review strategy, podcast outreach, and AI-driven visuals
SEND US FEEDBACK: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2210487/fan_mail/new
https://tinyurl.com/SubscribeToCTP
CTP Audios: https://tinyurl.com/CTPonBuzzsprout
CTP Videos: https://tinyurl.com/CTPonBITCHUTE
https://tinyurl.com/CTPgear
https://tinyurl.com/JLenardDetroitGear
Category
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CreativityTranscript
00:00Hello, welcome to another episode of Perstitutionalist Podcast.
00:05I am your host, Joseph M. Leonard.
00:09That's L-E-N-A-R-D.
00:12It looks French.
00:13It's not.
00:14It's Leonard without an O.
00:17Thank you for tuning in, as Graham Norton used to say, on his show.
00:24Let's get on with the show!
00:25Welcome to Deja Vu Week.
00:30No, that's not what it is, but kind of, sort of.
00:36Welcome to Books Slash Authors Week, May 2026.
00:43Just coming out of April 2026, Books Slash Authors Week,
00:50and October, Books Slash Authors Weeks of October 2025.
00:58So, yes, you guessed it.
01:01It's all about cucumbers and tomatoes and deli shopping.
01:08Books!
01:09Books!
01:10Let's get on a guest!
01:13Joining me today is Michael J. Clausen,
01:18and middle initial in there for a reason, I'll get into that in a minute,
01:23of CEO of Illumify Media.
01:28Welcome, my friend, to the show.
01:31Thank you, Joseph.
01:32I appreciate it.
01:33Yeah, and as Michael knows, there is an imposter out there using his name.
01:41I'm kidding, of course.
01:42There is another Michael Clausen.
01:45I forget what his middle initial is.
01:48And I'd always intended on having you on my show,
01:52but we just never got around to it.
01:55But the impetus for it kind of came when I got an invite from that other Michael Clausen
02:02to appear on his podcast.
02:04And I remember I sent you the email.
02:07Is this you?
02:09Are you doing a podcast now?
02:12Yeah.
02:13Well, you know, when I registered my Facebook page 20 years ago,
02:17or whenever that was, and I did Mike Clausen,
02:20and there were like 80 Mike Clausens already registered on Facebook.
02:23So I thought, well, you know, everything I write is going to go by Michael J.
02:28J is for James, my dad.
02:31And that way I can differentiate myself a little bit.
02:35Although, boy, we almost had something, a mistake or something happened with you.
02:42So.
02:43Yeah.
02:44So, but I'm glad they reached out because it landed up being the impetus to finally get you on.
02:51And I'm the same way with my name, Joseph M. Leonard.
02:55It looks French.
02:57It's not Lenard.
02:58It was Leonard Awoskiewiczki or something at some time.
03:03It's Polish.
03:04Leonard without the O.
03:05But, yeah, I have to use my middle initial because there is a Joseph Lenard spelled the same way out
03:14of South Carolina,
03:15who is also a Christian author.
03:18Wow.
03:19Yeah, I know.
03:21And I even get emails on occasion from, about his books asking me.
03:28In fact, I did a Christian video exclusive.
03:33I am not Shakespeare.
03:34And I joke.
03:36I am not that Joseph Leonard, Lenard, and he is not me.
03:42And neither of us will be confused for Shakespeare.
03:48That's right.
03:49So a little tongue in cheek to differentiate.
03:52Because I'd love to have that Joseph Lenard on my show.
03:58Sure.
03:59He never, he doesn't return any calls I've attempted to make or emails.
04:05I can't find a website for him.
04:07But anyway, you're here.
04:10Well, maybe he's your, maybe he's your evil twin.
04:13Yeah, right.
04:15I'd like to know.
04:19But at any rate, you are CEO of Volumify Media, which, full disclosure,
04:27my terror strikes coming soon to a city near you.
04:31The imprint is technically McHenry Press.
04:35Right.
04:35We'll get into that.
04:37Right.
04:37But through, through you and Volumify Media.
04:41And what I like about it, it, it's a family.
04:45It's not just a publishing firm.
04:49And we'll get into that more too.
04:51But the, the obvious first question, what is Volumify?
04:58So, we publish books for authors who want to change the world.
05:02And, and, and I've been in publishing since 1997.
05:07We've probably published in the last 10 years, over 300 books.
05:12And so, so anyway, that's what we do.
05:16We, we, we have coaches to help coach you up.
05:18If, if we like the message, you know, we'll coach you up to get that manuscript up to the right
05:24spot.
05:24But we have professional typesetters, copy editors, book cover designer, one main book cover designer.
05:31And then we can distribute your book around the world.
05:34Your motivation for leaving traditional publishing to go out on your own and start up this.
05:43Yeah.
05:44So, so I have been traditionally published.
05:46I have actually worked on about 70 traditionally published books.
05:50And, and, and actually, you know, probably half of the study Bibles out there, I was the theological editor.
05:58And, and, and I authored some books on prayer.
06:01But what I found was in traditional publishing, there are some really good things about it where they, they're going
06:08to, you know, they can give you that stamp of approval that you're a good writer.
06:11But they also, in exchange, ask for the rights to your book.
06:14They don't ask, they demand the rights.
06:16And you can't even forfeit those.
06:18They, they won't forfeit the rights until 70 years after you die.
06:22So I wrote a book in 2001 on prayer by a traditional publisher.
06:27I'm not going to bad mouth them by name.
06:30But, but they, they, they bought my book and it sold okay.
06:33I had a co-author on that.
06:35And then I tried to get the rights back because they weren't doing anything with it and they wouldn't even
06:40answer my emails.
06:41And then finally, I, I, they contacted me in 2022 and said, oh, we're going to re-release your book.
06:48Here's the new title.
06:49And here's the new cover.
06:50I had zero say on anything on those decisions.
06:54And so, so it actually, the book sold better the second time around than the first time around, but it
07:00just was disempowering.
07:01And so with our version of publishing, which is a hybrid, we call it hybrid.
07:06It's kind of self-publishing and, and traditional publishing, publishing, having a kid.
07:10It's, you get that quality of the traditional publishing, but then you get the control of a self-publisher.
07:16You know, our authors will make over twice as much in royalties.
07:20They, they, they make 10 to $12 per copy of print, print books that they sell in person.
07:25So it's really an advantage for authors.
07:27If you have a platform, if you have an audience out there, you're better off going with us.
07:32You're going to make more money publishing through us than you will going through a traditional publisher.
07:37There's good and bad with everything.
07:40And I call it assisted publishing and all assisted publishing firms are not the same.
07:49There are low end and there are high end, and there are a whole lot of ripoff agents out there.
07:55A whole lot.
07:57Yeah, you're absolutely right.
07:59In fact, I lost out on a podcast opportunity.
08:03Someone initially invited me on, but when they found out I worked with you,
08:11because they've had people who've worked with bad hybrids, bad assisted publishings, ripoff agents,
08:20they decided they washed their hand of any author that has anything to do with any hybrid publisher.
08:29Yeah, that to me, really.
08:33So you're going to punish me and you for other bad actors.
08:39Right, right.
08:40Well, and there's a lot of arrogance in the traditional publishing circles.
08:43They look down at other people.
08:45They want to be the gatekeeper to anything published, and they don't want anybody outside publishing the book except them.
08:53And I found there's a lot of arrogance in the industry.
08:56And, again, that's a reason why I jumped out of traditional publishing and into hybrid publishing.
09:02Mm-hmm.
09:04I, again, terror strikes coming soon to a city near you.
09:09Explain the why it's a McHenry press imprint rather than an Illumify media.
09:17So I used to work, 10 years ago, I worked for a right, how do I say, right-wing publisher
09:29journalism company.
09:32And we had a lot of good business, and then they were starting to kind of shut down.
09:36And I started Illumify, but we had a lot of authors who had conservative books that they were publishing.
09:43And I thought, you know what, why don't we spin out our own imprint called McHenry Press?
09:48And I was thinking of Fort McHenry, where the Star-Spangled Banner was written, or the words were, you know,
09:54where the rockets red glare, bombs bursting in air.
09:57And there's all this craziness right now in our society with, you know, and here you try to get this
10:06voice, this beacon of freedom that you're trying to tell everybody about.
10:11And it just seemed the right kind of imprint.
10:13So we've done a few McHenry Press books, you being one of them, Joseph, but we've done some other ones
10:21as well.
10:22And that way we can kind of create a brand around McHenry Press.
10:26Yeah.
10:26My friend Patrick J. Colbeck, who used to be a Michigan State legislator in the Michigan Senate, Bishop Ira Combs,
10:37finally.
10:38I talked to you.
10:40We talked about him years ago, and that finally happened now, yes?
10:46Yeah, we had a ghostwriter working with him.
10:51Let me just say, Patrick Colbeck is one of the best people I know.
10:55I mean, he is just, wow.
10:58I really think highly of him.
11:01As do I.
11:02I'm glad we're friends.
11:05I don't see him anymore these days, it seems, but, you know, there comes that, unfortunately, reach different forks in
11:16the road.
11:17But still the same attitudes and whatnot.
11:24I was going to, you mentioned a cover team and Lisa mainly.
11:30I wanted to talk about my cover, but before I go there, I want to talk about the subtitle.
11:37One thing professionals like you help bring to the table is discussion.
11:46I have a different sub.
11:49I was always insistent it would be Terror Strikes, but there are a bazillion books called Terror Strikes.
11:58The subtitle is what distinguishes it.
12:02I originally had Terror Strikes, They're Here, Soon They'll Strike.
12:09That was my working title.
12:11What I expected would be the title.
12:14And you guys all workshopped with me a better subtitle, Coming Soon to a City Near You.
12:22holds the same thought of They're Here, Soon They'll Strike, but makes it more compelling.
12:33There you go.
12:34More compelling and even more descriptive of some of what I was trying to say in the book.
12:41Hey, it's not just a New York thing, 9-11.
12:46It's not just a Madrid, Spain, 3-11 or London attack.
12:53It can happen in a location near you.
12:58Smaller terror strikes are happening all over.
13:02So coming soon to a city near you really indeed compelled it to that much higher level.
13:11And your years of publishing helped bring that about.
13:17And I say pick your battles, right?
13:20Stick to your guns like certain content in the book through the editing process.
13:26I stuck to my guns on it.
13:29No, that word has to be there for a particular subconscious, subliminal other reasoning.
13:37An Easter egg, kind of, if you will, for those who wink, wink, nod, nod, nudge, nudge, who will get
13:46that broader implication.
13:48But be open to most of the editing changes because, again, you guys are professional.
13:57The book title potential change.
14:00The cover, I had a four-quadrant design that I wanted.
14:07And you guys kept saying, and I eventually gave in, you know, four that might be distracting and may be
14:16too busy.
14:17We could put elements on the cover in pieces.
14:22And, like, it's hard to tell from here.
14:26The doomsday clock is pretty obvious.
14:28But the other subtle imagery, unless if you're looking at the book you don't see.
14:36And you indeed convinced me.
14:39A simpler, more subtle cover, even with the elements, something compelling.
14:46Again, the main thing with the doomsday clock, the striking.
14:52Because I also originally wanted the eye in strikes to be an AK-47 round.
14:59But we couldn't find the right round.
15:02You guys had a NATO bullet.
15:04And I didn't know that isn't it.
15:06And gun people will know the difference.
15:10But people, unlike Martin Luther King Jr., content of character, don't judge a human by their cover.
15:18They definitely judge your book by its cover, yes?
15:22You're right, right.
15:23Well, you know, and one thing that, one of the philosophies I take with me into Illumify is, I'm a
15:29strong believer in collaboration.
15:30And I believe, you know, we've got experience in publishing.
15:34You know your subject material.
15:36And I believe that when we bounce things back and forth enough, we're going to get a better product than
15:40if it was just us or just you making that decision.
15:43So, and so, to your point, you know, that's how we came up with your great book.
15:48It was a collaboration between you and our team.
15:53Yes.
15:53And I really liked because it was, although I've been writing my whole life and published locally things, that was
16:03my first international book.
16:05So, I needed definitely the help in making that presentable, not just outside Michigan, but outside the nation, even, to
16:16make it international.
16:18Right, right.
16:19Well, and book covers, oftentimes when people design the cover themselves, they end up creating a book that drives people
16:27away from their book rather than to it.
16:28There's too much going on in the front cover.
16:31And on the back cover, there's too much, there's too much, too many words and people won't read it.
16:37And so, but a good book cover is going to really get somebody's attention.
16:43You know, when we're working on even the title, and your title is perfect for this.
16:47You know, when people go onto Amazon, they see your book cover, and the cover is the size of a
16:52thumbnail.
16:53And so, what you need is a title that's short enough that you can have a bigger font size for
16:59your cover.
17:00Terror Strikes, two words.
17:01I like one- and two-word titles.
17:03And look how big, look how big the font size is on your cover.
17:07And those are little things that people don't always think about.
17:11So, but your cover is a great example.
17:14Yeah, and I'm really happy with it.
17:18Indeed, it's much better.
17:19I'm still fond of, I, you guys still coming from publishing hold to the, but that's kind of the way
17:29it's been done.
17:30That's kind of the way we do it.
17:32And I like pushing boundaries on occasion.
17:36But that was one I gave up.
17:38But that was, at first, an initial thought.
17:41Hey, my cover will be pushing boundaries and different, and it'll catch the right eyes.
17:49But, indeed, truly, it can drive a lot of eyes away.
17:55But, you know, your book is doing a great job.
17:57So, we're really proud of your book.
18:01It would be like asking a parent what their favorite child is.
18:07So, not going to do that.
18:09So, let me ask a fact-based question so you don't have to pick and choose.
18:17What recent books have come out on or, if you prefer, what's in the works?
18:26And I understand we have to be careful how we may talk about it, depending how close to being published
18:33they are, because you don't want to give away titles and whatnot, because that happens with movies.
18:39A lot of studio will announce a movie and a bunch of other studios then rush to present a copy
18:48of it quicker.
18:50A lot of studio will announce a copy of it quicker.
18:51Yeah, well, so, actually, I met with this author this morning.
18:57We were contacted by an author, and when he told me his name, Walt Callisted, I knew who he was.
19:03He was one of the top-selling Christian authors in the 1990s.
19:08And I have a new pastor called Community Church of Joy in Phoenix, Arizona, and he had a book idea
19:15called Epic Marketplace Revival.
19:19And his first wife died, and he wrote the book with his second wife, Blakeney.
19:24And John Maxwell endorsed it.
19:27I mean, Ken Blanchard endorsed it.
19:29I mean, some high-profile names.
19:31But he's talking about what God is doing in the marketplace in touching people's hearts.
19:36And the exciting part that's happening for us right now is there's different Christian music stations.
19:43One is K-Love, but there's another one, a competitor, called WayFM.
19:46And they're having a business conference in Nashville, and we're going to be a sponsor at that conference.
19:52But we're hosting Walt Callisted, who sold millions of books.
19:56And we're doing a – he and I are both on panel discussions, and then we're doing a book signing
20:01there.
20:01We're doing that together.
20:02And we're taking that message about what God can do through business people and taking it to the very people
20:08who need to hear it.
20:09And he's going to do some other promotional things as well.
20:12We also worked with an author who sold a lot of books, Bob Belts, wrote a book called The Holy
20:18Spirit.
20:18And he and Walt together were actually consultants on a lot of the movies, Christian movies that have been out
20:26there.
20:27And Bob Belts, we just released his book, and we're really proud of that book as well.
20:30So we've had some really good things.
20:33We've had about 60 books we did last year.
20:35I love changing the world, partnering with my authors.
20:39One book at a time.
20:42Right.
20:42Yeah, and regarding the – most businesses wanted – used to want to stay out of faith and politics.
20:52And politics really crept in.
20:55And so a lot of businesses now are seeing, well, the faith needs to come back in.
21:02So we are seeing more of that as opposed to before didn't want to touch that subject.
21:12So that's good timing on that, I think.
21:15I was a pastor for 28 years, and I was writing books on the side, and then just ran out
21:21of gas about 10 years ago and decided just to focus on publishing.
21:25And I run my publishing company the way I pastored churches.
21:29We're relational.
21:30We love our authors.
21:32We live in integrity.
21:34I answer to God for the way I run this company.
21:36And I'm not preachy with authors who we pick up who are not believers, but I'm not going to hide
21:43my faith.
21:43I'm just going to live it openly and be who I am.
21:46And I've had some authors, and they're going through a crisis, and so I pray with them in our Zoom
21:53meetings.
21:54And, you know, if they don't like it, well, they can publish somewhere else.
21:57This is God's company.
22:00And that's why I was so interested.
22:03You know, we're doing a lot more business books just because I want to see people live in their faith
22:09in their everyday world.
22:11And doing these books and working with authors like this helps us do it, helps them do it.
22:16I'm not trying to make this all about my book again, but, you know, people think about a terrorism book.
22:25Did you have any misgivings when I first approached you?
22:29Because it's really about life and living, not about death and destruction.
22:34But coming at you with a book about terrorism, and it is a Christian book, but not the normal fluffy
22:42kind of traditional book.
22:44Did you have misgivings?
22:46Do you remember when I first approached you?
22:49Well, you know, and we've done some business with people in Michigan.
22:55I don't know.
22:55It was Patrick Colbeck who kind of opened the way for us to meet a number of great people.
23:01And you knew Pat, and so I wasn't afraid.
23:05You know, and that's another reason why I thought, well, let's get this imprint.
23:10We can focus on this.
23:11A lot of similar messages, and we did two books with Pat.
23:15One was Illumify.
23:16One was the McHenry Press.
23:17We have your book.
23:18We've done some other ones that help kind of guide that focus and where people are not going to be,
23:25you know, afraid of terror in the title.
23:30I actually think terror is a great word to have in the title because the title, the role of the
23:35title is to hook the reader.
23:38And terror is a, everybody's, I mean, there's terrorism stuff going on today in Mexico and Puerto Vallarta.
23:45I mean, so people, and with the cartels, so you want to hook your reader.
23:49And then oftentimes the subtitle, you define your audience.
23:54Your title and subtitle, they kind of go together, but I'm all about the hook.
24:00And whatever's going to get people's attention, so they'll open up the book or at least look at the book
24:04description and look at the table of contents, and if they're on Amazon, and then buy your book.
24:10That's kind of the goal of why I wasn't afraid of your title.
24:15I thought it's not a freak out.
24:17Okay, yeah.
24:19Because whenever I do interviews on other shows about the book, I always add in, I'm not trying to sell
24:29fear porn here.
24:30It's about hope.
24:32It's about life and living, not death and destruction.
24:37Right.
24:37But indeed, until you actually start to get into the book, that title suggests otherwise.
24:47Starting to wrap things up, anything you want to add before I get to the where do people find you
24:55question,
24:56any other things you want to add in, any other recent books or current projects?
25:03Let me think.
25:04I mean, we're always in the middle of working with different authors at different levels.
25:08And, you know, I mean, the main thing is the authors we work with, they become our friends.
25:15And we become, you know, the relationship continues.
25:18So the last book we published with you, Joseph, was, what, two years ago?
25:22But we keep up the relationship because that's the way that I want Illumify to run.
25:30We're building a community of authors.
25:33It's not just one and done, one and done.
25:36We're building a community of authors.
25:38And we have an annual, you know, conference every September.
25:42Yeah, let's talk about that more because I really wish I could make it out there to see you all
25:50IRL in real life
25:52and attend that conference.
25:54But my disability budget just won't afford it.
25:58But, see, I was talking more about the conference.
26:01I didn't think of that.
26:02I'm really excited about it.
26:04So, and this actually came about in our last conference in October.
26:10It hit me, what we're trying to do is we're trying to equip what we call the 360-degree author.
26:15The 360-degree author is, if you're writing a book, what are all the things you should know right from
26:20the outset?
26:22Thinking like a, writing like a business person.
26:24You know, writing like a business person thinking about page count, word count, how long the book's going to be,
26:29the retail price.
26:31You know, writing with a journalist in mind.
26:34And how do you tell a good story?
26:36Writing with a bookstore, you know, even as a bookstore manager.
26:40What is a bookstore manager looking for in a book?
26:43And so we're trying to equip our authors.
26:45And we're going to be doing more with that as the year progresses.
26:50I'm going to write a book called The 360-degree Author.
26:53It's going to come out probably sometime in the summer.
26:55And then we're going to focus our conference this year on story.
27:02How do you tell a story?
27:03How do you, even how do you, and Donald Miller has this concept he calls story brand.
27:09How do you market your book in inviting your readers into a story?
27:15It doesn't matter if you're fiction or nonfiction.
27:17And so I'm already getting the pieces in place.
27:20We're going to spend the whole day with people that are going to tell you,
27:23how do you tell a compelling story?
27:24How do you invite authors or readers into your story as you market your book?
27:30The conference info and other info will be at?
27:36Illumifymedia.com.
27:37I-L-L-U-M-I-F-Y media.com.
27:41And, in fact, if anybody out there wants to run a book idea by me,
27:46there's a scheduling link on the website where you can schedule time on Zoom with me.
27:52And let's volley around the possibilities of your book.
27:56And you can also sign up for, I have a weekly Power Writers Report that I have a couple thousand
28:02people who read it.
28:03And my open rate is over 50%.
28:06I mean, people really like it.
28:07It's been very popular.
28:09And you can sign up for the Power Writers Report as well at the website.
28:13Yeah.
28:14And McHenry Press is basically the same thing but the other imprint.
28:19And that's McHenryPress.com.
28:24Dot com, yeah.
28:25M-C-H-E-N-R-Y Press.com.
28:28Now, you have to be careful because there is another McHenry, Illinois, press news outlet.
28:40So, yeah.
28:41Wow, I didn't know that.
28:45Yeah, so if you put in McHenry Press, you're not necessarily the one that pops up on top in Google.
28:55Wow, interesting.
28:59Anyway, thank you, Michael J. Clausen, for spending some time with me today.
29:06It was great getting to interact with you again, and I really wish that I could come out for that
29:13conference.
29:14But been on a couple of your webinars.
29:18That's another thing.
29:19Occasionally, you have a webinar.
29:21Talk about that.
29:22Yeah, we just did one.
29:23We put our authors on a platform, a publishing platform called IngramSpark.
29:28And, Joseph, your books are on IngramSpark.
29:30And they distribute, they do all the printing and everything, and there are certain promotions that they offer.
29:39And we trained our authors on how to use some of these promotions that IngramSpark offers.
29:44So, we do webinars like this, oh, every few months on different topics.
29:49And, actually, in the business book market that we're getting into, I'm going to be doing a monthly, like an
29:57open shop where people can come in once a month at the same time every month.
30:01And they can get tips on how to write, and they can ask me questions.
30:04Yeah, and that's another important detail we kind of glossed over, didn't mean to.
30:11You don't print any books.
30:15You publish, you get it ready to be published or printed via and through IngramSpark, which is the big player
30:26in book printing.
30:28Right, right.
30:29So, yeah, Ingram Content Group is the world's biggest book distribution company and printing company.
30:36And so, they created IngramSpark for authors.
30:38So, you create your account.
30:40We upload the files to your account.
30:41We do all the work and upload the files to your account.
30:44And then, Joseph, you can buy however many copies you want.
30:47You just go on to your IngramSpark account, order copies.
30:50You can have them delivered somewhere.
30:53And they do all the printing and all the fulfillment.
30:57And your book's available in North America, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, and Great Britain.
31:02And so, pretty much the whole English-speaking world, they make it available to them.
31:07Yeah, for some reason, I usually mention Booktopia in Australia.
31:11For some reason, I do pretty good through Booktopia in Australia.
31:17Interesting.
31:18Wow.
31:19Yeah, you never know.
31:22You just never know.
31:23I mean, you can suspect, but there are so many new authors on a daily basis out there.
31:33There's a lot of noise.
31:35You need the edge in helping to cut through that noise, yes?
31:40Right, right.
31:41Or, like I said, if a person does all the work themselves, they usually produce a book that drives readers
31:48away from their book rather than to their book.
31:50So, we're trying to help make your book, create your book in a way, work with you, collaborate in a
31:56book that people are going to want to read your book.
31:59They're going to want to open it.
32:00The book cover, the interior design, the copy editing.
32:03We require a professional copy editor so it reads smoothly, minimize the mistakes inside, and sell more books and change
32:11the world.
32:11Yeah, one of the potential services you offer is a short term of promotion.
32:19You took over my Twitter and IG accounts for a while.
32:24And was it Lisa that did that?
32:26She might have done it.
32:27We have – so, she still does work for us.
32:30We have a marketing director, and she's been like – so, we've been pulling her in on a lot of
32:35our book launches where she helps build your book launch team so that you can get 20 five-star reviews
32:42on Amazon within the first couple weeks and then build it up to 40 because people aren't going to buy
32:47a book that nobody else is reading, that they think nobody else is reading.
32:50So, but she does social media, she's able to get people on the podcast, that's another service that we offer.
32:57So, I'm pretty happy with the setup that we have in helping promote authors' books.
33:03Yeah, in fact, I just took one of the images.
33:08It's a woman holding a baby because in my Naperville chapter, I talk about Teresa.
33:15Teresa, are you going to be a mama bear or an ostrich?
33:21Are you going to be the protector or are you going to pretend the world is great, everything is wonderful,
33:28and nothing bad can ever happen to you?
33:30Well, bad things happen at times to good people, right?
33:35You don't bring it on.
33:37It just can't happen.
33:38Again, I don't want people paranoid, but I ran that through the Grok Imagine 1.0 the other day, and
33:47it brought the image Lisa did for me to life.
33:52So, I'm re-sharing it again in an animated form to further promote.
33:58That's another great thing.
34:01Images, the AI is great for image creation.
34:06Tell it what you want, and then, like Grok Imagine 1.0 can bring it further into an animated short,
34:17much more of a life, because this tic-tac world we're living in, short attention spans, and people want video.
34:28Right.
34:29Absolutely.
34:30ADHD.
34:30ADHD.
34:31I tell authors, when you write your manuscript, you've got to begin with the assumption that your reader has ADHD,
34:36because they all do.
34:39Thanks to the internet and gaming and whatever.
34:42So, you've got to get their attention.
34:45A lot of noise, yeah.
34:47There are more and more books, but it seems like there's less and less people reading.
34:53Or is that not true?
34:54Is that a myth?
34:56I mean, the book sales have stayed pretty steady.
35:00I don't know about literacy rates.
35:02I mean, whether, you know, reading rates.
35:04Whole other question, yeah.
35:06Yeah.
35:07I mean, and I will say this, Christian book sales are up, and Bibles are up, like tripled in the
35:14last five years.
35:15And so, there's something going on in the hearts of everyday Americans, and it's good.
35:23But the Christian publishing, actually, readership has increased, and the other publishing companies, they don't understand what's going on.
35:31So, it's just kind of interesting.
35:34All right.
35:34Thanks again, Michael J. Clawson.
35:37Have a great day.
35:39Take care.
35:39God bless, brother.
35:40God bless.
35:41Thanks, Joseph.
35:42Thanks, Joseph.
35:43Thanks, Joseph.
35:45Thanks, Joseph.
35:59Thanks, Joseph.
36:18Metaphors.
36:21What a bore.
36:24I'm far too clever for those whatever's.
36:31I bend my meaning, clean and quick.
36:35I don't hint at apples when I just mean brick.
36:38I like my language, sharp as chisels
36:42Words like razors, words that sizzle, oh yeah
36:46I use meta-sixes
36:49To turn my trickses
36:53Stack my senses
36:57Flip my fixes
36:59Oh, oh, oh, say it's straight
37:02Till the line untwist
37:08Meta-sixes
37:11Meta-sixes
37:19Take one thought, split it in six
37:22Taste, touch, sight, sound, smell the sixth
37:26Run it through rhythm till logic clicks
37:29That's how I shuffle my little mind tricks
37:33Hey, I don't paint clouds when I mean rain
37:37I count each droplet by its name
37:41I use meta-sixes
37:46To turn my trickses
37:49Stack my senses
37:53Flip my fixes
37:56Oh, oh, oh, say it's straight
38:00Till the line untwist
38:05Meta-sixes
38:08Meta-sixes
38:31The book of Kennedy
38:34Project Carpe Diem
38:37Back of the book says it all
38:41Kennedy
38:43Realized that indeed all life had value and meaning
38:46But indeed as Stu's life movie
38:48Also tried to make clear
38:51Was life just indeed a collection of mediocre days
38:54With some random happy times
38:56Was life irreparable and tainted with misspent youth
39:00Bad reputation children might have had
39:02Or redeemable with age and wisdom acquired
39:08What then was the sum of that life
39:10If like the Egyptians believed a time of weighing by Osiris and Anubis
39:14Could be lighter than a feather
39:17In order to pass into the afterlife
39:19Or too tainted
39:21And weighed down by those earlier transgressions
39:25Dwelling on the mundane
39:28Or even clearly happens from time to time
39:30Bad or negative days
39:32Or those good times
39:34In the math of life, so to speak
39:37Where good deeds and good days
39:40Perhaps worth a larger value in the overall equation
39:43Getting to that balance, sheet, sum, total
39:48The day-to-day, a butterfly effect
39:51The small smiles shown to another
39:53That made their day better
39:56Perhaps maybe even saved a life
39:58Whose life then went on to produce another
40:00Through a child
40:02Who then goes on to cure cancer
40:05What role then did that small
40:07Seemingly insignificant smile
40:09On that day, likely long forgotten
40:13By all parties involved in the smile transactions
40:17As it seemed at the time play
40:19In that role of another one day curing cancer
40:22How many points
40:24Might that tender toward afterlife admittance
40:27And what score
40:29Does one have to achieve?
40:34Note from the author
40:37I want to state as a warning
40:39This book contains not one line of dialogue
40:42I feel it important to say that
40:45Because
40:45A reviewer of my
40:47Terror strikes
40:50Coming soon to a city near you
40:53Novel once wrote
40:54That she didn't think there was enough dialogue in it
40:58Well, in all interviews I'd ever given regarding that book
41:02I never promised it to be a dialogue-laden book
41:05In fact, that while having some dialogue
41:08It is heavy narrative style
41:10As this book is entirely narration style
41:15Versus
41:16Plato's dialogues
41:17Philip Roth's deception
41:20Steinbeck's
41:22The Grapes of Wrath
41:23Which known for extensive use of dialogue courtesy
41:27Of asking Google
41:30For that answer
41:47Life has its ups and downs
41:50Like a tilted world can spin us around
41:54Life like an amusement park
41:56But not always too amusing
42:01Ups, downs, happy and sad
42:04Cycles and seasons
42:06Sometimes lost
42:09Others feel we're found
42:15Wait
42:16It can turn around
42:21Hold on
42:23Don't
42:25Don't
42:25Don't
42:25Let go
42:26Now
42:27It can turn around
42:30It can turn around
42:33Ups to the sky
42:38Downs in the ground
42:40Oh
42:41It can turn around
42:43Oh
42:44It can turn around
42:47Oh
42:48If you feel lost
42:51You can be found
42:55Morning comes in pieces
42:57Morning comes in pieces
42:57Then the day leans hard
43:01One foot in the dust
43:04One hand
43:06One hand on the bars
43:08One hand on the bars
43:09Some days break you open
43:11Some days let you breathe
43:14Some days let you breathe
43:15Still the wheel keeps moving
43:17Still you have to leave
43:21Still you have to leave
43:49It can turn around
43:51Oh
43:52It can turn around
43:54Oh
43:55It can turn around
43:56If you feel lost
43:58You can be found
44:03Season after season
44:06Season after season
44:06We learn the ride
44:10Every fall can teach us how to climb
44:15So when the wall gets heavy
44:19Hear me now
44:22What spins you down today
44:29Can't turn around
44:32It can turn around
44:34It can turn around
44:38Ups to the sky
44:42Downs in the ground
44:44Oh
44:45It can turn around
44:47Oh
44:48It can turn around
44:51Oh
44:52You feel lost
44:55You can be found
44:57Oh
44:59Oh
44:59It can turn around
45:02It can turn around
45:04It can turn around
45:04It can turn around
45:06It can turn around
45:07Roller coasters
45:10Life has its ups and downs
45:13Like a
45:14Tilted world can spin us around
45:16Life, life
45:17Like an amusement park
45:19But not always
45:21Too amusing
45:24Too amusing
45:25Ups, downs, happy, sad
45:28Cycles and seasons
45:32Sometimes lost
45:35Others feel
45:36We're found
45:37Wait
45:38It can turn around
45:43Like and subscribe
45:45To Christitutionalist Politics Podcast
45:48And share episodes
45:50We need your help
45:52Thank you for having tuned into another
45:56Christitutionalist Podcast Show
45:59I really appreciate that you stopped by
46:03Again, please like, share, subscribe
46:06We need you to help spread the Christitutionalist Movement
46:12Thank you again
46:13Take care
46:15God bless
46:16Love you all
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